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Key piece of Ryan McDonagh trade set for Rangers debut

Another hopeful piece of the Rangers’ future has arrived.

Libor Hajek will make his NHL debut Friday night at the Garden against the Canadiens, just over a year after the Rangers acquired the 21-year-old defenseman from the Lightning as a key part of the trade of Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller.

While Hajek had recorded no goals and five assists, with a minus-23, in 58 games at AHL Hartford, he believes he may have been succumbing to the pressures that come with being in a new organization.

“I was maybe trying too much to prove they made a good decision,” Hajek said Thursday after his first practice.