The New York Rangers needed to clear cap space in order to get their restricted free agents signed this summer. The solution they found was to trade Brady Skjei and his $5.25 million annual cap hit to the Carolina Hurricanes for a first round draft pick. While Skjei has never lived up to the promise that he showed in his rookie season, he was an important member of the defense and replacing him is going to be a challenge.
How important was he? He averaged 20:41 minutes of ice time per game, second to Jacob Trouba.