WINNIPEG – The Rangers on Tuesday traded goaltender Marek Mazanec, who had been playing on their AHL Hartford team, to the Vancouver Canucks for a seventh-round draft pick in 2020. It is their second trade in a week, after they dealt enforcer Cody McLeod to Nashville last Wednesday, also for a seventh-round pick in 2020.
Vancouver was in desperate need of a goaltender after No. 1 goalie Jakob Markstrom missed Monday’s 7-2 loss to San Jose with what the Canucks described as tightness in his lower body. With backup goaltender Thatcher Demko out with a knee injury, the Canucks were forced to play 19-year-old Michael DiPietro, whom they called up on an emergency basis from junior hockey when Demko went down last week.