Roman Lyashenko became a New York Ranger on March 12th, 2002. He and Martin Rucinsky were acquired from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Manny Malhotra and Barret Heisten.
Lyashenko was the focal point of the trade.
A former second round pick the Russian prospect had 139 games of NHL experience (17 of which were playoff games) before coming to New York. Praised as a cerebral, two-way center Lyashenko played 15 games with the Rangers in the 2002-03 season as a fourth line center. He picked up two goals while managing to stay out of the box and broke even in plus/minus.