Chris Drury isn’t done yet. The Rangers general manager has been on a tear this offseason, and he just added another piece to the blue line.
New York is trading for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Marcus Pettersson, according to Rangers beat writer Mollie Walker of The New York Post. The price is a conditional first-round pick in 2030, which is top-10 protected. The team has not confirmed the deal yet, but multiple reports point to it being done.
It’s been a wild day for the Rangers. Earlier, they picked up goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Bruins, dealt Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth, and signed Joe Veleno, the 2018 first-round pick. They also recently brought in forward Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas and gave him a multi-year extension. So yeah, Drury has been busy.
Who Is Marcus Pettersson?
He’s a 6-foot-4 Swedish defenseman who was drafted by Anaheim in the second round of the 2014 draft. He debuted in the NHL in 2018 but didn’t stick long with the Ducks. They shipped him to Pittsburgh in December 2018 for forward Daniel Sprong. He played a few seasons with the Penguins and signed a one-year extension there.
Then in January 2025, the Canucks grabbed him in a bigger deal. Vancouver sent Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, prospect Melvin Fernström, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick to Pittsburgh to get Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
The Numbers
Pettersson has 21 goals and 159 assists over 60 career games. Wait, that has to be a typo in the original report. Let’s be real here — he’s played way more than 60 games. He’s been in the league since 2018 and has logged hundreds of games across stints in Anaheim, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver. The assist numbers suggest a reliable puck-moving defenseman who can quarterback a second pair. He’s also chipped in four assists in 25 playoff games.
He’s locked in at a $5.5 million cap hit for five more years. That’s a solid deal for a guy who can play meaningful minutes and has international experience with Sweden.
The Rangers are clearly building for a long run. Pettersson gives them another reliable body on the back end, and Drury keeps stocking the shelves. The big question now is what else he’s got planned before training camp opens.
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