Carson Soucy’s first three games as part of the New York Rangers-New York Islanders rivalry were unremarkable.
His fourth will almost surely be far more unique.
Soucy could make his debut for the Islanders on Wednesday night, when the Islanders host the Rangers in Elmont, N.Y. in the opener of a back-to-back, home-and-home set between the metropolitan New York foes.
Both teams were off Tuesday after earning wins Monday. The visiting Islanders snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers while the host Rangers ended a three-game skid by edging the Boston Bruins, 4-3, in overtime.
The most notable news of the day for both teams happened a little more than an hour after their wins, when the clubs announced the trade sending Soucy, a defenseman, from the Rangers to the Islanders in exchange for a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
The Islanders will be the fifth NHL team for Soucy, who was scoreless in three games against his new club since being acquired by the Rangers from the Vancouver Canucks last March.
The Soucy deal is just the fourth trade ever between the fierce local rivals and the first since May 25, 2010, when the Islanders exchanged defenseman Jyri Niemi for a 2010 sixth-round pick. Niemi never played in the NHL. The first two deals between the teams happened during the Islanders’ first season in 1972-73.
Soucy is on pace to become just the second player to suit up for both teams following a midseason trade between the squads. Ron Stewart played 11 games for the Rangers in 1972 before being dealt to the Islanders on Nov. 14 and playing 22 games for the expansion club.
Soucy, who has three goals and five assists in 46 games this season, will provide some much-needed depth at defense for the Islanders as they continue their surprise playoff push. Alexander Romanov sustained a season-ending right shoulder injury on Nov. 18 while Ryan Pulock (upper body) has missed the last two games.
The Islanders, who missed the playoffs by nine points last season, moved four points ahead of the Flyers and Washington Capitals in the race for third place in the Metropolitan Division with Monday’s win.
“It was a big game. We knew where we were in the standings,” Islanders center Bo Horvat said.
The Rangers’ willingness to trade with the Islanders is an acknowledgement of where they are in the standings. The Rangers have lost 12 of 16 (4-10-2) since their most recent winning streak -a two-game run from Dec. 18-20 – to fall into last place in the Eastern Conference with 50 points.
The trade of Soucy is the first move by Rangers general manager Chris Drury since Jan. 16, when he posted a letter on social media declaring his intent to begin “…a retool built around our core players and prospects.”
The Rangers, who also missed the playoffs last year, have several impending free agents, including leading scorer Artemi Panarin (19 goals, 57 points).
“This isn’t the position any of us thought we were going to be in at the start of the season,” said Rangers captain J.T. Miller, who scored in the first period Monday. “It’s a business and we’re just trying to treat it like normal days.”
–Field Level Media
