What Will Borgen brings the New York Rangers

With the NHL’s holiday trade freeze kicking in soon, teams around the league were looking to make deals this week, and that included the New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken. The Rangers sent Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick int he 2019 NHL Entry Draft, to the Kraken in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in 2025.

Most of the attention focused on Kakko, but Borgen comes to New York with an interesting background. With just a goal and assist in 33 games this season, the 27-year-old is averaging 15:12 of ice time, and becomes an unrestricted free agent in the off season.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the Rangers trading away their former top prospect, and whether Borgen can help stabilize a blue line that’s struggled for most of the year.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Do you like the return New York got for Kakko?

Frank Seravalli: I like the return. I just think Will Borgen is the perfect fit for this time right now. We know that New York has been a mess in their own end, and they’ve had some outrageous turnovers and shoddy defensive play for awhile. They get a player who’s just a steady eddy.

Will Borgen was in demand not too long ago on our trade target board. He’s not a sexy or flashy player, he’s not going to wow you with any one part of his game, but he’s reliable, he’s got some size, he’s got better-than-average feet, and I think he’s a guy who can help quiet down the noise in the Rangers’ own end, which is exactly what they needed at this exact moment in time.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…