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Joined: Feb. 2020
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This trade hinges on the need of both teams to shed salary cap in areas that each team has depth with. For the Rangers, they currently have two young goaltenders and Henrik has been relegated to a backup roll. With his 8.5 mil salary, the Rangers would love to free up this salary and give him a chance to win a cup with a legitimate competitor. The Bruins have specifically been looking to upgrade their second line wing position. The Bruins also have a cap situation (granted not as serious as the Henrik situation). The Bruins would love to unload Backes. While the Bruins have no need for Backes and Heinen sometimes feels like a depth player on a non-playoff team, the Rangers could potentially put both players to use. Heinen is a solid two way younger player while Backes brings leadership and experience which would be a valued commodity on a younger team. Halak represents an upgrade at a lower price for the Rangers goaltending. However, if the Rangers would rather shed themselves of Henrik and ride their two young goaltenders, the Bruins could trade Halak (to also make room for Henrik) to another team for a draft pick to flip to the Rangers. Henrik does to me represent a downgrade from the way Halak has played this season, but a trade to legitimate competitor like the Bruins might re-energize Lundqvist and if Tuuka should go down, Henrik might be able to confidently step up to the starting role.