Glen Sather was burning the midnight oil last night, as he acquired center Todd White from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for disgruntled enforcer Donald Brashear and perennial AHLer Patrick Rissmiller. Rissmiller, at a $1 million cap hit, was headed to Hartford for a third straight year, while Brashear’s $1.4 million cap hit was going to stay on the books for the Rangers, regardless of where Brashear played 35+ contract). White has one year remaining at a $2.375 cap hit.

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what the Rangers gain from this trade, unless there is another one coming. Yes, the Rangers got something decent for absolutely nothing. But, the Rangers take on a larger cap hit from this trade, an extra $900,000 (Rissmiller is not included in this math since he was always destined for Hartford), for another forward. I understand that White had a few good seasons when playing with Ilya Kovalchuk, and maybe the Rangers are hoping White can regain that form playing with Marian Gaborik. What this does do though, is take a roster spot away from a youngster, possibly Dale Weise, or maybe even Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. I’m on the fence about it, it’s not a bad trade, but it’s puzzling. After some thought, the team is definitely better now than it was before the trade. White means that Brian Boyle might be Hartford bound, with Dale Weise and Derek Boogaard rotating as the 13th forward. The Rangers also lose two huge cancers in the Hartford locker room. The deal is another solid trade. It’s amazing how Sather pulls these off.

The Thrashers, meanwhile, have placed Brashear on waivers with the intention of buying him out, which will save them money, but not cap space, which they have plenty of anyway.

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