Morgan Barron, Vitali Kravtsov assigned to Hartford

In a combined non-shocker and shocker, the Rangers have announced that Morgan Barron and Vitali Kravtsov have been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Barron being sent to Hartford is not a surprise, as it was just a numbers game. He and Lauri Pajuniemi didn’t need waivers, and the Rangers didn’t have the roster spots. However this did assume that Vitali Kravtsov would make the roster. That is the big surprise, as he did not. He had been written in ink to the 3RW spot by many, and now he is in Hartford.

Barron and Kravtsov will get big minutes in Hartford, with both being the likely first call ups in case of multiple injuries in the top nine. This is a bit of a head scratcher, given the third line proposed this morning. It makes you think if Sammy Blais’ strong preseason won him the 3W role over Kravtsov.