Rangers trade opens space for prospect Duclair

The New York Rangers acquired forward Joey Crabb from the Florida Panthers on Monday for defenseman Steven Kampfer and forward Andrew Yogan.

What the Rangers also got in the move was an extra slot to add a contract, which will be 19-year-old left wing Anthony Duclair.

Duclair, a third-round pick (No. 80) at the 2013 NHL Draft, led the Rangers in scoring in the preseason with five points in five games. He could have been returned to his junior team but has forced the Rangers to change plans to keep him on the opening-night roster. The two-for-one trade gave the Rangers some room against the 50-contract limit and allowed them to keep Duclair.

"He's got an NHL skill set," coach Alain Vigneault told the Rangers website regarding Duclair. "He's got the hands, the speed, the thinking with the puck. Can that continue when the season starts against a full NHL lineup with full NHL pace and intensity? He's going to get a chance to prove that. He's earned the right to start with us Thursday."

The Rangers open the regular season Oct. 9 against the St. Louis Blues.

Duclair said he learned he'd be starting the season with the Rangers on Monday morning.

"It's an amazing feeling," Duclair told the Rangers website. "I had the meeting with [Vigneault] this morning and was told I'd be starting the season with the Rangers. Words cannot really describe how I feel right now, but I've worked hard to get to this point and I'm pretty proud of myself."

Duclair practiced Monday on a line with center J.T. Miller and right wing Lee Stempniak.

Crabb, 31, had one assist in nine games with the Panthers last season, and 15 goals and 29 points in 62 games with San Antonio, Florida's American Hockey League affiliate.

Kampfer, 26, signed with the Rangers on July 1 after spending last season with the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild's AHL affiliate. He has 15 points in 61 NHL games with the Boston Bruins and Wild.

Yogan, a 2010 fourth-round pick (No. 100), is from Coral Springs, Fla., so the trade to Panthers allows him to return home. He split last season between the Rangers' AHL team in Hartford and Greenville of the ECHL.