Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller were headed to the Lightning, who were going for the Stanley Cup. Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, and a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft were headed to the Rangers, who were rebuilding.
Namestnikov flew across the continent to Vancouver the next day, then played for the Rangers against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena the day after that. He scored in a 6-5 overtime win, stripping center Henrik Sedin inside the New York blue line, breaking away and beating goaltender Anders Nilsson five-hole.
"It happened kind of quick," Namestnikov said. "I met the guys, and we had a game that night. I didn't really have much time to practice or anything with them. I just kind of hopped on the ice, and there you go. You just have to go out there and perform."
He finished with a goal and an assist against Vancouver, then had two points (one goal, one assist) in the final 18 games of the season. The Rangers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fired coach Alain Vigneault on April 7 and hired Quinn on May 23.
But Namestnikov was 25, had been traded for the first time in his NHL career, and had to adjust to a new team and a new town. Not just any new town, either. The Rangers put him in an apartment in New York. He mentioned the traffic, how people rushed everywhere.
"Everything was new for me, going from not such a big city like Tampa to New York," he said. "It was a little bit different, but I enjoyed every second of it. It's something new for me. I'm excited about next year."
Overall, Namestnikov had his best NHL season in 2017-18, setting highs for goals (22), assists (26), points (48) and average ice time (17:05). He signed a two-year contract with the Rangers on July 1. The restricted free agent said he never thought about playing in the Kontinental Hockey League.
"I chose to come over here," he said. "I wanted to play in the NHL. I didn't even look at any other options."