Wolski traded to Panthers
Rangers winger Wojtek Wolski might be asked to report to AHL Whale for conditioning. (Feb. 1, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
Wojtek Wolski wore No. 8 for the Florida Panthers Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C., rather than the No. 86 he wore as a Ranger after he was traded Saturday.
In a swap that Rangers coach John Tortorella deemed "a good deal all around," Wolski, who was acquired in January 2011 from Phoenix for Michal Rozsival, was exchanged for a third-round pick in 2013 and Michael Vernace, a 25-year-old minor-league defenseman.
"This year, he was injured, [Carl] Hagelin comes up and plays, [John] Mitchell comes up and plays, our lineup evolved, and we just ran out of spots. He's a good guy. It's best for him," Tortorella said of Wolski, who scored his first goal for the Panthers Saturday night. "He was fine in the room, accepted his conditioning assignment. He did all the things he could to try to get back in the lineup."
The move cleared about $1 million in cap space two days before the trade deadline.
Wolski, 26, had missed 27 games after Nov. 5 surgery to repair a sports hernia. The writing has been on the wall ever since Tortorella chose to move defenseman Stu Bickel up to the fourth line although Wolski was healthy and available.
A restricted free agent in the offseason, Wolski had three assists in nine games this season and six goals and 16 assists overall in 46 games with the Rangers.
The Panthers are Wolski's fifth NHL team since the 2005-06 season.
Wolski's agent, Joe Resnick -- who also represents Rick Nash, the Columbus winger who has named a few teams to which he will accept a trade, including the Rangers -- told TSN that he hopes a "fair and equitable deal [for Nash] can be reached by Monday . . . If not reached, the list of acceptable teams will not change at a later date."
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