Dryden Hunt claimed off waivers by Avalanche
New York Rangers left wing Dryden Hunt looks on against the Anaheim Ducks in the third period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Forward Dryden Hunt was claimed on waivers Thursday by the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. The Rangers had placed him on waivers Wednesday with the intention of sending him to AHL Hartford, but the Avalanche, who just lost captain Gabriel Landeskog for 12 weeks following knee surgery, claimed the 6-0,193-pounder.
“That's part of the business,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said before the Blueshirts’ game against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden. “Colorado's had some injuries . . . so good for ‘Huntsy.’ He's going to stay in the NHL and get an opportunity there. We’re going to miss him. I liked him. He did a good job for us over the last year.’’
Hunt, 26, signed with the Rangers as a free agent before last season and played a career-high 76 games, scoring a career-high six goals and 17 points. He started this season as an extra forward, but injuries to Sammy Blais and Vitali Kravtsov allowed him to get into the lineup for three straight games. He scored the Rangers’ lone goal in last Friday’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg.
With Blais and Kravtsov back healthy, the Rangers sought to send Hunt to Hartford to reduce their roster to 22, one below the league-allowed maximum, in order to save space under the salary cap. In Colorado, Hunt will reunite with former Blueshirts teammate Alexandar Georgiev.
Kravtsov, who missed three games with an upper-body injury suffered in the season opener, was a healthy scratch Thursday, along with defenseman Libor Hajek. Gallant said at this point, Kravtsov is the extra forward until further notice.
“We'll see what happens,’’ he said. “I mean, I’ve got my lineup for tonight and we'll see what happens tomorrow. Things change in a hurry in this business, and we'll worry about that one game at a time.’’
Blue notes
C Ryan Carpenter, who missed Monday’s game after suffering a deep cut on his ear Friday in Winnipeg, returned to the lineup … Thursday was Hispanic Heritage Night at Madison Square Garden. In conjunction with that, the Rangers had their first-ever Spanish language broadcast of a game, with the play-by-play handled by Octavio Sequera.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
