{coyotes} Rangers upgrade defense with Keith Yandle trade

ESPN Fantasy Baseball / Yahoo Fantasy Baseball

The New York Rangers have made the biggest splash of the trade deadline season by acquiring elite puck-moving defenseman Keith Yandle from the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.

In order to get the deal done, the Coyotes have to retain 50% of Yandle's $5.25 million salary cap hit. But they will receive prized forward prospect Anthony Duclair, defenseman John Moore, plus a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a second-rounder in 2015 in exchange for Yandle, a 2016 fourth-round pick and defenseman Chris Summers.

The Rangers also were close to getting winger Mats Zuccarello re-signed to a multi-year deal worth $4.5 million per season, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, who asked not to be identified because the deal wasn't complete.

With Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Kevin Klein and Dan Boyle already on the team, the addition of Yandle gives the Rangers one of the more skilled defenses in the league.

Yandle, 29, is one of the NHL's top power-play point men, and he is joining a Rangers' power play that is ranked 11th in the NHL.

He is a risk-taker, and that sometimes irritates his coaches. But his offensive gifts can make a team's offensive rushes far more dangerous. Yandle led the Coyotes in assists (37) and points (41).

The Coyotes are willing to make the deal because they pushing the reset button on the team's roster and they have a younger offensive defenseman in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is better defensively.

Plus, Yandle only has one season left on his deal and he would probably be lured away by a more talented team.

The Coyotes now have two first-round picks in 2015 and two in 2016.

Duclair and Coyotes prospect Max Domi played together at the world junior championships.

The Rangers later traded forward Lee Stempniak to the Winnipeg Jets for forward Carl Klingberg and acquired forward James Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks for a 2016 fourth-round pick.

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