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Brandon Halverson joins AHL-bound ex-Rangers after clearing waivers
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- Brandon Halverson joins AHL-bound ex-Rangers after clearing waivers
Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images
Brandon Halverson , a goaltender selected by the New York Rangers two rounds before Igor Shesterkin in the 2014 NHL Draft, was assigned to Syracuse of the American Hockey League by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday after clearing waivers, joining a number of ex-Blueshirts who've gone through the waiver wire in the past week.
The Rangers selected Halverson in the second round (No. 59 overall) in 2014, then chose Shesterkin in the fourth round (No. 118). Shesterkin came to North America from Russia in 2019 and had become one of the NHL's top goaltenders; Halverson made one appearance in relief for the Rangers in a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 17, 2018.
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The Rangers let him become a free agent in 2019, and he didn't resurface in the NHL until last season. Halverson's second NHL appearance, and first start, came with the Lightning on March 22, when he allowed five goals in a 6-4 road loss to the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth).
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With starter Andrei Vasilevskiy sidelined due to injury for much of training camp, Halverson made three appearances for the Lightning during the preseason, going 2-0-0 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. But Tampa Bay claimed goalie Pheonix Copley on waivers from the Washington Capitals earlier this week, and Halverson is headed back to Syracuse, the Bolts' AHL affiliate.
Halverson was an AHL All-Star last season with the Crunch and was a co-winner of the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for allowing the fewest goals in the AHL.
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Brandon Halverson, Ryan Graves among ex-Rangers waived
Another Rangers draft pick, defenseman Ryan Graves, is also likely headed for the AHL after he was placed on waivers Saturday by the Pittsburgh Penguins , the Rangers' opponent on opening night at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
The Rangers selected Graves in the fourth round (No. 110) in the 2013 draft. But he never made it to Broadway: After nearly three seasons with AHL Hartford, the Rangers traded him to the Colorado Avalanche for Chris Bigras on Feb. 26, 2018.
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Graves joined the Avs for 26 games in the 2018-19 season, then led the NHL in plus-minus (plus-40) in 2019-20. Colorado traded him to the New Jersey Devils in July 2021, and he played two solid seasons in Newark before the Penguins signed him to a six-year, $27 million contract ($4.5 million average annual value, according to PuckPedia ) in July 2023.
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But the 6-5, 227-pound defenseman's time in Pittsburgh hasn't worked out, to say the least. His struggles have been among the reasons the Pens have failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last three seasons – and the term and money left on his contract make him almost untradeable. He's likely to spend the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The Buffalo Sabres waived two former Rangers, defenseman Zac Jones and center Jake Leschyshyn , on Sunday. Jones signed with the Sabres as a free agent this summer after the Rangers didn't make him an offer. He had 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 46 games with the Blueshirts last season. Leschyshyn, son of longtime NHL defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn, spent all of last season in Hartford but had small stints with the Rangers in each of the previous two seasons.
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One of the Rangers' worst draft picks in recent years, forward Vitali Kravtsov , was waived by the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday; he cleared and was assigned to Abbotsford of the AHL. The Rangers took the Russian forward with the No. 9 pick in 2018 , but he had just 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 48 games with New York before being traded to the Canucks in February 2023.
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Kravtsov played 16 games in Vancouver before spending the past two seasons in the KHL, then signed with the Canucks in August after a 27-goal, 58-point season with Chelyabinsk Traktor in 2024-25.
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