3:30PM: The Rangers have reportedly come to terms on a four-year deal with Brendan Smith worth $4.35 million per season.

Smith is also believed to have a limited no-trade clause as part of the deal.

It had been reported for a while that the Rangers and Smith were trying to work out a deal to keep the defenseman in New York.

The Rangers acquired Smith at the trade deadline for a third round pick in 2017 and a second round pick in 2018.

6/28/17 | The deal with the Rangers is reportedly for four years worth an average of $4.35 million per season. (Bob McKenzie)

6/28/17 | The Red Wings were hoping to re-sign Smith for a three-year deal worth $3.5 million per season, but Smith is likely to get $4 million per season from the Rangers. (Ansar Khan)

6/27/17 | Elliotte Friedman writes that the Rangers and Smith appear "headed towards a deal." (Sportsnet)

Jeff Gorton said on Saturday that the Rangers have been speaking with Jesper Fast for a while about a new contract and that he hopes something will be done "rather soon."

Gorton said that Fast has been a "good Ranger and I hope we will get it done soon."

Fast will likely miss the start of the season after undergoing hip surgery following the playoffs.

Fast, 25, is an RFA and had a cap hit the past two seasons of $950,000.

6/27/17 | Craig Custance and Ansar Khan report that the Red Wings have a level of interest in recently bought out defenseman Dan Girardi.

Custance writes that there is going to be a "good market" for Girardi as a UFA.

Tampa Bay has also reportedly expressed interest in Girardi. (Friedman)

Anthony DeAngelo tweeted that he spoke today with former Ranger and Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and asked if he could wear #77 with the Rangers.

Esposito is the only Ranger to have ever worn #77 and gave DeAngelo permission to wear the number.

DeAngelo said that it is "an honor" to follow Esposito as #77 with the Rangers.

6/28/17 | 5:57PM:Darren Dreger says that while the Rangers have interest in Marleau, they won't go to three-years for him. (Nichols)

6/27/17 | 4:39PM: According to Craig Custance, the Rangers are one of a few teams that is "in the mix" and talking with Sharks forward and UFA Patrick Marleau.

Other teams that have expressed interest in Marleau include Toronto, Anaheim, Carolina, Nashville, LA and the Sharks.

Lias Andersson said on Friday that it feels "amazing" that he could be teammates with fellow Swede Henrik Lundqvist. (NHL)

Andersson says that he knows Lundqvist a bit because Henrik played with Lias' father Niklas for four years in Sweden (2001-2005)

Niklas was also a longtime teammate of Henrik's twin brother Joel.

Jeff Gorton said last week that while he was reluctant to move Antti Raanta, the Coyotes insisted on the goalie as part of the package that landed the Rangers Anthony DeAngelo and Lias Andersson.

Gorton said that Raanta was a tough player to give up and that since joining the Rangers Raanta had been "very good, great in our room and great on the ice."

He added that Raanta also wanted to be a number one goalie and that he will have a "great opportunity" to do that in Arizona.

6/26/17 | 5:25PM: Bob McKenzie was on TSN 1260 in Edmonton and Monday and was asked about Kevin Shattenkirk and the Rangers.

McKenzie said, "I don't know that the Rangers are as eager for Shattenkirk that everyone says they are. They might get in those sweepstakes but quite frankly, a big part of the reason they made the Stepan deal was that they were trying to shed a contract.

6/19/17 |Larry Brooks wrote on Monday that there is "no reason to expect" that the Rangers will sign Kevin Shattenkirk to the 6-7 year deal between $6.25 and $6.75 million he could likely command. (NY Post)

Anthony DeAngelo, who was acquired last Friday by the Rangers, was suspended twice in 2014, his draft season, one game for abusing an official and 8 games for comments he made to a teammate.

DeAngelo's coach at the time, former NHLer Trevor Letowski, said that DeAngelo was "caught up in the moment" and probably wishes he could take back what he said. (Yahoo)

He was also suspended in 2015 for a game for what was also believed to be an altercation with a referee.

After he was drafted in 2014 by Tampa Bay, head scout Al Murray said that they met "almost everybody who ha ever been in contact" with DeAngelo and said that they couldn't find anyone who didn't "speak very well of him."

6/28/17 | 5:57PM: Darren Dreger says that while the Rangers have interest in Thornton, they won't go to three-years for him. (Nichols)

6/27/17 | Darren Dreger said Tuesday morning on TSN 690 Montreal that "one of my New York Ranger sources on the draft floor said that they would kick tires on Joe Thornton.

6/26/17 | Larry Brooks writes that it isn't known if Joe Thornton would have interest in joining the Rangers on a one-year deal, but that Jeff Gorton may check in on him. (NY Post)

The Sabres have announced that they have hired Steve Greeley as one of their assistant GMs.

Greeley spent the past two seasons as assistant director of player personnel for the Rangers.

The Rangers currently have $20 million in cap space, a number that could reach close to $23 million if Kevin Klein retires.

After moving Derek Stepan and his cap hit of $6.5 million on Friday, GM Jeff Gorton said that the Rangers "have money now" and that his phone has started to ring more often because of it.

He added that the cap implications of moving Stepan were a "big part" of the trade.

6/25/17 | The Rangers have officially not offered RFAs Brandon Pirri, Adam Clendening, Troy Donnay, Michael Paliotta and Mackenzie Skapski qualifying offers. Those players will become UFAs. (Newsday)

The Rangers did offer qualifying offers to RFAs Mika Zibanejad, Jesper Fast and Nicklas Jensen. (Newsday)

6/11/17: Pirri & Clendening won't be qualified, Nicklas Jensen will be qualified

According to Larry Brooks, Alain Vigneault has met with Lindy Ruff and is an "enthusiastic supporter" of the decision to add Ruff to the Rangers coaching staff. (NY Post)

Some of Ruff's connections to the Rangers include:

• Playing for the Rangers in the late 80s and early 90s
• Coaching Chris Drury while in Buffalo
• Having Scott Arniel as an assistant coach in Buffalo for three seasons in the early 2000s.
• Rangers SVP Jim Schoenfeld was a teammate in Buffalo
• Being part of Team Canada's coaching staff in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, where he coached Rick Nash.
• Teammate of Rangers broadcast Dave Maloney in Buffalo (84-85)

Brooks writes that adding Ruff to the Rangers bench"can only bolster" their decision making on and off the ice. (NY Post)

Brooks also writes that he doesn't think Vigneault should feel "threatened" by the addition of Ruff. (NY Post)

Derek Stepan was on 98.7 Arizona Sports Radio on Friday and spoke about the trade to the Coyotes.

On why he felt he was traded, Stepan said "I think the Rangers were just trying to better their organization and they came up with a solution that they feel is going to make them a better team and this is part of the business. I've been around and I've seen some of my buddies go and it just so happens that this time I am the one who goes. I don't hold them against it, they saw an opportunity to better their club and now I get to better the Coyotes."

Stepan visits MSG on 10/26.

The Rangers have announced their roster for prospect development camp, which begins tomorrow:

• Forward: Lias Andersson, Morgan Barron, Adrian Carbonara, Filip Chytil, Colton Conrad, Walker Duehr, Gabriel Fontaine, Tim Gettinger, Ryan Gropp, Dominik Lakatos, Dawson Leedahl, Vinni Lettieri, Ryan Moore, Andrew Oglevie, Kyle Pettit, Pavel Poryadin, Ty Ronning, Luc Smith, Joseph Snively, Tyce Thompson, Patrik Virta
• Defense: Alexei Bereglazov, Brandon Crawley, Sean Day, John Gilmour, Brendan Kotyk, Griffin Luce, Alec McCrea, Tyler Mueller, Vince Pedrie, Neal Pionk, Tarmo Reunanen, Calle, Sjalin, Sergey Zborovskiy
• Goalie: Aleksander Georgiev, Adam Huska, Chris Nell, Tyler Wall

6/25/17 | Jeff Gorton said that the Rangers are "open to anything" regarding Zibanejad's next contract.

He said that he has spoken with Zibanejad's representatives and that they will see how the market starts to play out.

6/1/17 | In the latest issue of The Hockey News, they have project Mika Zibanejad's next contract to come in with a cap hit between $3 million and $4 million.

Kevin Allen writes at USA Today that the Rangers are still in need of adding a puck moving defenseman and that they may not want to go down the road of a long-term contract with Kevin Shattenkirk.

Larry Brooks wrote on Sunday that when the season ended he figured the Rangers would need to trade JT Miller or Chris Kreider to land the defenseman they need. (NY Post)

Brooks thought that Derek Stepan could be used for that purpose but says that his contract was an issue for everyone but Arizona. (NY Post)

Jeff Gorton met with the media on Saturday following the draft and said (NYR):

• On Kevin Klein, "I've talked to Kevin, maybe 10 days ago. We agreed to talk again soon. I don't have an update right now or the answer to what he is going to do. I'll let you know as soon as I find out."
• On Shesterkin's contract, "he's on a contract for two more years in the KHL, it's pretty iron clad. Wish there was an update but that's it."
• On the RFAs, "With Fast, we are talking to him, we have been for a while. It's ongoing and other than that I can't say much. Hope to have something done rather soon."
• On the RFAs and the expansion draft, "We have so many things going on and trying to figure out what we want to do and how we want to handle these situations and in some cases it's whether they are more attractive with a contract or not, to another team like Vegas. Those are questions we ask. Jesper has been a good Ranger and I hope we will get it done soon."

3:20PM: Asked about the coaching changes, Jeff Gorton said "As far as Jeff Beukeboom, we met with Jeff and we agreed on both sides to offer him another job. He wanted to do something else so we are going to put him in another role, yet to be defined, but definitely part of the Rangers going forward. As far as his replacement, that is ongoing and we are trying to figure that out. I know there are rumors about who is going to be there that you want to ask me but I can't answer that because we don't have the answer yet. Hopefully soon but not right now. As far as Jeff Beukeboom, he is part of the organization and we look forward to his new role."

Did you want more experience, "it's always nice to have experience, Jeff had experience, it's just a mutual thing and we are going to find a better role for him right now. As we move forward, who will replace him, experience or not, we will see. We will talk to some people and hopefully have results soon."

12:05PM: The Rangers are hiring Lindy Ruff as an assistant coach in charge of the Rangers defense, replacing Jeff Beukeboom.

The Rangers have traded pick 102 to San Jose for pick 123 and pick 174.

At pick 123, the Rangers selected defenseman Brandon Crawley of the London Knights.

Crawley was not ranked by McKeens, Future Considerations or Hockey Prospect.

Following the Rangers second pick on Friday, Bob McKenzie said on NBCSN that the Rangers were trying to "rebuild on the fly."

Minutes later, Jeff Gorton spoke with NBCSN and said "we need to move forward, a little rebuild on the fly and change the look of our team."

Gorton said that the moves the Rangers made earlier in the day were "tough" but said that they hope it's a step in the right direction.

Pierre McGuire spoke about the Rangers and said that the team has "major questions" to answer and said that they need Mika Zibanejad to have a "gigantic year" next season. (NBCSN)

On Friday June 23, 2017, the Rangers did the following:

• Traded Derek Stepan & Antti Raanta to Arizona for Anthony DeAngelo and the #7 pick.
• With the #7 pick the Rangers drafted Swedish center Lias Andersson.
• With the #21 pick the Rangers drafted Czech center Filip Chytil.
• Jeff Gorton spoke about the Stepan trade earlier in the day and after the pick of Chytil mentioned that the Rangers were attempting to rebuild on the fly.
• Gordie Clark spoke about both first round picks.
• Alain Vigneault spoke briefly about the decision to trade Derek Stepan.
• The Rangers were reportedly trying to move up to #3 and reportedly willing to trade #7 and #21 to do so.

On Saturday June 24, 2017, the Rangers have picks 102 (4th round), 145 (5th round), 157 (6th round), 207 (7th round)

Rangers Director of Player Personnel Gordie Clark met with the media following the first round of the draft and said (NYR):

• On picking at 7, "Glen always went in after picks, Jeff has taken over and he goes after picks and I push them as much as I can and give them an idea of who we can get if they get them."
• On Lias Andersson, "He does not lack confidence. He's quite an athlete. At the combine he was one of the top kids there. He does not lack confidence, he is full of that.
• Is Andersson a dynamic scorer, "he's not a dynamic scorer but a dynamic player in the way that he plays. He's so driven, drives the net, forechecking, finishing checks and then he can make a pass, make a play. He's playing in the Mens Elite League, they won the championship and he was a prime player for them in the playoffs."

Jeff Gorton spoke with Kathryn Tappen on NBCSN and said:

• On the two first round picks, "it's pretty obvious. We took two centers, skilled centers to restock the cuppard a little bit. Obviously we lost a big piece of our team today in Derek Stepan but to get another guy and two guys like that it will help us."
• On trading Stepan and Raanta, "very difficult decisions. Two important pieces for us, Derek in particular has been with us a long time, a lot of success. The team has had success, we haven't won, but Derek has been a big part of that. A real character guy and we drafted and developed him and watched him along the way. It's a tough day for Ranger fans but hopefully what we have done is a step in the right direction."
• On the changes made, "I think it's what we need to do. We need to move forward, a little rebuild on the fly and change the look of our team. We haven't been to the podium in four years so it's a big step for us to get here and these type of players."

The Rangers used the 21st pick to select Filip Chytil out of the Czech League.

He was ranked:

• The Hockey News: 63
• Future Considerations: 70th
• McKeens: 42nd
• Hockey Prospect: 28
• TSN: 31

Craig Button said, "if you think about a type of player, think of Ondrej Palat. Really good, smart player. Understands how to get open, understands how to play as a Center and on the Wing. Coaches just love players that have that kind of hockey sense. Real good skater, makes the draft by just a few days. Had a really nice improvement over the course of the season."

Alain Vigneault spoke with Kathryn Tappen on NBCSN and said:

• On Stepan and Raanta, "especially Step, he had been with me in my four years and he was such a competitive player and I got him when he was 23 and he has turned into a real solid performer in pressure moments. But there are decisions that have to made sometimes, tough ones, and that was one that the organization felt was the right thing to do."
• On replacing Stepan, "that is a good question. We will have to do it by committee and there is still a lot of time left and free agency is coming up. We definitely have a few areas where we have to look at and we will address it in due time."
• On the draft, "it's my fifth year and it's my first time up on the stage, we haven't had a first round pick since I have been here."

With the 7th overall pick, the Rangers selected Lias Andersson from HV71 in Sweden.

He was ranked:

• The Hockey News: 23rd
• Hockey Prospect: 12th
• Future Considerations: 13th
• McKeens: 17th
• TSN: 13th

He is 5-11, 210 and Craig Button said "he can play LW, RW, C, he can play up the lineup or throughout the lineup, he can PK, he can play on the PP, he reminds me of a lot in style and temperament of Chris Kunitz. Lias Andersson is really smart and he is a big time competitor who is weighty and doesn't get pushed out of the important areas."

Jeff Gorton met with the media earlier today following the Derek Stepan trade and said (NYR):

• On why the trade was made, "it was an opportunity for us, we had some salary cap issues to worry about and to get into the Top 10 and there are some players we like and wanted to get in there. Anthony DeAngelo is a player that we liked and a certain type of player that we don't have. When you put all of those things together I think that is the biggest reason why."
• Can DeAngelo play with McDonagh, "we will see. We just made the trade and haven't thought about the pairings yet, let AV get into that stuff. He is a guy who can run a PP and is young and can really skate and do a lot of things that we need and with how the game is played today, we like him going forward."
• Reluctant to give up Raanta, "Reluctant to get rid of Stepan and Raanta, two really good players for us. Derek in particular has been a good Ranger for a long time, drafted and developed and a lot of success for the organization with him. That is a hard call to make. Raanta, since we had him has been very good, great in our room, great on the ice and guys who are going to be hard to replace, no question."

6:55PM: Darren Dreger said on NBCSN that the Rangers may be willing to part with 7 and 21 to move up for the Stars pick at 3.

3:50PM: Darren Dreger notes that the Rangers might be trying to move up in the draft after acquiring the 7th overall pick in the Derek Stepan trade.

The Rangers own picks 7 and 21 tonight.

He notes that Vegas continues to try and get into the Top 3.

Following the Rangers trade of Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona for the #7 overall pick tonight and Anthony DeAngelo, the Rangers have around $23 million in cap space if Kevin Klein retires.

The Rangers have #7 and #21 in tonight's first round.

The Rangers have centers Kevin Hayes under contract at $2.6 million and Mika Zibanejad is an RFA.

1:15PM: The Rangers have confirmed that the deal is DeAngelo and the 7th pick overall for Stepan and Raanta.

12:41PM: Darren Dreger tweets that the Rangers are sending Antti Raanta and Derek Stepan to Arizona for a package that could include the 7th overall pack as well as prospect Anthony DeAngelo.

He says that the deal is done pending the trade call.

9:57AM: Larry Brooks writes that as of now there is no traction between the Rangers and Coyotes regarding a potential trade for Derek Stepan. (Brooks)

8:44AM: Bruce Garrioch writes in the Ottawa Sun that there is "a lot of talk" that the Rangers could move Derek Stepan but that the Rangers have not been "holding an auction" on him. (Ottawa Sun)

He writes that "the talk" is that Jeff Gorton is listening to see what teams may offer for Stepan in a trade. (Ottawa Sun)

The Rangers have the 21st pick in tonight's entry draft, their first 1st round pick since taking Brady Skjei in 2012.

Jeff Gorton spoke about being back in the first round and said that he has been committed to not trading the pick. (NYR)

He joked that Gordie Clark would likely "sprint" up to the stage when it's the Rangers time to make a pick. (NYR)

Gorton added that the Rangers focus on going best player available with their picks and that it's nice to have discussions about players not in the 50s, 60s and 70s. (NYR)

Jeff Gorton spoke on Thursday about the loss of Oscar Lindberg in the expansion draft and said that he was "disappointed" to lose him. (NYR)

Gorton said that Lindberg was a good player, character player and had a "really good" run in the playoffs. (NYR)

He added that Lindberg was "an important piece of our team. There was some upside to him, he was an aggressive player, he can chip in offensively. He's an important piece so we will have to do some work to replace him." (NYR)

Gorton also said that the Rangers were happy to be able to keep Michael Grabner, Jesper Fast, Antti Raanta and "some of the other guys." (NYR)

The NHL has announced the Rangers schedule for the 2017-18 season and the team sent out the following information as part of a release:

• The Rangers will play a total of 28 games against Metropolitan Division opponents this season, as they face each of the other seven teams in the Metropolitan Division (Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, NY Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington) four times apiece.
• New York will play 24 games against teams in the Atlantic Division, facing each of its eight Atlantic Division opponents three times apiece.
• The Rangers will play two home games against four Atlantic Division opponents (Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, and Toronto) and two road games against four Atlantic Division opponents (Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, and Tampa Bay).
• The Blueshirts will play 30 games against Western Conference opponents, facing each of the 15 teams in the Western Conference twice in 2017-18.
• The Blueshirts will play 10 of their first 13 games of the 2017-18 season, as well as 13 of their first 18 contests of the 2017-18 season, at Madison Square Garden.
• The stretch includes a season-long, six-game homestand from Oct. 14, 2017 vs. New Jersey to Oct. 26, 2017 vs. Arizona.
• The Rangers' six-game homestand will be the longest the team has had since their franchise-record, nine-game homestand during the 2013-14 season (Dec. 7, 2013 - Dec. 23, 2013).

Larry Brooks tweets that the Rangers are not going to re-sign pending UFA Marek Hrivik.

Hrivik has played in 21 games for the Rangers over the past two seasons, picking up 3 assists and an even rating.

Hrivik signed with the Rangers out of the QMJHL and has played in 318 AHL games for the organization, scoring 61 goals an 107 assists.

Hrivik has 8 goals and 10 assists in 24 playoff games in the AHL.

Following last night's expansion draft, the NHL lifted the roster freeze at 8AM this morning.

The NHL draft is tomorrow night and the Rangers have the 21st pick overall.

Rumors prior to the expansion draft surrounded Antti Raanta as well as Derek Stepan as potential players that could be moved.

The NHL announced last night that Brady Skjei had been voted to the NHL's All-Rookie Team for 2016-17.

Skjei was named to the team along with Columbus' Zach Werenski, Toronto's Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Winnipeg's Patrick Laine and Pittsburgh's Matt Murray.

As part of the NHL & Rangers' announcement:

• Skjei, the 28th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, ranked second among rookie blueliners with 34 assists, 39 points and a +11 rating in 80 appearances.(NHL)
• His 39 points were the most by a Rangers rookie defenseman since 1988-89, when Brian Leetch collected 23-48-71. (NHL)
• Skjei's totals included a six-game assist/point streak from Oct. 30 - Nov. 8 (0-7-7), also the longest such run by a New York rookie blueliner since Leetch in 1988-89.
• The 23-year-old Lakeville, Minn., native is the Rangers' first All-Rookie Team selection since 2009-10 (Michael Del Zotto) as well as the third defenseman in franchise history to earn the distinction, following Leetch (1988-89) and Del Zotto (2009-10). (NHL)

The Rangers received votes for the following awards at tonight's NHL Awards:

• Norris Trophy: Ryan McDonagh - 17th, 5 points = 0-0-0-1-2
• Calder Trophy: Brady Skjei - 10th, 1 point = 0-0-0-0-1
• GM of the Year: Jeff Gorton - 11th , 2 points = 0,0,2

The Rangers did not receive any votes for the Selke, Lady Byng, Vezina or Hart.

Former Rangers coach John Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award. Alain Vigneault did not receive a vote for the Jack Adams Award.

9:36PM: Vegas has confirmed that they have selected Oscar Lindberg from the Rangers.

On NBCSN, Pierre McGuire called Lindberg the Rangers most underappreciated player and said "he is so efficient, every time he is on the ice he makes a difference. He can win faceoffs, block shots, manufacture offense. He's comfortable with the puck on his stick. He's won before in Sweden, he won't be intimidated by the moment and he's a no maintenance player. He just shows up and competes every single day. The kind of player you need to have if you are going to win with an expansion team."

4:16PM: Larry Brooks, Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli are all reporting that Oscar Lindberg is the player that Vegas has selected from the Rangers in the expansion draft.

3:53PM: According to Larry Brooks, Vegas HAS NOT selected Rangers back up goalie Antti Raanta.

He was someone that had been rumored to be a possible fit for Vegas.

Raanta is reportedly drawing a lot of interest from around the league and the Rangers have reportedly been asking for a high price in a potential trade.

The Rangers have announced that their home opener will take place on October 5th against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Rangers beat Colorado twice last season, 6-2 in Colorado in a game where Chris Kreider had a Hat Trick and 4-2 at MSG when Henrik Lundqvist picked up his 400th career win.

The Rangers will also visit the Toronto Maple Leafs for their home opener on 10/7.

6/21/17 | 9:10AM: Larry Brooks confirms that the Rangers do not have a side deal with Las Vegas and that a move like that was never their intention. (Brooks)

6:56AM: Elliotte Friedman said that he expected that the Rangers would do something with Vegas to protect Antti Raanta but that his information does not indicate that. (Sportsnet)

He notes that the Rangers have had a very high price on Raanta when asked about him lately and the organization believes that Henrik Lundqvist benefited from Raanta's strong play. (Sportsnet)

The Rangers and addidas have revealed their updated uniforms for the 2017-18 season.

Click below to see them

At TSN, both Craig Button and Frank Seravalli have the Vegas Golden Knights selecting Michael Grabner from the Rangers in Wednesday's expansion draft.

Larry Brooks wrote on Monday that in his opinion, the most damaging player for the Rangers to lose in the expansion draft would be Grabner. (NY Post)

He says that Grabner's speed is a "constant weapon" even though his ability to finish can go hot and cold. (NY Post)

Grabner had 27 goals this season for the Rangers and is signed for next season with a cap hit of $1.65 million.

USA Hockey announced today that Rangers prospects Sean Day and Tim Gettinger have been invited to the Team USA Summer Evaluation camp for the World Juniors this year.

Day was invited to the camp last summer but did not play for Team USA on this past year's Gold Medal winning team.

The Rangers could put Day in Hartford next season or return him to Windsor of the OHL. (Larry Brooks)

For more on Day, click HERE.

It was reported last week that Derek Stepan's name has been pretty prominent in trade talks and that teams such as Arizona have a lot of interest in him.

It's also been reported that the Rangers won't trade Stepan unless they receive a top-pair right handed defenseman.