(Frisco) The Dallas Stars were looking for a right-handed defenseman with offensive flair and on Monday they found one.
Posted at 9:46 p.m.
Stars general manager Jim Nill has confirmed his team has acquired 22-year-old defenseman Nils Lundkvist from the New York Rangers. In return, the New York club got a conditional first-round pick in 2023 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025.
“Nils is a skilled defenseman who adapted to the North American game last season and has high potential,” noted Nill.
“We felt that adding a creative player like Nils to our defending squad was necessary. He has a tremendous opportunity to establish himself as a full-time impact defenseman in the NHL,” he added.
Lundkvist, who is five-foot-11, spent the 2021-22 campaign between the Rangers and their academy club, the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League.
He had four points in 25 regular season games with the Rangers, including his first career goal on Dec. 8 against the Colorado Avalanche. Lundkvist also had 15 points in 34 games for the Wolf Pack.
Lundkvist was selected by Rangers on the 28the 2018 auction level.
The native of Pitea, Sweden was named the winner of the Salming Trophy in 2020-2021, which is awarded each year to the best defender of Swedish origin in the national championship. Hall of Fame defenseman Borje Salming picks the winner.
Lundkvist’s 14 goals in 2020-21 set him a record for a defenseman under 21 in SHL history.