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Earlier this month on July 2, the New York Rangers acquired prospect Danny Kristo from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for prospect Christian Thomas.
Kristo (23) is a little older than Thomas (20) which would make Kristo more NHL ready I would think, and with some early injuries and possible trades looming, there is a strong possibility that Kristo will make the Rangers roster to start the 2013-14 regular season in my opinion.
Only time will tell if the Rangers fleeced the Canadiens again. The Habs gave Ryan McDonagh to the Rangers for Scott Gomez back in 2009, and Gomez turned out to be a complete bust while McDonagh is blossoming into a defensive star for the Rangers.
Did the same exact thing occur in the Kristo for Thomas trade?
We shall see soon enough.
Kristo is a bit bigger than Thomas, 5-foot-11 where Thomas is 5-foot-9, has a lot of chemistry with Rangers’ Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider because of international play in the World Juniors, and supposedly is a faster skater and has better scoring upside than Thomas. From what I can tell, the only thing Thomas has better than Kristo is that he is three years younger.
With the possibility of Ranger forwards Carl Hagelin and captain Ryan Callahan missing the beginning of the season due to both recovering from injuries they suffered at the end of last season along with the imminent trade of a bottom six forward to make cap room to sign Stepan who is currently a restricted free agent, Kristo could see some ice time right away with the Rangers this upcoming season.
Now I don’t know if he will remain on the roster when Callahan and Hagelin come back, but Kristo is definitely more NHL ready than Thomas. Signs are pointing that he will at least start the season with the Blueshirts, and if Kristo excels, he could be on the Rangers roster to stay in 2013-2014.
