It was true after all, so kudos to Sports24, the Russian sports website for having good sources. The New York Rangers confirmed what had been reported on Monday by Sports24, that Vitali Kravtsov has been loaned to Traktor Chelyabinsk, the team that he played for last season and before.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have loaned forward Vitali Kravtsov to the Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 3, 2021
The stalemate between Kravtsov and the Rangers is over, a positive for all involved. He has been in limbo for about a month after refusing an assignment to the AHL and returning to Russia.
Since Kravtsov is under contract to the Rangers, the arrangement had to be a loan and that’s what happened last season when he played 54 games for Traktor before joining the Rangers and playing 20 games.
Click here if you want to read the Sports24 story (Google translate does a decent job with the Russian text):
The interesting fact in the Sports24 story is the headline. “Kravtsov will move from Rangers to Traktor on loan until the end of the season.” It’s the “end of season” part that is intriguing. If that is true, it means that the arrangement guarantees that he will play the entire KHL season, something that the Russian team probably insisted on. What it means is that he won’t be able to report to another NHL club if the Rangers are able to trade him.
It doesn’t rule out a trade if a team is willing to let him finish out the KHL season that ends on March 1. Traktor is currently in second place in the KHL’s Eastern Conference so they will probably be playoff bound. With the NHL extending to the end of April if Traktor is eliminated early, Kravtsov could find his way back to the NHL this season. To add more intrigue to the situation, Elliotte Friedman tweeted that he is open to returning to the Rangers at that time.
Kravtsov can be recalled by NYR when the KHL season ends. He has indicated he is open to returning.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 3, 2021
A win win
This is a win win for the Rangers and for Kravtsov. For the Blueshirts, he can improve his trade value if he plays well in the KHL. If he excels for Traktor, he can come back to New York at the end of the season or they can trade him to a team that needs help at forward.
Lias Andersson’s play on loan to the SHL increased his trade value so the Rangers were able to get a second round pick (Will Cuylle) for him, an unexpected solid return for a player with no future in New York.
As for Kravtsov, the ball is in his court. With 16 goals and 24 points in 49 games last season, he needs to improve on those numbers. If he can, he can indeed return to the Rangers and play for them this season. At the very least, if he has comparable or slightly better numbers, the Rangers can look for a return similar to what they got for Andersson or even more.
Kravtsov is in the last year of his Entry Level Contract so he will have to be re-signed this summer. He has no leverage, but considering his rancorous history with the Blueshirts, if he is able to return and he plays well for the Rangers, that could be a tricky negotiations.
The odds are the Andersson scenario will be the one the Rangers will look to follow. Trading a 22-year old former ninth overall pick with solid KHL statistics could net the Rangers a high draft pick or a comparable prospect.
Hopefully, this will put all of the Kravtsov chatter to rest for a while. We’ll keep tabs on how he does with Traktor, something that could have a major impact on the future of the New York Rangers.
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