"It gives us a chance to bring up another young player to continue to develop and move forward in that area," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "We get another asset, which we're trying to accumulate, obviously. It just made a lot of sense."
McLeod has one goal in 31 games this season. The Rangers claimed the veteran forward on waivers from the Predators on Jan. 25, 2018. New York (22-22-8) enters its home game against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN) nine points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The 34-year-old was signed by the Colorado Avalanche as an undrafted free agent on July 6, 2006, after four seasons with Portland of the Western Hockey League. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche in Dec. 19, 2007, and had his best offensive season in 2008-09, finishing with 20 points (15 goals, five assists) in 79 games.
Nashville acquired him in a trade with the Avalanche for Felix Girard on Jan. 13, 2017.
McLeod has 127 points (72 goals, 55 assists) and 1,623 penalty minutes in 769 NHL games, as well as four points (three goals, one assist) in 38 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had one goal in 15 postseason games in 2017, when the Predators advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since entering the NHL in 1998.
The trade was announced shortly after the Predators (32-19-4), who are second in the Central Division, acquired forward Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils
in a trade for a second-round pick
in the 2019 NHL Draft.
