"Listen, sad to see [Namestnikov] go. He was a good Ranger for us in the little time he was here, a versatile player. Wish him luck," Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said. "But at this time it was a move we felt we had to make. We felt we had some depth to take care of it and the [NHL salary] cap room helps us going forward."
A first-round pick (No. 27) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2011 NHL Draft, Namestnikov has 158 points (66 goals, 92 assists) in 362 games with the Lightning and Rangers, and four points (one goal, three assists) in 29 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
New York acquired Namestnikov as part of the Feb. 26, 2018, trade that sent defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay.
Ebert did not have a point in one game for Belleville of the American Hockey League this season. The 25-year-old was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (No. 211) of the 2012 NHL Draft.
"We're assigning [Ebert] to Hartford (of the AHL), we'll see how he does there," Gorton said. "He's had success at that level and we'll get him acclimated to the Rangers and Hartford and see how he does. Listen, I hope [he could play here]. He'll go down there, hopefully he plays well and puts a little pressure on us to take notice."
