David Desharnais has reportedly signed a deal with the New York Rangers, ending his short term with the Edmonton Oilers. He was a late-season pickup for Edmonton and will be best remembered for scoring an overtime winner in the first round of the NHL playoffs against the San Jose Sharks. Previously Desharnais was a long-term member of the Montreal Canadiens.

Desharnais gets $1M from the Rangers

The details of the signing, according to Larry Brooks of the The New York Post, are one year and $1M for the forward. In heading to the Rangers, Desharnais heads back to the Eastern Conference.

The 30-year-old previously enjoyed some success as a member of the Canadiens there. His best season in terms of points came in 2010/11 when he tallied 60 in 81 games. His career high for goals is 16 in a season, twice hitting that mark in his career.

Yakupov gets $850,000 from the Avs

Nail Yakupov was another player that was on the move on Tuesday. The top pick from the 2012 NHL Draft is starting to be considered a bust at this point in his career. He previously spent four seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, enjoying some moderate success in his rookie season. Last year he played 40 games with the St. Louis Blues and had just 9 points. Yakupov is just 23 despite having a handful of seasons under his belt in the NHL.

He joined the Colorado Avalanche and, according to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, the details are one year and $850,000.

Neither Desharnais nor Yakupov are game changers at this point in their careers. However, the latter could be viewed as a player with upside. Nonetheless, the Avalanche remain the second to last favorite to win the Stanley Cup with popular sportsbook bet365.

They are priced at +12500 (125 to 1) with only the Vegas Golden Knights priced at longer odds with the firm.

Yakupov might do well in Denver, an environment where there won't be much pressure. Previously in St. Louis he was part of a team that had aspirations of duplicating playoff success. The Blues, in the season immediately prior to Yakupov joining the club, had made the Western Conference Finals.

Meanwhile in Edmonton there was always pressure on Yakupov, due to the popularity of hockey in northern Alberta. Yakupov playing there as a former No. 1 pick of the franchise brought a lot of expectations that simply never materialized over the long term. In joining the team that is projected to be among the worst in the NHL, Yakupov enters a different environment and perhaps that will lead to different results for the skater that has to be viewed as still developing.
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