"With one move yesterday, Rangers general manager Glen Sather accomplished two goals.

By trading veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival to Phoenix for 24-year-old forward Wojtek Wolski, the Blueshirts not only found a replacement for Alex Frolov, who was lost for the season with a knee injury in Saturday's 2-1 win over St. Louis, but also opened up more playing time for the organization's group of young defensemen.

"We've been trying to build this team around the youth," Sather said. "And when a player like this, who's 24 years old, who's 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds and has been a very good, prolific goal scorer in the past, and you're moving a guy that's 32-years-old with this year and next year left on his contract, it was a good opportunity for us to get younger and bigger, and give the kids the opportunity in defense to play."

The deal also gives the Rangers some additional cap space to play with. Wolski has a $3.8 million cap hit for this year and next, while Rozsival's cap hit over the same period is $5 million.

Wolski, 24, won't have to wait for his Garden debut, as he is expected to be on the ice for the Rangers tonight when they take on the Canadiens. He had six goals and 10 assists in 36 games with Phoenix this season, but has registered only three points in his last 17 games.

The 2004 first-round pick by Colorado had 23 goals, 42 assists and a plus-21 rating last season with the Avalanche and Coyotes. He had six goals and 12 assists in 18 regular-season games with Phoenix last year, before scoring four goals and adding an assist in seven playoff games for the Coyotes."