Lias Andersson has left the Rangers and is demanding a trade.

A former first round pick has just made it clear he no longer wants to play for his National Hockey League team, and it appears as though he has done so in very definitive fashion.

According to a report from TSN National Hockey League insider Darren Dreger, New York Rangers forward Lias Andersson has formally asked the New York Rangers to trade him. Additionally according to Dreger Lias Andersson is no longer with the team, something that appears to suggest that Andersson has made the decision to walk away from the Rangers entirely as both he and his representation await the trade that they have now all but forced the Rangers into. It sounds like the Rangers are going to make the move as well. 

Dreger reports that Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton will now use the upcoming holiday roster freeze to gauge the market on Andersson, a player that likely has relatively little value now at this stage of his development. Although Andersson boasts a very good pedigree, he was selected 7th overall at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Rangers, he has not made much of an impact at the NHL level since being drafted. In total the Swedish centerman has appeared in just 66 NHL games for the Rangers and has just 3 goals and 6 assists for a total of 9 points over his NHL career. Add to that the fact that Andersson boasts a combined plus minus rating of -20 over that stretch and you can see why the Rangers were deploying him in the American Hockey League. In the AHL this season Andersson has appeared in 13 games for the Hartford Wolfpack and has 4 goals and 1 assist for a total of 5 points and boasts a plus minus rating of -9 on the season.

That being said the biggest hurdle here for Andersson may be the perception that other teams around the league will have of him. Not only is he a young player that has already demanded a trade, but infamously he is best known for an incident at the World Juniors in which he tossed his silver medal over the glass in a gesture that many felt reflected very poor sportsmanship on his part. 

Only time will tell if the Rangers can find a trade.