Christensen had been a spare part for the Rangers for a long time, and hadn’t played in a NHL game since December 17. The enigmatic and inconsistent center had once shown some chemsitry with Marian Gaborik, but that was short lived. His inconsistent effort quickly made him an afterthought in the Rangers organization.

Wellman is a 24 year old center who has played 41 games at the NHL level over the past three seasons, totaling four goals and nine assists for 13 points. Wellman was an undrafted free agent signed by the Wild after his senior season at UMass-Amherst, where he was a point-per-game player. Per Hockey Wilderness, it doesn’t appear that Wellman got a legitimate shot at the top six in Minnesota, and spent most of his time playing with Brad Staubitz on the third and fourth line.

Christensen was in his last year of a two year contract that paid him $925,000 per season. Wellman is in the final year of a two-way contract that pays him $850,500 at the NHL level. Wellman will be a RFA at the end of his contract.

Woywitka and Wolski are the second and third Rangers to be assigned to CT on a conditioning stint. Erik Christensen was assigned last month and has since completed his stint.

In other news, per Josh Rimer, Carl Hagelin is expected to be named to the Rookie Game as an injury replacement. Good to see the kid get rewarded for his play. He has succeeded exceeded everyone’s expectations, even those who watched him reguarly at Michigan.

As for Johnson, it looks like he will dress as the backup tonight, as Martin Biron –the slated starter for tonight– is out with the flu.

The Johnson call up is clearly temporary, but it will be interesting to see how the Rangers handle Christensen. Wojtek Wolski has been just as useless as Christensen, but Christensen’s cap hit is $3 million less. It wouldn’t shock me to see Wolski waived in lieu of Christensen.

Newbury’s return to CT means that one of Brandon Dubinsky or Ruslan Fedotenko will be ready to go tomorrow against Nashville.

Brandon Dubinsky is still a game time decision with his shoulder injury. If Dubi can play, then Newbury likely won’t  dress. If he can’t then expect to see Newbury slide into Fedotenko’s spot in the lineup.

Christensen is not being straight up demoted to the AHL, like Sean Avery was earlier this month. Christensen accepted a conditioning assignment, which means he will be back with the team once it is over. Christensen was not placed on waivers, and this is not a permanent move, yet.

The press release is after the jump.

NEW YORK RANGERS TRANSACTION UPDATE

Erik Christensen Assigned to Connecticut on a Conditioning Stint

New York, January 11, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Erik Christensen has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a conditioning stint.

Christensen, 28, has registered one goal and four assists for five points in 20 games this season.  He recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game span from October 31 vs. San Jose to November 5 vs. Montreal.  Christensen is tied for third in the NHL all-time in shootout game-deciding goals (11), ranks ninth in shootout goals (24) and ranks fifth in shootout shooting percentage (52.2%) among active skaters with at least 10 shootout attempts.  He has not dressed in 20 games this season, including each of the last 10 contests.  His last appearance was on December 17 at Phoenix.

The Edmonton, Alberta native was acquired by the Rangers on December 2, 2009, claiming him off waivers from Anaheim.  He was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins as a third round choice, 69th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

We covered this here, here, here, here, and here. I’m actually incredibly sick of this topic. Avery has become bigger than the team, which is impressive considering he’s a fourth liner. He barely played, and was a healthy scratch. Mike Rupp’s return made this inevitable.

Erixon did not receive a big chunk of ice time, but was definitely serviceable. His cap hit may prevent another call up this year, but that’s not to worry. He will benefit from big minutes in all situations in the AHL.

Erixon did not record a point in his second stint –four games– with the team, but he recorded two PIMs, four hits, and seven blocked shots.

One delay in the announcement could be because of salary cap restraints, which is believed to be the reason why Erixon wasn’t called up to replace Steve Eminger (and why Stu Bickel was). In any case, Erixon is with the Rangers, but unlikely to play unless Woywitka can’t go (bruised foot from blocking a shot). The Rangers blue line is a mess, and with no changes coming in the next week, this could be a long four games.