Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s Three Periods column appears on Thursdays. This week’s topics include how Keith Yandle fits with the New York Rangers; how NHL teams are using technology to try to reduce injuries; plus notes on the morning skate, something teams needed to avoid before the trade deadline, a good point on analytics by Brian Burke, a good point on money by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli and one player’s trade deadline ups and downs.

FIRST PERIOD: Keith Yandle will try to emulate his idol on Broadway

Keith Yandle never hated the New York Rangers. He grew up in Boston and liked the Bruins, of course. But he was a fan of the NHL, especially of Brian Leetch, who had grown up in New England, spent a season at Boston College and gone on to Broadway.

Yandle had a banner with Leetch’s picture on it. He wore Leetch’s No. 2 until high school. He loved how Leetch generated offense as a defenseman.

“You’ve got to root for a guy like Brian Leetch, the way he plays,” he said. “Try to emulate his game a little bit.”

Now Yandle might be “the final piece,” in the words of Arizona Coyotes general manager Don Maloney, as the Rangers go for their first Stanley Cup since 1994, when Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player.

Rangers GM Glen Sather went all-in Sunday by acquiring Yandle, minor-league defenseman Chris Summers and a fourth-round pick from the Coyotes for defenseman John Moore, stud forward prospect Anthony Duclair, a first-rounder and a second-rounder.

View photos After nine seasons in Arizona, Yandle knows it will take some time to develop chemistry in New York. (AP) More

Yandle is not Leetch. But he will try to emulate his game a little bit.

“I think he’s going to be real good,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. “You can see the poise he has with the puck 5-on-5 and on the power play. He’s going to get used to the way we play here, and I’m very confident he’s going to be a real efficient player for us.”

Yandle spent nine seasons with the Coyotes. He put up as many as 11 goals and 59 points in a season and played as deep as the Western Conference final. But he heard his name in trade rumors, partly because of other teams’ interest in him, partly because of the development of the Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The Coyotes have been awful this season. Management was looking to the future. Yandle had one year left on his contract, so he could bring more of a return than if he were a pending unrestricted free agent.

“I thought maybe if I was going to get traded,” Yandle said, “it probably would have been this year.”

The Coyotes were in Boston on Saturday night. After a 4-1 loss to the Bruins, a ninth straight defeat, the dressing room was quiet. Center Antoine Vermette fought back emotion, knowing he was about to be traded. Captain Shane Doan fought back frustration, embarrassed by the loss, upset he would be saying goodbye to teammates.

Yandle didn’t have much to say in the hallway on his way to visit family and friends. Asked if he’d spoken to Maloney, he said: “No. They do their job, and we do our jobs. There’s nothing we can do either way.”

As the Coyotes were taking off for Phoenix, Vermette spoke to Maloney and found out he had been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Coyotes weren’t sure they wanted to part with Yandle but got serious when the Rangers offered Duclair. They agreed to pay half of Yandle’s salary to get the deal done. His cap hit will be only $2.75 million for the Rangers.

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