Injury news has gone from bad to worse for the New York Rangers, who announced today that Kevin Shattenkirk suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee and will need surgery. The defenseman has apparently been dealing with knee pain the entire season, but will now be out indefinitely after electing surgery.
Shattenkirk logged just over 17 minutes in a win last night, but will now be sidelined for at least a few weeks. All knee surgery also comes with the risk of a more long-term rehab, but we’ll have to wait until the team announces a timeline before knowing how long Shattenkirk will be out.
An injury like this, while the team also deals with more minor ailments for Kevin Hayes and Marc Staal, only lends more credence to the idea that the Rangers will not be buyers at the deadline. Though the team currently sits in a playoff spot, there have been multiple reports that they could still be willing to move some of their top assets like Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello for the right price.
Shattenkirk’s debut for the Rangers hasn’t gone exactly to plan, while though he has 23 points on the season he hasn’t been quite the top-pairing option the team had hoped for when they signed him to a four-year, $26.6MM contract this offseason. If he now has a prolonged absence, the team will have to find other ways of filling his role at both even strength and on the powerplay.
Any chance Washington or St Louis wants him back?
Nope.