Thursday: The Rangers have made the buyout official. Shattenkirk is now an unrestricted free agent.
Wednesday: The New York Rangers earned a second buyout window after settling all of their arbitration cases and will use it to open up some cap room. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post reports that the Rangers intend to buy out veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. He will not require unconditional waivers as he currently holds a no-movement clause. Shattenkirk had two years left on his deal which carried a $6.65MM cap hit. He will now become an unrestricted free agent while the Rangers will carry the following cap hits:
- 2019-20: $1,483,333
- 2020-21: $6,083,333
- 2021-22: $1,433,333
- 2022-23: $1,433,333
Shattenkirk, 30, signed a four-year deal with the Rangers in the summer of 2017 as one of the very best available unrestricted free agents. He was supposed to come in and provide the team with an offensive presence from the blue line, but struggled mightily in his own end and saw his production drop significantly. In 119 games with the Rangers over two seasons Shattenkirk recorded 51 points and was a -29. The right-handed defenseman also didn’t fit in to the timeline the team had put together with their new young core, though his performance and lack of trust from head coach David Quinn likely made that a moot point.
For the Rangers, cap relief is the name of the game right now. After signing Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba to long-term contracts worth nearly $20MM per season, the team suddenly found themselves above the $81.5MM ceiling. A trade or buyout was necessary to get them back under that number and this will accomplish that. With Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov and others coming off the books after this season the team will be able to absorb the inflated cap hit of Shattenkirk in 2020-21, though it means they won’t be able to do a ton of shopping next offseason.
Even though he’s being cut loose by the Rangers, don’t expect Shattenkirk to be unemployed for very long. The defense market didn’t have a ton of talent in it this summer and while names like Jake Gardiner and Ben Hutton still remain unsigned, Shattenkirk immediately becomes the best right-handed option on the market. Even if he is no longer the play-driving force he was in St. Louis, there’s still more than enough reason to believe that the 30-year old can still contribute in the right situation. Where that will be is unclear, as the Rangers tried and failed to trade him over the last several weeks (and perhaps months) without any luck.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Wonder if that means gardiner is going there. Was reading that next time you see big money d man being moved is when gardiner signs. But really don’t get why New York would even want him would just be buying him out in 2 years too
It’s almost like Gardiner is waiting for Marner to get signed and beg back in on the cheap. His balky back is already known to the Leafs, though, so maybe he’s the next to get the unceremonious P.T.O. in September…
all right we have cap space of $5,166,667 with buyout thou it hurts next year on cap space., first if we look for a defenseman their isn’t many of them on free agent market, top names are Gardiner or Ben Hutton, Hutton would be a better choice for me than Gardiner. Gardiner had salary of over $4 mill compared to Hutton and his $2 mil, so Ranger fans what do we do go after a defenseman or use that money for Kreider , hopefully someone can help me with the salary cap issue Rangers have and what do we do? will they get rid of Namestnikov , Smith and welcome in Fox and Hajek ?
How is it determined how much the cap hit is per year?
Well done Rangers, you really Shattenkirked the bed on that one.
@neo – Good One, Randy! JD – CapFriendly has the goods for us Barcalounger GMs, as well as the genuine articles. (Another shout out to the hard-working folks at CapFriendly for helping *all* of us out!) Remember, Gerald, those numbers are in the past. Gardiner & Hutton may have to settle for what’s offered to them, which may be very different from what they just got paid. It could be higher, but the closer we get to September, the less likely it is anybody gets what they really want (including some RFAs).
Part of me wants to blast the Rangers’ front office for being bewildered nincompoops, but part of me has to respect understanding you made a horrible signing and attempting to get past it.
Lol, the Rangers. 2 more years they can go threw this all over again. Always rushing things
Michael Stone is a free agent now since being bought out , and probably can be a cheaper signing other than Gardiner or Hutton, for the Rangers for a depth defenseman for 3rd pairing, Stone would be a good option for Rangers.
They don’t need to replace him, they have the talent and depth though young.
Shattenkirk sucks, but so do the Oilers…they should sign him.
No
Guy brought nothing when he came to Washington
I can hear Montreal and Bergevin calling for offer sheet on Shattenkirk ???