Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rangers Rumors

New York Rangers Buy Out Kevin Shattenkirk

at CDT | by 14 Comments

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

Chris Kreider's Name "Out There Everywhere"

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The New York Rangers have had quite the offseason, scoring Artemi Panarin in free agency, acquiring Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba through trade and drafting Kaapo Kakko second overall. The team looks ready to take the next step towards contending, but still do have several expiring contracts on the books. Most notable is Chris Kreider, who remains an effective power forward option but is heading towards unrestricted free agency next summer. Kreider’s name has been involved in trade speculation for months, and Larry Brooks of the New York Post tweeted today that multiple sources told him the 28-year old’s name “is out there everywhere.”

After signing Panarin and Trouba to huge long-term contracts the Rangers actually find themselves with a bit of a cap problem. They currently project over the $81.5MM ceiling and have until tomorrow evening to decide whether they want to buy out one of their contracts to relieve some pressure. Kevin Shattenkirk and Brendan Smith have been listed as the most likely, though a trade of Kreider could also get the Rangers to a tenable cap situation. The forward carries a $4.625MM cap hit this season and holds an 11-team no-trade clause.

New York Rangers Hire Kris Knoblauch As AHL Coach

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers have hired a new head coach for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, bringing in Kris Knoblauch as the seventh in team history. Knoblauch spent the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant, and will be getting his first opportunity in the AHL.

Knoblauch, 40, was a New York Islanders pick back in 1997 but never did make it to the NHL. His playing career ended in 2005 and he quickly got into coaching, first in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders. After taking over as head coach of the Kootenay Ice in 2010, he led the team to a WHL championship in his first season behind the bench and quickly was recognized as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in hockey. A stint with the Erie Otters of the OHL came next where Knoblauch had the chance to coach talents like Connor McDavid, Dylan Strome, Alex DeBrincat and many others who would end up in the NHL. Another league championship at the junior level and a silver medal as an assistant with Team Canada’s World Junior team landed him a gig in the NHL with the Flyers.

Known as a player’s coach, those playing under Knoblauch have raved about his communication skills. In an Associated Press piece when he was hired by the Flyers, Erie general manager Dave Brown explained that the coach would create personality profiles to understand how to best reach each player. In the same piece, Strome raved about Knoblauch’s skill in devising special teams structures. The Wolf Pack finished with a 29-36-11 record last season and ranked 19th in powerplay percentage at just 17.9%.

Eastern Notes: McAvoy, Carlo, Kreider, Samsonov

at CDT | by 5 Comments

There are quite a few restricted free agents that still haven’t been signed yet, but the Boston Bruins still have two of them in defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo and the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter suggests that fans may have to sit through not seeing them at training camp and potentially even having them sit out like William Nylander did last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Porter suggests that McAvoy could be looking for similar money to that of Jacob Trouba, who signed with the New York Rangers for seven years at $8MM AAV. However, a holdout might be necessary because Trouba had the benefit of an arbitration hearing deadline and had all the leverage on his side. That isn’t necessarily the case with McAvoy who doesn’t have arbitration rights and whose only leverage would be holding out. Carlo, an improving defenseman, could be looking for $4MM per season in a long-term deal.

Regardless, the Bruins already tight against the cap for the next few years, need to make sure they don’t overpay for the two defensemen, which might require the team to unload another player down the road.

  • In his Saturday’s Slapshots column, New York Post’s Larry Brooks mentions that the New York Rangers and Chris Kreider’s agent Matt Keator, haven’t had a conversation yet about what it would take to sign the 28-year-old to a long-term contract. While Brooks believes that is strange that both sides haven’t spoken yet, he believes that both sides are content to go into the season with Kreider in the last year of his current contract. The Rangers would be hard-pressed to sign Kreider to a long-term deal after handing out long-term deals to Artemi Panarin and Trouba and a number of talented young forwards who will eventually have to be paid down the road as well.
  • With a tumultuous offseason ahead for the Washington Capitals in the goaltending category with Braden Holtby expected to become an unrestricted free agent, The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir (subscription required) writes in a mailbag column that he wouldn’t be surprised if star goaltending prospect Ilya Samsonov could win the backup goaltending job in training camp. It would help the team determine whether the 22-year-old might be ready to take over as the team’s starting goaltender in 2020-21. Samsonov had an up-and-down first season in North America last season, putting up a .898 save percentage in 37 games with the Hershey Bears, but was much more impressive in the second half. However, there is no guarantee that he is ready for a back-up NHL role yet, so don’t count out Pheonix Copley.

Metropolitan Notes: Namestnikov, Brown, Werenski, Siegenthaler, Malkin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While a buyout of one of the New York Rangers defensemen seems like a popular option to fix the fact that the team is currently projected to be over the salary cap after New York paid out $19.65MM AAV for both Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba, there are still other options that might make even more sense.

With plenty of rumors that New York could choose to buyout Kevin Shattenkirk, Brendan Smith or Marc Staal when their buyout window opens on Monday, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that the team might be better off saving their future cap room from carrying extra dead weight. One way to do that is move forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who carries a $4MM cap hit this year before becoming a unrestricted free agent. While teams might have shown little interest in the 26-year-old who scored just 11 goals last season, one better option would be to retain some of his salary, which could easily make him a more attractive trade option and wouldn’t cost the team future cap costs. Namestnikov is only one year removed from a 22-goal, 48-point season.

  • Sticking with the Rangers, the team announced the passing of former great Arnie Brown Saturday. The defenseman died at the age of 77, but played a total of 12 seasons for five different teams, but made his mark with New York after playing seven seasons (from 1964-1971) for the franchise and is listed among the top 100 players in Rangers history. Brown played 681 games over the course of his career, posting 44 goals and 185 points. Everyone at PHR wishes the best for the family and friends of Brown at this time.
  • The Columbus Dispatch’s Michael Arace writes that little progress has been made between the Columbus Blue Jackets and restricted free agent Zach Werenski. While the team hopes that it can lock up the 22-year-old to a long-term deal, there is always the possibility that Werenski could be a training camp holdout if the two sides can’t find an equitable arrangement. Blue Jackets fans have already seen that as several players, including Josh Anderson and Ryan Johansen have done that in past seasons. Werenski has proven to be a top pairing defenseman, having tallied 38 goals and 128 points over the course of three seasons. With key losses this offseason of Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene, the team could benefit if they can convince Werenski to sign long-term.
  • After signing defenseman Christian Djoos and forward Chandler Stephenson to one-year deals last week, the Washington Capitals once again find themselves over the salary cap by $1.3MM. While one option to reduce their cap hit would be to send Jonas Siegenthaler to the AHL like the team did last year, NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan writes that won’t be possible. While Siegenthaler is still waiver exempt, the team only has seven NHL defensemen under contract and even if they felt that Tyler Lewington could be the team’s seventh defenseman, he wouldn’t save the team a significant amount of money to make the move worth it. Unfortunately for general manager Brian MacLellan, the team will have to make a different move this year to get under the cap.
  • The Athletic’s Scott Burnside (subscription required) looks at candidates who could bounce back from disappointing seasons and marks Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin as a player who should return to his 90-point ways. The 32-year-old went from a 42-goal season in 2017-18 to half that total last year (21 goals) and went from 98 points to 72. Burnside writes that the team will need more goal scoring after losing Phil Kessel and Malkin will be looked to even more to fill that gap.

Latest On Rangers’ Kevin Shattenkirk

at CDT | by 12 Comments

When the New York Rangers inked restricted free-agent Pavel Buchnevich to a two-year deal Friday, the Rangers also opened up a 48-hour buyout window starting Monday in which the team could opt to buy out one of their defenseman, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Brendan Smith and Marc Staal. While the Rangers did not buy any players out earlier this summer, things have changed after the team paid out $19.65MM AAV combined for Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba in the last month.

And while there is no evidence as to what New York intends to do, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks believes wholeheartedly that Shattenkirk will be bought out and will not be a Ranger by Wednesday evening. Considering that the Rangers traded for two right-handed defensemen this offseason, it should make it obvious the team is ready to move on from the veteran, who the team signed to a four-year deal two summers ago at $6.65MM AAV.

After signing Buchnevich for two years at $3.25MM per season, New York is projected to be $4.16MM over the cap (assuming that the team buries Brendan Smith and Matt Beleskey and both restricted free agents Anthony DeAngelo and Brendan Lemieux sign for their qualifying offers) and will be forced to make a cost-cutting move. While it’s already been discussed that the team is under no obligation to buy out one of their defenseman as they have a couple of players they could trade including Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov to get back under the cap, the scribe believes that Shattenkirk’s contract makes the most sense to buyout.

2019-20: $1.48MM (savings of $5.17MM)
2020-21: $6.08MM (savings of $567K)
2021-22: $1.43MM
2022-23: $1.43MM

The buyout would give the Rangers a little over $1.1MM to work with after that and wouldn’t require the team to trade off Kreider just to save the team some money, one of the top wingers on the team who will be an unrestricted free agents next offseason. Trying to trade one of your best players when you are over the cap isn’t exactly the best bargaining position. Of course, the Rangers would have to assume 90 percent of Shattenkirk’s contract next season if the team does choose to buy him out, which really will make things challenging for New York next season.

The Rangers, however, can do nothing until Monday and there is no sign that they are currently committed to buying out Shattenkirk.

Rangers Re-Sign Pavel Buchnevich

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With an arbitration hearing quickly approaching, the Rangers announced (Twitter link) that they have re-signed winger Pavel Buchnevich.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that it’s a two-year deal with a cap hit of $3.25MM per season.

The 24-year-old set a new career-high in goals last season with 21 despite missing considerable time due to injuries, including a thumb issue that caused him to miss 13 contests.  That certainly would have helped his cause had his case gone to arbitration on Monday as originally scheduled.  He also has been relatively productive as a secondary scorer the last couple of seasons, posting 43 points in 2017-18 and 38 last season.

With the team adding Artemi Panarin in free agency while adding Kaapo Kakko with the second pick in last month’s draft, the competition for a top-six spot on the wing is going to be tough in training camp.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Buchnevich drop down a line which could make it difficult to surpass his numbers over the past two years.

While getting this done was certainly critical for GM Jeff Gorton, it now brings their salary cap situation even more to the forefront.  The team now has upwards of $85MM in commitments for next season (and still has to re-sign defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and winger Brendan Lemieux).  In other words, they’re well over the $81.5MM Upper Limit.

As this was New York’s final arbitration case, the clock is now set for their second buyout window.  It will open up on Monday afternoon and last 48 hours.  Defensemen Brendan Smith and Kevin Shattenkirk have been speculative buyout candidates going back to the initial window in June but at the time, Gorton opted to not pull the trigger on a buyout at that time.  Since then, the team signed Panarin to a deal that makes him the highest-paid winger (in terms of AAV) in league history while inking defenseman Jacob Trouba to a deal worth $8MM per season.  Their financial situation has certainly changed in a hurry.

There is some risk in buying one of those players out though.  While they’d free up some space for next season, the front-loaded nature of their deals means that their 2020-21 cap hit would still be substantial.

Accordingly, they may be better off looking to trade their way out of trouble.  Wingers Vladislav Namestnikov and Chris Kreider, players that are both a year away from UFA eligibility, have been in trade speculation lately as has Buchnevich himself.  This contract, one that will see him remain a restricted free agent two years from now, certainly won’t hurt his trade value if Gorton looks to go that route.

For the past few weeks, the Rangers were believed to have some time to settle their cap issues.  With their final opportunity to use a buyout to free up some room expiring on Wednesday, the clock is ticking quickly.  They’ll be a team to watch for over the coming days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vinni Lettieri Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Vinni Lettieri on a one-year contract, leaving them with just three restricted free agents to sign this offseason. Lettieri decided not to file for arbitration despite being eligible, and will still be an RFA when this contract expires.

The 24-year old Lettieri was one of the top college free agent signings in 2017, but still hasn’t quite found his offensive touch at the NHL level. Despite scoring 85 points in 112 minor league contests, the former University of Minnesota standout has just eight in 46 games with the Rangers. That and the increased talent up front from a busy offseason will make it extremely difficult for the young forward to land an NHL spot out of camp, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him as one of the very first call-ups if the team runs into injury trouble.

Luckily for the Rangers, Lettieri is still waiver-exempt for the time being and can be sent down without trouble. That will give the team some flexibility over choosing their opening day roster, a group that is still unclear at the moment. Brendan Lemieux and Pavel Buchnevich would both figure into that lineup but are without contracts currently—Buchnevich has an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Monday—while the future of players like Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov is still unclear after both have been included in trade rumors over the summer.

At the very worst, Lettieri will serve as a top offensive option for the Hartford Wolf Pack as they try to turn around their fortunes. The team went 29-36-11 last season and finished in 28th place.

Metropolitan Notes: Kreider, Gardiner, Konecny

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The New York Rangers have made a number of key improvements to their team with two significant moves that have affected the team’s salary cap situation. The Rangers signed star winger Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5MM deal on July 1, but also traded for defenseman Jacob Trouba and signed him to a seven-year, $56MM deal. While the team had plenty of cap space, the team now is somewhere between $900K and $1.55MM over the cap and that’s not including a number of restricted free agents left to sign, including Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemieux, Anthony DeAngelo and Vinni Lettieri.

Because of that, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that with those kinds of cap issues which should only get more challenging in the future, it likely ends the team’s run with forward Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and would likely seek a deal somewhere around seven years at $7MM per season, something that the Rangers can’t afford for a inconsistent forward who will be 29 years old when the new contract kicks in. It makes more sense that the Rangers will try to unload Kreider now for the most possible return to help with their cap issues.

  • In an article looking at three ways to improve the New Jersey Devils roster this offseason, NJ.com’s Chris Ryan writes that in a summer in which general manager Ray Shero has made some savvy moves, including acquiring P.K. Subban from Nashville for practically nothing as well as signing forward Wayne Simmonds to a one-year, $5MM “prove it” deal, the team can still make upgrades. He writes that the team should consider signing free-agent defenseman Jake Gardiner, who remains unsigned, in hopes of bolstering their weak left-side which has just Andy Greene, Will Butcher and Mirco Mueller there. Even Ty Smith, who is left-handed, played on the right side in junior, so there is a realistic opening on the left side and Gardiner might be a good fit there, assuming he’d be willing to come down from his rumored $7MM pricetag.
  • With a few key restricted free agent forwards already having signed, the Courier Post’s David Isaac writes in his mailbag piece that he believes that Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny is likely to sign within the next few weeks, especially now that a couple significant comparables have signed. the scribe writes that with Timo Meier having signed for four years at $6MM with San Jose and Jakub Vrana agreeing to a two-year deal at $3.35MM, it has set a market for Konecny. It’s likely that Konecny will fall somewhere between the two. The 24-year-old has had two straight 24-goal seasons and had a career-high 49 points last season. With the legitimate potential that a breakout season could come soon, it’s much more likely that Konecny opts to sign a short-term bridge deal over a long-term one.

Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.

  • Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:

F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)

  • HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top