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Rangers Notes: Skjei, Kreider, Lundqvist

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New York Rangers Brady Skjei isn’t relying to just continue on after his rookie season. Afterall, the 23-year-old came off a solid rookie year in which he put up 39 points, yet still found himself sitting on the bench when the team was down. That especially was evident in the playoffs against Ottawa when the team sat him at the end of Games 2 and 5 to preserve one goal leads (unsuccessfully).

According to New York Post’s Larry Brooks, Skjei is determined to work on his defensive game and, in particular, working on his net-front play. “I’ve got to be physically stronger in front of the net and make the right plays when they’re there.” Brooks writes that Skjei spent the summer working with Ryan McDonagh on his defense and his conditioning, which received praise from head coach Alain Vigneault.

“I mean, Mac’s testing scores were over the roof and you could tell the influence and impact of Brady working out with him,” Vigneault said. “In my time here, Brady’s testing has improved, improved and improved and now he’s right near the Mac level as far as fitness scoring.”

Skjei’s improvements should bode well on a team with one of the best defenses in the league. After adding Brendan Smith at the trade deadline a year ago, the team signed top free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to the defense. However, with Skjei’s skating and offensive skills, he should thrive in New York as his 39 points last year was the second-best for a rookie defender in the league behind Columbus’ Zach Werenski.

  • In the same article, Brooks adds that Vigneault is putting a lot of pressure on the Rangers’ Chris Kreider to step up even more this year. Kreider led the team in goals scored last year with 28, but the head coach would like to see more consistency out of him. Vigneault refers to the third period of Game 6 against the Ottawa Senators last year when Kreider scored a goal 53 second into the period to narrow their deficit. The coach referred to Kreider as a “beast” and would like to see that more often. Kreider finished fourth on the team in points as he had 53 total. Now about to enter his prime, Vigneault believes he can take his game up to another level. “Like I said [on Thursday], he’s not a kid anymore. It’s his turn now. He’s got to become a real good voice in the room. We expect more from him and I know we’re going to get it.”
  • Dan Rosen of NHL.com writes that Henrik Lundqvist is more enthusiastic about this season after he helped lead Team Sweden to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championships earlier this summer. The positive experience was better than having to sit home all summer thinking about the team’s early playoff exit and his struggles last season. “I think going into this year, ending on that high note [at the Worlds], that’s definitely something I bring with me to start this year, feeling good about what I did,” Lundqvist said. “I use it as energy and motivation and a boost of confidence.”

Rangers New Defense Might Have Weakened Rest Of Team

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The New York Rangers spent much of their offseason fixing one of their biggest weaknesses in their defense. The team went out and signed free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6MM deal, then re-signed trade deadline rental Brendan Smith to a new four-year, $17.4MM deal. They traded away top center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and a first-round pick. Perhaps more importantly, they bought out Dan Girardi, who was struggling. With all the changes, the Rangers should have one of the best defensive corps in the league. With Shattenkirk paired with Ryan McDonagh, Smith paired with veteran Marc Staal and young Brady Skjei paired with either Nick Holden or DeAngelo, the Rangers should be in fantastic shape.

But at what cost? The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (subscription required) that the Rangers’ knee-jerk reaction to their second-round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators have crippled the team in other areas. He writes the goaltending situation is now worse due to moving Raanta to Arizona. Instead, New York signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one-year deal, but there is a huge difference between the two backups. Raanta was a stud backup who now will get his chance to be an NHL starting goalie. Pavelec has been inconsistent in his time with the Jets, but has struggled so bad in the last couple of years that Winnipeg demoted him to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Incidentally, Pavelec played 18 games for Manitoba and finished with a 2.78 GAA in that span — which wouldn’t be acceptable in the NHL.  Probably not the backup you would want when your starter Henrik Lundqvist, who is 35 years old, is coming off the worst season of his career. Lundqvist finished the year with a 2.74 GAA in 57 games and .910 save percentage. Those numbers suggest that his workload might need to be diminished in the future — probably not the best time to be trading your top backup.

The scribe also mentions that the team also has to wonder if they have enough offense to get through the season. The team traded away Stepan, who he admits isn’t that big of a loss, but considering that there is no true center who can take his place, that’s not a good sign. Yes, Mike Zibanejad will likely assume the top role, but he will likely be one of the worst top centers in the NHL. Their other three centers J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais are all acceptable, but none are outstanding centers. Luszczyszyn adds that what the Rangers really need is a big-name scorer, which they lack. The team instead relies on Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello, who are great players, but not two players you should have leading your offense.

All in all, the belief is the Rangers have traded one concern for many others. Will these offensive changes really change anything?

 

Central Notes: Subban, Josi, Ellis, Steen, Fabbri

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Proving that defense is the key to a Stanley Cup Finals run, the NHL Network released its list of top 20 defensemen in the NHL and the Nashville Predators were stocked full of them. They had the most blueliners on the list, including P.K. Subban (#6), Roman Josi (#7) and Ryan Ellis (#19).

Subban, coming off his first year with the Predators after being traded from Montreal, had a solid season even though his numbers dropped from his previous three years with the Canadiens. Subban finished with 10 goals and 30 assists for the year, but made the all-star team and proved to be a pest to every team’s top scorers.

Josi’s season was also down from previous years, but his numbers also stood out with 12 goals and 37 assists, giving him three straight years with 49 points or more. Ellis leaped into the spotlight this year as he took his game to another level this year with a career high in goals with 16. He also had 11 power play points, three game-winning goals and led the team with 137 blocked shots.

Of course, Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson was first on the list, but only a couple other teams had more than one player on the top-20 list. With the addition of Kevin Shattenkirk (#15), the New York Rangers had two defensemen on the list with Ryan McDonagh at #17. The Calgary Flames also boasted two blueliners in the top 20, Dougie Hamilton (#16) and Mark Giordano (#18).

  • In his final column, the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Jim Rutherford writes that while the talk is that Alex Steen has regressed over the past couple of years, he believes that the 33-year-old wing has been cast in the wrong role. He believes that Steen’s 33-goal season in 2013-14 was an anomaly and he should not be considered as a 30-goal scorer. If looked at from a 20-goal scoring point of view, Steen’s numbers (33 goals in the last two seasons) make more sense.
  • Rutherford in the same piece adds that he does not believe any of the Blues top prospects, Klim Kostin, Jordan Kyrou or Tage Thompson, have much of a chance of breaking with the Blues after training camp. He said Kostin is still recovering from an injury and just moved to the U.S. a couple of months ago. Kyrou is ticketed to go back to his junior team, while Thompson struggled adjusting to the AHL.
  • Rutherford adds that Robby Fabbri is expected to be ready for training camp after tearing his ACL. He believes he will start the season off as the team’s center, but if the team is not scoring enough, he could easily see Fabbri forced to move back to the wing position.

Too Many Defenders Will Force New York Rangers Into A Move

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The New York Rangers’ main goal this offseason was to bulk up its defense, which failed them late last season, but the team may have gone too far. After signing Kevin Shattenkirk, re-signing Brendan Smith and trading for youngster Anthony DeAngelo, suddenly the team is overloaded with blueliners. While a team may envision six full-time defenders and a seventh for depth purposes on the team, the Rangers currently have nine legitimate players who belong on their roster and someone has to go.

According to New York Posts’ Larry Brooks, the team’s starting four consists of Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei on the left side and Shattenkirk and Smith on the right side. That leaves five players for the final three spots on the NHL roster, including veterans Marc Staal and Nick Holden, DeAngelo, KHL import Alexei Bereglazov and University of Minnesota-Duluth signee Neal Pionk. Brooks admits the team could potentially keep eight defensemen to start the season as forward Jesper Fast is expected to begin the season on injured reserve, but that wouldn’t last long. In the end, two players would have to find themselves with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL or the team must get rid of someone.

The most obvious solution to the problem would be to have Staal and Holden man the third defensive line, despite the fact that those two played together on the second line and struggled mightily last season. If the team did that, nonetheless, the team could keep one of the remaining three as the seventh defenseman and send the other two to the AHL. The only problem is who? Brooks writes that Bereglazov has an out-clause that would allow him to go back to the KHL if he is sent to the AHL, so he is a likely candidate to remain with the Rangers as the seventh man at minimum. However, the team gave up a lot to get DeAngelo and they would likely prefer not to have him sit on the bench in New York or play meaningless minutes in Hartford. Pionk, is also believed to be NHL ready.

So, the most likely scenario would be to look into trading Holden or buying out the contract of Staal. Would the Rangers want to do that? They already bought out fellow veteran Dan Girardi earlier this year. Staal, unfortunately, still has $17.2MM remaining on his contract over the next four years. Although they would open up $3.57MM to their cap this year in a buyout, the team would have to spread it over the next eight years like they did for Girardi. That’s a long time to pay two players who will never play for your team. The Rangers might want to wait one more year before buying out Staal. Regardless, that decision is expected to be made before the end of this week.

That leaves Holden, who has been previously mentioned in trade rumors, but little has come out of them. He is the best candidate to be moved. The 30-year-old, who came over from the Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-round pick, had a great first half last year and is on a cheap deal with just one year remaining. However, it seems that the market has temporarily dried up as many teams want to wait and see what they have before making a deal, so any move is likely not to be made before the start of training camp.

Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Fortin, Klee

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While it had been rumored for quite some time before Kevin Shattenkirk signed with the New York Rangers that the free agent defensemen only wanted to play in the Northeast because of the proximity to his home, he mentioned two other things when discussing his decision at a press conference today. One, the potential for the Rangers to really compete right away in the Metropolitan division, and two the chance to play with Ryan McDonagh.

As Matt Calamia writes for NHL.com, Shattenkirk and McDonagh have played together at various tournaments for many years, and the newest member of the Rangers is excited to get started. It doesn’t hurt that legendary New York defenseman Brian Leetch was his favorite player growing up, someone many Rangers fans hope he emulates for the next four years.

  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alexandre Fortin is three weeks removed from sports hernia surgery according to Scott Powers of The Athletic, but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in September. Fortin was invited to the Hawks’ development camp last summer and earned himself an entry-level contract despite having been passed over in multiple drafts. Now 20, Fortin has an outside chance at even making the Chicago roster out of camp if he shows up and impresses as much as he did last year. More likely he’ll head to the AHL and keep developing, waiting for a chance with the NHL roster.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have hired Ken Klee as an assistant coach for their AHL squad this season, his first coaching job in men’s professional hockey. Klee had been the head coach for the US Women’s National Team for several years coaching them to gold at both the 2015 and 2016 World Championships. In 934 NHL games, Klee registered 195 points and 880 penalty minutes.

Rangers Must Begin To Worry About McDonagh

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The New York Rangers have emphasized defense this offseason with the signing of top free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and the re-signing of trade deadline acquisition Brendan Smith. Between the two of them, the Rangers have exactly $11MM per year locked up until the 2020-21 season. Tie in the $5.7MM invested in veteran Marc Staal, who not that long ago was being discussed as a buyout candidate, and New York has $16.7MM invested in three veteran defensemen over the next four years. That’s all well and good (even if Staal proves to be worth that type of money). The Rangers wanted to beef up their defense and they have done that even if it’s at the cost of their offense. However, there is one key aspect missing in their defense. Ryan McDonagh.

Yes, the team captain – heart and soul of their defense. He’s only locked in at a very reasonable $4.7MM for the next two years and the New York Post’s Larry Brooks suggests that he is the third most underpaid player in the NHL, which may cause the Rangers some problems in two years when he becomes a unrestricted free agent in the 2019-2020 season. Listing just Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and the New York Islanders’ John Tavares as the most underpaid, the scribe writes that while Crosby’s career is cemented in Pittsburgh, that may not be the case for Tavares, who is currently making the Islanders sweat and possibly consider trading him before he leaves New York for nothing. That may be the same story for McDonough one year after that.

McDonough has two years to decide whether he wants to spend the rest of his career in New York. Brooks writes that he may be interested in returning home to Minnesota and joining a Wild team that should have the money to pay him handsomely in two years. Everything may come down to how he enjoys playing with offensively-gifted Kevin Shattenkirk compared to his previous long-time partner, defensively-gifted Dan Girardi. In the end, it may come down to money and whether the Rangers are willing to commit what is likely to be $7-8MM per year for possibly seven or eight years to keep their then-30-year-old captain when they are already overloaded with a large number of defensive contracts. The point is that McDonough will not make it to free agency as a Ranger. He will have enough power, like Tavares does with the Islanders now, to command whether he gets that long-term deal as a Ranger or force them into dealing him in a year.

Kevin Shattenkirk Signs With New York Rangers

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The top free agent on the market is now off the market. Kevin Shattenkirk, PHR’s #1 on our Top 50 Free Agents list and long considered the top prize of the 2017 off-season, has returned home to New York. The New Rochelle native has signed a four-year deal with an average annual value of $6.65MM to play for his hometown New York Rangers, according to TSN’s Frank Servalli.

The $26.6MM deal is far below what many were expecting for Shattenkirk. Most expected a six or seven-year deal worth somewhere in the total range of $40-$50MM. Instead, Shattenkirk appears to have taken a hometown discount, at least in term, to play for the Rangers. It had long been rumored that he was hoping to play on the east coast, and in New York particularly, and he got his wish.

The long-time St. Louis Blue is no stranger to changing teams, having been traded by the Colorado Avalanche in his rookie season and then again to the Washington Capitals this past year. No matter where, Shattenkirk has always performed. Consistently topping 40 points, including a career-best 56 in 2016-17, Shattenkirk is an elite puck-mover with an excellent first pass. Paired with a shutdown two-way presence like Rangers’ captain Ryan McDonagh, Shattenkirk can be a truly dynamic player in New York.

Morning Notes: MacArthur, Jagr, Darling

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Ottawa’s Clarke MacArthur is day-to-day following an injury sustained in the second period of Game 2 versus the New York Rangers. MacArthur took a rather routine, if tough, hit from New York captain Ryan McDonagh. MacArthur appears to have gotten his hands up to absorb some of the high body check, but with MacArthur’s recent history, another concussion is always the fear. MacArthur missed the bulk of this and last season (8 games combined) to lingering concussion symptoms, and would likely have been a finalist for the Masterton had he not been on the same squad as goalie Craig Anderson. The 32 year-old left winger had dealt with quality-of-life issues and was forced to even contemplate retirement. Although coach Guy Boucher did not express major concern, Senators fans will certainly be holding their breath in hopes that nothing serious was sustained. As Boucher said, “it’s something he had last game and he aggravated today” – whatever it was, he had already played through once. It’s difficult to see a coach taking chances with concussion symptoms in this day and age, with this player – even in the playoffs. Whether he returns for Game 3 or at all this series is up in the air.

  • As expected, the Carolina Hurricanes organization will attempt to sign Scott Darling to a contract as soon as they are able. The Hurricanes took a bit of a gamble in acquiring an impending UFA for a 3rd-round draft pick. Certainly they have the inside track with regard to signing the goaltender, but there is every possibility he could choose to test the market. His phenomenal season as the backup in Chicago would certainly attract a few suitors, and by heading to July 1st, he only improves his leverage. Carolina was already in a pickle as to which goaltender they would protect. If Darling signs before June 18th, the team would expose both Cam Ward and Eddie Lack in the expansion draft, which could be quite financially beneficial. If they cannot sign him before that date, they could choose to leave Darling unprotected. It’s unlikely that Vegas would opt to choose a UFA who is seemingly holding out (considering they would have a limited negotiation period), but he might be one of the few UFAs that would be intriguing enough for them to roll the dice.
  • Jaromir Jagr’s agent is expected to meet with Florida Panthers management in hopes of negotiating a new contract. The 45 year-old future Hall of Famer has played for 8 separate franchises, but has spent his last 3 seasons in the sunshine state. Dale Tallon, newly re-instated, has nothing but praise for the tough, creative winger. This season, however, Jagr showed signs of slowing down, literally and figuratively. He posted a career low 16 goals and personally substandard 46 points. The totals were still good for 4th on the team, behind youngsters Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Marchessault. Jagr has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep playing until his body fails him, even proclaiming the goal of playing until the age of 60. Jagr will likely be able to find a fit for next season in Florida if his salary demands aren’t too excessive.

Rangers Notes: Holden, Klein, Miller

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Despite being tied 1-1 in their first round series with the Montreal Canadiens and the match-up moving home to Madison Square Garden for the next two games, the New York Rangers have made some notable changes to their lineup. The most intriguing is the absence of defenseman Nick Holden. Holden, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the off-season for just a fourth-round pick, has proven to be a solid pickup by GM Jeff Gorton. The big 29-year-old blue liner was healthy for 80 games this season and contributed career-highs in offensive production with 11 goals and 23 assists. Those 34 points were more than highly-paid teammates Dan Girardi and Marc Staal combined. Holden was also a +13 on the year, second only to captain Ryan McDonagh among defenseman, and was second on the team, again to McDonagh, in ice time as well, averaging over 20 minutes per game.

Yet, when the puck dropped on Game Three, Holden was watching from the press box as a scratch. There has been no indication that Holden was hurt in either game in Montreal, nor is there any knowledge of nagging injuries. For now, it seems as though Holden, arguably the Rangers’ second best defenseman this season, is simply a healthy scratch. Holden has only one assist and is a -1 so far in the playoff series, including a -2 in Friday’s loss, but it is hard to find sufficient evidence that his play has been poor enough recently to warrant a scratch. Perhaps there is more to the situation than has been revealed just yet, but for the time being the Rangers will see, for just the third time all season, how a lineup without Holden plays.

  • In his place, the Rangers have moved veteran defenseman Kevin Klein into the lineup. The emergence of Brady Skjei, the trade for Brendan Smith, and, of course, the occasional injury have limited Klein to just 60 games this season, the fewest games he has ever played in a full NHL season in his career. Klein may not have the offensive upside that some of his fellow defenders do, but he is a very strong player in his own end and an intimidating physical threat. After allowing four goals against the Canadiens in Game Two when they held them scoreless in Game One, it reasons that the Rangers and coach Alain Vigneault may want to create a stronger defensive presence and Klein can get the job done. Klein will skate alongside Skjei tonight, while Smith moves up to replace Holden alongside Staal.
  • Another interesting change is the demotion of J.T. Miller to the Rangers’ fourth line. Miller, in just his third full season, finished second on the team in scoring behind Mats Zuccarello with 22 goals and a career-best 34 assists. How quickly the memory of 56 points can be erased when a top scorer fails to register a point in back-to-back playoff games and takes only 3 shots to boot. Now, Miller finds himself on the checking line with Oscar Lindberg and Tanner Glass and will likely see a major drop in 5-on-5 ice time until he can work his way up into the top nine again.

Injury Updates: Wild, Okposo, Carlson, McDonagh

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Minnesota received some good news on the injury front on Wednesday as winger Jason Zucker will return to the lineup tomorrow night, notes Dan Myers on the Wild’s team website.  Zucker missed the last three games with a lower body injury and is in the midst of a career season with 46 points in 77 games.

The team also learned that defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who left Tuesday’s game early with a lower body issue of his own, isn’t expected to be out for long.  In fact, head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t rule him out from playing in one of the final two games before the playoffs get underway.

Still with the Wild, winger Chris Stewart is questionable to play on Thursday night as he continues to battle an illness.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • The Sabres have ruled out right winger Kyle Okposo for their remaining three games, reports Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (Twitter link). Head coach Dan Bylsma noted that Okposo isn’t dealing with a case of the mumps although he added that team doctors are still trying to diagnose what the exact issue is.  The mystery illness has kept Okposo out of the lineup for the past week.  Okposo finishes his season with 19 goals and 26 assists in 65 games, matching the lowest output in a full campaign since 2011-12.
  • Capitals blueliner John Carlson will sit for a second straight game tonight with a lower body issue. Head coach Barry Trotz noted to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir (Twitter link) that it’s not a serious issue, classifying it as “day-to-day, hour-to-hour”.  With Washington close to locking down top spot in the East (which could happen as early as tonight), they can afford to be cautious in order to ensure the team is as healthy as possible for the playoffs.
  • Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh will resume skating tomorrow, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The captain has missed two straight games with an unspecified injury.  Head coach Alain Vigneault suggested that he’d be comfortable with inserting McDonagh back into the lineup for the first game of the playoffs without getting him into another regular season game so it appears he will likely be out through the weekend as well.

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