Former New York Ranger Matt Gilroy has been involved in recent hockey news, as he is about to play in the KHL All Star Game. Gilroy was a Ranger for two seasons, never becoming the defenseman the Rangers hoped for him to be, but still providing value nonetheless. Let’s take a look back.
Matt Gilroy’s New York Rangers career was doomed from the start. Gilroy, a Hobey Baker Award winner, was signed to a two year deal worth over $1 Million per year out of college. The Rangers boasted a prospect defenseman that other teams coveted, and he also happened to be a native New Yorker.
As Michael Del Zotto joined the Rangers for the 2009-2010 season, Gilroy entered the NHL fray as well. Del Zotto and Gilroy were projected to be future stalwarts on the Rangers blueline, but instead now play in Philadelphia and the KHL. While Del Zotto is doing his best to help the Flyers stay in the playoff race, Matt Gilroy is doing….this.
Matt Gilroy bribed Igor Bobkov with a cookie in the KHL All-Star shootout. Gilroy has 37 pts in 52 games w/ Moscow Spartak this season pic.twitter.com/Hm6kz9SnEj
— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) January 21, 2017
Gilroy leads the KHL in Cookies Given in Return for Goals (CGRG) with one on the year. If you don’t count the All-Star game, the entire KHL is tied with zero, so Gilroy still leads the league.
All jokes aside, Gilroy has found his game in the KHL. Gilroy has 37 points in 52 games for Moscow Spartak this season, and has regularly been a top four defenseman since joining the KHL. There is the obvious decrease in talent level in the league, but the KHL is the second highest level of competition behind the NHL.
Gilroy must still go up against the likes of Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk, and has still performed at an All-Star level.
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Other than simply wishing to show everyone a clip of Matt Gilroy bribing a goalie with a cookie, there is relevancy here. Gilroy owned an above even Corsi For Percentage in both of his NHL seasons, yet never earned the trust of the Rangers organization. He was a fine puck-mover, but was not trusted with power-play time.
The Rangers prioritized defense over offense, so Gilroy sat for defensive minded defensemen. Eventually he moved onto other organizations before the KHL, but the Rangers failed to properly develop him as a defenseman.
New York has a history of ignoring puck moving talent from the blueline, and Gilroy provides simply one more example of that.
With that, Gilroy’s expectations were higher than the norm. Gilroy’s situation brings to mind Jimmy Vesey’s current situation, as the prized college free agent has not scored in seven games, being a minus in six of those seven contests. Vesey has seen his ice time drop, and is now a fourth liner.
Vesey is much more likely to have an extended NHL career than Gilroy was, but Gilroy could have progressed into a fine NHL defenseman if given the chance. The Rangers must not repeat their previous mistake, and Vesey must be given time and patience.
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Matt Gilroy is worth keeping in mind today. As context for the team’s defensive preferences, as context for the organization’s treatment towards Jimmy Vesey, and for giving a cookie to a goaltender for scoring a goal. Also, maybe the Rangers should bring him back to New York. He’d be a better option than Dan Girardi or Kevin Klein.