New York Rangers: It is time to trade Kevin Klein
In his four seasons on Broadway, the veteran defenseman acquired from the Nashville Predators has been a steady presence on the New York Rangers’ blueline. Now, it appears it is time for the team to move on by moving him to another team.
Throughout his time as a New York Ranger, I have been a big supporter of Kevin Klein. Throughout all these years, people have been calling for the veteran defender to be traded, to which I responded, “why?”
Klein has been a steady defenseman who is responsible in both zones and plays with a ton of heart. He is on a $2.9 million annual contract, which is affordable for one of your most consistent defenseman.
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But despite all of that, it is finally time to trade Klein.
The Rangers defense is in need of a puck-moving defenseman, and Klein does not fill that mold. Klein is also not a quick player by any measure, which also makes it hard to play in a system that is predicated on a north-south approach.
The 31-year-old that looks like he could be a member of Metallica has one year remaining on his contract after this season. Defenseman on cheap contracts that have produced the way Klein has the past few season (9 goals and 17 assists in each of the last two seasons) are very valuable on the trade market.
The Rangers should capitalize on this value right now because Klein’s play so far this year has been a bit disappointing, which led to his benching against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
His mere 6 assists, his only points of the season aren’t the only factors that help draw that conclusion, although it doesn’t help. Klein was never a point producer in Nashville, where his career high in the Music City was 4 goals and 17 assists in 2011-2012.
But Klein appears to have lost a step–one that he couldn’t afford to lose–on the defensive part of his game.
Klein holds a 60.67 corsi against per 60 minutes rating (CA/60), which ranks 6th on the team among defenseman. The only one below him in that particular stat is Dan Girardi. While the numbers don’t tell the whole tale, of course, they kind of agree with the eye test. Klein struggles to move the puck out of the defensive zone, which leads to turnovers, more time in the defensive zone and ultimately more shot attempts for the opposing team.
The Rangers, for the time being, should make some room for Adam Clendening on the blueline because he makes their transition game much better than it is with Klein on the ice.
With Ryan McDonagh returning to his form from a couple years ago and the emergence of Brady Skjei, along with the solid two-way play of Nick Holden, what Klein brings to the table isn’t really needed too much anymore and is quite redundant with some of the other defensemen on the team.
The Rangers would be better off acquiring assets for Klein instead of losing him for nothing in the NHL expansion draft, which is another reason they should move him.
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Klein has been a responsible, respectable and reliable player for the New York Rangers for some time now but the best move for the team going forward might be to remove the veteran from their blueline in exchange for draft picks.