New York Rangers: Kevin Shattenkirk does not fit the team’s window
New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has an awfully bad case of be careful what you wish for. After years of wanting to play in his home town, the fairy tale is over.
It is unquestionable that the Rangers were one of the most successful teams this decade. The organization’s long term pattern of success was an attractive feature for potential free agents.
Although these were not the Ranger teams that signed washed up veterans to long term deals, the front office still utilized free agency to build the roster. The biggest success the team has had was through budget free agent signings.
However, the budget free agent signings do not move the needle as much. In recent years, the Rangers have not handed out large contracts on the first day of free agency with a few exceptions.
After years of rumors and conjecture, Kevin Shattenkirk signed with his hometown team on a discounted deal.
However, the New Rochelle native’s expectations could not have been what occurred last season. Both in terms of Shattenkirk’s personal health and the team’s success last season was a colossal failure.
Signing the free agent defenseman was supposed to provide Ryan McDonagh a proper right handed defensive partner.
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Instead, Alain Vigneault pushed all the wrong buttons and New York finished with the eighth worst record in the NHL. Now, being that the front office and ownership have pushed the rebuild button, does it make sense to keep Shattenkirk around?
The timeline
When Shattenkirk signed as a free agent, the Rangers were still in contender mode. The team’s defense should have been vastly improved. In a vacuum, the jump in talent from Dan Girardi to Shattenkirk should have been good for at least four or five more wins last season.
The Rangers were in a black hole for the first month of the season, winning only two of their first ten games last year. However, once the team started to tread water, it was through the power play.
Chief amongst the biggest improvements for the Rangers man advantage was Shattenkirk running the unit.
But, following the Winter Classic, the team’s season went off the rails. Chris Kreider was diagnosed with a blood clot and Shattenkirk revealed he was playing with a torn meniscus for the entire season to that point.
Without these two big pieces, the Rangers fell off a cliff. In fact, it was this abysmal stretch in January that prompted the letter from the front office to announce the team was going to pursue a rebuild.
Where things stand
As of now, the Rangers are clearly at least two years away from being a serious contender. The team’s prospect pool for the most part needs further seasoning. Aside from Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson, no prospects are expected to contribute in any significant way next season.
This is far from what Shattenkirk thought he was getting himself into last July. Being that the defenseman has a limited no-movement clause for the remaining three years of his contract, the defenseman controls his own fate.
The ball is in Shattenkirk’s court for his professional future. In addition, the Rangers could be better served with an addition pair of draft picks instead of a defenseman on the wrong side of 30.
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Ultimately, the Rangers may choose to hold onto the veteran defenseman. The team will need stability as it transitions to a new group of players.
As long as Shattenkirk is healthy next season, he will be the best defenseman on the team. Going forward, the Rangers need to choose their future carefully and avoid tying itself up with long term commitments.