New York Rangers should have targeted free agent Calvin de Haan
Free agent defenseman Calvin de Haan would have been a smart target for the New York Ranger.
The New York Rangers have been relatively quiet in free agency thus far, signing only former Ottawa Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson to a one-year contract.
Despite the signing of Claesson, the Rangers still have plenty of questions on their back end. A healthy Kevin Shattenkirk is a lock, of course, as are Brady Skjei and (unfortunately) Marc Staal. That leaves three or four roster spots up for grabs, with a plethora of candidates.
Calvin de Haan, now a Carolina Hurricane, would have been a terrific insurance choice in case players like Brendan Smith, Libor Hajek, or Claesson don’t pan out.
A steady, true shutdown defenseman like de Haan should have been the type of anchor the Rangers need to help their young players get comfortable at the highest level.
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Calvin’s comparables
During Calvin de Haan’s time with the New York Islanders, he flew largely under the radar. De Haan’s meager point totals are in line with players like Deryk Engelland and Dan Hamhuis. He scored 12 points in 33 games in 2017-18; his career-high is 25 points in 2016-17.
But de Haan’s value doesn’t come from his offense. Unlike many so-called “defensive defensemen,” de Haan is exceptional at suppressing shots and scoring chances.
Over the last three seasons, Calvin de Haan ranks 7th among 117 defensemen (3,000+ 5v5 minutes) with a Rel xGF% of +5.23.
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) July 3, 2018
Only Lindholm, Spurgeon, Suter, Hamilton, Manson and Giordano rank ahead. In other words, there are three elite D pairings and then de Haan.
In other words, de Haan has real value. While the Islanders struggled at suppressing shots, de Haan led all Islanders defensemen in shot attempts percentage at even strength. His mark of 49.02% trailed only players like Matthew Barzal and Jordan Eberle on the team.
The Carolina Hurricanes saw that value and jumped on it with both feet.
The Hurricanes signed de Haan to a new contract on July 3: four years, $4.555 million AAV. He will join an already formidable blue line in Raleigh, alongside the likes of Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Justin Faulk.
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Would he have fit?
If the New York Rangers had signed de Haan to a reasonable contract, there was still the question of where he fit now and in the future.
The likelihood that the Rangers use the second buyout window to get Marc Staal out of the picture is vanishingly small. Thus, they’re more-or-less locked into two left-side defensemen for 2018-19—unless they move Skjei to the right side.
Claesson and Smith can both play on the right side. Given the unproven nature of Neal Pionk and Anthony DeAngelo, both Claesson and Smith will undoubtedly get looks there in camp.
As for the money, the Rangers have a boatload of cap space. Even with extensions needed for restricted free agents like Skjei, Kevin Hayes, Ryan Spooner, and Jimmy Vesey, their $23 million in open space is more than enough to accommodate $2-2.5 million for de Haan.
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With that sort of flexibility and the question marks surrounding young players, the Rangers absolutely should have had a spot for de Haan. He could have been be the steadying presence on the back end that Staal once was.