New York Rangers: What did Libor Hajek do to get the bad press?
By Steve Paulus
Until Libor Hajek made his debut with the New York Rangers, he was a flash point for numerous negative stories. Thankfully, it appears that the pessimism was undeserved.
It’s no mystery that Libor Hajek was an important component in the Ryan McDonagh trade last season. New York Rangers management acknowledged that he was the one guy that they wanted and was the one guy that Steve Yzerman didn’t want to give up. It was even reported that the Rangers’ insistence on Hajek that resulted in J.T. Miller becoming part of the deal.
Hajek was drafted 37th overall in the second round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Yzerman traded up to get him and used the draft pick he acquired by trading Tony DeAngelo to Arizona.
Hajek had a very solid career in juniors and excelled at the 2018 World Junior Championships with a goal and seven assists in eight games. In his final season in the WHL, Hajek helped the Regina Pats get to the Memorial Cup finals. Former Rangers coach John Paddock was his coach at Regina and raved about him.
Paddock told Newsday “He’s going to be a top four (defenseman) for a long time. He’s big, (he) skates, (he’s) got skill. There’s nothing to stop him from being an NHL defenseman for quite a while.’’
With those kind of recommendations there were high expectations for Hajek with some believing that he would make the Rangers roster out of training camp.
It was not to be as the Rangers were overloaded with defensemen, including Marc Staal, Kevin Shattenkirk and Brendan Smith, all on big contracts. The Rangers also had veterans Fredrik Claesson and Adam McQuaid on the roster and DeAngelo requiring to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. Throw Neal Pionk into the mix and it made perfect sense for Hajek to get his first pro experience with Hartford.
The bad press
Hajek toiled for a really bad Hartford team, gaining valuable experience while putting up unimpressive offensive numbers. It was his lack of offensive production that was the reason for the negativity.
In 58 games, Hajek had no goals and five assists and was a -26. It wasn’t for lack of trying as he took 72 shots, fourth among Hartford defensemen. There are no ice-time statistics for the AHL, but Hajek was playing top minutes in all situations. With a bad Hartford team, Hajek was getting a tough early education.
The negative reviews began to drop, including Blueline Station: “So far, Hajek’s season with Hartford has been rather disappointing. He has recorded just four assists in 42 games, and while he is not a defenseman known for his offense first, that does not bode well for an NHL future.”
"“we are still only talking about a 20-year-old with 28 AHL games to his name. That’s not fringe sample, but it’s hardly career defining, either. One would hope that Hajek is developing and therefore will be better in February than he was in October. If we are to use the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft as our unofficial clock for Hajek’s development, then there is still plenty of time for him to improve and start producing some points….until he does, though, there is every reason to be skeptical of the idea that he will become a quality player, if even an NHL defenseman at all.”"
But the worst was a piece by Larry Brooks in the New York Post a little over a week ago on the same day Hajek was promoted to the big club. The headline told the story: “The key prospect Rangers got for McDonagh is now biggest worry.” In the story, Brooks singled out Hajek as a problem and potentially the cause of the Rangers losing the trade with Tampa:
"“But defenseman Libor Hajek, Tampa Bay’s 2016 second-rounder chosen at 37th overall, was the player the Rangers targeted. He is the player they had to have in the deal. He is also the player that then-GM Steve Yzerman would not trade unless Miller, who scored a power-play goal in the first period Wednesday, was included the offer. The Rangers believed Hajek would contend for a blue-line spot this year and so did his junior coach, John Paddock. Instead, Hajek has struggled through an extremely difficult first pro season with the AHL Wolf Pack. Clearly, this is not what the Blueshirts need(ed). So we wait. We wait to monitor Howden’s progress. We wait on Lundkvist. We wait to see whether the Rangers can get another first-rounder out of the trade. Most of all, we wait on Hajek. Because if Hajek does not become the big-time defenseman the Rangers believed, it will not be that Tampa Bay won the Trade of ’18, but that the Rangers lost it.”"
It wasn’t all negative. Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic was one of the few who wrote a positive piece about the young Czech in early December. With the confidence the New York Rangers had in their young defenseman, it’s almost like he was promoted to prove the New York Post wrong.