Matt Beleskey barely had a cup of coffee with the New York Rangers this season. For a while it looked like the NHL veteran would stick with the team during the season, but it wasn’t to be.
Matt Beleskey – Grade Incomplete
As we continue our series of report cards on the 2018-19 New York Rangers, we come to Matt Beleskey, a veteran of almost 500 NHL games, but who has been exiled to the minor leagues.
His season
Matt Beleskey played all of four games with the Rangers this season. He scored one goal and had one fight. That about sums it up. The oddity is that from that brief stint with the Rangers, it seemed like he might have a future with the team. He appeared to be a player that Coach David Quinn would like, a physical presence who is tough to play against, maybe a more talented version of Cody McLeod.
After those four games he was sent back to Hartford, never to be seen again.
Beleskey, 30, had a shot of making the team in training camp, but a separated shoulder derailed his pre-season and he didn’t get back into action in the AHL until mid-October.
In 53 games with the Wolf Pack he had five goals and 17 assists and he was fourth on the team with 55 penalty minutes.
It’s unusual that we are able to show ALL of the highlights of a player’s season in one story, but with Beleskey we can do it. Here is his one goal:
.@Matt_Beleskey picks a good time to score his 1st goal this season for the #NYR! pic.twitter.com/D7arSdY1tC
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) December 9, 2018
And here is his one fight, with Erik Cernak of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Why the grade
Matt Beleskey has to be factored into the 2018-19 Rangers for one reason, his cap hit. He was acquired from the Bruins in the Rick Nash deal last season as a salary dump. The Bruins agreed to retain half of his $3.8 million salary, but the Rangers are on the hook for $1.9 million for one more year.
Beleskey was the recipient of a five-year, $19 million contract from the Bruins in 2015 after a career year with Florida. As one of the top free agents in a weak season, Beleskey was overpaid and Boston was desperate to get out from under the deal.
When you consider that Matt Beleskey is making more money than Jesper Fast and that’s with the Rangers paying half of his salary, a failing grade may be even more appropriate. However, there were never any expectations that Beleskey would be able to contribute to the team.
The numbers
Games: 4
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Points: 1
PPG: 0.25
CF%: 36.5
+/-: +1
PIM: 5
ATOI: 7:22
Next Ranger report card: Connor Brickley