New York Rangers: What now for Kevin Shattenkirk?

Is it nearing the end of the road for Kevin Shattenkirk and the New York Rangers? It is certainly looking that way following the events of Tuesday…

There was some big news to digest outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this week after the New York Rangers announced that they had acquired defenseman Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes.

It cost the Blueshirts a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

However, the price of that trade could prove to be an absolute steal down the road given Fox’s sky high ceiling when it comes to ability and potential.

The 21-year-old posted nine goals and 39 assists for 48 points in 33 games for Harvard University this season, exploits that led to him being named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in collegiate hockey in 2018-19.

Fox was also named a First Team All-American and established collegiate career highs in several categories over the past year, including goals, assists, points and plus/minus rating (+23).

All in all, the Rangers are getting their hands on an absolute stud and Fox will be one of many exciting prospects looking to nail down a roster spot once training camp opens.

So, what does this mean for Kevin Shattenkirk?

Changing of the guard

This Rangers rebuild is starting to click into gear and the foundations are being laid in place to ensure that this storied franchise can compete for Stanley Cups on a consistent and frequent basis.

The long-term aim here isn’t to win just one championship, it is to build a dynasty that can rival that of hockey’s most famous teams, including the great Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wing teams.

Although they already had one of the youngest rosters in the NHL in 2018-19, the Blueshirts will have even more of a youthful look to them next year as they set out to nurture and develop their pool of prospects.

So, and as a result, it isn’t unfair to start speculating that an older head in the ilk of Kevin Shattenkirk could be for the chopping block.

Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton has made it clear that Fox is ready to play right now and that could put Shattenkirk in immediate danger of having to pack up his belongings.

It is fair to say that Shattenkirk’s time in the Big Apple has been a bust so far.

Big things were expected of the power play expert following his free agent pickup by the Rangers in July 2017, a move that was seen as the final piece in the playoff jigsaw.

However, a torn meniscus ravaged Shattenkirk’s debut season on Broadway and he finished 2017-18 with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 46 games.

Salt was then added to the wound when the front office announced their intentions to tear everything up and start over by orchestrating a rebuild.

All of a sudden Shattenkirk, once the boyhood Rangers fan brought in to help deliver his team to the promised land and a Stanley Cup, found himself in uncharted territory.

It never got easier for the 30-year-old, either.

Still feeling the effects of his season-ending injury, Shattenkirk endured a slow start to 2018-19 and found himself scratched by new head coach David Quinn in the opening few games, which shocked many give the fact that the pair shared a previous relationship going back to their BU days.

That was as much as Quinn sending out a very clear message that this was his team and his rules as it was Shattenkirk still struggling to get his Rangers career off the ground.

Granted, there were signs of encouragement from the blueliner in 2018-19 as he managed to skate in 73 games despite encountering more injury problems.

He finished the year with two goals and 26 assists for 28 points, along with an awful plus/minus rating of -26, but the biggest disappointment was the fact that he only tallied seven points on the power play.

Given that 146 of his 298 career points prior to joining New York came on the power play, big things were expected of the defenseman on the man advantage.

But he could never replicate that success with the Rangers and he was eventually replaced on the first unit by Tony DeAngelo, who finished the year with ten power play points in 61 games.

Shattenkirk’s lack of speed with and without the puck is a concern as well, hampering his team’s ability to transition out of their own zone with pace.

There were some positives to take from Shattenkirk’s year, though. His 50.39 expected goals for percentage at 5v5 was the best on the Rangers blueline, and he also had a 98.56 PDO – he finished with the 89th lowest PDO among 108 NHL defensemen who had logged at least 1,100 minutes of 5v5 ice time in 2018-19.

End of the road?

All in all, the Rangers have a big decision to make when it comes to Kevin Shattenkirk this off-season.

Adam Fox, like his older peer, is a right-handed shot and could be chucked straight into a top six role and on the first power play unit in order for David Quinn and the franchise to have a proper look at their latest toy.

That would mean bumping Shattenkirk down to a bottom pairing role, which you can’t afford to do with a blueliner carrying an annual average cap hit of $6,650,000.

So, what are the options?

You could opt to buy out Shattenkirk’s contract although that would incur a total salary cap hit of $10.4 million and they would have his cap hit for two additional years.

That wouldn’t be feasible for the Rangers so the better option would be to find a willing trade partner and then pay half of Shattenkirk’s salary, swallowing a $3 million cap hit for just two years.

After all, Shattenkirk could be more suited on a contending team with a better supporting cast of players around him rather than having to carry the load on a rebuilding team full of young prospects who are still wet behind the ears.  There is also the issue of a modified no trade clause to contend with.

It would be tough to see Shattenkirk go given his boyhood connections to the team and the fact that there is still a very good player buried deep inside, but this rebuild is reaching a key stage and it can ill-afford to carry passengers.

This is all about the future for the New York Rangers now and it is time to allow the likes of Fox, Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren a stage befitting of their talents.

Now would be the perfect time for the Blueshirts to cut their losses with Kevin Shattenkirk if that is the road they go down given the plethora of young elite defensemen they have at their disposal.