Lias Andersson to Hartford, Tim Gettinger recalled, Haley waived

In a move that was probably long overdue, the New York Rangers sent center Lias Andersson to Hartford in the AHL and recalled left winger Tim Gettinger.

It was clear that Lias Andersson was not going to get an opportunity to move up in the lineup and with dwindling ice time, the New York Rangers assigned him to the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Replacing him on the active roster is left winger Tim Gettinger.  The hope is that a stint in the AHL will do the same for Andersson that it did for Filip Chytil.

The debate over Lias Andersson is far from over, but attention will shift to his performance in the AHL as opposed to his use (or lack of use) with the Rangers.   Andersson has never had the chance to move off the fourth line, averaging 9:33 ice time per game.  While he pulled regular penalty killing duty, the abject failure of those special teams recently means that it wasn’t working for him there either.

In another roster move, Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Micheal Haley has been placed on waivers and will also be headed to Hartford unless he is claimed.   He took an unnecessary penalty early in the game on Saturday and that was the last straw for David Quinn.   There’s a lot to discuss regarding Lias Andersson, but first a look at who is replacing him.

Who is Tim Gettinger?

Tim Gettinger is a  big (6’6″,  218 pounds) lefthanded shooting left winger.  He is 21 years old and was in his second year with the Hartford Wolf Pack.   Gettinger saw action in four games with the Rangers last season, without scoring a point.  He averaged 7:31 in ice time, so he will fit in nicely on the Rangers’ fourth line as he won’t be seeing much more ice time than that.

He was drafted in the Fifth Round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.  Selected 141st overall, he had been a solid scorer for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.   At the time he was drafted he was seen as a possible steal as he had been ranked much higher by a number of observers.  NHL Central Scouting had him at #37 among North American skaters, Hockeyprospect.com had him at #52 and Bob McKenzie of TSN saw him going at #73.

In his first year in Hartford, Getting scored 14 goals and 27 points in 64 games and had a mediocre plus/minus rating of -20.   He was fifth on the team in goals and seventh in points.  Remember, this was a last place Hartford team that lacked structure and was not a great environment for a young player like Gettinger.

This season, the Wolf Pack are in first place, but are doing it through defense.  Gettinger has scored four goals and added two assists for six points in 17 games.   His plus/minus is even, so that is an improvement.  He’s been on a bit of an offensive streak recently with two goals and an assist in his last four games.  At any rate, don’t expect an explosion of offense from him.