A look back at the Kevin Shattenkirk buyout

With the New York Rangers heading into a salary cap crunch within the next few months, they will be revisiting a similar predicament from last year.

With all of the excitement the New York Rangers had last off-season with the additions of Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, and Adam Fox, nearly just as much drama came with it. With the hefty contracts they handed to Panarin and Trouba, they put themselves in a salary cap bind, and they were forced to relinquish some of their talent.

Ultimately the situation resulted in a buyout of Kevin Shattenkirk’s contract which will result in a cap hit of nearly $9 million over the next three seasons. Next season hurts the most with over $6 million in dead money.  With one season put behind us, it is interesting to take a look back at this complicated matter.

The Options

At the time of the buyout there weren’t many options, as the other primary candidates were Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, and Brendan Smith. While Shattenkirk started off the first two seasons of his contract playing below his anticipated level, he was still performing much better than Staal and Smith.

The main issue was that a buyout of either player most likely would still not have been enough to put the Rangers under the salary cap. This, with addition of Staal’s veteran status and Smith having the ability to be placed in the minors, left Shattenkirk as the most expendable option at the time.

While a Lundqvist buyout would have been the most similar in savings, the Rangers were not ready to let go of a franchise legend, especially as there was no guaranteed replacement. Had the rise of Igor Shesterkin happened a year earlier, things could have possibly ended up differently.

Performance

In the two season’s Shattenkirk played with the Rangers he posted 23 points in 46 games and 28 points in 73 games. These were the worst offensive numbers he had put up in his career and far below what he had been expected to produce.

In regards to defensive metrics he did stay relatively on pace with blocked shots and takeaways per game, but there was an increase in his giveaways per game. Overall he remained nearly the same defensive player he came in as.

While there was surely a decline in play, it did not help that Shattenkirk faced injuries during both of his seasons and was caught in the middle of the Rangers rebuild in which he was not paired with a consistent partner of his level. In the grand scheme of things, he was still performing better than most if not all of the rest of the Rangers defense.

The Aftermath

After Shattenkirk was bought out, he subsequently signed a one year deal with the Tampa Bay Lighting for the 2019-2020 season. He had come into this year hot, scoring 8 points i the first seven games and ended up finishing the season with 34 points in 70 games played, showing that he still could produce at a high level.

While the deal he signed will be up after this season, it is certain that Shattenkirk would not even entertain any idea of returning to the Rangers, as there is surely still bad blood after being bought out despite taking a home town discount.

What Could Have Been

Despite the situation the Rangers were in, I still believe they should have found a way to keep Shattenkirk. Not only to avoid next season’s salary cap implications, but because he truly was not performing as badly as he was made out be. Yes, his offensive numbers were down, but he had played both seasons with time off due to injuries and he still played an overall better game than most of his fellow defensemen.

While it arguable that a Staal or Smith buyout wouldn’t have been enough, I believe they could have found a way to dish out a mid to low level talent out for low draft picks in addition. They did so with Jimmy Vesey and had they been willing to do so earlier for Vladislav Namestnikov (who was traded two games into the season anyway) it could have been done.

While one can point out that there would have been a logjam with right handed defenseman and that the Rangers are normally against moving defenseman to their offside, it would have been much better than the situation that played out. An addition of someone like Shattenkirk or Tony DeAngelo to the left side would have been a major boost  and it is interesting to think of what could have been.

Additionally, without Shattenkirk’s buyout hit of over $6 million next season, they might have not traded Brady Skjei at the deadline this year.

Had Shattenkirk stayed, the left side could have been filled by him, Ryan Lindgren, and Skjei with a back up of either Staal or Smith (if both were still on the team) or possibly a call up like Yegor Rykov or Libor Hajek .   The right side would be intact with Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox.

Such a lineup would have been fantastic and with the high level prospects the Rangers have waiting, their defense could have been in an even better place. There’s no doubt that although the future looks bright for the Rangers’ defense,   I believe the Rangers should have kept Shattenkirk as he was truly not the best candidate for a buyout both financially and in terms of play.