Calvin de Haan expresses frustration over healthy scratches, overall treatment by New York Rangers franchise

As he walked onto the ice for an optional morning skate, Calvin de Haan chose to open up about his frsutrations regarding the fact that the veteran has been a healthy scratch for the past 18 games.

New York acquired de Haan in the package it received for Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, and Hank Kempf. Coach Peter Laviolette played him his first three games with the team but as made him a healthy scratch since. Apparently, de Haan, a pending unrestricted free agent, initially said he would speak to reporters after practice and be “very transparent.” The 33-year-old had a conversation with a Rangers public relations staff member when leaving the ice, then promptly told reporters he would prefer to wait until after the season. He stressed it was his decision — not the public relations staff’s — to not go into more detail Sunday.

"[I'm] just wasting time," de Haan initially said. "It's ‘f—ed.’"

Once his initial comment went live across social media and the news cycle, de Haan took to his own Twitter and elaborated.

"I was hoping that I would have been able to express in a scrum setting versus a quote as I was going onto the ice and having it on the Internet 30 seconds later. I said what I said because I am frustrated , and any competitor who says that they would be happy in this position would be lying to you. After playing 3 games for the team and going 2-0-1 , I thought I maybe would have got an opportunity to jump into the lineup and help win some games

Did I help win those games I played, maybe? Maybe not? But we still won and collected some crucial points to climb the standings. I understand the youth movement in the nhl, and I’m getting older in hockey years and I may not play every single night. I feel like I can still contribute and help teams win. I know I’m not going to play 20 minutes a night in the role I’ve been in the past few years , but again I feel like I can still keep up and help a team in certain facets of the game.

I’m not trying to be the villain or gain attention or throw shade on the organization , I would have preferred a scrum setting to chat about how my time with the rangers has gone. As a player you have to respect the lineup decisions whether you like them or not, it’s just been frustrating not being able to compete and do what I love to do. I hope everyone understands."

Calvin de Haan via his Twitter/X

While it's clear de Haan's comments were not encouraged, he does have a point. The Rangers as an organization, and president and general manager Chris Drury in particular, are going to have to evaluate how their actions have contributed to the overall attitude across the roster and in the locker room.