Defenseman Calvin de Haan logged three games and one assist during his time as a New York Ranger for the 2024-25 National Hockey League season.
Though, the most important part of de Haan's season did not come in a stat, but came in the form of his honesty with the media. Let's take a more in depth look at the 34-year-old's year as a Blueshirt.
Expectations
De Haan came into the season with little to no expectations from Rangers fans. He became a Blueshirt on March 1 when the Rangers traded Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for de Haan. He was then penciled in as a bottom pair defenseman.
By the time the deal occurred, de Haan hadn't played 60 games in a single season since 2021-22. There was some hope for him in that during his most productive season he posted 25 points — across five goals and 20 assists — across 82 games; however, this was just under a decade ago in the 2016-17 season.
Performance
Honestly, de Haan's performance is greatly overshadowed by various statements he's made. These statements came after he played three games following the Colorado trade, and when de Haan was scratched for the final 20 games of the regular season.
However in the three games he played he spent the majority of his minutes on ice paired with Zac Jones. In 38 minutes together, they posted a 100 percent GF%, a 55.48 xGF%, and a 51.35 SCF%, in which de Haan picked up an assist in his first game as a Blueshirt (against Nashville).
Back to the main point of this story — here's what de Haan had to say about the number of times former Rangers Head Coach Peter Laviolette scratched him.
"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 gamesCalvin de Haan, via social media
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."
No matter what de Haan did on the ice, none of it matters now. What matters is the fact that it's difficult to disagree with de Haan's blunt assessment of his time in New York.
Where They Go From Here
De Haan is now off to find his next free agent contract. And unfortuantely for him, his statements on how he felt about his lack of playing time are liekly going to have him labeled as a PR nightmare for any team that picks him up.
But, New York Rangers fans should always appreciate de Haan's candor when it came the numerous questionable scratch decisions Laviolette previously made.