Scott Morrow was a healthy scratch for the 14th straight game of the season on Monday night, a decision that continues to be very mind bogling. If the New York Rangers, who kept him to start the season because of a fear of losing him on waivers, don't plan on playing him anytime soon, it is officially time for both parties to work out a trade.
Mike Sullivan was asked about Morrow's situation prior to New York’s 6-3 loss against the Los Angeles Kings, and his response was another classic case of having to read between the lines.
Mike Sullivan says all the right things without taking action
When asked about Morrow and whether there is an urgent need to get him into game action or send him down to Hartford, the Blueshirts' bench boss admitted the current arrangement is not great:
"We don't like having any of our players on the sidelines for any length of time. It's not in anybody's best interest, especially a young player like Scotty. There are circumstances around it. He's been great. He's a great pro. He understands it. We've communicated it with him. He works extremely hard to try to keep his game at a level where, when he does get the tap to go in, that he has an opportunity to have success. But I don't think there's any doubt that it's not in any player's best interest to be on the sidelines for that length of time. That's a discussion that we've had internally, and we'll try to manage it accordingly."
Despite Sullivan acknowledging that sitting out for a month helps nobody, that is precisely what the organization has done to Morrow. Even worse, the Rangers refuse to consider using him even when their regular defensemen are clearly banged up.
Sean Durzi hasn't missed a game yet, but he has missed several practices for maintenance days and looks visibly hindered. During Monday’s loss to Los Angeles, Sullivan reworked his pairs, promoting Braden Schneider to skate alongside Marcus Pettersson and demoting Durzi. Afterward, Sullivan confirmed that Durzi is playing through physical ailments.
Via Mollie Walker of the New York Post:
"It was an accumulation of events over time. We felt as a coaching staff, for the first probably 7 or 8 games, Marcus and Durz were a pretty solid pair for us. They get hard minutes, they get a lot of D-zone starts against top players. That pair has been pretty solid for us. I think the last 5 or 6 it's been a little bit of a struggle for them, for whatever reason. Durz is battling through some stuff physically and I'm sure that might be part of it. But we just felt to affect a little bit of change, maybe we'll split the pairs and see what we get. It wasn't a reaction to the game tonight, it was an accumulation of events over the course of the last probably 4 or 5 games."
The bizarre Matthew Robertson paper transaction
The lack of a coherent plan was on full display over the weekend in Ontario. Matthew Robertson was recalled from Hartford to join the team as insurance for the Ottawa game.
With Durzi clearly hurting, the Rangers had an opportunity. They could sit Durzi, give Morrow his regular-season debut, and let Robertson serve as the extra skater on standby. Instead, Durzi played through the pain, Robertson sat in the press box next to Morrow, and Robertson was promptly returned to Hartford on Sunday.
When Monday rolled around against the Kings, Durzi was still laboring. Rather than turning to Morrow, Sullivan simply shuffled his deck of cards, demoting Durzi to the third pair and bumping Schneider up during the game. With the Rangers now facing a six-day layoff before hosting Edmonton on Sunday, why not rest Durzi completely and give Morrow an extended look?
Nobody is expecting Morrow to step in and become an instant top-four savior, but it isn't as if Schneider has played lights-out hockey. Through 13 games, Schneider has posted a 46.32 GF%, a 46.43 CF%, and a 46.37 xGF% per Evolving-Hockey. Durzi hasn't fared much better at a 45.71 GF%, a 49.77 CF%, and a 45.46 xGF%.
While Durzi’s metrics have clearly tanked due to his injury, Schneider’s struggles are just who he is. Rewarding Schneider with a top-four promotion while leaving Morrow to rot makes little hockey sense.
Trade him or play him because half measures helps no one
All of this brings us back to Morrow, a young player who may not be all that good, but there's no way of knowing for sure. The Rangers haven't given him consistent playing time, ideal partners, or the opportunity to be properly evaluated. If they truly made their mind up about him, that's fine. They can just cut their losses and move on, and have someone else on the roster that they will play, or at the very least won't waste.
Leaving Morrow in limbo also hurts 18-year-old rookie Alberts Smits most of all. Smits is experiencing natural growing pains in his first North American season, and saddling him with Schneider’s erratic puck management makes his adjustment twice as hard. Schneider continues to skate by without consequence because there is zero internal pressure threatening his ice time.
Morrow has upside, but upside means nothing from the press box. If the Rangers refuse to play him during an injury crisis, they need to do the right thing and move him.
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