Kevin in hell
Shattenkirk injury latest in series of unfortunate events for unlucky Ranger
DISCOUNT the discount. Regardless of your original opinion of the free-agent signing of Kevin Shattenkirk, no one but no one could have foreseen that No. 22’s stint in New York would become a debacle by the 30-game mark of the second season of a scheduled four-year term.
Shattenkirk has been buffeted by so much misfortune in his short stay on Broadway you almost wonder if he somehow struck a bargain gone wrong with a latter day Mr. Applegate so he could suit up with his boyhood favorite hometown team. Damn Rangers!
The knee injury that wrecked his 2017-18 debut season in New York dramatically compromised the mobility that had been his greatest asset. Rather than relying on the instinct that
had elevated him to a position of status as a top-four and superior power-play man in St. Louis and had made him a blue-chip rental target approaching the 2017 deadline — keep in mind that Lightning GM Steve Yzerman had completed a trade for him that was negated when Shattenkirk declined Tampa’s contract-extension offer before the Caps won a bidding war that in- cluded the Penguins — the defenseman has become a slow, methodical player in a league where such players are fast becoming extinct.
And now the left shoulder injury he sustained on a JT Miller hit early in the second period of Monday’s 6-3 defeat in Tampa will sideline him again for an indeterminate period. The injury as yet is unidentified, but Shattenkirk left the arena with his arm in a sling. So figure, conservatively, an absence of at least a couple of weeks that will be sure to set him back again. A fast game becomes faster by the month in the NHL. That’s the rhythm of the season.
Shattenkirk has the rhythm of Elaine Benes. He has essentially become a sheltered third-pair D, second-unit power-play guy. He hasn’t been on for a power-play goal since Nov. 9 in Detroit, one of his season total of three. He can be exploited in the D-zone because his quick twitch skills have been so sorely damaged.
Thing is, it is not his fault. He cares. He works hard. He wants to win. He is a charitableminded fellow. He wanted/wants so badly to thrive playing in front of his friends and family. This is not what Shattenkirk, who turns 30 in January, signed up for when he took the Blueshirts’ four-year offer of $6.65 million per season that seemingly so-long-ago day when No. 22 seemed primed to become Ryan McDonagh’s first-pair partner. Uh, not so fast. Literally and figuratively.
The Rangers, who next play Friday at home against the Coyotes, will make do without this version of Shattenkirk. Unless management dips into the AHL for Ryan Lindgren or Libor Hajek — and honestly, what’s the rush? — Brendan Smith will step out of street clothes and into No. 22’s spot. Righty Adam McQuaid could presumably become an option when he returns from the core injury that has sidelined him since the end of October. Talk about needing to catch up on the fly. Oh boy.
But the Rangers do miss the Shattenkirk they signed. His defensive deficiencies were known, but this was a proven possession driver throughout his career. This was a big-time power-play righty. This was a New Yorker choosing to come home, and yes, for less than he would/could have gotten elsewhere. And then he got hurt in training camp, tried to play through it because, a) well, he’s a hockey player; and, b) he’s human and did not want to let his family, friends, teammates and organization down. It was a poor decision, but made for the right reason. Thus, excusable.
The cracks are beginning to mount as the season evolves. The Rangers are committing more and more mistakes, yielding more and more high-quality chances as the year kicks into higher gear. The defense operates under constant duress. Listen, Marc Staal (who is playing his best, most tenacious hockey in years) and Neal Pionk constitute the first pair. It is not that complicated.
Meanwhile, Shattenkirk’s first year-plus in the Blueshirt has been hopelessly complicated by injuries. Poor bastard. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked Lola to dance.