Why the NHL’s Seattle expansion could hurt the Rangers
The announcement that Seattle will begin play as the NHL’s 32nd team in 2021-22, rather than 2020-21, and with the expansion draft set for June 2021 under the same rules that applied to Vegas, means the Rangers will be unable to claim entry-level exemptions on Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson and Brett Howden.
It also means, however, Henrik Lundqvist’s contract will have expired following the 2020-21 season, so the Rangers could hypothetically protect Alex Georgiev while getting an exemption for Igor Shestyorkin, presuming the Russian goaltender signs a two-year entry level contract next summer at the age of 23.
Teams will be able to protect either one goaltender, three defensemen and seven forwards or one goaltender and eight skaters. First- and second-year pros are exempt. Players with no-move clauses must be protected. The Rangers have just two players currently under contract beyond 2020-21: Mika Zibanejad and Brady Skjei, neither of whom owns a no-move clause.
The timing of the expansion draft mitigates against the Blueshirts signing 2018 ninth-overall selection Vitali Kravtsov and bringing him to Broadway after his KHL season ends. Kravtsov would be exempt from claim by Seattle if he signs his three-year entry-level deal this summer. The Rangers could bring the winger over and have him play with the AHL Wolf Pack on an Amateur Tryout.
Dustin Tokarski, recalled from AHL Hartford on Monday, will be the Rangers’ backup goaltender for their two-game swing through Florida with games against the Panthers on Saturday and the Lightning on Monday. Georgiev, who exchanged places with Tokarski, is expected to start Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for the Wolf Pack. Lundqvist is scheduled to start both games of the trip.
If defenseman Tony DeAngelo looked comfortable getting a couple of turns on the left side during the third period of Sunday’s match against Winnipeg after Brendan Smith had been benched, there’s a reason for it, the righty having played his off-side through junior.
“I prefer it, actually,” DeAngelo said. “I can do more offensively.”
Coach David Quinn said he might consider moving DeAngelo to the left side after righty Adam McQuaid, who practiced Tuesday for the first time since suffering a core injury on Oct. 25, is ready to rejoin the lineup.
Quinn, a week ago, mentioned that Jimmy Vesey “gets down on himself quickly.”
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The winger, second on the Rangers with nine goals, got a career-high 23:51 against the Jets that led the team’s forwards. His previous high of 20:13 came Nov. 1 in Anaheim.
“I’m getting better with that,” Vesey, looking very much like the player who provoked a league-wide frenzy when he became a free agent after his draft rights expired, told The Post. “I realize that realistically you’re not going to have 82 good games out of 82 and that one bad game, maybe even three, represents a small blip in the season.
“The coach has entrusted a lot of faith in me. The minutes the other night and the way I’m being used in all situations are reflections of that and have helped my mindset.”
Vesey said he spent some time speaking with a sports psychologist last year, but not this season. Quinn and his staff seem to have filled the void.
“The time you spend with a player is as important as what you say,” Quinn said.