Rangers acquire Fox to push veteran out the door

On Tuesday, the New York Rangers acquiring prospect defenseman Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes and while the move got a lot of people excited in the Big Apple, one specific player might not find it as beneficial to his career with the Blue Shirts. 

According to team insider Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Rangers’ new acquisition of Fox could lead to a trade of Kevin Shattenkirk. The 30-year-old defenseman signed through 2020-21 with an annual salary-cap hit of $6.65 million.

Brooks believe the Rangers could consider picking up 50 percent of his annual average value in a potential trade. However, back in February when Shattenkirk was placed on the block prior to the deadline, very few teams came calling for his services… Those who inquired about Shattenkirk reportedly insisted the Rangers take back an onerous contract in return. 

“If they cannot trade the 30-year-old, they will have to consider a buyout that would create an additional $5.166 million-plus of space this season and $566,667 next year, while adding $1.433 million-plus of dead space to the ledger in 2021-22 and 2022-23,” notes Brooks. 

The Rangers are looking to improve on the back end, but there seems to be a lot of hope in the young Fox. 

“We think Adam is ready to play now,” GM Jeff Gorton told The Post. “People talk about a year from now, but a lot can happen in a year, or 16 months. That comes with a lot of ‘if’s.’ So for me, it was easy. We wanted him here and we didn’t want to wait. We want to get moving.”

And the Rangers also want to get Shattenkirk moving… out.