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Kevin Shattenkirk believes Rangers on ‘cusp’ of winning championship despite closing Cup window

By Ian Oland

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July 24, 2017 6:24 pm

During the offseason, Capitals’ trade deadline pickup Kevin Shattenkirk signed a four-year, $26.6 million contract with his hometown New York Rangers.

“Obviously, the opportunity to play for my lifelong favorite team and to live out a lifelong dream was something that I couldn’t let pass by,” Shattenkirk said that day.

But last week, after Shattenkirk donned a New York Rangers uniform for the first time, the 28-year-old defenseman spoke about his belief that the Rangers could win a Stanley Cup.

After admitting that the Rangers would have to go through Metropolitan Division rivals like the Penguins, Blue Jackets, and Caps, Shattenkirk said “it’s tough, but I think we are right on the cusp of making something big happen here.”

“We have great goaltending (Henrik Lundqvist). Our defense is fast and we can make plays, but I also think we have a little bit of edge as well,” Shattenkirk said. “Up front, I’m sure we’re one of the fastest teams in the League. You look at how Pittsburgh is built, and that’s the way that they’ve won. We have some great depth on our team, and I think that’s what it really comes down to at that point of the season: How deep are you?”

Except the Rangers, beyond adding Shattenkirk to a favorable term deal, lost several core players during the offseason. After losing in the second round to the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers saw Derek Stepan (trade), Antti Raanta (trade), Magnus Hellberg (signed with KHL) Dan Girardi (buyout), Oscar Lindberg (expansion draft), and Kevin Klein (retired from the NHL and signed with the ZSC Lions) all leave. Meanwhile, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who led Sweden to a gold medal in the 2017 World Championship despite suffering from a Grade 1 MCL sprain, is 35-years-old and will turn 36 in March. Lundqvist has four years remaining on his seven-year, $59.5 million deal that he signed in December 2013.

Lundqvist will be backed up next season by Ondrej Pavelec, after the Rangers lost both of their backups, Rannta and Hellberg.

“I think everyone’s probably all going to judge [the window] based on Lundqvist, and everyone is talking about, ‘Well, how long does he have left?'” Shattenkirk said. “We have a lot of young players on this team though to counterbalance that.

“When you’re with the New York Rangers, their business is to win every year,” Shattenkirk continued. “They’re not a team that’s looking to go through a rebuilding period. It seems like every year they’re making the moves necessary to make their team a championship team. In that respect, it’s kind of hard to see what the window is here. Every year I’ve been in the [NHL] they’ve been capable of winning a Stanley Cup.”

A first look at Shattenkirk in a Rangers jersey

Photos: @NYRangers