New York Rangers

After defenseman Tony DeAngelo's controversial start to the season—on and off the ice—the New York Rangers elected to place the star on waivers Sunday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. 

DeAngelo, who signed a two-year, $9.6 million extension this offseason, deleted his Twitter account in protest of former U.S. President Donald Trump's ban from the platform and was later benched for two games after "poor on-ice behavior" in the first game of the season, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post. 

Through six games this season, DeAngelo has posted just one point by way of an assist in an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. 

His contributions pale in comparison to the 53-point season he had through 68 games last year. 

The 25-year-old said he was switching to Parler, which was banned from the Google app store due to "continued posting...that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S," according to Mark Fischer of the New York Post. 

Head coach David Quinn told reporters the team addressed the situation with DeAngelo, according to Fischer.

Fischer reported that DeAngelo was suspended twice by the Ontario Hockey League in 2014—the year the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him with the No. 19 pick—for violation of policy "to keep homophobic, racist and sexist language out of the game." 

Before he was traded to the Rangers—where he was suspended for a "maturity issue" in 2019—he missed three games when he tried to push a referee. 

This year's early punishment came after he was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the New York Islanders on Jan. 14 (h/t Mollie Walker of the New York Post). 

"Tony understood the situation," Quinn said, via Brooks. "It was not my intention for it to be a two-game situation. He knows that, and we’ve had conversations regarding that. He’s ready to move past it. I’m ready to move past it. He’s learned from it."

Brendan Smith filled in for DeAngelo when he took a seat, and it's likely he could see more time again with the move. 

Longtime NHL winger Ryan Callahan announced his retirement Wednesday at the age of 35 after 13 NHL seasons.

Callahan made it official with the following statement on Twitter:

The Rochester, New York, native did not play last season because of a back injury. He spent parts of eight seasons with the New York Rangers and parts of six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After getting selected by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL draft, Callahan quickly became a fan favorite in New York because of his speed, tenacity, grit and goal-scoring ability.

Callahan was also so well-respected by his teammates and coaches that he served as the Blueshirts' captain for three seasons before getting traded to the Lightning.

During his NHL career, Callahan racked up 186 goals and 200 assists for 386 points in 757 regular-season games. He scored at least 20 goals in a season four times, including a career-high 29 for the Rangers in 2011-12.

Callahan also enjoyed a decorated playoff career, registering 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 121 postseason contests.

He played a significant role in leading the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, but the Bolts fell short against the Chicago Blackhawks.

In addition to his success in the NHL, Callahan impressed on the international stage, as he represented the United States at the 2005 World Junior Championships and both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

In 2010, Callahan and Team USA won the silver medal in Vancouver when they lost to Canada in heartbreaking fashion in overtime of the gold-medal game.

Callahan's swan song as a hockey player came during the 2018-19 NHL season when he appeared in 52 regular-season games for the Lightning, posting seven goals and 10 assists with a plus-7 rating.

The New York Rangers' offseason is going swimmingly after the team drafted Alexis Lafreniere with the top overall pick in this week's draft. Whenever a future superstar drops into your lap, things are going well. 

But there will be changes to come in New York via free agency and potentially trades. Let's take a look at what could be coming down the pipeline. 

For starters, don't be surprised if Tony DeAngelo's days are numbered with the Rangers:

The Rangers have a logjam at right defenseman in first-round pick Braden Schneider, Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and DeAngelo. It's also possible the team could move DeAngelo to the left side, as general manager Jeff Gorton said (h/t Larry Brooks of the New York Post):

"We have talked about moving Tony and we've talked about our right side and who is the best person to move over there. I don't think it's going to be [Trouba], so we've talked about [Fox] and Tony in these ongoing conversations, trying to get them more ice time. We have a very talented right side that can move the puck and we do have two guys we think are very capable.

"Actually our organization thinks we have a young player in Sweden [Nils Lundkvist] that can play on the off-side, too. We're pretty comfortable they can do it and we've had a lot of conversations about that, moving forward for next year."

DeAngelo, 24, should have suitors if New York decides to move on. He appeared in 68 games last season, posting 15 goals and 38 assists while finishing the year plus-12. 

Speaking of players whose future is up in the air, Brooks brought up the case of center Ryan Strome, who could be looking at an arbitration number nearing the $5 million average annual value (AAV). If that ends up being the number, Strome might be too expensive for the Rangers:

"Hours before the deadline for qualifying offers, management decided that it would be folly to allow Ryan Strome, their third-leading scorer, to get away for nothing. But that doesn't necessarily mean the decision will go down that same way if No. 16 gets an arbitration award that is too rich for the Blueshirts' blood. 

" ... The fact is the Rangers have been trying to trade for a center and were unable to pull it off as the qualifying-offer deadline neared. They will continue to pursue what they believe is an upgrade in the middle for Artemi Panarin's line. If Strome's arbitration award is too rich for the Blueshirts' blood, that's the time they'll walk away."

Someone will pay Strome. He's fresh off an 18-goal, 41-assist season. Don't be shocked if he plays his hockey elsewhere next season. 

One player who assuredly will be gone is goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who appears set to sign with the Washington Capitals:

The Rangers bought out the final year of his contract in late September. It was a Hall of Fame run in New York, where Lundqvist spent 15 seasons, but all good things come to an end. 

The New York Rangers landed one of the top hockey prospects in years after the selection of Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft.

Lafreniere was the No. 1 North American skater in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings and has been considered a top prospect for a long time thanks to his production for Rimouski in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The 18-year-old completed his third season in the Canadian junior league, leading all players in 2019-20 with 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in just 52 games. It was his second straight year topping 100 points.

Jean-Francois Damphousse of NHL Central Scouting called his skating and puck skills above average but noted his mental attributes are more impressive than his physical ones, per Adam Kimelman of NHL.com:

"One of his best assets in general is vision, his playmaking skills. Every game that I saw him play, he makes plays that we don't even think that those plays are possible, and he still makes them. But I think what separates him from the pack is his compete level. He's willing to play physical, he battles every game, and anytime that the game is on the line you want him on the ice. He makes big plays in games and he responds under pressure."

Lafreniere said of his game, Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com: "I think the way I'm a leader and always want to win when the game's on the line. I think I can make a difference."

The intangibles only add to an impressive profile that includes elite attributes on the ice.

"Lafreniere is one of the most purely skilled players I've ever seen as a first-year draft-eligible prospect," Corey Pronman of The Athletic wrote in his scouting report.

This skill set could help the 6'1", 192-pound player make an early impact with his new team.

New York could use a player of this ability after the team's quick elimination from the postseason this year.

The Rangers last competed in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, and they haven't finished above seventh in the eight-team Metropolitan Division in any of the past three years.

Lafreniere quickly becomes the most exciting prospect in the organization, which is developing an exciting young core, including Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. He should play right away, giving the team another dangerous offensive weapon alongside Artemi Panarin.

New York was fortunate to win the draft lottery and could have a star on their hands if the newest No. 1 overall pick lives up to expectations.

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist's 15-season run with the New York Rangers has officially come to an end.

The Rangers announced Wednesday they have bought out the last year of the five-time All-Star's contract.

Lundqvist tweeted a goodbye message to the Rangers organization and fans:   

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported Tuesday that the Rangers and Lundqvist were working together on the buyout of the final season of his seven-year deal.

Brooks noted the Rangers will save $3 million against the 2020-21 salary cap with the move.

It seemed apparent this season that Lundqvist's time in New York was nearing an end. The 38-year-old only started seven of the team's final 34 games. Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shestyorkin split starting duties in the other 27 games.

Lundqvist was a seventh-round draft pick (No. 205 overall) by the Rangers in 2000. He became their primary starting goalie as a rookie in 2005-06 and went on to set franchise records for career wins (459), shutouts (64) and playoff wins (61).

In 2011-12, Lundqvist joined John Vanbiesbrouck (1985-86), Eddie Giacomin and Gilles Villemure (co-winners in 1970-71) and David Kerr (1939-40) as the only Rangers goalies to win the Vezina Trophy.

Wednesday will reportedly bring about an end to an era in the Big Apple.  

According to Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic and Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the New York Rangers will buy out goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's contract Wednesday. That means his legendary career with the Blueshirts will be coming to an end.

Brooks explained the Rangers worked with Lundqvist in deciding to buy out the final season of a seven-year, $59.5 million deal that started in 2014-15. The move creates an additional $3 million of cap space for 2020-21 and $1.5 million in dead space for 2021-22.

The writing appeared to be on the wall for the 38-year-old when the Rangers relied on Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev down the stretch of the 2019-20 campaign.

That tandem will surely be between the pipes next season for New York, while Lundqvist will either retire or perhaps sign a short deal with another contender. He may even assume a backup role as someone who could provide veteran leadership and playoff experience to a locker room looking for just that.

Still, Lundqvist leaves New York as a franchise icon.

He is the sixth-winningest goaltender in NHL history with a 459-310-96 record and sports a 2.43 goals against average and .918 save percentage. The five-time All-Star won the 2011-12 Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and helped lead the Rangers to the playoffs 12 times during his 15 years with the team.

New York reached the 2014 Stanley Cup Final during that span of excellence but lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

It was the closest Lundqvist has come to winning a coveted Stanley Cup title, which is the one thing missing from his illustrious resume.

The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have acquired defenseman Marc Staal and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft from the New York Rangers in exchange for future considerations.

The Rangers also confirmed the move and wished the 13-year veteran a fond farewell:

"Marc Staal has been an exemplary hockey player, teammate, and person from the moment he joined the New York Rangers organization," Rangers President and Alternate Governor John Davidson said in a statement.

"A consummate professional, Marc's perseverance and dedication to the game made him such an integral part of our organization. Marc, his wife Lindsay, and his children Anna, Emily, and Jack will always be a part of the Rangers family, and we wish them all the best going forward."

Brett Cyrgalis, formerly of the New York Post, also offered kind words:

The 33-year-old and former Rangers' alternate captain has played his entire 13-year career with the Rangers, who took him with the 12th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft.

The two-time All-Star has amassed 43 goals, 145 assists and a plus-46 in 892 regular-season games. He's also blocked 1,162 shots alongside 1,308 hits.

Staal finished with two goals, nine assists and a plus-five in 52 games last season.

Staal has struggled in recent years and especially so last year, with Micah Blake McCurdy and JFresh Hockey explaining further:

Per Chris Johnston of Hockey Night in Canada, the move saves New York a total of $5.7 million in cap space. Frank Seravalli of TSN explained the move's impact more from the Rangers' perspective:

The Rangers went to the playoffs 10 times during Staal's tenure, making the Eastern Conference Finals three times and reaching the Stanley Cup Final once in 2014, when they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

The New York Rangers lost the playoff-qualifying battle.

But they won the future-securing war.

When a pingpong ball with the team's classic red, white and blue logo was pulled to the top of a vacuum tube in the NHL's draft lottery headquarters on Monday evening, the sports needle in Midtown Manhattan and elsewhere in the Big Apple leaned a little bit closer to hockey.

The fortuitous bounce in the Rangers' direction means they have a first crack in October at teen sensation Alexis Lafreniere, a 6'1", 193-pound winger who has lit up junior-level scoreboards with a skill set on a plane most recently occupied by the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

For those unaware, Crosby has won three Stanley Cups, two scoring titles and two MVPs in an NHL career that began at age 18 in 2005, while McDavid has been a four-time All-Star, a two-time scoring champ and won the Hart Trophy as MVP in 2017, two years after debuting as an 18-year-old in 2015.

Also 18, Lafreniere was the most valuable player and won gold with Canada at the World Junior Championships in January after registering 10 points—four goals, six assists—in five games.

His third season with Rimouski Oceanic in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ended in March with 35 goals and 112 points in 52 games.

The 2.15 point-per-game average was the highest in Canadian junior hockey since McDavid's 2.55 in 2014-15 and the best for the Rimouski Oceanic franchise since Crosby's 2.71 clip in 2004-05.

And while Lafreniere's mere arrival sends New York's hockey population into a banner-craving frenzy, the fact he's coming to a Rangers team already chock-full of blue-chip players and prospects fast-forwards anticipation for a title to follow the one memorably delivered by Mark Messier in 1994.

A respectable points percentage (.564) in a pandemic-snuffed season yielded the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference qualifying tournament, but the stay was brief thanks to a three-game sweep by Carolina.

Nevertheless, the Rangers were already considered ahead of the rebuilding curve, especially on offense, after selecting Finnish right winger Kaapo Kakko with last year's No. 2 overall pick and signing free-agent left winger Artemi Panarin last summer.

Panarin posted 95 points in 69 games in his first season with New York, while Kakko scored 10 times and had 23 points in 66 games. Also in the pipeline on the right wing is Vitali Kravtsov, who was selected ninth overall in 2018 and played 39 games with the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate this season.

And don't forget veteran left winger Chris Kreider, a Ranger since he was drafted in 2009, who's scored 20 or more goals in five of the last six seasons. Any or all could be part of the starting lineup next season or packaged in a deal to bring in reinforcements elsewhere.

As is, the Rangers scored more goals—233—than all but four teams this season.

A lucky break in Phase 1 of the draft process ensured a qualifying-round team, rather than one of the league's seven bottom-feeders, would wind up with the first selection.

So instead of it going to a 39-point Detroit team, for example, Lafreniere was guaranteed to be there for a team with at least 38 more points.

The Rangers have picked in the top 10 in the last three drafts, netting Kakko, Kravtsov and center Lias Andersson, though the latter's days may be numbered after a midseason loan to a team in Sweden.

Still in the mix at center, though, is Mika Zibanejad, who was acquired by trade in 2016 and has scored 112 goals since arriving, including 41 in 57 games this season. New York is also solid in goal with the presence of 2012 Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist as well as 24-year-old Igor Shesterkin, who went 10-2 with a .932 save percentage in 2019-20.

Add Lafreniere, likely the best Rangers pick since Brian Leetch in 1986, and it's cue the parade routes.

"In a couple years they're going to be contenders, and for a long time," said analyst Mike Rupp, a Ranger himself for 68 games from 2011 to '13, on NBC Sports Network. "The Rangers have an abundance of talent from these players coming in. They're getting a lot of offensive flair up front. They're going to be very happy with Alexis Lafreniere, he'll be an impact player on this team.

"This is going to drive this team and these players to compete for these spots."

No wonder coach David Quinn is smiling, and GM Jeff Gorton will sleep well tonight.

"Anytime you can pick first, especially this year, it's a special year," Gorton said. "It's surely exciting to have this happen to us. Right away you can see he has the talent we're all looking for, and he drags everybody into the battle with him. It's just what we were looking to have happen today."