The Rangers placed Tyler Pitlick on waivers for AHL assignment after limited game participation and underperformance, despite his initial acquisition for defensive depth and penalty kill support.
So, the Rangers made a move with Tyler Pitlick on Tuesday. They put him on waivers, aiming to send him down to AHL Hartford. This info comes straight from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Pitlick, who’s 32, found himself on the waiver wire right after not playing in Monday’s game against the Flames. Instead, rookie Adam Edstrom got the nod. It’s been a bit of a rough patch for him, really. Out of the Rangers’ last 17 games, he’s only hit the ice for six. A mix of being healthy but not picked and dealing with a lower-body injury is to blame.
Now, Chris Drury, the Rangers GM, picked up Pitlick last summer during free agency. The deal? A one-year contract worth $787.5K. The idea was to beef up the team’s defensive game in the lower lines and give their penalty kill a boost. But, well, it hasn’t quite panned out as hoped.
Here’s the kicker: Pitlick’s only been on the penalty kill for an average of 17 seconds per game. Plus, his Corsi share at even strength? A not-so-great 41.8%, which is kinda near the team’s bottom. But, it’s not all doom and gloom. When teamed up with Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey, they’ve managed a decent 51.2% expected goals share. And that’s over more than 230 minutes of playing together, according to MoneyPuck.
But here’s the thing. The Rangers, they’re looking for a bit more oomph in their offense, especially beyond their top six players. With Pitlick scoring just one goal and assisting three in 34 games, they’re itching for a change.
If Pitlick makes it through waivers and ends up in Hartford, it’ll be his first time in the AHL since the 2015-16 season with the Oilers. Since he first joined the NHL with Edmonton in 2013, he’s racked up 56 goals, 53 assists, and 109 points over 420 games. Oh, and his rating? A -6.
With the season winding down, Pitlick will be hitting free agency. And given today’s shuffle, it’s looking like his stint in New York might be a short one. The Rangers are just the latest in a string of teams for Pitlick, marking his eighth NHL team and fourth in just three years.
