Before training camp every season, most NHL teams bring in players on professional tryout (PTO) deals to see if these players might have something to add to their team. For the New York Rangers, they did this two seasons ago with Jimmy Vesey and he has worked out very well for them. There are still plenty of free agents available, but here are three, in particular, who the Rangers should consider bringing in on a PTO this September.
James van Riemsdyk
Last season, James van Riemsdyk signed a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins. He played well, scoring 11 goals and 38 points in 71 games played. Now, while he might not be as great of a goal scorer or be as effective as he used to be, JVR can still provide value to any team that needs some good depth scoring. He was not signed as a free agent this summer and will now be looking for any opportunity he can get as the 2024-25 season gets closer.
For the Rangers, he could fit well in a third-line role and could still be in a top-six role if needed to play there due to injuries. He also plays very well in front of the net, similar to Chris Kreider. He would be a good net front option on the second power-play unit. While it could be seen that JVR would be taking an opportunity away from one of the Rangers’ younger players, the Rangers are in a win-now mindset and need players with experience more than they need rookies. JVR is the best offensive option left on the market and they should consider giving him a PTO.
Kevin Labanc
After playing on the worst team in the league the past few seasons as a member of the San Jose Sharks, Kevin Labanc is a free agent and has not been signed as of this writing. This is not totally shocking because his offensive numbers took a big dive last season. He went from scoring 15 goals and 33 points in 72 games during the 2022-23 season to just two goals and nine points in 46 games last season. He was once seen as a future star for the Sharks, but he did not fit with the team during this rebuild and now, he is looking for a new NHL home.
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Labanc is still only 28 years old and given an opportunity on a new, competitive team, he could truly thrive in that type of environment. For the Rangers, he would once again provide some decent bottom-six scoring and he also has the ability to play with talented players, like he did during his early days with the Sharks. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, so bringing him in on a PTO would be a homecoming for him. He is a player that is likely to be seen as a reclamation project and given the right situation, he could be very impactful for any team that gives him a chance.
Kevin Shattenkirk
While this one seems the most unlikely given how the relationship between the team and player ended, bringing in Kevin Shattenkirk on a PTO would be a nice gesture by the Rangers. It seems like forever ago that he was a Ranger, but he was the big free agent signing in 2017 and he only wanted to come to New York and he even gave them a discount. However, injuries and being mismanaged by two different head coaches saw Shattenkirk’s time with the team come to an abrupt end in the summer of 2019. Just two years into his four-year deal, he was bought out and went on to sign with and win a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He spent last season with the Boston Bruins, scoring six goals and 24 points in 61 games played. He still has not signed with a team and at 35 years old, his career is slowly coming to a close. The Rangers don’t necessarily need to bring him in because they have four right-handed defensemen on their projected NHL roster in Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Braden Schneider and Chad Ruhwedel. However, giving him a PTO would add some more competition in training camp and it would be nice to see him in his hometown team’s jersey one more time so he can have a proper sendoff.
While these aren’t the biggest and best names on the market, they can still provide something to the Rangers if given a chance. Giving them a PTO doesn’t mean you need to sign them, it just allows them to show every team that they can still contribute at an NHL level. It won’t hurt the Rangers at all to give these players a PTO and to see how they perform and compete with the other players in training camp.
