NEWSLETTER
Could a suspension further complicate the Patrick Kane trade currently/reportedly in place with the Rangers?
On Sunday afternoon, Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller was given a match penalty for spitting on Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. The last time a player spit on another player during a game it brought a three-game suspension.
While this further complicates the Rangers’ blue line situation — Ryan Lindgren is currently dealing with a shoulder injury suffered this weekend — it could force the Rangers to use to fill their blue line, making a Patrick Kane trade with the Blackhawks a bit more tricky to navigate.
Over the weekend, Rangers center Jake Leschyshyn cleared waivers and was demoted. However, the Rangers (all NHL teams) have to at least dress 18 skaters and two goalies for each game. So the Rangers had to call up former Blackhawk center Ryan Carpenter to fill out their roster. They also had defenseman Braden Schneider “active” for the game.
However, the Rangers raised a few eyebrows when it became clear their intention was to not play Carpenter or Schneider in the game. They were dressed, but were not there to participate. Carpenter took one, 13-second shift and Schneider did not step on the ice. Schneider was then reassigned to the AHL after the game. The Rangers won the game 5-2 despite only skating 16 players and Miller getting the showers early.
On Monday, Miller addressed the incident on Twitter.
New York’s next game is in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. As PuckPedia outlines below, a suspension of Miller could allow the money to work for a Patrick Kane trade to be consummated as early as Wednesday.
Every indication is that the Patrick Kane trade will happen at some point. And every report is that Blackhawks fans should be prepared to be underwhelmed by the return. Now, we just wait for the league to deal with Miller and the money to work itself out.
