Two years ago, the New Jersey Devils dodged a major bullet. Ray Shero was going hard for Kevin Shattenkirk to help fix the defense. He eventually went to the New York Rangers who offered him more money. Today, the Rangers tried to rectify their mistake. They bought out Shattenkirk, ending his time with the Blueshirts two years early.
The Rangers were in cap hell after signing Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba for close to $20 million combined. They had no choice at this point but to buy out Shattenkirk, even if it costs them huge next season (even with the buyout, he’s costing them more than $6 million against the cap).