New York Rangers Re-Sign Brett Howden
Howden is now eligible to be exposed for the expansion draft.
The New York Rangers have extended forward Brett Howden.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with restricted free agent Brett Howden. pic.twitter.com/MRk4TcPmwv
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 9, 2021
Before you freak out, the Rangers needed to sign Howden to give them the option to expose him in the upcoming expansion draft.
Right on schedule.
— HockeyStatMiner (@HockeyStatMiner) July 9, 2021
Rangers are now in a position to protect Colin Blackwell (with Kevin Rooney and Brett Howden as the 2x required forward exposures).
At face value I would read into this more as an expansion draft angleshoot than a proclamation of Howden’s role going forward. https://t.co/tshQ7ztq8m
This is not to say the Seattle Kraken are going to pick Howden, they won’t, but this now gives the Rangers the ability to protect someone like Colin Blackwell instead.
There’s not much to say about Brett Howden. He’s been very bad for the Rangers, and should be in the AHL. It is baffling that he never spent time there, because I believe had he done so that Howden would have developed into a somewhat serviceable player. He was trusted to be a defensive forward under head coach David Quinn, and he struggled mightily in that role.
There’s obviously a chance he gets a look under new head coach Gerard Gallant, but ultimately I feel the Rangers will make moves this summer which push Howden out of the picture. At least I hope that’s the case for the good of the team and what they hope to accomplish.
If you want more information on Howden’s recent season and his career to date, I recommend you check out the report card Jack just wrote up.
Related
2021 Report Card: Brett Howden
