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Shattenkirk’s New York homecoming ends with buyout

New York Rangers v Arizona Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 06: Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the New York Rangers in action during the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on January 6, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Rangers defeated the Coyotes 2-1 in an overtime shootout. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Kevin Shattenkirk’s happy homecoming with the New York Rangers will come to an end after 760 days via a buyout, according to the New York Post.

Due to his no-movement clause, Shattenkirk did not have to be placed on waivers before buying him out. The Rangers were able to get a second buyout period due to Pavel Buchnevich filing for salary arbitration. Buchnevich avoided a hearing and signed a two-year, $6.5 million deal.

The 30-year-old Shattenkirk, a New Rochelle, N.Y native, joined the Rangers in free agency in 2017, signing a four-year, $26.6 million deal. He struggled on the blue line in his two years on Broadway and saw his ice time cut by nearly two minutes in 2018-19 under new head coach and David Quinn, who was an assistant at Boston University when Shattenkirk was there.

Shattenkirk, who had two years left on his deal, saw his points per game also drop mightily after going home. He averaged 0.50 in 2017-18 and 0.38 this past season, which also saw him spend plenty of nights in the press box as a healthy scratch as he dealt with the aftermath of surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. His final stat line in New York reads seven goals, 51 points in 119 games.
[ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker]

Here’s how the buy out breaks down on the their cap for the next four years:

2019-20: $1,483,333
2020-21: $6,083,333
2021-22: $1,433,333
2022-23: $1,433,333

That big 2020-21 charge will brings their dead money total to $7,494,444 when you include the buy outs for Ryan Spooner ($300K) and Dan Girardi ($1,111,111).

For the Rangers, this move will save them $5,166,667 on the cap this season, per Cap Friendly, and combined with the likely AHL demotions of Brendan Smith and Matt Beleskey, that will get them under ceiling. General manager Jeff Gorton needed to free up room with restricted free agents Brendan Lemieux and Tony DeAngelo left to re-sign. A Chris Kreider trade was a rumored option for their cap situation, but it’s Shattenkirk who ultimately is the one leaving town.

UPDATE: The Rangers made it official on Thursday afternoon. “Today’s decision was a very difficult one,” said Rangers President John Davidson. “Kevin is a great person and teammate and he was extremely proud to be a New York Ranger. We wish him and his family all the best going forward.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.