Some good news for Rangers fans today as Dylan McIlrath cleared waivers and is therefore still in the organization. (I personally didn’t think it was a forgone conclusion he was gone but part of me was hoping he would be claimed so he got the chance he deserves elsewhere.)
The Rangers reported he will be sent to Hartford and available to play this weekend. While this is good for the Rangers that they are able to keep their young defenseman, it’s not the best sign for McIlrath that no one was willing to take a flyer on him. A couple of reasons why that might be the case:
- The season is still young so it’s possible teams want to see what they have before adding to it. McIlrath would need to stay in the NHL so a team would have to know they plan to play him in order to claim him.
- As Larry Brooks of the NY Post has repeatedly pointed out, if McIlrath doesn’t play 42 NHL games this year, he will be a UFA next summer. Guess some teams didn’t want to have to deal with that.
Personally, I think the second one is more of a concern for the Rangers but it’s possible teams didn’t want a young player that could be a UFA so soon. Whatever the reason, McIlrath is still in the Rangers organization and therefore available for call-up whenever the injury bug inevitably hits the teams’ defense again. I would expect him to be at the top of the list when that time comes. For now, hopefully he’ll get some confidence playing big minutes for the Wolf Pack each night.
(Photo credit: Getty)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
