New York Rangers: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 09: Henrik Lundqvist #30 and the New York Rangers look on after being defeated 4-2 against the Ottawa Senators in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 18: Ryan O’Reilly /

2. Can Kevin Shattenkirk handle top-pairing minutes?

Going into this season, Shattenkirk is considered the Rangers number one defenseman after the trade of McDonagh. New York signed him for four years last July and his first season was cut short due to a torn meniscus. He had been playing on it for a bit but then had surgery on it and missed the rest of the season after playing in 46 games. He had five goals and 23 points in those 46 games while playing in the top four.

Now with coming back fully healthy from the surgery and by far the best defenseman on the team, it’s going to be interesting to see if he can play top pairing minutes night in and night out.

There’s no doubt that David Quinn will put him on the top pairing to start the season and it’ll potentially be with Brady Skjei who will look to have a better season next year as well. Shattenkirk is a career 53.1% possession player which is outstanding. His CF% overall during his time in St. Louis was 54.2%. He’s also great offensively as he had 59 goals and 258 points in 425 games with the Blues.

When you look at those numbers, that just screams he can handle those minutes when he’s on his game and fully healthy. But, coming off major knee surgery is never easy so it may take him a bit longer than some anticipate to handle those minutes when he gets on the pairing with Skjei most likely.

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