6:39PM: David Quinn said on Friday about Andersson (MSG):
- “he’s made some great progress, done some good things, we just need more consistency out of him. I know it’s difficult when he only plays 7 or 8 minutes but that is the situation we are in and it didn’t make sense for him to stay here, especially with the limited amount of practice time we are going to have over the next three weeks. He needs to play. He has done the things we have asked him to do and as I have touched on before, it’s not out of the ordinary for a 20-year old to learn how to consistently play at this level. He’s gonna be a really good player and has made good strides. He will get where we need him to be sooner than later but we think this is the best spot for him. There are things he needs to do regardless of his position, things that a hockey player has to do. Believe me, I am not ignorant to the fact that he has been a center his whole life. Center is going to be his position but that was the situation. It will play out.”
1:26PM: The Rangers have announced that Lias Andersson has been sent to Hartford.
Ad
This is likely an indication that Jesper Fast will be able to play tomorrow against Nashville.
In 21 games with the Rangers this season, Andersson had 1 goal, 3 assists, a minus five rating, 12 PIM, 22 shots on goal, 32 shot attempts and an average of 10:23 per game.
Andersson only played 7:08 against Columbus last night.
For more on Andersson and his use this season, click HERE.
Back on December 15th David Quinn said that Andersson had to work on his “Skating, conditioning, playing fast and consistency. Like I said yesterday, he’s a 20-year old and sat out his first game since being called up. It happens to a lot of players, great players, he will be back in there tomorrow and continue to improve.”
Adam Rotter: I think this is the right move because Andersson needs minutes and needs to play. It’s not as if he is being banished to Hartford forever, but he should stay down there for a month or so, at least, and let him play big minutes in all situations. There is no room for him, right now, in the top-nine and David Quinn can’t guarantee Andersson will play the 10-12 minutes a night that would make the fourth line worth it. This also makes sense because it allows Andersson to move back to center full-time. He’s been back and forth on the middle and the wing but if the Rangers view him long-term as a center, and he isn’t getting minutes, it seems like the right call to send him down so that he can not only play but play in the right spot.
One-year ago at this time Andersson was the captain for Sweden at the World Juniors. He is 20-years old and still likely to be a very big part of the Rangers future. He will end up back with the team, at the very least, after the All-Star break, and still likely play half the year with the Rangers.