Rangers place veteran winger on waivers

The Rangers placed winger Tyler Pitlick on waivers Tuesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Hartford, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Pitlick, 32, hits the waiver wire after being scratched Monday against the Flames in favor of rookie Adam Edstrom. He’s only played in six of the Rangers’ last 17 games due to a handful of healthy scratches and a lower-body injury.

Rangers GM Chris Drury acquired Pitlick in free agency last summer, signing him to a one-year deal worth $787.5K. He was brought in to provide a solid defensive presence in New York’s bottom six and to aid their penalty kill, but it hasn’t quite worked out.

Pitlick is averaging only 17 seconds per game on the penalty kill, and his 41.8% Corsi share at even strength ranks near the bottom of the team. However, his line with Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey has a respectable 51.2% expected goals share in over 230 minutes of action together, per MoneyPuck.

Still, it’s clear the Rangers would like to try a higher-ceiling option offensively as they try to jumpstart their secondary scoring outside of their top six. Pitlick had one goal and three assists in 34 games.

If he clears waivers and suits up for Hartford, it will be his first AHL stint since 2015-16 as a member of the Oilers organization. Since entering the league with Edmonton in 2013, Pitlick has 56 goals, 53 assists, 109 points, and a -6 rating in 420 games.

Pitlick will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and given today’s news, it seems unlikely he’ll extend his time in New York.  The Rangers are Pitlick’s eighth team of his NHL career and his fourth in the past three years.