Its’ been a rough season for New York Rangers’ defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who has been struggling to find his stride with the Rangers and also been on the receiving end of some criticism.
Last month, Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was critical of Shattenkirk, his former player, by saying Washington acquired Shattenkirk last season with intentions of installing him as a top-pair defenseman down the stretch, but Shattenkirk failed to live up to expectations.
Trotz late apologized for the comments.
Now, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault is seemingly frustrated with Shattenkirk’s slow transition to the team, if you read between the lines of his comments on Sunday.
Shattenkirk signed four-year, $26.6-million contract with the Rangers back in July.
“I would say he’s a work in progress,” Vigneault said Sunday, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “There’s no doubt that our expectations and his expectations are a little bit higher than what we’ve seen so far.”
“I think (Shattenkirk) is probably putting a little bit of pressure on himself to do real well in front of new teammates, a new environment, friends and family,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a little bit of time.”
