NY Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei calls benching 'frustrating,' says he'll be better

Vincent Z. Mercogliano | NHL writer

TARRYTOWN - Roughly 15 months after the New York Rangers invested in defenseman Brady Skjei, signing him to a six-year, $31.5 million contract, the 25-year-old found himself removed from the lineup — a healthy scratch for Thursday's 4-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Any hockey player, if you’ve got a heartbeat, that's frustrating, for sure," Skjei said following Monday's practice at the MSG Training Center.

Since his rookie season in 2016-17, the Rangers have viewed Skjei as a building block and important part of their future. Yet, the trajectory of his career has plateaued.

Skjei fell short of his rookie totals of 39 points, a plus-11 rating and a 50.6 Corsi For Percentage in the two seasons that followed, and his early 2019-20 performance led to the recent benching.

"At the end of the day, you want to put the guys who are playing well in the lineup," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "This was one of those situations where I thought Brady was the guy who was going to be out. You don’t just bench a guy for having a bad game. Guys have built up a nest and some sweat equity where you give guys an opportunity. ‘All right, you played a bad game, but you’ve had six good ones,’ so you’re going to let a guy play through a bad moment. But there comes a time you've got to say enough's enough and handle it accordingly."

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Prior to scratching Skjei from the lineup, Quinn did the same to veteran Marc Staal for three games.

They are being pushed by a crop of younger defensemen — specifically rookies Adam Fox, Libor Hájek and Ryan Lindgren — which has forced Quinn to make difficult decisions.

"Those conversations are never easy," Quinn said. "He’s such a likable guy. We're all human beings, and it makes it a little bit more difficult when it’s someone like Brady and Staalsie."

But while Staal is 32 and on the back end of his career — and now will miss at least two weeks after undergoing surgery for an ankle infection — Skjei is entering his prime. He's under contract for five more seasons (including this one), which makes it critical for the Rangers to get him on track.

Quinn recently said Skjei "loses his confidence because he cares so much."

"I expect a lot from me," Skjei said. "I think as a player, when I'm not playing my best — I wouldn’t say I’m hard on myself — but I know I have another level I can get to. I feel like sometimes when you reach for that too much, you kind of get yourself in trouble that way. So I've just got to stay patient. I thought (Sunday) was a good step in the right direction."

Quinn reinserted Skjei into the lineup for Sunday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers and said he had "a good, solid night." He scored a goal in the second period and had a season-high 23:47 time on ice.

One Brady Skjei goal coming right up 🛎️ #LGR pic.twitter.com/p52sFyBOqH — Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) November 10, 2019

Now the question is: Can he build on it? Or are there more healthy scratches in his future?

"It's definitely disappointing at first, and then you've got to turn around and you've got to motivate yourself to be better," Skjei said. "I think just consistency is probably the biggest thing. I think being a player that — when I'm moving my feet, when I'm skating, that's when I’m at my best. I've got to do that night in and night out."

Mika Zibanejad out for another week

It's been two weeks since Mika Zibanejad left the ice after taking a vicious hit from Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron. And while the Rangers have been calling it a "day-to-day" injury, it's now becoming week-to-week.

Quinn confirmed Monday that his No. 1 center will not make the trip to Florida later this week, which means Zibanejad will miss at least three more games — Tuesday at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Thursday's game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning and Saturday's away game against the Panthers.

"He’s getting a little rest," Quinn said. "He’s putting himself in a position to come back, so when he does come back, we’re not going do what we just went through where he gets out there and he has to get taken off the ice. When he does come back, we want to make sure that it's full steam ahead."

The Rangers have been vague on the specifics of Zibanejad's injury, classifying it as "upper body" with Quinn later saying it's "more neck."

Zibanejad skated in a non-contact jersey last week, but did not appear on the ice for Monday's practice. Quinn said it's "not a setback," adding that he's hopeful Zibanejad will skate again "in the next day or two."

"I think some injuries are unpredictable," Quinn said. "And he's got one that is a little bit unpredictable."

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Twitter: @vzmercogliano