New York Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy has found himself at home on the team's 2nd pair next to Adam Fox. While the inconsistencies he found after he first arrived were eventually smoothed over, leaving Urho Vaakanainen the odd man out of the lineup.
Carson Soucy was brought in to help bolster the New York Rangers' defensive core. He's done well, playing six games with the team after arriving in trade for a third-round pick.
He's scored 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and has a 0 +/- on the ice with the team.
While Soucy's play improved, Head Coach Peter Laviolette felt that Soucy was learning the system well and deserved to hold a spot in the lineup.
«We thought that Soucy was coming in and figuring out the system,» Laviolette said, via Larry Brooks of the New York Post. «I actually thought his game was pretty good. There are always things we go back and teach, but I'd be fine with any of the defensemen we have here.
With Soucy playing to the best of his abilities and finding his spot on the Rangers' 2nd-pair, it's left an odd man out of the lineup.
Urho Vaakanainen, who has yet to be able to crack a full-time spot in an NHL lineup. First with the Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, and now the New York Rangers.
He's played with the team since December and has found himself out of a role and on the bench as the extra defenseman for the team.
A disappointment to Vaakanainen, who had hoped to find a permanent spot in the lineup after being a piece of the Jacob Trouba trade early in the season.
With eight defenseman in the lineup, Peter Laviolette has to prioritize ice-time for the players who can contribute every night.
«It's unfortunate, Vaaks has played really well for us and I like him, and did Calvin de Haan when he came in for us, but we've got eight defensemen here,» Laviolette said. «This goes back to what I said before, you're making decisions, Vaaks was in, Soucy and de Haan were out, we went with that for a couple of games and now we've made a switch.»
Vaakanainen has found himself as an extra defenseman during his short stint with the Rangers, playing only 37 games for the team since he arrived in Madison Square Garden.
He's only scored 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) and 14 PIMs.
Now that Soucy has claimed his spot in the lineup, will that mean Calvin DeHaan will walk at free agency, and Vaakanainen becomes a trade piece?
