On Thursday, the struggling Rangers moved to shuffle their seasoned forward group by putting fourth-line center Nick Bonino on waivers.
The 35-year-old Bonino was signed as a free agent in July to a one-year contract worth $800,000; his 868 NHL games include a three-year spell with the Predators under current Rangers coach Peter Laviolette.
But in 45 games this season, he has only managed five points and one goal.
According to Laviolette, Bonino met with Chris Drury, the president of the Rangers, on Thursday morning and was not allowed to practice before the team’s home game against the Golden Knights on Friday.
Laviolette stated, “That was the decision that was made.” “Nick is an excellent teammate and a wonderful person. Once more, merely an organizational choice.
“I’m not sure what Nick wants to accomplish. Therefore, I wouldn’t be appropriate to remark on that,” Laviolette stated. “However, as I mentioned, I’ve worked with Nick for a good number of years, all the way back to Nashville, and I can’t say enough positive things about him as a person—just a good guy and a good teammate.”
Moving forward On Wednesday, Jake Leschyshyn was brought up from Hartford to replace Bonino on the roster.
During practice on Thursday, Laviolette had Blake Wheeler back on the top line between Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Between Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, Jonny Brodzinski anchored the third unit. Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow, and Tyler Pitlick, who was a healthy scratch in the Rangers’ most recent game, made up the fourth line.
Additionally, Laviolette changed up his defense pairings, pairing Ryan Lindgren with Braden Schneider and Erik Gustaffson with Adam Fox.
Laviolette started his NHL coaching career with the Islanders in 2001 and currently has 781 wins, one win less than Isles great Al Arbour for seventh place all-time.
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