Calvin de Haan’s Rangers frustration is easy to understand — his role puzzled me, too

Calvin de Haan had been the sixth/seventh defenseman for a Stanley Cup contender in Colorado and in the lineup for six straight games before he was included in the trade deadline-proximate package sent to the Rangers in exchange for Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey.

The 33-year-old veteran may not have expected that he would become the eighth/ninth defenseman for a team out of the playoffs, scratched 19 straight times and counting following Monday’s penultimate match in Florida …

… especially after having played the first three games for the Blueshirts following his acquisition, during which he was on for four goals for and none against in 44:19 of five-on-five play paired primarily with Zac Jones on the right …

… and even more so since the Blueshirts rang up back-to-back 4-0 shutout victories over the Predators and Islanders, respectively, before going down in overtime to the Caps.