Kind of like an adolescent in the wake of a messy breakup, Lias Andersson has effectively advised club president John Davidson and the Rangers not to call him, he’ll call them if and when he’s ready.
“I’ve called him, but haven’t talked to him. We’ve talked to the agent [Jarrett Bousquet] a lot. That seems to be the way he wants to do things at this point, which is fine,” Davidson told reporters before the Blueshirts practiced in advance of their flight to St. Louis for Saturday’s match against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. “He’s disappointed things haven’t worked out to this point. We’re disappointed things haven’t worked out to this point, which is natural.
“When you look at this situation and try to analyze it, I’ve done a lot of research and I can’t really figure out exactly what the issue is other than disappointment. I think that this group here — the Rangers — treat players well, as most people know, do the best they can to provide them with every opportunity to become the best player they can be as quickly as possible. And I feel that that has happened here.
“It’s a hard one to really figure out until you end up talking to Lias directly. We haven’t done that [because] at this point he wants everything to go through his agent. So we’ll see where it goes.”
The Andersson Saga has become well-known. A surprise seventh-overall selection in the 2017 entry draft with the pick the Blueshirts obtained from Arizona with Tony DeAngelo in exchange for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta. Two below-par training camps out of which he was assigned to the AHL Wolf Pack. A better camp this season in which he earned a spot on the big league roster. Demoted after weeks on the fourth line in which No. 28 accomplished little and was unable to earn a more expansive role. A stint in Hartford that came to a sudden end with his request for a trade and no-notice exit/resignation. Comments this week from Gothenburg, Sweden, in which Andersson referred to “other factors” and “incidents” that had taken place in Hartford or perhaps even New York.
What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.
“Things may have gotten lost in translation, I don’t know,” Davidson said. “I know the last game he played in Hartford [on Dec. 18 in Charlotte], he played 20 minutes and then decided to leave.
“And you know what I find interesting? It’s this. I thought [Ryan] Lindgren was one of our best defensemen and could have made the team out of camp, but no room. So he [went] to Hartford, and now he’s here. [Filip] Chytil was in shock when he was sent to Hartford, and he found a way to get back.
“And I’m hoping along the line with Lias that he finds the way to get back into it and find the way to play in this league.”
The Rangers had been soliciting offers for Andersson pretty much from the moment he was sent to the Wolf Pack on Nov. 20. But there wasn’t much of a market for the youngster with a sum of nine points (3-6) in 66 career NHL games and 39 points (15-24) in 74 career AHL matches. That market has essentially evaporated in conjunction with this job action.
No wonder Davidson said that “everything is on the table,” when asked whether it would be conceivable for the currently suspended Andersson to rejoin the organization at some point.
“I would never say, ‘No, no, no.’ That’s being spiteful. That’s not right,” Davidson said. “It’s better to be open-minded about everything and see where it goes as we move along down the line.”
Maybe Andersson will be able to explain himself to the degree that he would be welcomed back by his team and teammates. Maybe there are extenuating circumstances that are unknown to Davidson, general manager Jeff Gorton and Hartford GM Chris Drury.
“I’m not going to read translations because it doesn’t make sense until you hear it from the actual person,” Davidson said. “It just doesn’t make sense.
“However I will say that I’ve tried to reach out to everybody involved in our organization and I don’t sense there have been issues. And at the same time, there’s always a fine line with this stuff, especially in today’s world. I don’t want to see anybody get marked with anything, and that includes Lias and anybody who’s worked with him.
“All I know is that everybody has tried to do the right thing for the right reason and I believe that’s what’s happened.”
Until the parties talk, there is obviously no chance at reconciliation and about as little chance of a trade. Davidson said that he is not planning on hopping on a flight to Stockholm any time soon.
“Not right now,” he said. “There are plenty of ways to talk to people.”
Or not.
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