The New York Rangers are reportedly not happy with Vitali Kravtsov’s demotion in the KHL and are looking at the possibility of bringing him back to the AHL. The Rangers weren’t overly happy that their former ninth-overall pick in 2017 decided to go back to Russia anyway. Now that he’s been sent to VHL, which is the equivalent of the KHL’s minor-league system, Rangers GM Jeff Gorton tells the New York Post he’s exploring all options for Kravtsov.
“He felt it was in his best interest to go back, and we allowed him to do that. I will say we’ve had a number of conversations with his agent recently just to revisit what’s best for him right now. I’ll leave it to the conversations I’m having behind the scenes right now, and we’ll have to make a decision. Obviously, we want the guy to play. If he’s not playing enough, then yes, we’d like to control his ice time a little bit.”
When Kravtsov came into Blueshirts’ training camp, a spot on the NHL roster seemed like a real possibility. However, as training camp drew to a close, Kravtsov was told that the organization sees him as future top-nine forward and there were not enough spots to go around. The Rangers sent him down to Hartford in the AHL so he would have the opportunity to play big minutes.
By the end of October, Kravtsov felt that his development would be better served back in the KHL. He had one assist in five games with the Wolfpack and saw his ice time limited. The Rangers sent him back to HC Traktor Chelyabinsk. After contributing just three points in 11 games, with a -4 rating, Traktor demoted him to the VHL.
The Rangers can agree to bring Kravtsov back at any time, and Gorton reiterated the obvious fact that “the American League is better” than the minor league in Russia. We’re sure there’s much more to come to this story yet.
