Rangers buy out defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk after two seasons

The Kevin Shattenkirk era in New York is coming to an end.

According to reports, the team has decided to buy out veteran defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk after a short and unsuccessful tenure with the franchise.

The 30-year old, who initially signed a four-year, $26.65 million contract with the Rangers in July 2017, had two seasons remaining on the deal prior to the buy out.

Shattenkirk posted just seven goals, 44 assists and a minus-29 rating over a span of 119 regular season games with the Rangers.

He also dealt with injury troubles during his Rangers tenure, limited to just 48 games in 2017/18 after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee. He eventually had surgery to repair it in January 2018, and returned the following season with a disappointing offensive output (2 goals in 73 games).

No word yet on which teams are interested in his services once he becomes an unrestricted free agent.