Traded by the Rangers, Canes defenseman Brady Skjei isn’t lacking motivation
Brady Skjei once envisioned a long career with the New York Rangers and enjoyed being a part of the Broadway scene.
Now, he’d like nothing better than to beat the Rangers, close ‘em down.
“I have a ton of motivation,” the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman said Thursday in a Zoom media call.
Skeji signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract with the Rangers on July 28, 2018. The defenseman was popular with his teammates, liked playing at Madison Square Garden and wanted to help the Rangers contend for a Stanley Cup.
And then he was traded.
On Feb. 24, Skjei was dealt to the Hurricanes in exchange for a conditional 2020 first-round draft pick. Say goodbye to Broadway. He quickly moved to Raleigh to play for his new team, leaving his girlfriend, Gracia, a nurse at a New York hospital.
For seven games. On March 12, Skjei was with the Canes in New Jersey when the NHL postponed the season because of the coronavirus pandemic There was much on his mind, especially with his girlfriend working in what was then one of the country’s biggest hot spots for the virus.
“The first month it was pretty wild in New York,” Skjei said. “The hospital did a great job of keeping the nurses safe. A ton of credit to her and all her co-workers for what they’re doing during this time.”
Skjei, 26, said he soon was back in New York in an apartment that had been newly renovated, unsure what was next for hockey. But the NHL made the decision to try and complete the 2019-20 season and crown a Stanley Cup champion. And wouldn’t you know it, the Hurricanes were matched up against the Rangers in a best-of-five qualifying round that begins Aug. 1 in Toronto.
“I think it will be a little different but I can tell you I’m really excited and really looking forward to it,” Skjei said. “I really enjoyed my time in New York and I loved every part of it. But now I have a ton of motivation, a little chip on my shoulder, going into this playoff series.”
The Canes were swept by the Rangers in the regular season, losing four times, and it was the Rangers’ best skill guys — forwards Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, to name two — who did the most offensive damage. The Canes have the experience of playing the Rangers and plenty of video, but they now have Skjei, an insider, someone who played more than 300 games for New York.
“These two teams see each other enough that they know each guy’s game,” Skjei said. “Obviously I probably know each guy’s game a little better than these guys (Canes teammates). We’ll definitely give some inside scoops and try to give us the best chance to win.”
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour is counting on it. Nothing like having a player who is well-versed in the systems of Rangers coach David Quinn and has insights into the preferences or weakness of individual players.
“I don’t want to give away too much but we’ve talked to Brady a little bit,” Brind’Amour said in Thursday’s media call. “We’ll definitely use him as a resource here as we start dialing up more talking about our opponent. Starting next week we’ll definitely pick his brain because he was just there, he’s been in their system a long time. It’s in the works.”
After four days of training camp, Brind’Amour planned to give the players Friday off, go back on the ice Saturday and Sunday at PNC Arena, then have another off day on Monday.
The Canes spent part of Thursday’s practice working on special teams. One power-play unit had forwards Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov and Justin Williams along with defenseman Dougie Hamilton. A second unit had forwards Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Martin Necas and either Morgan Geekie or Ryan Dzingel, with defensemen Sami Vatanen and Jake Gardiner alternating.
Skjei has been paired with Vatanen, another Feb. 24 trade pickup, during camp and the two appear to be the second D pairing begin Jaccob Slavin and Hamilton. Brind’Amour still has time to watch and mull it over with eight NHL defensemen in camp, but it is a solid pair — Skjei a left-handed shooter and Vatanen a right shot.
“We have a good group here and everybody is pushing each other,” Vatanen said. “It’s a good battle for everybody.”
Skjei expects the competition in camp to remain stiff. Everyone wants to play, especially in what will be a unique, if historic postseason.
“Going into these playoffs and not knowing what’s going to happen, with injuries, with COVID, we’re very comfortable with our D corps,” Skjei said. “We think any player can play any night and play a big role.”
Especially one with a chip on his shoulder.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 2:30 PM.
