Thursday’s contest between the Rangers and Sharks means a little more to some.
For New York, it’s an opportunity to try and get things trending back in the right direction against a young and rebuilding club that finds itself tied for second to last in the league just 17 games into the season.
But for Barclay Goodrow, it’s a whole lot bigger.
The veteran winger had a bit of an ugly exit from the Big Apple this offseason as New York decided to backdoor his partial no-trade clause by placing him on waivers, where he ended up being claimed by the Sharks -- who were one of the 15 teams he did not want to be shipped off to.
Goodrow was expectedly ticked off by how GM Chris Drury and the front office executed the under-the-table move at the time, so he's certainly had Thursday's contest circled on his calendar all offseason.
“It’s exciting, especially with it being MSG,” he told Max Miller of The Hockey News. “I’ve been looking forward to it, I think it definitely has a little more meaning this time around. I still have a lot of close friends on that team and some good memories, I enjoyed my time over there.
“I think it was kind of unexpected how things ended. For me personally, I didn’t like how things were handled, but we’re past that now. It comes with the territory of this job, there’s nothing you can do but put your head down and keep working. I'm a Shark and I’m happy to be here.”
Goodrow endured a bit of an up-and-down tenure with the Rangers, but perhaps his best stretch of play came during the team’s postseason run last season, where he finished with six goals and two assists across 16 games.
The 31-year-old hasn’t quite been able to carry that production over to his return to San Jose, as he’s recorded just two points thus far, but his late third-period goal served as the equalizer against the Philadelphia Flyers earlier this week.
Still, head coach Ryan Warsofsky is happy with the job Goodrow has done early on this season and it appears that he’ll be bumped up to the top line to skate alongside first overall pick Macklin Celebrini and veteran winger Tyler Toffoli for Thursday’s contest.
“He’s been really good for us here, really consistent,” the first-year coach told Miller. “I know he played in the middle while in New York a little bit. I can’t really speak to what other teams did with him, but from what I’ve seen, I think he’s a guy who could produce in that role.”