Ryan Spooner was on NHL Network earlier this week and said:
- On his play after joining the Rangers, "I was just trying to have fun. When I heard the news that I would be traded I was a little bit upset, I was with the same team for five years and a lot of guys on the the team I got closer with, that was tough to hear but it was a fresh start for me and I went to the Rangers and the guys were great, the coaching staff too and I just wanted to help out, went out, tried to play my game and have fun and that is what I did."
- On his versatility, "I played center since I was like two and played wing for maybe 60 games since I've been pro. There are pros and cons to both, I struggled with my faceoffs but last year I was better and tried to work on them but it's always been something I have lacked on. For me to go over to wing took the burden off of that. I can play center and with the Rangers I would like to play center but if they want me to play wing that is fine by me and if they need me to play center then that is fine with me as well."
- On David Quinn, "he gave me a call about a month ago and we just chatted and basically what he said was that we have a young team this year and he expects that we work hard and are in great shape and I think that as a young team, if we are in really good shape and skate, that is a recipe for us to be a successful team. He knows what he is doing and I am excited to play for him."
- On how he fits with a young team, "I'm definitely not young anymore but not old. The fact that I cam from the Bruins, the leadership group they had, the things that I have learned throughout my time can help me out. We are not going to be really young but we are not going to be old and I think I can help out and try to lead by example and go out there and have some fun."
Following the interview, Mike Johnson said on the NHL Network that if Spooner is in a position where he can get the puck, play with good players and see time on the PP "he will produce."
He noted though that while the best use of Spooner would be in the Rangers top-six, he will struggle to find a spot there with the players the Rangers already have.
The NHL Network projection had Spooner as the RW on a third line that had Jimmy Vesey on the left side and Filip Chytil in the middle.
Adam Rotter: It's still a bit surprising to me that Ryan Spooner is still with the Rangers. I thought that for sure he would be moved at some point but it never happened. Now he is sort of in this strange no-mans land with the Rangers where, at 26, he is still young enough to be part of the future, but likely isn't going to be in a top-six role and likely won't be at center. It's great that both he and Namestnikov can play center in wing but the Rangers are already jammed up down the middle and even if Kevin Hayes gets moved at some point, that would just move the young players up in the lineup. He is talented, can score and create offense which are all things that rebuilding teams need, I'm just not sure he has any long-term future with the Rangers or a future past this year's trade deadline.