Megaterio Llamas wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:52 pm
Per could maybe tell us more about Andersson but he won me over when he tossed that silver medal in the stands after a blatant screw job from the referees that night. Was disappointed to see him bail on the Rangers but they do rush their prospects.
I'd say he's a big question mark at this point.
He did not handle the situation in the Rangers organisation well. He felt alone, frustrated, suffered from insomnia, developed bad habits (according to himself) like playing computer games all night and not being able to sleep without pills.
After he bailed on the Rangers he returned home to Sweden, and his old SHL team (HV71) contacted the Rangers and were granted permission to have him on the team. He noted himself that he was not in game shape, but stepped in and scored 12 points (5+7) in 15 games. The HV71 coach says that he added leadership and was an assett in the locker room.
Ahead of the current playoffs, Andersson notified the Rangers that he was not interested in attending camp, and the Rangers and HV71 has now agreed that he will spend the 20/21 in Sweden with HV71.
So what do we make from this?
I do not think he will ever be comfortable playing for the Rangers, albeit he is saying positive things about how they have been understanding and constructive in helping sort out the situation.
He was the best point scorer in the Swedish Junior league in 2016.
He won the Swedish Championship in 2017 with HV71, scoring 19 points in 41 regular season games and 5 in 16 in the playoffs.
He captained the 2017/18 silver medalist Junior Crowns at the WJC, on a team that also contained Petey, Alexander Nylander and Rasmus Dahlin, and he was the leading goal scorer of that team (6 goals in 7 games) and was tied for first in points (7 in 7) with Petey and the young Nylander.
He then won gold with the Three Crowns at the 2018 World Championship.
So far everything looks bright and shiny, right?
He has played 66 NHL games, spread over three seasons, but only scored 9 points (3+6), but done reasonably well in the AHL with 39 points in 74 games (15+24).
What can I say? Hopefully the disaster in New York was just a glitch. He obviously has the skill, the tools, and has shown leadership and positive attitude when playing in Sweden. Back in his J18 days he was the most penalized player in the league, so there may even be a hint of a mean streak...
I'm sure the Rangers are only holding on to him to try to get something in a trade, and if they've given up on him, maybe he won't cost all that much.
He knows Petey since their junior national team days, and might not feel as alone and abandoned in a Vancouver setting. It's also a young team, so he could hopefully also gel with Boeser and Hughes, and there are a lot of older compatriots around (Markström, Edler, Eriksson, the Sedins...) that could help him settle in and adjust. Loui has been known to entertain the other Swedes at his house, have them over for dinner and such.
I don't know, if he's not too expensive, maybe he could be worth taking a look at. Especially if he does well in the SHL this winter.