Twenty-two to 25 minutes a night. First-unit power-play responsibility.
Keith Yandle being Keith Yandle.
“That’s probably a pretty good way to put it,” Yandle, who has risen to the occasion in Ryan McDonagh’s absences, told The Post following Monday’s practice in advance of Tuesday’s match in New Jersey against the Devils. “I’m sure everyone feels this way, but I feel I’m at my best when I’m playing more minutes.
“The more I have the puck on my stick, the more confident I am with it and the better I see the ice,” he said. “I don’t know how to describe it exactly, but when you’re on for about every other shift, it’s a different feeling and it’s a good feeling.”
For the first time since arriving in a much-celebrated trade with Arizona last March 1, Yandle resembles the dynamic player he was as a top-minutes guy for the Coyotes. The risk-reward quotient inherent in his game has flipped dramatically to the right side of the equation.
That deal with the Coyotes that came at the expense of Anthony Duclair and a first-rounder was made 51 weeks ago. Now there is just under a week to go until this year’s deadline. And there is no doubt Yandle, heading into unrestricted free agency, would be the Rangers’ most valuable chip to play on the market.
Multiple sources report keen interest in the 29-year-old, much of it coming from the Western Conference. Dallas has been dogging the Rangers for weeks. The Blueshirts perhaps would be able to get the Stars’ immensely talented 20-year-old winger Valeri Nichushkin as part of the return package. Such a possibility would surely tempt Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton.
But league sources also say the Blueshirts are no longer signaling Yandle’s availability. No kidding. The Rangers, 7-1-1 in their past nine and 13-5-2, instead appear to be preparing to bulk up for another run at the Stanley Cup that has eluded them since 1994. Subtracting Yandle from the equation would not seem to be in the team’s immediate best interests.
“Of course I hear a lot of the talk whether I want to or not. It’s just about impossible to escape,” Yandle said. “But I wouldn’t categorize it as a ‘challenge’ not to allow it to be a distraction. I come to the rink every day and do my job.”
There are three games to go before the Blueshirts come up against the deadline, set for 3 p.m. Monday. Hours later, the puck will drop at the Garden for a match against the Blue Jackets. And there is no part of Yandle that doesn’t want to be part of it on the Rangers’ side.
“Anyone who knows me, anyone who sees me, they can see how happy I am playing in New York and with this group,” Yandle said. “I even got a text from my mom the other day saying that she has never seen me look so happy.
“That should tell you everything.”
Yandle was averaging 19:11 per game in the 51 games before McDonagh went down the first time. In the eight games since — including the one against Chicago last Wednesday in which the captain returned but Marc Staal was absent so he could be with his wife for the birth of their daughter and the one in Toronto on Thursday in which McDonagh left after the first period — No. 93 has averaged 24:03.
And he not only has finally been elevated to the first power-play unit, he is getting an extended first shift. He was on for 5:33 of the Rangers’ first 6:35 with the man-advantage until inscrutably sent to the box on a coincidental minor during a third-period power play.
Once McDonagh returns, and presuming full health on the blue line, coach Alain Vigneault will face the challenge of reapportioning ice time. Easier said than done, especially because Staal, too, has thrived with increased time. And the coach knows it.
“There are only 60 minutes available to divide on the left side,” Vigneault said. “When Mac gets back, the way he was playing before he got hurt, he’s got to get 23 to 26 minutes, and a lot of times when we face teams with two scoring lines, Marc gets more ice time.
“A lot of it is how guys are playing and how games are going, whether we’re in the lead or behind,” said the coach. “But it’s good seeing guys respond to getting more of an opportunity.”
Yandle has sure responded through the Rangers’ vault back to prominence. Which is why it appears extremely unlikely anyone will wipe that smile off his face before Monday at 3 p.m.