Brooks: Kevin Klein leaning towards retirement

Photo: Jim McIsaac (Newsday)

In the Unexpected News Of The Day department, Larry Brooks is reporting that defenseman Kevin Klein may actually be leaning towards retirement. Klein has been somewhat of a marvel in New York since arriving, playing solidly through the beginning of this season, and surpassing career highs in points. He earned a reputation for scoring clutch goals in the two seasons before 2016-2017.

Klein has been dealing with some major back issues though, which caused him to miss a good chunk of this season. He was also a healthy scratch through most of the playoffs. It’s unclear if the back issue severely slowed him down, but it was evident that he could not keep up his play and was a liability on the ice. His decline was sharp in the second half of last season, all the way through this full season.

Brooks noted that Klein may continue his career in Europe if he does retire. It’s worth noting that Klein does have a year and $2.75 million ($2.9 million cap hit) left on his deal. Retiring means forfeiting that money. No decision has been made (again per Brooks), but retiring certainly helps the Rangers out.