#Brady Skjei has ‘a ton of motivation’ entering playoff series against Rangers

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Brady Skjei during Hurricanes practice on Tuesday.
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Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei says he has a chip on his shoulder going into the best-of-five qualifying series against the Rangers, his former team who traded him five months ago.

“I’ve got a ton of motivation,” Skjei said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “I really enjoyed my time in New York, loved every part of it, but now I’ve got a ton of motivation and a chip on my shoulder going into this series.”

The Rangers traded Skjei, whom they drafted in the first round in 2012, to Carolina on Feb. 24 in exchange for a conditional 2020 first-round pick, bringing their total picks in the 2020 NHL Draft to 10. The condition is that the Rangers will receive the lower of the Canes’ two first-round choices, the other being the top-10 protected pick Carolina received from the Maple Leafs.

With modifications to the NHL Draft Lottery due to the coronavirus shutdown that suspended the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season, the No. 1 pick will be selected from among the eight teams that do not advance past the qualifying round of the playoffs – or the teams that acquire those picks via trade.

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Skjei neglected to say who he was expecting to see start in goal for the Rangers come Aug. 1, but did offer up some high praise for rookie netminder Igor Shesterkin, noting his calmness and ability to not let anything bother him.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour made a point to say that he believes Skjei will be a big help in preparing his team for the Rangers.

“We’ll definitely pick his brain,” Brind’Amour said.

Skjei accumulated 25 goals and 87 assists in 307 games with the Rangers, but struggled in his final stretch of games leading up to his trade. The rookie defensive pairing of Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren ultimately made Skjei expendable, edging him out of a relatively deep pool of left-handed defenders.

In his first seven games with the Hurricanes, Skjei recorded just one assist and was a minus-four.