from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

If Alain Vigneault’s season-long strategic use of Keith Yandle is any indication, and you would think it would be, the Rangers cannot seriously be invested in attempting to keep the puck-moving impending free agent off the market....

As he has been from the moment management surrendered a first-rounder and top prospect Anthony Duclair in order to bring No. 93 east from the desert the day before last year’s deadline, Yandle has been Vigneault’s sixth defenseman.

Beyond that, Yandle, whose power-play ability was a prime factor in his attractiveness to the Rangers, does not play on the team’s first unit, instead getting the leftover, 30-40 seconds of New York man-advantages.

This, too: The Rangers will not use Yandle to kill penalties. Indeed, Brady Skjei picked up more penalty-kill time (4:21) in two games on the roster than Yandle has all season (2:06).

Does this sound like the résumé of a player the Rangers are preparing to sign for what will be a market value $5.5 million to $6 million per for five or six years?

If general manager Jeff Gorton were serious about keeping the 29-year-old defenseman off the market, wouldn’t you expect the Rangers to increase Yandle’s ice time and responsibilities, especially since the only realistic way to clear out enough space would be to get second-pair lefty Marc Staal’s permission to move him and his $5.7 million per contract that runs through 2020-21?

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