SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alain Vigneault laughed as he remembered exactly what Cody McLeod said to him from the ice on New Year’s Eve in Denver just over a year ago.
“He stood in front of my bench and said, ‘Hey coach, are you looking for a tough fourth-liner?’ ” Vigneault relayed Thursday morning, the day his Rangers claimed McLeod off waivers from the Predators. “So it took me a year to sort it out.”
While the Blueshirts wrapped up their four-game road trip with a 6-5 win over the Sharks at SAP Center, the final game before the All-Star break, the plan was for McLeod to meet them for their first practice back in New York on late Tuesday afternoon. The 33-year-old McLeod played the first 10 years of his career for the Avalanche, who traded him to Nashville last year, where he partially contributed on their run to the Stanley Cup final.
In 713 career NHL games, McLeod has 1,524 penalty minutes to go along with 71 goals and 124 points. He also concussed then-Ranger Matt Puempel with a hit in that game in Denver.
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“He brings a dimension that’s different than what we have,” Vigneault said. “Everything I know about him, he’s got a role, he’s got an identity. He’s a good team player. We felt that considering our depth situation right now, it was the right thing to do.”
Forward Kevin Hayes returned from his six-game absence because of a leg contusion and was a force on his line centering J.T. Miller and Mats Zuccarello. Hayes scored 5:45 into the first period, and added an assist. Miller added a goal and two assists and Zuccarello added two assists.
Hayes was hurt on Jan. 7 in a game against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas, and he said after skating Thursday morning that “this is the best I’ve felt since that Vegas trip.”
Hayes did return to play the next game after the five-day bye week on Jan. 13 against the Islanders, but the injury proved to be too much pain to play through, and he missed the next six. He said he didn’t regret playing in that game, but knew he needed to come out.
“As an athlete, I think guys understand that you don’t want to put yourself at risk anytime going out to play,” Hayes said. “When you feel like you’re ready to play, that’s when you get back.”
With Hayes’ return, rookie Vinni Lettieri was a healthy scratch after he played the previous nine straight.
Forward Daniel Catenacci was sent back to AHL Hartford, and defenseman Steven Kampfer was a healthy scratch for the third straight game.