“I GUESS I ELBOWED MY WAY OUT OF THE NHL” 

That’s what forward Andre Deveaux told reporters in New York yesterday after clearing out his locker upon completing his suspension for a blatant elbow to the head of  Florida Panthers forward Tomas Fleischmann. The Rangers then put Deveaux on waivers Wednesday and he cleared at noon Thursday and has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale.  While it’s an unfortunate situation for Deveaux, it’s a good thing for the Whale who’ve been playing a forward short with Kris Newbury serving his own four game suspension for his hit to Bridgeport’s Justin DiBenedetto. That suspension is now also completed which means the Whale will have two more forwards for Head Coach Ken Gernander to insert in his lineup.

The arrival of Deveaux and the return of Newbury likely means that Chris McKelvie will be headed back to the press box. What Gernander’s actual decision will be as to who plays where will be public information Friday when the Whale travel to Providence for a tilt with the Bruins. You can check out live Howlings coverage starting at 7pm on Twitter at @howlingstoday.

Here’s the official Rangers release on the transaction:

NEW YORK RANGERS TRANSACTION UPDATE

Andre Deveaux Assigned to Connecticut

New York, December 1, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Andre Deveaux has been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Deveaux, 27, has registered one assist and 29 penalty minutes in nine games with the Rangers.  He tallied his first point as a Ranger with an assist on the game-winning goal on November 5 vs. Montreal.  Deveaux made his debut with the Blueshirts on October 31 vs. San Jose, following his recall from Connecticut the day before.  The Rangers have posted a record of 7-2-0 when he is in the lineup.  Deveaux has missed the last three games while serving a three-game suspension.

He returns to Connecticut where he has registered four goals and two assists, along with 23 penalty minutes in nine games this season.  Deveaux led the team and was tied for fifth in the AHL with three power play goals at the time of his recall on October 30.  He was also tied for the team lead in goals and second in points.

The Freeport, Bahamas native was signed by the Rangers as a free agent on August 16, 2011. He was originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round, 182nd overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.