Who Will Be The New York Rangers Third Line Center Come Opening Night?
One of the big story lines the fans of the New York Rangers, like me and everyone else a part of bluelinestation.com, will follow during training camp this offseason is who will have the leg up and ultimately emerge as the team’s third line center come opening night on October 9th.
The three names that I feel are the favorites to win the starting job come down to J.T. Miller, Matthew Lombardi, and Kevin Hayes.
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Miller, still considered to be a rookie even though he has now been in the league for smaller parts of two seasons, will be the main favorite to win the job, and is who I feel the Rangers organization is secretly rooting for. Miller was drafted in the 1st round, 15th overall, of the 2011 NHL Draft but so far has yet to leave his mark at the big league level. In the AHL though, Miller is more than a point per game player. Playing in 41 games last season for the Rangers AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack, Miller recorded a total of 43 points (15 goals and 28 assists). Still young, now only 21 years old, it is time for Miller to up his game, be aggressive, but at the same time be responsible on both sides of the ice, something that Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault called him out on last year when he spent some time in the NHL.
Lombardi, a 32 year old veteran center who was not even in the league last year, I feel the Rangers just picked up this offseason for depth, as he mostly just provides speed, penalty killing, and a faceoff percentage that operates around 50%. Now while his main position is center, Lombardi can also play the wing, so I feel his job with the Rangers will be of a healthy scratch/fill in role player. He is technically one of the favorites to win the third line center job so that is why I added him, but in my opinion if Lombardi does win the third line center job then something went wrong with the other two guys during training camp and the Rangers are now in a bit of trouble.
Now Hayes is the one I feel makes this conversation interesting. Before the Rangers were able to land the highly touted prospect, former 1st round pick (24th overall) in 2010 of the Chicago Blackhawks, it looked as if the job was all Miller’s for the taking. However, with Hayes ability to play center, even though his main position is right wing, and with all of the hype surrounding Hayes this offseason, this could put an extra amount of pressure on Miller to prove himself to Vigneault and the entire Rangers organization during training camp. If Miller should struggle, the decision not to award him the third line center starting job is now easier with Hayes on the roster.
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If I had to pick a dark horse to win the starting job if none of the three are performing up to task then I would have to pick the obvious choice, Oscar Lindberg. Originally drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010, the now 22 year old Lindberg is said to be close to playing in the NHL. And according to scouting reports he is a true center that has great awareness and playmaking ability. However, Lindberg has kind of been pushed aside of late because of the Rangers signing Hayes but this could make Lindberg play with a chip on his shoulder and really impress the Rangers coaching staff.
All in all, in my opinion, I believe the Rangers third line center job will ultimately go to Miller come opening night, but I would not be surprised if one or two of the names I mentioned above get a shot during the course of the season.
But that is only my opinion, what’s yours?