New York Rangers: Predicting the Ceilings of Miller and Hayes
By David Bruce
J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes are both on bridge contracts for the New York Rangers, and both have yet to prove their developmental ceilings. Here is a look at the potential these two players still have.
The New York Rangers have a very young forward group. With that, there is some element of mystery behind the level that these players will reach at their peak. Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller are two such players that the Rangers must watch diligently.
Both Hayes and Miller are currently 24 years old. Typically speaking, 24 or 25 years old is around the time where a player has reached their developmental ceiling. As it stands,contrary to the age factor, both of these players have shown signs that they are not done growing.
These two players are also both signed to bridge contracts, both of which will expire in the summer of 2018. Their development will play a huge part in determining how much they are paid, and ultimately, if the Rangers can continue to retain them when that time comes.
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Kevin Hayes
Kevin Hayes, currently signed to a two year, $5.2 million contract, is currently having a career year. Hayes has recorded a career high 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) in 69 games. He has bounced back from a sophomore slump last year, and has proven to be one of the Rangers best two way players.
Hayes’ skill set and talent level is frequently compared to similarly sized Joe Thornton. With that, its unknown where Hayes will top off statistically. Its possible that he will be a career 45-50 point center, but a player with his ability has the potential to be a 60+ point scorer in the future.
The way Hayes protects the puck, his vision, and his tremendous growth in 2016-17 as a two way forward leads me to believe he still has much room to improve. If he continues to develop through his mid 20s, he could see a peak where he will be a 20 goal, 40 assist center.
J.T. Miller
J.T. Miller, who is under a two year, $5.5 million contract, is the second wild card at forward. He is presently enjoying a season where he leads the Rangers in points with 52 (20 goals, 32 assists). His point totals have increased each season, going from 23 to 43 to 52 since 2014-15.
Miller is a talented scoring forward that also likes to play with an edge. While maybe not as good of a passer or puckhandler as Hayes, Miller excels equally at all facets of the game. He is a quality player and part of the Rangers future on the wing.
With that being said, I do not think that Miller has as high of a ceiling as Hayes. Since Miller, though gifted in all areas of the game, does not necessarily have one particular skill one might consider unique, it is possible that he is what he is right now. That aspect of his game also makes it difficult to predict if he will keep developing or stay where he is.
Right now, J.T. Miller projects to continue as a 25 goal, 30 assist player. It is possible that he may have a season where he breaks the 30 goal or 60 point barrier. His developmental path predicts to run in a similar fashion to ex-Ranger Derick Brassard.
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Player development is one big mystery; you can never truly know the end game of a player. All one has is a prediction based on skill set and statistics. For Miller and Hayes, this plays a big part in the Rangers future. What they do in these next two years determines not only their future salaries, but the moves the Rangers must make to accommodate that.