New York Rangers: Are they better than last year?

The New York Rangers prioritized rebuilding their leaky defense this offseason. But in doing so, they created a hole at center. Did they rob Peter to pay Paul? Was the offseason retool just a lateral move which puts the Rangers in about the same place they were last year?

Fixing the Back End

The mission to revamp the defense was accomplished with flying colors, as the weakness was turned into a strength. But in plugging one hole, they sprung a leak at the center position and are ready to enter training camp with a surplus of defensemen but thin at center.

The offseason started like gangbusters and the Rangers were able to reel in free agency’s top off-season fish in Kevin Shattenkirk, and things looked promising on Broadway. Re-signing Brendan Smith locked down the most formidable top four the Rangers have had on defense in years. They also have promising young reinforcements in Anthony DeAngelo, Alexei Bereglazov, Neal Pionk, and Sean Day on the back burner.

One Move Away

They knew the early moves left a void in the middle. But with Nick Holden and Mark Staal still on the roster, all they had to do was trade from their depth on defense to bring in a useful center to finish off a stellar off season.

That last trade has not come. GM Jeff Gorton is surely working hard, trying to move Staal or Holden. But Staal’s contract is prohibitive and Holden has apparently not drawn any offers of significance.

So here we sit, with a whole bunch of questions at the center position. Can Mika Zibanejad handle the responsibilities of the top line for a full season? Kevin Hayes thrived in limited minutes last season but faltered when he was overworked. Can he handle the additional minutes they’ll need from him? Can David Desharnais stay healthy and return to form?

Limited Fourth Center Options

Even if the those players thrive in their roles, they are still one center short. Lias Andersson will be a polished rookie with an NHL pedigree, but he is 18 years old. He’s got to adjust to the NHL game and life in the U.S. at that tender age. Color me skeptical.

If that doesn’t work out, the Rangers will likely be forced to move J.T. Miller back to center. The Rangers seem hesitant to move him as he has blossomed on the wing. Plus, it would create a hole on the wing.

The only other viable option at this point would be Cristobal “Boo” Nieves. Boo has the size and the skill but he didn’t blossom last year at Hartford as expected. Sure, it was for a pretty bad Wolfpack squad, but the Rangers can’t be too confident he’ll be ready to make the jump.

None of these options seems ideal and the team is in a pretty tight salary cap situation. To bring in a center, they would likely have to part with a key player. So the team appears resigned to head into camp and hope someone seizes the job.

This Time Last Season

The Rangers went into training camp last season in a similar situation. They had a deep group of forwards, but a dubious group of defensemen behind Ryan McDonagh. Declining veterans Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Kevin Klein were clogging up the ice and the salary cap. They didn’t know what they would get from Nick Holden or Brady Skjei. Skjei blossomed, but the rest proved to be liabilities.

John Williams had this to say for Blue Line Station in July of 2016.

I think you could go into the regular season thinking that forward group is one of the best in the NHL, but the defense…Yuck.

Final Thoughts

The Rangers go into camp with another strong group with a gaping hole. The rebuild, which started off so impressively, looks destined to fall one player short.

Next: Optimizing the opening night lines

The Rangers will certainly be better on defense and on the power play. But it’s hard to see them as true competitors for the Cup with this group of

defensemen

centers.

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