New York Rangers Summer Boot Camp: Forwards Edition

The New York Rangers’ management has some important decisions to make in order to help the offense grow.

Half of the Rangers offense is locked in multi-year contracts while the other half is either restricted or unrestricted free agents. Yes, a majority of the New York Rangers struggles during the 2015-2016 season stemmed from inefficient defensive play, but there are still improvements that could and should be made on the offensive end of the ice.

Analyzing the current stars

Forwards J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard all played within the Rangers’ top two lines this season and had 20+ goals.

Miller played a break out season this year, doubling his point total and meshing nicely with the top forwards on the Rangers offense. He has proved he is a player who can play a vital role on the team and will unquestionably return. Kreider, however, got off to a slow start at the beginning of 2015, leading to many rumors he might be released at the 2016 trade deadline. By the end of the season, though, the forward out of Boston College greatly improved. He ended the season with 21 goals and 22 assists and played on the first line as well as the first power play unit. Assuming that Kreider makes a return next season, he must ensure that he gets off to a more dominant start.

Stepan, Zuccarello and Brassard are the core of the Rangers offense. All three are reliable, consistent and can create opportunity in almost any situation. These three will continue to have to lead the offense especially with changes to the current structure of the team that are likely to come this off-season.

Rick Nash is a player who has been widely criticized for not playing to his full potential. While Nash is an “older” player, he has become one of the core players in the franchise over the past three years and still has two years left on his contract. Specifically, despite being out for over a month nursing a bone bruise, Nash scored 15 goals and had 21 assists and served as one of the leaders in the first round of the playoffs this year with a total four points in the five games played against Pittsburgh. The pros of Nash’s presence on the ice outweigh the cons, and it would be rash to upend his contract before it terminates at the end of the 2018 season.

The team disappointments

Players on the bottom two lines did not live up to their fullest expectations. Eric Staal, who was traded to New York from the Carolina Hurricanes at the deadline, was supposed to serve as a piece to help boost the Rangers offense.

He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes and is known for not only his strength but also his finesse. It seemed like he would be a great fit for the Rangers and was playing well prior to being traded.

Yet, he struggled to find his identity during his time with the Rangers. Staal, who had 54 points for Carolina in the 2014-15 season, only managed 39 points (six with the Rangers) this year – the lowest since his NHL debut in 2003. Staal is currently an unrestricted free agent. Because Staal couldn’t find his footing in his position for the Rangers, and is looking for a bigger role on a team, it may be worth it to let him move on to pursue other options.

Kevin Hayes proved he had a high hockey IQ in his rookie season and continued to play well in his second. However, Hayes seemed less present this year compared to last, most likely because Alain Vigneault frequently listed him as a healthy scratch. Even when the 24-year-old was playing, he didn’t seem as consistent as in previous seasons, though on paper he wasn’t far off from how he played last year. The loss of forward Carl Hagelin has also seemed to impact Hayes’s abilities. Nevertheless, Hayes is a young player and thus has room to grow. Assuming the Rangers find an offensive match for him, Hayes has the potential to step up and become an offensive leader on the team.

Similar to Hayes, Jesper Fast has made himself into a household name, playing 79 of the 82 games during the regular season. He doubled his point total and contributed speed to the generally slow team. The key with this pair, assuming that they remain on the same line, is being able to click.

The questionable players

The fourth line pair of Viktor Stalberg and Oscar Lindberg was cut short after Lindberg found out he needed to have hip surgery. The two, who are both from Sweden, played with NHL veteran Dominic Moore this season. Moore will be up as an unrestricted free agent this year, and based on his age and average play over the last two seasons, Moore might move on. Lindberg and Stalberg showed flashes of brilliance this year. However, the future of this offensive pair is up in the air with Lindberg expected to be out into the start of the 2016-2017 season and both, perhaps, could be released.

So, six months for LIndberg puts him into November. That's a really tough blow for both him and the Rangers.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) May 6, 2016

Despite the positives of many of the Rangers forwards, it is likely that any offensive player that is not currently locked into a multi-year deal has the chance to be traded based on cap issues and management looking for a change.

The Rangers need to capitalize on offensive depth

The Rangers were a well-rounded team offensively this season and statistically had the potential to roll out four lines that could have been extremely dangerous. However, the team’s inability to control the puck made their players not only inconsistent, but also ineffective.

The turnovers and giveaways in the neutral zone and offensive end were a huge issue for the team. Despite finishing the year within the top 10 most goals for a NHL franchise (finished seventh), the Rangers held the third-place spot in the playoffs and only showed life in one game during the first round.

Assuming the Rangers keep some of the offensive players on the roster right now, how do they capitalize on the depth that they failed to display this past season?

They make changes that will boost their currently decomposing third and fourth lines. Whether that means switching up lines all together, or taking a step back to analyze how their play has changed and how they can fix it.

The team seemed to cycle less effectively – or at all – during this season, which greatly impacted their ability to keep the puck on the offensive end of the ice. Making changes to how they structure their power play might be an effective step to change a side of their game that has been criticized for the past few seasons.

In Larry Brooks’ recent article for the New York Post, he argued that Hagelin, who was traded for cap reasons, was vital to the structure of the Rangers’ offense, much more so than management predicted.

Finding a suited replacement – or multiple replacements – that serves as a play maker, is strong on the penalty kill and forecheck, and forces opponents to stay on their toes like Hagelin did is vital to filling the vacant gap that mere consistency by a group of three players who play within the top two lines cannot fill.

Look out for some new faces

It seems that the Rangers best option is former KHL forward Pavel Buchnevich, who the Rangers signed to an entry level contract on May 13. Buchnevich is quick, has good vision and can score goals, but he has been knocked for taking needless penalties. His play in the KHL this past season has many excited about the idea of adding some young talent to the Rangers offense.

Beyond this, the Rangers don’t have many options. Management’s “win now” mentality over the past few seasons, as they traded away first-round draft picks and young prospects like Arizona Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair for veteran players like Martin St. Louis and Keith Yandle. This means that if Buchnevich can make an impact on the ice for the Rangers, it might be good to consider taking further action to aid the aging Rangers roster.

Next: New York Rangers Summer Boot Camp: Goalie Edition

The bottom line

Ultimately, the Rangers need to do whatever it takes to make their offense all together more cohesive – whether this means trading players to make room for younger talent, switching up lines or switching up game play – the offense is in need of some kind of assistance.

The Rangers management – GMs, coaches, staff – needs to determine what the identity of their offense is and they need to make decisions that stick to furthering the development of that offense in order to be successful.

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