New York Rangers: Ryan McDonagh is on the Path to Greatness
By Ben Whitney
New York Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh is having a stellar season in the prime of his career. With the possible exception of Lundqvist, the Captain is the team’s most indispensable player. With McDonagh primed to lead the team on another cup run, we take a look at his career trajectory and speculate on what he can accomplish.
New York Rangers’ Captain Ryan McDonagh’s two way skills were on display on Tuesday night, in a whopping 26 minutes of work. Defensively, he neutralized the dangerous Max Pacioretty. Offensively, he set up two Rick Nash breakaways, the second of which Nash converted for the tying goal.
The Minnesota native and childhood friend/Wisconsin teammate of Derek Stepan has been his usual dependable self this season, the lone steady hand in a much maligned D corps. Without question, he has been the Rangers best player.
McDonagh is in the fourth year of bargain, 6 year, $28.2 million deal. He can expect a raise when his contract expires.
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The Rangers acquisition of McDonagh in the Scott Gomez trade was called “the best trade in Rangers history” by USA Today. Dumping the overpriced Gomez and acquiring the future captain was the brightest feather in Glen Sather’s cap.
McDonagh became the fourth youngest captain in team history in 2014 at the age of 25.
His offensive game is strong, but he’s not a threat to put up three digits in the points column. In a full season, McDonagh will tally about 40 points. This year he is on pace to eclipse his career high of 43.
His calling card has always been as a two way player. McDonagh is already sixth on the all-time Rangers plus/minus list, at +128. (Derek Stepan is #8, at +105. Those Badgers play both ways.) By comparison, Brian Leetch, the greatest Rangers D-man of all time, finished his career at +24.
Plus/minus stats can be deceiving, and his will not necessarily continue on a linear ascent. But it’s obvious that McDonagh’s stats have been held back by Vigneault’s insistence on tethering him to the fading Dan Girardi.
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McDonagh has been hamstrung in the playoffs the last two seasons. He was injured blocking a shot late in the 2016 season, and his play suffered against the Penguins. In 2015, McDonagh played a few games in the semi-finals against the Lightning, including the game 7 loss, with a broken foot.
Brady Skjei has come along faster than expected, taking some of the pressure off McDonagh. But Joe Girardi, Kevin Klein, and Mark Stahl have been much maligned, and McDonagh will be counted on for big minutes.
Vigneault’s predilection for veterans and hesitance to trust young players is well known. When will Vingneault take the future top pairing of McDonagh and Skjei out for a spin to see how it looks in the sun?
McDonagh is playing over 24 minutes a game, leading the team again by a large margin. If the Rangers have any shot of making a run this year, they need to keep their captain healthy.
The Rangers have had just two truly great defensemen, Brian Leetch and Ron Greshner. Players like Harry Howell, James Patrick, and Brad Park were nice players, but not at the level of Leetch and Greshner.
You can already make a case that McDonagh is in the top 5. Before he’s done, he will likely be in the top 2 and could even push Leetch for the top spot. Leetch will forever have a place in Rangers fans hearts for his dominant Conn Smythe performance in the 1994 playoffs, but McDonagh is a complete player with a chance to have an outstanding career.