New York Rangers: Comparing the future 17-18 team to the 13-14 team
Wingers
13-14: LW: Rich Nash, Carl Hagelin, Benoit Pouliot, Brian Boyle
RW: Martin St. Louis, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Dorsett
The New York Rangers were able to get production out of their top line and depth players in 2014. It was one of the things that helped them reach the cup finals.
The Rangers had a dominant third line that featured Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot on the wings. Other teams were not able to keep up with them and it created a mismatch that the Rangers exploited.
17-18: LW: Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey, Michael Grabner
RW: Mats Zuccarello, Pavel Buchnevich, J.T. Miller (if a center is acquired), Jesper Fast
The 17-18 Rangers will have tremendous depth on the wings. Chris Kreider is starting to put it all together and become an elite forward. Mats Zuccarello has become a player you can count on to provide close to or more than 60 points.
In 2016-17, the New York Rangers had only one winger who played over 40 games score less than 20 points (Brandon Pirri). The Rangers have tremendous scoring depth on the wings, as they were able to keep all of their wingers from last season, save for Pirri.
The Rangers also have several young wingers, like Buchnevich and Vesey, who could very well break out and light up the box score.