New York Rangers: Five players looking to progress this season

Kevin Hayes

Coming off somewhat a strange season, Kevin Hayes went from rookie sensation, to slumping sophomore, and ended up last season in a statistic limbo. Statistically Hayes performed only slightly better than his rookie season, but, he averaged nearly 4 minutes less per game in his rookie season.

The defense to Hayes and his stagnant performance, could likely be his line-mates. Hayes spent a very large portion of his season sharing a line with Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller. According to Puckbase.com, the Hayes, Miller, Grabner line took the second most faceoffs of any line combo the Rangers played last season.

Hayes took a damaging blow to his overall center game as his Corsi For % dropped from a 48.9% to a harrowing 43.9%, this can be attributed to the increased competition that Hayes has faced as a consistent second line center.

It looks to be a rebound year for Kevin Hayes, with sites like DailyFaceoff and RosterResource putting the American center with possession driver Mats Zuccarello, and either Rick Nash or Chris Kreider. The increased support on the wings of Hayes will help provide offense and perhaps close up any defensive gaps left in his still young game.

A 60 point year is certainly not out of the question.