New York Rangers: Bold Predictions for the preseason
Our team here at Blue Line Station got together to do our last roundtable of the offseason. This week, we tackle some bold predictions for the New York Rangers’ training camp and preseason.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly feel like this summer has been too long. Luckily, we will finally have some New York Rangers’ hockey to watch in a week from today!
With the training camp starting this week and preseason beginning next week, roster battles and tough decisions will need to be made in the coming weeks. Here at Blue Line Station, we took a look at the Rangers’ roster landscape heading into camp and made some bold predictions as to what we are going to see before the regular season begins.
If you guys have any bold predictions for the preseason, tweet them at us. Our username on Twitter is @BlueLineStation and we’d love to hear what you guys think!
John Williams- Nick Holden will be traded
I know I’m not exactly breaking any ground here since this is something that has been rumored all offseason but I still wanted to point this out to the people who have given up hope.
The Rangers probably want to see what they have with their youngins on the backend such as Alexei Bereglazov, Neal Pionk, Anthony DeAngelo, Ryan Graves and Sean Day, all of which who will compete with Holden, Marc Staal and Steven Kampfer for the Rangers last two or three defense spots on the roster.
There is no way that the Rangers can hold onto all of these guys. Holden is coming off the best season of his career –offensively, anyway– and his trade value will never be higher. The Rangers, who will most likely let him walk next offseason as he becomes an unrestricted free agent, need to clear some cap space in case they do try to acquire a center like most would argue they should.
Holden likely would bring back a mid-round draft pick to a team who is desperately in need of a boost in their farm system.
Also, it is worth noting –although it could mean nothing– that the team hasn’t announced his new number yet, since Kevin Shattenkirk took his number 22 after he signed on. It appears that Holden will be wearing 55 at the moement, but it is odd that the team never officially announced this.
Brandon Cohen- Marc Staal is no longer a Ranger
My line of thinking tends to be “go big or go home,” so I’m going with what I think is the biggest prediction of them all.
By the time the preseason ends, Marc Staal will no longer be a New York Ranger.
The Rangers got Dan Girardi out of the way but refused to rid themselves of both of their awful contracts. For whatever reason, it seems like Alain Vigneault and Co. like Nick Holden, but Marc Staal is old and Dan Girardi-like. This leads me to believe the Rangers would be fine with moving him, but simply cannot find a deal they like.
However, the preseason can create some wild situations. Perhaps a team loses a top defenseman and has poor management. That management decides they’ll take a chance on a veteran player, and bam. Marc Staal is gone.
Maybe Jeff Gorton has a trick up his sleeve and can move Staal for a center. Regardless, the prospects will push Staal to the point where even Alain Vigneault does not want to play him. After that, hopefully, the magic happens.
Dan Carrozzi- Alexei Bereglazov beats Anthony DeAngelo out for a spot on the third pair
One of the position battles of interest this preseason is for the third defensive pairing, as the top four defenders are already set.
The reality of the situation is that this roster battle is really for the last starting defenseman spot. Marc Staal is difficult, albeit not impossible, to trade with his cap hit and no movement clause. Nick Holden, with his lower cap hit and lack of no movement clause, will likely be moved before the season starts, barring injuries.
This means the last spot comes down to Anthony DeAngelo or Alexei Bereglazov.
Each has a case to make the team for both the right and wrong reasons. DeAngelo was a key component in the Derek Stepan trade and could boost the team’s offense even further from the backend. Bereglazov has a KHL out clause if he is assigned to the AHL, but is a more defensively sound and polished player.
Bereglazov will make the team because Alain Vigneault has the propensity to favor defensively minded defensemen, sometimes to a fault. He also tends not to favor his more offensive minded defensemen in the past, such as Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle.
As we saw last year, Vigneault is willing to play a defenseman on his off side if necessary. Similarly, he doesn’t seem too concerned about icing only one right handed shot among his six defenders.
Josh Lipman- Neal Pionk claims a spot on the third pairing
The Rangers were still battling the Senators when Neal Pionk signed in the beginning of May. His arrival as an NCAA free agent escaped much notice, but landing him was probably the best thing New York did during the postseason.
Pionk doesn’t carry the veteran credentials of Marc Staal and Nick Holden. He doesn’t carry the hype of Anthony DeAngelo and he most certainly doesn’t carry the international resume of Alexei Bereglazov.
What separates Pionk from those players, as well as Ryan Graves and Sean Day, is that he offers the most versatility of them all.
Pionk’s a standout skater like Day. He has a rocket of a shot like Graves does. He can run a powerplay like DeAngelo. In fact, Pionk and DeAngelo are very similar in a lot of ways. Both are somewhat undersized, right-shooting defensemen with tantalizing offensive potential. Also, only three months separate them in age.
The big gap between Pionk and DeAngelo comes in their defensive play. While DeAngelo boasts professional experience, he also struggles in his own end. Pionk isn’t flawless himself, but he knows what to do in all three zones and plays with a physical edge.
Pionk’s well-rounded game should prove too tempting for Alain Vigneault and company to send him to Hartford.
George Ruggiero- Andersson doesn’t make the team
The NHL preseason is rapidly approaching, and plenty of events transpire during training camp and preseason games. The Rangers have a few holes to fill through the lineup, and there are choices to be made. I think the tough decision made will be that 2017 first round draft pick Lias Andersson does not make the team.
While the Rangers happen to have a large hole at the center position, I’m not sure Andersson is fully prepared to make the jump at such a young age. The 18-year-old Swede has spent time playing against grown men in the SHL. At the same time, the NHL is a very different game.
The European ice is larger than the NHL ice, and the style of play is also different. The NHL is a fast, physical game that many European players have trouble adjusting to. Andersson is very polished for his age, but no signs point to an immediate jump to the NHL
John Cavanagh- Boo Nieves makes the team
The New York Rangers are very thin at center, and the last center spot is up for grabs. Unless someone like J.T. Miller plays out of position, it’s assumed the Rangers will have some competition to be the last bottom six center.
It’s almost a guarantee free agent signing David Desharnais will be on the opening night roster, which leaves Cristoval “Boo” Nieves as my bold prediction to also make the roster.
The 23-year-old Michigan University product didn’t put up big numbers for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL and only played one game for the Rangers to date. However, Nieves has great size at 6-foot-3, 219 points to go along with great strength and solid skating ability.
Nieves is good in the faceoff circle, something the Rangers struggle with as a team. With good upside and good play making skills, Nieves will surely be more NHL ready than 2017 first round pick Lias Andersson. Andersson is far along in his development, but is just 18-years-old, making Nieves the prospect who makes the team.
Alexandra Russo- Lias Andersson makes the roster
In a trade that sent veteran Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta to Arizona, the New York Rangers were able to get more than only defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. They also moved up in the draft and acquired center Lias Andersson.
I believe Andersson will lay all his strengths and talents out on the ice this preseason. He will be the best young player and will force the Rangers to keep him on Broadway to start the season.
His career stats prove that he is a fantastic prospect. In the International Juniors competition, he recorded 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 17 games.
With the Rangers’ difficult situation at center, he might end up being their go-to center for their fourth line. However, he must first prove himself before they guarantee him a roster spot.
Despite the fact that he is 18-years-old, I think he will be able to impress the team enough that they’ll have no choice but to hand him an official New York Rangers jersey in less than a month when the regular season opens.
Michael Delasandro- Rangers will show off their new and efficient offense
The New York Rangers are sure to have an interesting preseason. They could show off their more efficient offense before the regular season starts.
The Blueshirts loaded up their defense with some more effective offensive talent and can expect some younger players to progress as well. They have not seen a potent offensive threat from the point since the time of Dan Boyle and Keith Yandle. The addition of Kevin Shattenkirk will certainly generate many chances.
Defenseman Anthony Deangelo was acquired from Phoenix in the Stepan trade. Should he play significant time in the preseason, he could show off some of his offensive prowess.
David Desharnais, who will replace Oscar Lindberg on the fourth line, was a solid acquisition that will help the offense, too. Although he wasn’t too effective in his limited role with both Montreal or his small role in Edmonton once he was traded, he is just two years removed from a season in which he tallied 29 points in 65 games.
Next: Five fears every Rangers fans should have
While there are questions about the Rangers down the middle, all of these acquisitions, coupled with the loss of Dan Girardi –and maybe even the future trading of Nick Holden– will make the team much stronger systematically, which will show on the scoreboard.