New York Rangers must be patient with Anthony DeAngelo

The New York Rangers acquired an offensive defenseman for the ages in Anthony DeAngelo over the summer. He showed enough to make the opening roster, but only on the third pair. The Rangers management are on a course to hurt DeAngelo’s development.

When the New York Rangers acquired Anthony DeAngelo, it seemed to be a sign that things would soon be changing on the Rangers’ blueline. The 21-year-old defenseman had seem some NHL time with the Arizona Coyotes, but he had yet to be used to his full potential. Since the Rangers acquired him, they must surely have a plan to develop him properly, right?

Well, about that. DeAngelo had ample playing time in the preseason and surely turned heads. He was at his best manning the power play, which is likely why he made the roster. DeAngelo on the power play is a thing of beauty; something Rangers fans haven’t seen in a long while is a pure, offensive defenseman to run the power play.

DeAngelo played well defensively during the preseason as well. Defense has been a struggle for DeAngelo, who has incredibly poor shot suppression skills. He was -3 overall in three preseason games, but the coaching staff trusted him enough to play shorthanded minutes in all three games. Even so, DeAngelo isn’t very proficient defensively, much like some other Rangers defensemen.

Made the roster

DeAngelo made the NHL roster, which is fantastic for his development. He’s spent parts of the last two seasons between the Arizona Coyotes and two different AHL teams, but it’s time for his shot. The only issue is that the Rangers have yet to address their lacking and dragging backend in Marc Staal and Nick Holden.

Staal and Holden were the second and third worst defensemen on the Rangers last season, only behind Dan Girardi. The dynamic duo cost the Rangers late leads in playoff games against both the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. The Rangers fixed up the front of the shop, adding Kevin Shattenkirk to the top pair and promoting Brady Skjei to the second pair with Brendan Smith, but it’s like covering dog poop with body spray. Staal and Holden still pose a serious issue at the bottom of the blueline.

The opening night roster is projected to feature Staal and DeAngelo paired together, which is a disaster just waiting to happen. DeAngelo is a young and developing defenseman who is going to make plenty of defensive errors. Putting him with a veteran is great, but a veteran like Staal hurts because Staal cannot clean up after DeAngelo. The duo will bleed shots and scoring chances and undeniably cost a handful of goals.

Being patient with his development

That’s precisely the reason we have to be patient with DeAngelo’s development. He has a ton of raw talent that has to be refined, and he will surely have some speed bumps early on. Paired with Staal, DeAngelo may simply be destined to fail, but it can’t possibly be all his fault.

Much of the ire from fans in the early part of the season is going to be directed towards this defensive pairing, should it truly take hold. Surely head coach Alain Vigneault knows the pair won’t work, but if it sticks, it’s sure to be a nightmare. Even so, DeAngelo is a young player who we cannot give up on or be discouraged with so easily.

Another reason to be patient with DeAngelo is his ability. DeAngelo has the potential to be a high scoring defenseman. He runs a power play beautifully, and he’s also great at even strength. His place on the roster was secured due to this.

DeAngelo and Staal

It will be interesting to see how DeAngelo is deployed along with Staal. Many have speculated that DeAngelo made the team mainly to get power play minutes, suggesting Alain Vigneault might lean on veterans Ryan McDonagh and Shattenkirk to play big minutes. Skjei coming into his own with a sturdy Smith in the lineup also helps alleviate pressure on the third pair.

It is entirely possibly DeAngelo playing on the third pair means Vigneault is planning on sheltering him. It wouldn’t be out of character for Vigneault to shorten his bench, and Staal has been dreadful and basically useless for the Rangers defense. He’s ostensibly the sixth defenseman on this team, and fits no true utility roll in the way DeAngelo does.

Next: What does success look like for Anthony DeAngelo?

While DeAngelo shows a ton of promise, it’s important to be patient with his development. He will be paired with Marc Staal to start the season, but he is expected to get plenty of the time on the power play, and he’ll likely be sheltered on the third pair. Rejoice, for the Rangers may finally be getting it right.

Home / Analysis