New York Rangers: How an entire team struggles at once
As the New York Rangers struggle through an awful start to the season, the question is raised: how does everyone struggle at once?
The New York Rangers are off to a terrible start to the 2017-18 campaign. Though many predicted that the Rangers would be worse than last season, the roster changes pointed to a different picture. While the Rangers traded Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes, they did rework nearly their entire defense.
However, the Rangers simply cannot win hockey games right now. The entire team is performing below expectations, with no one standing out as having a strong start to the campaign. Considering it’s the whole roster and not just a few straggling parts here and there, it cannot be as simple as the day to day struggles a hockey team faces.
It’s an entire team playing below expectations at once, so there must be a bigger explanation. I have narrowed down the possibilities to five options. Let’s take a look.
A Bad Roster
While this likely typically works as the most logical explanation, I’m not buying it. The New York Rangers boast a bevy of talented players who can produce in the NHL. Chris Kreider and Rick Nash are lethal speedy and big-bodied forwards, while Kevin Hayes can make passes that twist even the strongest of defensemen. New York possesses a fourth line with a 27 goal scorer, and Swiss-army knife Jesper Fast contributes throughout the lineup.
That’s not to say there aren’t any weaknesses, but there should not be any glaring weaknesses. Filip Chytil could slot into the third line center slot until further notice. Neal Pionk could replace Nick Holden in the lineup, making it so the weakest link is the now-improved Marc Staal.
While the roster is not perfect, it is also not bad at all. This option does not make sense, as the Rangers have enough scoring options, defense, and goaltending to compete with the best of the NHL.
Poor Leadership
This is one I do not believe in at all, and originally did not want to include. When I posed the question of how an entire team struggles to the Blue Line Station writing staff, a few said this could be a problem.
My personal opinion is that we do not know how strong the leadership on the team is. We do not know if Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash are in the locker-room sulking, or if they are trying to fire up the team. There will never be a point in which we know what’s going on fully in the locker-room, so this is all speculation.
However, I will say this. If this roster needs someone to rah-rah them into success, this team is toast. An NHL player making a minimum of $725K and a maximum of over $8 Million should not need someone to motivate them to success. And if they do, the coach should be on top of that. This is a silly concept that should not be in consideration.
Team Is Tuned Out
We’re getting into the more likely ideas here. This is purely the eye-ball test here, but the New York Rangers look like a team who have tuned-out their coach.
This would not even fully be a knock against Alain Vigneault. The New York Yankees recently fired their Manager because coaches and managers have shelf-lives, and Joe Girardi’s ran out. Eventually it’s just time for some new management, and this could certainly be the case for the Rangers.
When the entire team struggles, it could be because the team is in need of a fresh mind and some new concepts. Working in the same environment for a long term can lead to complacency, and complacency can lead to struggles.
When the Rangers lose board battles, struggle to back-check, and miss assignments, it looks a lot like a team tuned out. While it’s impossible to say for sure if they have done this to Vigneault, it’s probable at this point.
Systematic Inefficiencies
One of the main reasons Alain Vigneault was fired from the Vancouver Canucks was due to his inability to make in game adaptions. Though at the time Vancouver was one of the better possession teams in the NHL, Vigneault was in trouble once other teams started to figure out his plans.
Now Vigneault is a few seasons into his tenure as Head Coach of the New York Rangers, and teams have more than figured out his game plan. The Rangers cannot play a 60-minute game because opposing teams know exactly how to match or even top the Rangers’ approach to the game.
New York’s systems continue to place the team in situations in which there are rampant defensive breakdowns and the team finished among the worst in possession play. New York cannot hold onto the puck, and when the other team has the puck, the Rangers cannot do anything to stop them from scoring.
Doesn’t sound like a recipe for success, does it?
Poor Deployment
The most likely of the options, poor deployment has been a major problem this season. Alain Vigneault has made more than his fair share of questionable lineup decisions, enough for me to write a list of them as its own article. A coaches job is to put their players in the best position to succeed. It’s no secret that Vigneault has not done that this season.
Kevin Shattenkirk signed with the Rangers in part to play with Ryan McDonagh. However, the two played only two games together before being separated. Now the Rangers are missing a shutdown defensive pair.
It was also Alain Vigneault who forced Filip Chytil and Anthony DeAngelo down to the minors due to lack of playing time. Vigneault also refuses to play Pavel Buchnevich in the top six, a move that limits New York’s scoring abilities.
Next: Five players losing trade value
Though the systematic concerns are major enough on their own, the horrific deployment done by Alain Vigneault is a top cause of the entire team’s struggles.