New York Rangers: Six players who need a changed role

Decrease: Nick Holden

Aside from Marc Staal in previous years, Nick Holden has been one of the most inconsistent and controversial defenseman the Rangers have ever put on the ice. Holden, in his last six games, has hovered around 15-20 minutes in time on ice.

Although his stats may not indicate it, Holden is not a good defenseman. The reason why his numbers aren’t catastrophic is because he is usually for some reason with Ryan McDonagh. What this essentially means is that Holden is placed in a spot on a top pair with an elite defenseman, forcing another elite defenseman named Kevin Shattenkirk to play on the other two pairs. This ultimately leads to the Rangers second most prized defenseman having minutes that are meant for a top four or six defenseman at even strength.

Simply put, if the Rangers are up by one in a close game against a hot team, Holden should not be on the ice. He also should never even see the ice if he makes one of his many defensive flaws in his own end. It is not that hard. If Holden isn’t playing like the defenseman who receives as much ice time as he gets, then he should not be playing period.