Recently, New York Rangers’ head coach Alain Vigneault has been benching defenseman Brendan Smith quite a bit. Here’s why that needs to stop.
After a not-so-great start to the season, the New York Rangers have turned it around drastically. They’ve won their last six games, bringing their record to 9-7-2. However, amidst all of the success, there is one huge elephant in the room left to address; where is Brendan Smith?
Smith hasn’t played since October 31st, a 6-4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The 28-year-old didn’t have an insane impact on the game, with no points and a 24.24 Corsi-For percentage. He probably could’ve looked better, but definitely wasn’t the worst defenseman on the ice.
So far this season, he has two points (both assists) through 11 games. For comparison, Steven Kampfer has zero points through three fewer games and Marc Staal has one more point through seven more games played.
So, the question still stands; why isn’t Smith in the lineup over players like Staal and Kampfer? Let’s take a deeper look at the situation.
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Smith’s intended purpose
The New York Rangers acquired Brendan Smith from the Detroit Red Wings back in late February 2017, right before the trade deadline. To get him, they surrendered a 2017 third round draft pick and a 2018 second round draft pick to Detroit.
Smith was picked up for a number of reasons. First of all, the Rangers knew that they needed to upgrade their defense in order to finally make a mark in the playoffs. At that point, in the minds of many fans, anything was better than the current defensive lineup that the Rangers were icing every night.
With Detroit in 2016-2017, Smith played 33 games and notched just five points (two goals and three assists). With New York in 2016-2017, the blue-liner appeared in 15 fewer games and scored one less point (one goal and three assists).
Though it didn’t show in his point totals, Smith did have a positive impact on the Rangers. His CF% was at 48.92, just shy of the ideal number of 50. His CF% rose even higher when playing with New York’s Staal, Kevin Klein, Nick Holden, and Brady Skjei. He enhanced the defensive skill of the team, and really found his niche on a pair with Skjei during the playoffs.
Earlier this year, it was assumed that the Rangers missed out on Kevin Shattenkirk when he was acquired by the Washington Capitals. Smith has been seen as a great defensive addition anyway, in place of Shattenkirk. Now that the Rangers have Shattenkirk and Smith, there’s no excuse for the poor defense anymore.
How he could help
Obviously, one of the worst defensive pairs on the New York Rangers right now is the combination of Marc Staal and Steven Kampfer. It seems as if every breakdown occurs when these two are on the ice, and it’s frustrating to watch. Having Smith in the lineup and one of those two players out could definitely switch things up, and for the better.
It’s unlikely that the Rangers would sit Staal, due to his salary and his history with the team. If the Rangers were to sit Kampfer and play Smith, a huge improvement would already have been made.
From there, another less-than-ideal defenseman, like Nick Holden, could be benched or put on waivers, resulting in calling up a young defenseman like Ryan Graves. If they really wanted to go crazy and finally do something about Staal, Neal Pionk could be called up as well.
Obviously, this is all hypothetical. There’s a slim chance that the team would actually go through with it. However, it’s something to consider. The defense could be completely transformed in just a few moves, and that could start with Brendan Smith.
Playing him doesn’t require a call-up, just one of the worse defenseman sitting out of a game. It’s really mind-boggling how easily and quickly one of this team’s long-time weaknesses could be turned into a strength.
What if something is actually wrong?
Recently, it was reported from a number of sources that Brendan Smith was indeed sitting for a reason, that reason being that he was “out of shape.” While this isn’t necessarily 100% true, it’s not such an obstacle if it is factual.
If Smith is “out of shape”, fine. There’s no reason why a conditioning stint in the AHL shouldn’t be an option for him. While he gets back into shape down there for a little while, a Graves or Pionk type player can be called up from Hartford.
Smith not being in shape is no excuse for Kampfer, Staal, and Holden being in the lineup every night. Furthermore, it’s no excuse for either of those three being on the same pair.
Last season, one of the biggest problems with the defense was keeping the three liabilities apart. Staal, Dan Girardi, and Kevin Klein could not be on the ice at the same time. They were divided among players like Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei. While that did result in mediocre defensive pairs, there was never one amazing defensive pair.
Now, the Rangers have players like Shattenkirk and Smith. Additionally, they have huge amounts of talent in McDonagh and Skjei. Furthermore, they can call up prospects like Graves and Pionk, if they need to. There’s no reason to split up bad defensemen again, making skilled players suffer.
Brendan Smith should be playing every night. If something is wrong, he should be on Injured Reserve or sent down to the AHL on conditioning. A call-up should follow.
Next: Rangers need to keep Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith together
At this point, it’s just too late to still have to worry about the Rangers having an incompetent defensive group. Smith could be the answer to that. If not, someone else will be.