New York Rangers: How keeping Rick Nash can help Chris Kreider
The New York Rangers are entering the middle stages of an inconsistent year. One of the stars on the team is still playing at his usual high level in a contract year; Rick Nash remains one of the premier two-way forwards in the NHL. After this year, Nash could be a great mentor to Rangers like Chris Kreider.
The New York Rangers started this season horrendously. A strong November got the team back into the conversation, but the team hasn’t been off to a great start in December. After bouncing back from a loss in the nation’s capital, the Rangers have lost two straight, one in the shootout to Dallas, the other in Canada’s capital against Ottawa.
While the team has been mostly inconsistent, one Ranger sticks out every time he hits the ice. Rick Nash is still one of the league’s best two-way forwards and he continues to perform as such this year. This is a contract year for Nash, so the rumors surrounding him will swirl throughout the year.
The 33-year-old is coming off of a contract which carried a $7.8 million cap hit. To get any value out of retaining Nash, the Rangers’ brass would need to cut that number significantly. However, the way Nash can impact another Ranger, Chris Kreider, in positive ways is immense.
Putting It All Together
Throughout his career, Rick Nash has done an incredible job of putting it all together. He has great size, speed, and skill. Nash has somehow been able to use all of those attributes with tact and control over the years, and Kreider could learn a thing or two.
Chris Kreider has incredible speed. He is a faster skater than Nash ever was, but he could still pick up on the other aspects of the game. Physically, he and Nash are very similar; only an inch in height separates the pair and both weigh in at over 215 pounds. Kreider, though, hasn’t fully put together when to use his body.
The greatest examples of this that come to mind are some of the boneheaded penalties Kreider takes and the multiple run-ins with opposing goaltenders. Skill wise, Nash is simply superior to Kreider. Kreider is only 26; there is time for him to learn.
The Defensive End
Rick Nash’s best attribute that he can pass on to Kreider is his defensive zone play. Nash uses all of the above abilities to his advantage in protecting his own end. Kreider primarily relies on his speed, but he could perform so much better by utilizing more of his skill set.
Nash uses his size to either overpower opposing forwards or use his long stick to work the puck away from others. From time to time, Nash is forced into using a piece of flashy skill to keep possession before stringing a breakout pass or getting into the neutral zone. Kreider should take note of all of those tidbits to improve his overall game; he has the size and speed to be an elite two-way player in this league, he just needs to work on his own third.
In the grand scheme of things, Nash staying on the Rangers is a numbers game. He has consistently talked about how much he loves New York, but this coming offseason is a turning point.
Next: Has Marc Staal improved from last season?
Three young Rangers, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, and Brady Skjei, are free agents and are in line for raises. Then the question becomes whether Nash will take a pay cut and how much
the Rangers value his experience and ability to teach these young players.