Though the New York Rangers season is less than half over, it’s time to focus on next year. Between Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, and others, next year’s Ranger roster has a higher ceiling than the current one.
While the Rangers could easily make the playoffs this year thanks to a resurgent Henrik Lundqvist, they aren’t serious contenders.
Contending teams don’t ice David Desharnais in their top nine. They don’t play Nick Holden on their top pairing. And they certainly don’t surrender more five on five shots on goal than any other team, save for Arizona (numbers via Corsica).
Even before the recent spell of injuries including Chris Kreider’s blood clot, the Rangers did not have the depth to win a championship. Now they boast a comically thin roster, both up front and on the blue line.
But the recent World Junior Championships suggest a much rosier picture for New York. With prospects Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson authoring standout performances, Jeff Gorton can focus on 2018-19 with excitement.
Other names in the Rangers system like Ty Ronning, Tony DeAngelo, and Neal Pionk could soon join the big club as well.
Related Story: New York Rangers: Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson shine early in WJC
Getting so much better
Fans can easily question whether Alain Vigneault should have stuck with Filip Chytil for more than 13 minutes of ice time. It’s clear, however, that demoting him to the Hartford Wolf Pack did not hurt his development.
Alright I'm not done yet: Here's Filipy Chytil just stickhandling around everyone #WJC2018 #WorldJuniors #NYR pic.twitter.com/MXeJEFsvgM
— Fitz (@FitzGSN_) December 26, 2017
Chytil might be ready for the NHL, but he’s better served by playing top line minutes in Hartford than inconsistent ones with the big club. The current Rangers are a mess that Chytil can afford to avoid.
Lias Andersson offers no temptation, not because of poor play, but because the Rangers sent him back to Sweden before the season began. Sweden’s World Junior team made Andersson captain and he responded by sniping two goals against Belarus in their opening game.
While neither Chytil or Andersson registered a point in a head-to-head matchup between the Czech Republic and Sweden, both continued to play well. It’s easy to foresee both players providing Mika Zibanejad with some much-needed help on next year’s team.
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What do we do now?
It would be fun to jump right into next season, but the Rangers still have work to do. Beyond the 40 games or so remaining on the schedule, they have key decisions to make.
Veteran fill-ins, like the previously mentioned Desharnais and Holden, need major reductions in ice time. Neither has a contract past this season and neither should remain with the team.
With the defense a mess, the Rangers need to use the second half of the year as an open audition. Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Graves, and Neal Pionk all need NHL ice time to prove themselves.
The Rangers need to see as much out of pending restricted free agents like Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller as possible. They can’t go into another offseason wondering if Hayes will break out because he spent all his minutes as a matchup center.
Similarly, Jeff Gorton needs to decide whether Rick Nash and Michael Grabner are extension candidates or trade bait. Unrestricted free agency looms for both players and New York can not lose them for nothing.
Next: New York Rangers: Optimizing the bottom-six forward group
Most importantly, Gorton must not make any deals improving this year’s team at the cost of damaging next year and beyond. No deals can turn the 17-18 team into a Cup contender, but the right moves can make the 18-19 roster one.