New York Rangers: Predicting next season’s centers

The Rangers biggest problem this season has been a lack of depth up and down the lineup. At the start of this season, center was the biggest concern. Next season it might be the strong point of the team.

The New York Rangers have 36 regular season games left this season. It is a safe bet that Chris Kreider will not play in any of those games. Without the team’s best wing they will either get bounced from the postseason early or miss the tournament altogether. The organization has the talent in the pipeline to be serious contenders next season.

The team’s depth will benefit long-term from the Derek Stepan trade even though the move itself may have been premature. The center position has held the Rangers back in the past, other teams have been able to run out a better mix of players and ultimately prevailed because of it.

There are two stone cold locks from this year’s team who will absolutely be on the roster opening night next season. The other two spots will be a combination of players with something to prove that are trying to earn a roster spot. The Rangers have managed the bottom six like this for the past several years and it has yielded okay results.