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.
The Rangers best center has blossomed in New York and is a bonafide number one center.
Dynamic players that can swing hockey games by themselves are a rarity in the NHL. They are the players that teams are built around and expected to contribute in big moments. The Rangers have lacked this from the center position for years. They have had very good players at the center position but never anyone elite.
Zibanejad, when healthy, is a game-breaking player. His wicked shot fuels an outright lethal power play when the unit is at full health. The center has a powerful shot from the left circle that gives the Rangers a trigger man that will shoot with authority. As good as he was, Derek Stepan was not a shooter, a player type that the Rangers had a surplus of.
The Swede drives possession on a negative possession team and makes the players around him better. The Kreider, Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich line was the team’s best forward group when together. As a unit, they had a Corsi For Percentage of 55.25, the best of any forward group with over 100 minutes together. Without Zibanejad, Buchnevich, and Kreider’s CF% as a tandem drops all the way down to 43.42.
There is no such thing as an untouchable player in an NHL franchise but Zibnejad’s role is set in stone going forward.
The Rangers would be absolute fools if they did not try to sign Hayes long term this offseason.
This season has been a sink or swim learning experience for the Boston native. Last season, Hayes outright struggled with his role as a center that started 59% of the time in the defensive zone. Hayes started in the offensive zone 60% of the time his first two seasons in the league which is the polar opposite of his role now.
The center’s offensive production has suffered this season because of this adjustment. Hayes is not on pace to hit his point total of 49 from last season at the current rate of .42 points per game. This is not an indictment of Hayes though, he has taken on three more minutes a game this season and done it against better competition.
Where the center really shines is as a playmaker, his vision of the ice may be the best on the entire team. His behind the back assist to Michael Grabner during the winter classic was a flash of the player he is capable of being. The Rangers must make locking up their number two center long term a priority this offseason. At 25 years old, Hayes is a building block of the team going forward.
This spot on the depth chart is the most up in the air. Filip Chytil is the leader in the clubhouse going into the offseason.
The number three center spot on the Rangers this season has been one of the weakest points on the team. David Desharnais has filled in amicably, but he is not a long-term solution to fill the role down the road. Filip Chytil parlayed a spot on the opening night lineup after a stellar pre-season.
Chytil was sent to Hartford after playing just 13 minutes over the course of two games. This was ultimately for the best, a player as raw as the eighteen-year-old needs a lot of ice time to develop his game. He is better served by playing top line minutes in the AHL than he is by rotting away on the bench.
The center has all of the tools to be a dynamic player for the Rangers. The Czech center was one of the more dominant players in the World Junior Championships. His ability to drive play to the net and create scoring chances will do wonders for the Rangers. Chytil will thrive with the same deployment Hayes had as a rookie.
Heavy offensive zone starts against the other team’s weaker players will make for a productive third line. Chytil will definitely be an impactful player for the Rangers, it is a matter of when not if he will produce.
Boo Nieves was a solid fourth line center during his stint with the Rangers this season. He’s a cheap option to fill in the spot full-time next season.
The Rangers are going to have turnaround on their roster going into next season. This is a reality of every offseason, but this year, in particular, the team has several choices to make. They have unrestricted free agents in Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, Nick Holden and Desharnais. It is highly unlikely that the team would be able to bring all four back and sign their restricted free agents.
A budget player like Nieves who can play anywhere up and down the lineup as a stop gap is a crucial part of a contending team. Like Jesper Fast, Nieves is able to slide in anywhere in the lineup and not be a liability. He is fast enough to be an effective checking line center and competent with the puck on his stick. Expecting 20 points from Nieves is a solid benchmark for a full season.
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This is not a flashy choice or one that will make a ton of waves. The fourth line of Nieves, Jesper Fast and Vinni Lettieri would be among the youngest and most affordable in the league. They could be used in any situation without any weak links.