Thanks to a spate of injuries, the New York Rangers have to plug roster holes everywhere. Of course, these openings also mean potential opportunities for young talent. Alain Vigneault doesn’t seem to want to go that way, though.
While Tony DeAngelo recently returning from Hartford after spending most of the year there, his recall seems like an outlier. As Chris Kreider, Kevin Shattenkirk, and others have gone down, players like Peter Holland and Steve Kampfer took their places.
Just recently, the Rangers claimed Cody McLeod off waivers from Nashville. McLeod is a 33-year-old enforcer with a whopping two points this season.
The pattern is clear. Alain Vigneault will do just about anything before trying out an actual product of the Ranger farm system.
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Bad coaching or bad drafting?
In Vigneault’s defense, the Hartford Wolf Pack haven’t exactly iced talent-laden lineups in the last few years. The Wolf Pack sit below .500 this season and had the worst record in the AHL a season ago.
Still, plenty of evidence suggests New York’s coach will dress borderline NHLers over younger, more talented players in the biggest spots. Former Ranger Tanner Glass skated in elimination games over first Kevin Hayes and later Pavel Buchnevich.
Glass is only the most blatant example. During Vigneault’s tenure, the Rangers have eagerly experimented with washed up veterans like Jarret Stoll, Daniel Paille, Ryan Malone, and now McLeod.
Earlier this year, Boo Nieves appeared to cement a lineup spot as he excelled at filling a checking role on the fourth line. Nieves’ emergence was one of few positives in what has turned into a dreadful season. But when the offense sputtered, Vigneault dumped Nieves back in Hartford to call up AHL journeyman Peter Holland.
Since then, not only did the Rangers add McLeod to the roster over recalling Nieves, they also toyed with using non-prospect Daniel Catenacci. The moves make no sense in either the short or long-term picture.
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Indefensible
Nothing exemplifies the head-scratching nature of Vigneault’s roster usage quite like the Ranger defense. Mishandling the blue line is nothing new for the coach (we miss you Adam Clendening). This year’s group is particularly hard to explain, though.
With Kevin Shattenkirk hurt, the Rangers are leaning on some truly bad defenders. Nick Holden’s fluky offense has disappeared and his putrid own zone play remains. Steve Kampfer belongs in the AHL, and Marc Staal should probably retire.
While Vigneault finally relented somewhat and brought DeAngelo back up, a few others should’ve come with him. Neal Pionk struggled to start the year but has eight points in his last 11 games. Ryan Graves plays a solid game and has a bomb of a shot.
The Rangers landed Pionk as a highly touted NCAA free agent last year. Meanwhile, Graves is in the final year of his entry-level contract. Considering those factors (and the ineptitude of Holden, Staal, and Kampfer), the Rangers have no good reason to leave either player down in Hartford.
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At this point, with the Rangers surrendering 30+ shots on goal per night, what do they have to lose? The Rangers need to know which of DeAngelo, Pionk, and Graves they can count on for next season.