New York Rangers stock market: Risers and fallers from 2/1-2/10

The New York Rangers have been a horror show. They are barely clinging to life while players, coaches, and management attempt to do damage control.

The New York Rangers have been running around like chickens without heads. They have struggled to get wins and have been losing miserably. The Rangers started February with a 4-0 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs at home in Madison Square Garden. Toronto absolutely outplayed the Rangers in every way with a youthful and speedy lineup.

In their next game, the Nashville Predators shelled the Rangers yet again in a 5-2 loss. Both Jimmy Vesey and Marc Staal were injured by gruesome headshots by Filip Forsberg and Alexei Emelin respectively. Vesey was later diagnosed with a concussion and Marc Staal was diagnosed with a cervical strain. The loss of both these players adding to the growing list of Rangers with injuries.

The 2-1 loss against the Dallas Stars was the closest loss in recent memory. It was the first game this month the Rangers were not absolutely blown out. However, this loss was followed by yet another blow out at the hands of the Boston Bruins. The Rangers were finally able to snap their losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Even if they are selling off most of the team, a confidence boost is nice once in a while.

The Rangers are ready to blow up the team, and it is definitely in the team’s best interest. The team is falling apart at the seams and is in dire need of assistance. However, with a coaching change

Up: Ty Ronning

Despite being a down the last time I talked about him, Ty Ronning is back on track.

Not too long ago, Ronning was on the second longest pointless streak he had this season at…three games. It wasn’t cause for panic, but the offensive juggernaut was shut down for a week. He has finally bounced back with two goals and an assist for three points in two games.

Part of the reason Ronning puts up a substantial amount of points is due to the high volume of shots he takes per game. He has been held without a shot on goal only twice this season. He frequently takes more than two shots per game and has even reached ten shots on goal in a single game this season.

Ronning has proved himself to be a diamond in the rough. He was selected in the seventh round, 201st overall of the 2016 entry draft. With the Rangers ready to break up the current team, Ronning would make a fine addition to the team. I do believe it would be in his best interest to start his professional career off with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Even with such jaw-dropping point totals, he is not guaranteed an easy transition to the AHL or NHL.

If he is able to transition easily, Ronning will be ablt to contribute for to future Rangers’ success sooner rather than later.

Down: Michael Grabner

The normally offensive Michael Grabner was held scoreless until Friday’s tilt with Calgary.

Grabner has been one of the strangest Rangers in recent memory, but in a good way. Before coming to New York, Grabner had one season where he scored over 30-plus goals and then fell off. After bouncing around the league for some time, Grabner found a home on Broadway. He is one of the few players who has truly benefitted from Alain Vigneault’s system and has the potential to hit a total of 30 goals this season. However, Grabner has not seen the scoresheet in a while now.

Prior to the Calgary game, his last goal was scored against the Anaheim Ducks on January 23rd. His last point came against the San Jose Sharks on January 25th. In addition, Grabner’s plus/minus rating has declined lately. He has been in the negatives for a multitude of games now, meaning he has been on the ice for more goals against than for.

The clock is ticking on trading Michael Grabner. The trade deadline is fast approaching and with Grabner hitting a cold streak, he needs to be traded before his value decreases.

Will Grabner’s trade value really decrease because of a few games going pointless? probably not. But, it is smarter to trade him when his goal scoring abilities are fresh in general manager’s minds.

Up: The Youth Movement

The Rangers seem to have finally come to terms with the fact that they are not Stanley Cup contenders.

Recently, general manager Jeff Gorton and club president Glen Sather held a press conference concerning the state of the team. Basically, what they stated was that the team is ready to enter a rebuild and that “familiar faces may be on their way out.” In addition, they stated that they were looking to start adding younger and more talented players.

With the growing list of injured players, the youth movement started sooner than expected. Chris Kreider, Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal, Jimmy Vesey, Ondrej Pavelec, and Pavel Buchnevich are all sidelined with some form of injury. Kreider and Shattenkirk will be out long-term which will give some rookies the chance to prove themselves NHL ready.

Those injuries led to the call ups of Vinni Lettieri, Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo, Alexander Georgiev, and AHL All-Star John Gilmour. All four have held their own quite well in their time at the NHL level. Some, arguably, even better than some of the players on the current roster.

The youth movement is the best thing that could happen to the Rangers. While it is unfortunate to lose so many players to injury, it forces both Vigneault and Gorton to give younger players a chance to shine. At this point in the season, the Rangers are not exactly in a position to make the playoffs or do well in them. It would be best to get the players acclimated to playing in the NHL now, and hope that they become regulars next season.

Up: J.T. Miller

J.T. Miller has been having himself a point filled month.

Ever since he was benched during the game against the Anaheim Ducks, Miller has been playing extremely well. He has two goals and six assists for eight points in the six games following the game against the Ducks. Even with his plus/minus in the negatives, it is not so far in the negatives to be a concern.

Miller unfortunately tends to get buried in the line up at times. Recently, he has seen more ice time while playing on the second line, resulting in increased production.

Much like Hayes, Miller should be kept at the trade deadline. In addition, he should also be kept over the summer. Even with the cap space struggles the Rangers have, Miller (like Hayes) is young and still has room to develop as a player. Losing players such as Nash and Grabner will leave holes at the win, which J.T. Miller could grow to fill. If he continues to develop as a goal scorer, who knows they type of player he could become?

Down: Mika Zibanejad

Since losing line mate Chris Kreider to injury (and most recently, Pavel Buchnevich), Mika Zibanejad has gone into a bit of a downward spiral.

Zibanejad has barely seen the score sheet in the new year. He has just two goals in his last ten games and three assists. The normally skilled goal scorer has been in a drought since losing (or not being played with) the two players he has the most chemistry with. It is not expected that Kreider will make a return this season due to his blood clot. But, until recently, Pavel Buchnevich has been in the line up every night. Why is he not being played with the struggling Zibanejad?

Next: Five positives about the current situation

In just two weeks, the trade deadline will be here. In such a short amount of time, we could be losing home-grown core players such as Ryan McDonagh or Mats Zuccarello. For the first time in over a decade, we will see the Rangers prepare for a long off season, filled not with playoff games or Stanley Cup dreams, but with trades, draft picks, and young player signings. As of now, our hope lies in the line up of next year’s Rangers, whoever they may be.