The New York Rangers have drastically reshaped the foundation of their franchise. The team has difficult choices ahead that might be the difference between the postseason and the lottery draft.
The last three months of Rangers hockey have been outright painful to watch at times this season. As of late, it seems that the team wins in spite of itself, not because of anything positive. The Rangers are the worst team in the league in terms of shot share this season. The confusing thing is, none of this was supposed to happen.
At the start of the season, the Rangers were amongst the favorites in the Metropolitan Division. Coming off a surprising postseason run and the addition of Kevin Shattenkirk, the team was expected to be right back in the mix. Somewhere the talent got lost in going from the lineup card to the ice. The Rangers are rebuilding because the team’s leaky defense was too much to overcome.
In most cases, rebuilding is a multi-year process. Unless you’re the Buffalo Sabres, then you’re permanently rebuilding. The Rangers currently have a weird mix of talent that may not translate to a successful hockey team. In acquiring so many pieces, the Rangers have given themselves plenty of choices.
The core for a decent hockey team is in place: Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ryan Spooner, Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk is a solid foundation. Working with that as a baseline, what fills in around them will be the difference in next year’s team.
Behind the bench
The biggest thing the Rangers could do to improve next season is to fire Alain Vigneault. The head coach’s tenure has been successful in the regular season but has never gotten over the hump. Combine that with Vigneault’s logic-defying lineup choices and poor adaptability and you have this terrible season. The coach has failed to properly utilize several important players.
Between Hayes and Buchnevich, the Rangers should be able to get upwards out of 100 points. Unfortunately, chronic mismanagement has hindered the direct offensive production of the two forwards. In the past month or so, Hayes has stood out for his stellar offensive play, including 15 points in 15 games.
This is the easiest and most impactful way the team could imply whether the playoffs are a serious goal or not. If a totally new coaching staff is brought in, it will be about getting acclimated. The players the team currently has in the lineup isn’t as star-studded as it was at the beginning of the season, but it should be playing better than it is.
The blame should directly lay at the feet of Vigneault. For the better part of two months, he has used the same system that has continually gotten his team outshot. Instead of changing the scheme, Vigneault has just juggled the pairs.
Who makes the team
This is where the big indicator of the team’s ambitions for next season is. If the Rangers go out and land two or three free agents that are established veterans, they might be shooting for the playoffs. Say the team was to add Ilya Kovulchuck and Rick Nash in free agency, they could compete from the jump.
On top of those free agents, the team has several prospects with an outside chance of cracking the NHL roster. The more obvious picks, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil should almost definitely make the team. However, if one of the players further down the line like Libor Hajek or Brett Howden makes an impression they could force their way onto the NHL roster.
If one of the younger players cracks the NHL roster, it could speed up the team’s preparedness for next year. Especially if one of these younger guys is a high-end contributor, the Rangers would be in good shape. This creates a log-jam of similar types of players on the NHL roster and might ultimately be to the detriment of the team.
If the Rangers have the combination of a new, more creative coach combined with a high-end prospect, they might seriously make the postseason. But, if Vigneault sticks around, the team might be going back to the lottery.