New York Rangers: Brady Skjei and the Future

Brady Skjei’s sophomore season with the New York Rangers has been the subject of criticism throughout the year. Knowing what we do, what does the future hold for the young defenseman?

When Brady Skjei’s rookie season for the New York Rangers ended, everyone was raving about his performance. From his near 40 point regular season, to scoring four times in the playoffs, he had a very impressive year.

His follow up year has garnered some mixed feelings. Where he succeeded last season, he has struggled this year. The team overall has declined as well, leading to some mixed feelings about the criticisms of Skjei’s performance.

For defensemen, the team’s overall performance can impact them just as much as they can impact a team. For someone in the developmental stage of a career, this is magnified tenfold. With Brady Skjei, the Rangers need to determine if it was the former or the latter.

While a drastic drop off in performance is cause for concern, sophomore slumps are not uncommon. Players like Nathan MacKinnon, Dylan Larkin, and countless others have experienced this. So, is Skjei’s season no big deal, or a sign of things to come?

What Skjei’s Season Means

Brady Skjei is a talented hockey player. It is obvious when one sees him skate, move the puck, and make plays. Most players with a talent level this obvious do not have declines of high magnitude unless the team goes down with them.

That is exactly what happened. The Rangers began a decline, and landed in rebuilder territory. While talented players can make or break a game, they can also only do so much. Some things simply cannot be prevented, and players take hits to their stats as a result.

However, in Skjei’s case, he may have set the bar a little higher than he’d have liked to as a rookie. His success was almost unexpectedly good. He essentially replaced Keith Yandle statistically, right off the heels of losing him as a UFA to Florida. He seemed unprepared for the increased pressure and responsibility as a sophomore. Team performance and Shattenkirk, his best partner, getting hurt did not help.

What this means is, while Skjei is certainly not nearly as bad as he is being made out to be, he isn’t likely as good as his rookie year either. This is not a bad thing; he will find his niche on the team eventually. As a long term NHLer, though, his future seems to be firmly between what we have seen. The reports of Skjei’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

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If the team improves, and Skjei gets a full time partner on defense, we will see what kind of player Skjei truly is. This coming season will be very telling in regards to his talent level, and his future contract. For now, however, we need to reserve judgment based on this year.

Brady Skjei’s true self will be revealed soon.