What went wrong with the New York Rangers: Skjei’s sophomore slump
Brady Skjei had one of the most successful rookie seasons of any Ranger to come out of the farm system in years. However, his production plummeted in his second season for the New York Rangers.
If we take a look back, at the end of the 2016-17 season, Brady Skjei had played 80 games and recorded five goals and 35 assists for 39 points. Those numbers landed him just three points back of the team’s second-leading scorer, Michael Grabner, last season.
In addition, he was the fourth Rangers defenseman in history to record more than 30 assists in a rookie season (joining Brian Leetch, Reijo Ruotsalainen, and Ron Greschner). He also ranked fourth among NHL defensemen and tied for first among all NHL rookies with 25 even-strength assists.
A great resume for his full complete season. Ah, the good old days!
In 2017-18 he dropped to just four goals and 21 assists for 25 points.
Yes, that’s right. Brady Skjei was a victim of the dreaded sophomore slump.
But the blame does not lie entirely on the 24-year-old defenseman. In reality, Skjei’s sophomore slump was a direct result of external factors beyond his control.
Some Reasons
Inconsistent, ineffective defensive partners
Coming into the season, it actually looked as if the Rangers had improved their defense drastically.
The buyout of Dan Girardi allowed them the space they needed to sign one of the most highly contested unrestricted free agents in Kevin Shattenkirk, and from there the defensive pairings seemed as if they would trickle down obviously.
It seemed that Shattenkirk would join McDonagh on the top pair, Skjei would re-join his partner from last year Brendan Smith.
However, Shattenkirk ended up skating on the second and third pairings (and was secretly playing on a torn meniscus for the entirety of his season). In addition, Ryan McDonagh never looking 100 percent after missing games with a groin injury (and eventually succumbing to a hand injury) the Rangers lost two of their top defensemen.
Smith had dismal appearance for the Rangers this season and was placed on waivers, which he cleared and spent the rest of the year in Hartford.
This bounced Skjei around on a line with Shattenkirk, Nick Holden, Marc Staal and later in the season Neal Pionk, Rob O’Gara, Tony DeAngelo until he finally settled with Ryan Sproul for the last few games of the season.
No player, regardless of how many years of league experience they had, would be able to generate points consistently in the position Skjei was in this season. This was one of the biggest factors in seeing less production from him.
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More ice time, less clarity on responsibility
In addition to constantly playing with a different teammate, Skjei seemed to have a shift in responsibility this season — and this was likely in part due to the fact that he faced so much inconsistency in his pairings.
Skjei had freedom to move up ice on his pairing with Smith in a way he did not this season. While he was conscious (as always) of when it was smart to step up on the rush and when it was not, this season, he had to play much more of a back end defensive role. This obviously had a direct impact on his offensive production,
In addition to this, he received more playing time than he did last year, in arguably harder minutes.
The combination of these factors made it hard for the young defenseman to generate points consistently.
Overall, an ineffective system
Last year a good deal of the offense the Rangers generated came out of the defensive end. With a change in personnel, this became increasingly harder for the Rangers to achieve.
Instead of Vigneault noticing the flaws and working to aid his players in this struggle, he pushed the blame off of himself and onto his players, when in reality it was the outdated system that was causing their instability.
The Rangers could no longer find success in the dump-and-chase style play they had used in seasons past. Attempts at doing so typically would lead to odd-man rushes and dangerous scoring chances for defensemen. As a result, the Rangers bled shots as well as had difficulty generating offense.
This directly impacted all defensemen, but especially players like Skjei who thrived in the system they ran last year. But when change needed to come, and it didn’t, it directly impacted his performance.
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Key takeaway: The future is bright
The good news is that most of these problems came at the hands of former head coach Alain Vigneault.
General Manager Jeff Gorton’s decision to fire Vigneault shortly after the season is the first step in the right direction.
Hopefully, new management will allow him the space he needs to grow into a role where he can embrace his game and establish himself as a leader.
Despite his drop in production, Skjei was one of the most present players on the roster this season. He was always noticeable and impactful despite the strange position he was put in this year.
Next: What went wrong: Injuries
A change in the Rangers approach to winning games alongside providing Skjei with a clearly defined role and a consistent partner will turn his offensive game around.
Skjei is an important part of the future. Next season, the Rangers need to give him the opportunity he deserves.