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New York Rangers: Ranking the five best players under Alain Vigneault

By Nicholas Zararis

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 22: Head coach of the New York Rangers Alain Vigneault yells out from behind the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on February 22, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 22: Head coach of the New York Rangers Alain Vigneault yells out from behind the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on February 22, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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No player thrived in Vigneault’s system like winger Michael Grabner. In 135 games as a member of the Rangers, the Austrian scored 52 goals. This rate of goal scoring was an outlier in Grabner’s production over the course of his career. Aside from his rookie season with the New York Islanders, he had never played at that level.

In New York, he found a niche in the lineup that enabled such a jump in his goal scoring. In the four seasons, before Grabner joined the Rangers, the winger only scored 45 goals. Of course, the teams he played for, the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders were not good teams. Playing for a better team allowed Grabner to take on a smaller role.

The coaching strategy of Vigneault was oriented around generating offense at the expense of defense. This is where Grabner’s speed was such a lethal tool. Vigneault’s system encouraged players to take risks to create odd-man rushes. For a player like Grabner that has game-breaking speed, this is a recipe for goals.

In addition, Vigneault made Grabner his designated forward for being on the ice when the other team pulled their goalie. This is what gave the forward such an inordinate number of goals, he was on the ice at a time when he could use his speed to get into open space.

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