New York Rangers 2017-18 report cards: Jesper Fast
For a player usually “in the background” with the New York Rangers, Jesper Fast took on a more offensive role over the 2017-2018 season, for better or for worse.
Since he began regularly playing for the New York Rangers in 2014, Jesper Fast has never really had a huge role. He has always been used as a reliable third or fourth liner.
There was never anything wrong with that. It could be argued that his role was huge for the fact that he was so trustworthy in high-pressure situations, but, for the most part, he stayed under the radar.
However, this year, that suddenly wasn’t enough for Alain Vigneault. Fast was tossed around all over the lineup this year. He could be found everywhere from alongside stars in the top six, to with players significantly worse than him in the bottom six.
But, despite the unfamiliar situation, the forward seemed to thrive. He put up the best numbers offensively of his career thus far and was able to hold his own in seemingly uncomfortable situations.
In 71 games, the right-wing recorded 13 goals and 20 assists for a total of 33 points. He reached career highs in goals and points and matched his career high in assists. Furthermore, he set a new career high for penalties drawn (13), passing a record from 2015-2016.
His previous career high in goals was set during the 2015-2016 season (10), and he surpassed it by three goals this year. Furthermore, his assists tied the same season for most in one season of his career. Finally, the 26-year-old notched three more points than his prior career high which he also set in 2015-2016.
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Issues to keep an eye on
Of course, like any other player, there were some underlying issues with Fast’s season. Aside from career highs in positive things, like points, he also set a career high in hits with 126. This was more than his previous high of 100 in 2015-2016.
While it was interesting to see Fast’s physical game improve this year, when a player has a lot of hits, it’s not usually a good sign. It’s very telling that when they’re on the ice, their team usually does not have the puck. We’re not experts, but that doesn’t seem like a good thing.
Additionally, he tied a career high in penalty minutes (18, the same amount he had in 2015-2016). Fast also had 24 giveaways, the most he has had in one season in his career so far (passing 20 from last year).
Though not normally known for taking faceoffs, it’s worth noting that his faceoff percentage was the lowest it has ever been. It reached 35% by the end of the season (seven won and 13 lost).
With all of that said, these underlying issues are just that; underlying issues. On a team as troubled as the 2017-2018 New York Rangers, nearly every player is going to have some concerning signs below the surface.
But, besides all of that, Jesper Fast had a mostly positive season. He broke out offensively and showed that he’s definitely as flexible as Alain Vigneault always claimed he was.
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Fortunately, with Vigneault gone, Fast will probably get to go back to his usual role as a bottom-six forward. This will lead to those underlying issues will start to dissipate.