New York Rangers: Should Leo Komarov be a target in free agency?

With the Stanley Cup final now over, the New York Rangers will look to improve their roster greatly through the draft, as well as through free agency.

The NHL free agent market varies wildly from year to year. In some cases, the scarcity of high end talent will drive up the price of average players. Look at the Evander Kane contract extension the San Jose Sharks agreed to. Kane was the best free agent winger on the market this summer, the Sharks were forced to pay a premium price.

One intriguing player that is eligible for free agency this summer is Leo Komarov. Komarov, who previously played for the Maple Leafs, presents an interesting option for the Rangers. Komarov would serve as a veteran to fill out the team’s bottom six. Think of him as a rougher version of what David Desharnais was this past season.

At various points in his career, the Russian has shown the ability to be a high-end bottom-six player. For a Rangers team that has developed a reputation as a smart bargain shopper during free agency, Komarov is the type of player that could find a short-term home in New York.

There are several pros and cons to a potential Komarov signing for the Rangers.

The Pros

Leo Komarov, as mentioned above, is quite talented in the field of agitation. The Rangers have lacked a player capable of being truly antagonistic since Dan Carcillo in 2014. Tanner Glass and Cody McLeod certainly do not fit the same mold as Komarov. Komarov made a name for himself as a young player with his highly aggressive, hard hitting play and was also able to put the puck in the net from time to time.

The Rangers have played best when they play a balanced game revolving around offense and defense. No team can succeed with a purely offensive system, as the Rangers have demonstrated, no matter how good an offense is, it can go cold at any time. This means that the team must be well rounded and occasionally be able to muck it up in an ugly game.

On top of being somewhat of a instigator, Komarov is reliable in his own zone, with extremely strong positioning and is not entirely barren in the offensive zone, either. Komarov has averaged about 25 points a season in the NHL.

As a bottom-six forward that has started 59.5 percent of his shift starts in the defensive zone, Komarov has somehow slogged together a career Corsi of 48.3. This figure means that when Komarov was on the ice, his team had 48.3 percent of the shots in the game. For a player featured so heavily in the defensive zone, this is a solid and respectable figure.

The Cons

To be fair, many of the cons related to Leo Komarov, are very possibly the same as some of his pros.

To start, he always ends up taking untimely penalties and spends a lot of time in the box. Particularly, with the NHL moving away from the physicality of the game, Komarov is a target for change. His highly agitating play often has a negative connotation.

Furthering the points of certain pros also being cons, Komarov plays a game that John Tortorella would have killed for. David Quinn, however, not so much. To compare David Quinn to Tortorella would be a crime. The level of “grit and integrity” that Komarov displays is admirable, averaging over 200 hits a season, as well as about 20 blocks a season. Despite the promising defensive numbers, other pieces would have to fall into line for it to be viable.

Komarov, also has only been a positive possession player once in his career, in 2015-16.

The largest strike in the column against Komarov lies in the fact that he simply is not getting any younger. At 31 years of age, playing a highly exhausting, physical game, it takes a toll. Komarov has only played 82 games once in his five season career. The fact of the matter is that the Rangers are trying to sign for the future, and this proves a big point in the front office.

Bottom line – Stay away

Regardless of what good a grindy, gritty forward could do for the Rangers, Leo Komarov could certainly do a lot of bad as well.

Next: The possibility of Thomas Vanek?

Ranging from the high risk of his play on the ice, to the likely rough pay rate, Komarov just won’t solve the Rangers’ problems.

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