New York Rangers: Cody McLeod is terrible, but it doesn’t matter
The New York Rangers agreed to re-sign veteran agitator Cody McLeod to a one year deal. The forward is amongst the worst players in the league, but it isn’t the end of the world.
Well, an offseason can never go perfectly for the New York Rangers. With so many moving parts during this offseason, there had to eventually be a mistake. Thankfully Jeff Gorton and the front office absolutely killed the draft and landed three future impact players in the first round.
However, the Rangers are still a team that has a fluid roster composition. Outside of a few set veterans who are locks to make the roster, where everyone else will fall is still unknown. It was widely known that the Ranger’s front office was in pursuit of an enforcer this offseason. At various points New York was linked to Ryan Reaves, Matt Martin and Leo Komarov.
Now, to say Cody McLeod is worse than all three of those players is an understatement. In 25 games as a Ranger, the forward made no notable impact and only took up space on the ice as a warm body. A player who registers at least three hits per game is a player that does not have the puck often.
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The Rangers are going to be a unique team in terms of what they role out on a regular basis. If McLeod manages to finagle his way onto the opening night roster, the Rangers will truly be a circus.
How bad is McLeod?
By all accounts and measures available in the modern NHL, McLeod is in the discussion for the worst player in the entire league. There can certainly be an effective enforcer in the modern NHL. For all of his antics and dirty play, Tom Wilson manages to provide a net positive for the Washington Capitals.
In addition to having at least respectable zone exit stats, Wilson is not a total offensive liability. Although Wilson has the benefit of playing with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, he can still post points. During the Capitals postseason run, Wilson posted 15 points in 21 game. For the record, McLeod hasn’t posted 15 points over the course of his last two regular NHL seasons combined.
In addition, to really pull back the onion, McLeod is a total liability on the ice. The forward is simply too slow to keep up with the pace of play in the modern NHL. Putting him on the ice is essentially playing with four players because he cannot handle the puck on his stick. There is also the reality that McLeod is not actually a good fighter for an enforcer.
Losing a fight to the same player twice in one night should have gotten McLeod’s enforcer card revoked.
For your consideration
Now, on the other hand, if the Ranger’s front office plans on ensuring a bottom ten in the league finish, McLeod is the man for the job. If David Quinn only has 11 forwards capable of playing more than eight minutes a night things will certainly be bad in New York.
This does not even begin to address the serious issue of the Ranger’s defense. Although the Rangers actually have considerable forward depth, the team has two quality defenseman. As long as the Rangers do not catch themselves in the soggy middle and miss a playoff spot by a few points, the season will be a success.
So, basically, do not be too worried about McLeod at the moment. If for whatever reason the forward makes the opening night roster, it doesn’t even matter. The Rangers are not a serious contender, if it weren’t for the Islanders implosion, they’d probably be the favorite to finish last in the Metropolitan division.
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So, in conclusion, the Rangers are going to be a bad team whether or not McLeod is in the lineup. This upcoming year will be about player development, if McLeod takes a roster spot from a young player, that’s a different discussion. But, as a 13th forward who dresses for 20 games, he won’t implode the Rangers season.