For the longest time, the New York Rangers were a team littered with veteran talent. Now, with a rookie NHL coach, the team needs a strong leadership council.
It is a time old cliche for any team sport, that a successful team needs to have veteran leadership. The conventional wisdom is that young players need to have someone in the locker room that can show them the ropes and break them into the sport. The transition from amateur or college sports to the pro ranks is not as jarring as it used to be, but it is still a culture shock. As a rookie, Kevin Hayes drove a soft top Jeep Wranlger in New York during the winter.
With a new coach comes a different mentality when it comes to leadership. Under Alain Vigneault, the Rangers operated under a boardroom style in which the players were in charge of themselves. The logic being that the team was comprised of veterans so they would have the hunger to win themselves and would not need to be pushed along. But, as the team started to integrate young players, they needed to be motivated, yet Vigneault just left them on an island.
Instead of trying to help the players get a feel for what they were expected to do, the coach arbitrarily made decisions based on seniority. That is why the Rangers often looked like a team without a plan last season when they conceded the first goal last season. The young guys just had a deer in the headlights look and games snowballed out of control.
At Boston University, David Quinn operated on a merit system playing freshman over seniors if they were the best player for the situation. Assuming that this season has its fair share of bumps, the Rangers need to have the right leadership group.
The locks
As of the moment, the Rangers have two stone cold lead pipe locks for their leadership group going into this season. First, there is veteran defenseman Marc Staal who has been an alternate captain since 2013. While Staal has lost a step and is a shadow of his former self, he is the second longest tenured member of the team and has been around the block.
This past season following the Ryan McDonagh trade, Staal served as the team’s defacto captain. As long as the defenseman is under contract with the team, he’ll have an alternate ‘A’ on his chest.
In addition to Staal, the Rangers will keep veteran forward and fan favorite Mats Zuccarello on the leadership team. The Norwegian forward’s story is about as inspiring as they come. The diminutive forward signed a contract following a strong showing in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and worked his way into the team permanently for the 2013-2014 season.
The forward was arguably the team’s best forward during the sustained run of success this decade. Zuccarello has led the Rangers in points every season but one since cracking the lineup full time. As well as putting up conventional counting stats, Zuccarello is the heartbeat of the Rangers. At just 5’7, the forward plays with every inch of his body and gives a noticeable effort every single night.
The maybes
Following the holdovers from the previous team, the coaching staff and front office have decisions to make in regards to leadership. The decision makers could choose to go with an established veteran that has played a long time in the league, or they could make a statement and choose to go with a younger player that figures to be a part of the team’s long term future.
In the first camp there are two obvious choices. First, there is 28 year old Chris Kreider who has seemingly been around forever at this point. First breaking into the lineup during the 2012 postseason run and becoming the youngest player to score the most playoff goals before scoring in a regular season game. Ever since the dynamic forward has been a source of frustration as it always seems like Kreider has another gear he has yet to find.
Aside from Kreider, there is the New Rochelle native Kevin Shattenkirk. Although Shattenkirk did not turn out to be the player to put the Rangers over the top, he is still under contract for three more seasons and has been an alternate in the past with the St. Louis Blues. This would be a more conventional choice being that the defenseman is almost 30 years old and has been around the block.
Lastly, there is the statement choice. Being that Kevin Hayes is only on a one year contract, he is ruled out here. But, his roommate, Brady Skjei, figures to be in the organization’s long term plans. Following a five year contract extension and at just 24 years old, Skjei is going to be a Ranger for a long time. This would be a statement decision that this is the young guys team and a guy like Skjei has exhibited the traits of a veteran since he got to New York.
Being that the Coach Quinn is in a position to think about the future, I’d argue he should go with Skjei as the third alternate and abstain from naming a captain for the 2018-2019 season. Yet, his personal history with Shattenkirk in the AHL, has me inclined to believe the New Rochelle native gets the letter for his sweater.