New York Rangers: Centers for the opening night lineup

The New York Rangers are clearly a rebuilding team and want to see what their young-guns can do, but Head Coach David Quinn has made it very clear he plans on starting the players that give him the best chance to win each night.

Pre-season has started, players are fighting for that final spot, and we’re officially underway with the 2018-19 season. For years the center position has been a glaring weakness for the New York Rangers. To start the 2017 season, New York had Mike Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes as their two solidified centers. After that, it was a game time decision who would fill the third and fourth roles.

J.T. Miller was a natural center but utilized too often as a winger. Paul Carey and David Desharnais showed that they can chip in at center once in a while, but their departure was an indication that it wasn’t enough to earn a spot with the rebuilding Rangers.

This season proves to be different. For the first time in a while there’s a logjam down the middle, a good problem to have. 

Centers Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil picked 7th and 21st overall in the 2017 draft, respectively, were the first two pieces picked for the new era of Rangers.

At the trade deadline last year, New York acquired established center Vladislav Namestnikov and prospect center Brett Howden from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In addition they picked up the versatile Ryan Spooner in a trade involving Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins. Not counting the center prospects they already have (Boo Nieves, Vinni Lettieri, Steven Fogarty, Daniel Catenacci) they now have five new toys to play with.

But it’s no easy decision. Is it smart to go with two out of the four centers as rookies? Call up a veteran like Peter Holland from last year? Move one of the centers over to wing to make room? Here’s what I think the New York Rangers opening night roster should look like down the middle.

1st Line Center: Mike Zibanejad

A bit of a no brainer so I’ll just get this out of the way. The Swede is the top center for this team on opening night. When healthy, he’s proven he can handle the responsibility of not only producing at a top 6 rate, but go against the opposing teams top line as well.

Last year in 72 games he notched 27 goals (14 on the power-play) for 47 total points. If he can rekindle the chemistry with Pavel Buchnevich and Chris Kreider that made the KZB line so successful, we should be in for another productive year from Zibanejad.

The key for the Swede this center will be avoiding a serious injury and playing a full season. In each of Zibanejad’s first two seasons with the Rangers, he suffered a major injury that through off his rhythm and took a long time to work back from. Hopefully Zibanejad can avoid getting tagged as injury prone because of how talented of a player he is.

2nd Line Center: Filip Chytil

While Kevin Hayes is a lock to start as well (spoiler alert), he’s shown to be a great checking line  center. The 2nd line is where you still want to chip in offensively as much as you can and Chytil gives the Rangers the next best chance to do so.

The 19-year old Czech native has a big body at 6’2’’ and 202lbs and some soft hands to boot. This was no doubt a reason Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton selected Chytil so early in 2017 when many scouts pegged him to be a top draft pick in the 2018 draft (he would have been in 2018 draft if he was 10 days older).

Last year was a disaster experiment that was in no part due to his own play. He dressed for the first two games (getting a combined 12:39 of ice time) then was quickly sent back to the AHL by then-Head Coach Alain Vigneault. With a new head coach at the helm willing to give anyone a shot, regardless of age or experience, the Rangers should insert Chytil as the number two center and give him more than six minutes a game to actually prove he deserves to play in the show.

The decision to pick Chytil here and not Andersson was excruciating, especially after the show he put on in New Jersey. However I made the decision for two reasons.

First, with Zibanejad and Hayes surely dressing to start the year, it doesn’t make sense to have one of Chytil/Andersson start the year on the fourth line. They’d see less than 10 minutes a game, would be considered the “checking” line and playing next to someone like Matt Beleskey whose style is much different than Andersson would only hinder his growth. Have Andersson start in the AHL where he’ll certainly be the #1 or #2 guy and continue to develop in the minors. We’re in no rush here.

Second, despite Andersson’s phenomenal game against the Devils in the pre-season, Quinn understands the amount of pressure that these kids are faced with.

One of the reasons Coach Quinn was brought in was because of how he handles young players. He understands the pressure that comes with being the first, first round pick for New York in six years. He knows what’s expected of them so if he sends Andersson down to Hartford, we should have trust that it’ll only improve his skill long term.

3rd Line Center: Kevin Hayes

The other lock to dress on opening night is Kevin Hayes. He’s made strides each year of his career and has developed into a fantastic two-way center. His play in his own zone has made him a great shut-down center that can also chip in offensively. I thought the line of Jesper Fast-Kevin Hayes-Michael Grabner was the most consistent line all year during the 2017-2018 season. Hayes and Fast showed great chemistry and with Fast’s ability to play on the first, second or third line and Grabner’s killer speed, they were noticeable each time they stepped on the ice.

As is stands today, Hayes is considered the second best center on the Rangers. The decision to start him on the third line allows the team to roll more lines evenly and save legs for the end of the game. Just a reminder, because someone’s a third line center doesn’t mean they get less minutes, it means they’d play more of a  shut down role.

Pairing Hayes with Fast and Jimmy Vesey actually turns the 3rd line into a tough (yes, tough) physical line that has the talent to put points on the board while also playing a very sound defensive game. If you’re going experience-wise, then you can flip Filip with Hayes but giving Chytil important minutes with Mats Zuccarello while slotting Hayes in a shut down role allows for a much more balanced roster.