New York Rangers: The team should use the best players in all situations

The conventional wisdom in the NHL has always been to avoid over working the team’s best players. This often means keeping quality players off of the penalty kill at the expense of the unit.

When it comes to doing things the old fashioned way, hockey ranks only second to baseball. The old boys club still runs every organization, fighting is still allowed in the rules and coaching theory takes a millennia to evolve. It really took a coach thinking to figure out that a team should still forecheck on the penalty kill to pressure the other team’s players.

For whatever reason, the penalty kill is a space for bottom six players to try and do as little harm to the team as possible. This often results in a unit made up of some of the lesser quality players on the team.

The wisdom behind this is to not burn your best players out. There is no point in having an elite player on the penalty kill if it exhausts them. These players use penalty kill time to get their rest during the course of a game.

Occasionally, teams have bent this rule. During the 2014 season, the New York Rangers converted Rick Nash into a penalty killer at the advice of Team Canada’s coach.

Being that 2014 was a Winter Olympic year, Nash was chosen to represent his country. Since Canada’s lineup was loaded to the gills with future hall of fame players, the Rangers’ forward needed to play a specific role. While Nash had never killed penalties before, following the time in the role at the olympics, he never looked back.

This choice gave the Rangers a weapon on the penalty kill. Nash’s game evolved into that of an elite 200 foot player.

What it means in 2018

The Rangers traded away two of the team’s best penalty killers at the deadline last year. The team dealt Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils and the aforementioned Nash to Boston. This effectively gutted the unit and left the team without a key component of their team.

The Rangers’ penalty kill was effective because it had forwards that were able to create scoring chances while down a man. Grabner was a cheat code on the kill through the use of his elite skating. Having a strong skater allows a team to disrupt the team on the power play’s scheme.

This leaves head coach David Quinn in charge of designing the unit from scratch. Instead of just doing the same old and avoiding using the best players at his disposal, Quinn is trying something different.

During the preseason, the coach used forward Chris Kreider on the kill. As a strong shot suppressor and fast skater, it would make lots of sense to use the Boston College product. While not as fast as Grabner, Kreider can certainly hold his own.

In addition to Kreider, expect to see Quinn audition other players on the penalty kill. It would certainly make sense to see Mats Zuccarello play some time on the kill as well. The Norwegian forward has in the past and has a skillset that is well suited for four on five play.

The Rangers penalty kill should be a weapon. Being difficult to play against, even down a man, is key to building long term team success.