The New York Rangers are in the midst of a full rebuild. One of the most crucial pieces of that rebuild is defenseman Brady Skjei. In order for the rebuild to be successful, Skjei needs to be at the top of his game.
The New York Rangers are clearly in the midst of a full-blown rebuild. While games may be more painful for fans to watch, this is a chance for the team to look at younger players and judge the varying levels of talent at their disposal.
An area the Rangers are certainly focused on is the defense. Defense is their most glaring weakness and a great level of responsibility is placed on young players.
One of the biggest, if not the biggest, question marks on the defense is Brady Skjei. He has his stellar moments, but has extremely worrying moments as well. (Most notably of late he literally skated into his own defense partner which ultimately led to a goal against the Rangers)
The Rangers invested in Skjei for years to come. This summer as an RFA, Skjei signed a six-year extension with an AAV of $5.25 million.
Only four players on the Rangers make more; Marc Staal, Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Shattenkirk, and of course Henrik Lundqvist. Skjei is the only Rangers player signed past the 2021-22 season.
Skjei is in this for the long haul, and as a result is an integral part of this next chapter for the Rangers. For the rebuild to be a complete success, he must meet the expectations that the Rangers have of him. He must be a top pairing defenseman.
When you look into the future of the Rangers defense, Skjei will very soon be the veteran leader of the group. Brendan Smith, Kevin Shattenkirk and Marc Staal’s contracts all expire in two years. Staal is the most likely not to return, but all of their futures with the Rangers are uncertain.
That leaves Skjei and Neal Pionk from the current defense core. Then you have prospects such as Joey Keane, K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist in the pipeline.
But all of this will take time. Rebuilding this defense will not be a quick process, and Skjei needs to be at the top of his game for it to go as planned. He has given us glimpses into his potential, but he needs to fully prove himself.
Part of Skjei’s growth into a top defenseman goes beyond what happens on the ice. Starting last year he took more of a leadership role, especially after the Rangers traded Ryan McDonagh.
His teammates talked about him becoming a “young veteran” presence in the locker room and how he can serve as a role model for the new wave of rookies and young players.
The Rangers released a statement during the offseason announcing the rebuild and warning of turbulent times to come. The team’s record so far is indicative of this transitionary period for the organization.
The fact that the whole team is not playing well is not an excuse for the way Skjei is playing. It just means that it may not be time to hit the panic button about him.
Skjei is in his third full NHL season, and still has a lot to learn. Having Shattenkirk and Smith in the lineup full-time will certainly benefit him. He will not have to carry as much of the weight as he did at times last year, and they can serve as examples for him to follow.
By comparison, Skjei is not at the level of other top defensemen around the division (Slavin, Werenski, Letang, etc.). But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t reach that level at some point in the near future.
All eyes are on Skjei this season because he is so crucial to the rebuild. If he underperforms, it makes the future look more bleak. The pieces are there, Skjei just needs to put together a full season of consistent, solid play.
Whether this season goes well or not, Skjei is here to stay. But he has large shoes (or skates) to fill as he tries to become a top defenseman in the league. In order for the Rangers rebuild to be a total success in the next few years, Skjei needs to reach his full potential.