Roster composition
The other 30 NHL front offices should all be feverishly following the amateur and professional scouts of the Tampa Bay Lightning. No other organization in the sport has developed a better pipeline of talent from junior to the professional ranks than Tampa Bay. The team’s draft prowess earlier in the decade set it up for long-term and most importantly, sustainable success.
Most notable about Tampa Bay’s strengths is the sheer volume in which players the team drafts make it to the NHL. Whether it be with the Lightning or as a trade chip, the team simply identifies talent in a way that other organizations don’t. All six of the team’s draft picks in the 2011 entry draft reached the NHL level.
The closest the Rangers came to hitting on every single draft pick was way back in 2008 when the team managed to pick five players that would go onto play at the NHL level. Granted, only three of the five (Derek Stepan, Michael Del Zotto and Dale Weise) went on to become NHL regulars. But, the point still remains, the Rangers need to draft better.
Of the Ranger’s 58 draft picks this decade, just six have played more than 50 games at the NHL level. Most appallingly, the team whiffed on both the 2015 and 2016 drafts entirely. Of the 13 picks over those two seasons, just one, Tim Gettinger, has even sniffed the NHL.