New York Rangers: Defenseman John Gilmour deserves a second look

Even though defenseman John Gilmour has spent the entire 2018-2019 season in the AHL, he deserves a second chance with the New York Rangers in the future.

Understanding player evaluation from organization to organization is one of the NHL’s great mysteries. Certain teams put varying levels of importance on different skillsets in hopes of building a particular identity of culture. While the New York Rangers as an organization is still building upwards, it has the opportunity to audition a wide range of players.

During the course of the 2018-2019 season, the Rangers have auditioned ten different defensemen to varying degrees of success. For the most part, this position group is a patchwork effort on behalf of both the talent and coaching staff. Sure, injuries have crept up, but the Rangers came into the season with eight defensemen on the NHL roster which is quite unconventional.

In a rebuilding year, it’s important to test out a wide range of players to see who looks comfortable and who’s out of place. Even though defenseman John Gilmour hasn’t gotten a single NHL game this year, his play at the AHL level alone should be worth a long hard look come training camp this fall.

In 66 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, Gilmour has 53 points including 20 goals. Those figures rank first and second respectively amongst all defensemen at the AHL level. On an outright bad Wolf Pack team, any individual statistical standouts are worthy of extra commendation and worthy of a chance.

Even at this point in the NHL season with just ten games to go in the 2018-2019 season, the Rangers’ brass needs to think about the future. Every single minute of ice time at the NHL level is precious and there is not nearly enough to go around in an organization littered with players fighting for their professional careers.

Even if the AHL isn’t a bad standard of living, there is a stark difference from riding commercial or on buses to every game as opposed to the chartered flights at the NHL level. These aren’t the types of things that everyone is aware of, but for those who have lived at the top of the hockey world, going back would be the end of the world.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

It sounds like poor logic, but realistically, what’s the worst that could happen if Gilmour were given a second shot at the NHL level? He skates well enough to be in the right position on the ice at the very least. Could he possibly be worse in his own end of the ice than Neal Pionk who’s started 62 games this season?

Whether the Rangers have any long-term goals for Gilmour, doubtful, based on his lack of NHL time this year and the other players in the pipeline, it’s worth giving the Montreal native a second chance.

In his 28 games of NHL experience during the 2017-2018 season, he was at the very least a passable NHL defenseman. Granted, the standard for roster building as a rebuilding team shouldn’t be a passable player, but there is clearly a jump from this to last season.

At the AHL level, there is little structure and more room for players to freelance in space. However, Gilmour doubling his offensive production as a 25-year-old could be a last gasp at cracking through to the NHL level. There’s nothing wrong with being a career AHL player, but by age 25, pretty much all players are done developing.

That’s what’s frustrating about the front office’s decision to carry eight defensemen this season. There was no real chance for a player like Gilmour to test himself against NHL talent or build some trade value. Instead, the Rangers trotted out Brendan Smith or Neal Pionk to the wolves for a majority of the team’s games this season.

Simply put, 20 goals from an AHL defenseman is worthy of an NHL look, even if the player is 25-years-old. Hopefully, Gilmour gets a chance to catch on with a team in the show next year whether it be with New York or somewhere else.