Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers: Top six in good hands for the Blueshirts

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 01: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93), New York Rangers center Ryan Strome (16), New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo (77) and New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 1, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 01: New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93), New York Rangers center Ryan Strome (16), New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo (77) and New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on April 1, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Chris Kreider #20, Mika Zibanejad #93 and Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Chris Kreider #20, Mika Zibanejad #93 and Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Expect more change in the offseason for the New York Rangers as they get ready to enter the second full year of their rebuild.

With no playoff hockey at Madison Square Garden for the second straight season, the New York Rangers have just two games remaining before they can really shift their focus on to 2019-2020.

It has been another frustrating year at times despite plenty of promise being shown early on, but growing pains were always to be expected in this rebuild.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.

Rejoice though, Rangers fans, because with a bright young coach in David Quinn behind the bench and with the franchise’s abundance of young talent now having had a big taste of the trials and tribulations an NHL season has to offer, better times could be just around the corner.

Armed with around $20 million in cap space, a boatload of draft picks including a potential top ten selection and holes on the roster that need filling, it looks set to be a busy summer for the Blueshirts.

It is shaping up to be a momentous offseason, too.

However, one area that doesn’t need a dramatic makeover or overhaul is the top six forward unit which looks to be in pretty good shape.

Granted, an addition of a superstar like Artemi Panarin would only serve to bolster the offensive firepower at the Rangers’ disposal.

With a vast array of draft picks in the treasure chest too, the Blueshirts could also go out and be aggressive in the trade market in order to beef up their roster and plug a gap or two.

But the top six looks largely set for next season thanks to a couple of spectacular breakout years, a dramatic resurgence and a dollop of tough love paying off.

Home/Analysis