New York Rangers Stock Market: Summing up the season
With the 2018-2019 regular season in the rearview for the New York Rangers (and the rest of the NHL), which players had the biggest increases in value? Who had the biggest drop-offs?
Once again, another New York Rangers season has come and gone. The playoffs are in full swing for a select few teams since the first round has just ended, while a long summer has started for another set of teams.
It’s been 15 years since the New York Rangers have failed to qualify for the postseason two years in a row. Since announcing a rebuild in February of 2018, the team has not been expected to compete for the Stanley Cup for a few years.
Their home record overall was 18-14-9. Their collective road record was 14-22-5.
A number of players reached milestones this year as well. In the first month of the season, Brett Howden had three; first NHL game (October fourth, 2018), first NHL goal (October sixth, 2018), and first NHL assist (October seventh, 2018).
Jesper Fast had one, earning his 100th NHL point on October seventh, 2018. Coach David Quinn had one as well, notching his first NHL win on October 11th, 2018.
Alexandar Georgiev had his first NHL shutout on November 21st, 2018, and Ryan Lindgren appeared in his first NHL game on the New York Rangers’ Pride Night on January 15th, 2019.
Finally, rookie Libor Hajek reached two milestones during the first week of March. He played in his first NHL game on March first, 2019, and scored his first NHL goal on March ninth, 2019.
Veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist set some records as per usual. He moved into eighth and seventh all-time in NHL wins on November fourth and 17th, earning his 435th and 438th career wins.
Additionally, “The King” secured his 445th and 446th career NHL wins, tying for sixth place and then moving into sole possession of sixth place in all-time wins. This happened on January 17th and 19th, respectively.
While this season was filled with many team-wide ups and downs, some individual players had memorable seasons as well. Who took the chance to improve, and whose value decreased throughout the 2018-2019 campaign?
Up: Chris Kreider
One of the most impressive players on the New York Rangers this year was Chris Kreider. Last season was one of his hardest, battling scoring slumps, losing some of his longtime teammates, having to step up as a leader, and, worst of all, dealing with blood clots a few months into the campaign.
He finished the 2017-2018 season with 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 58 games. He ranked seventh on the team in goals, sixth in assists, and sixth in points.
Obviously, this wasn’t a horrible season for Kreider, especially considering the hardships he faced. His struggles probably affected him mentally, and they limited the number of games he was able to play.
He began the 2018-2019 campaign by being named an alternate captain, a big step for Kreider in the locker room. During all of the away games, he had an “A” stitched on to his jersey, symbolizing what he and his tenure mean to this team.
When all was said and done this year, the forward finished this year with 28 goals and 24 assists for a total of 52 points in 79 games. He only missed three games this year, as opposed to 24 last year (over one-quarter of the season).
In end-of-season rankings, the 27-year-old was second on the team in points and goals. He landed in fourth place in assists. The only player ranking higher than him in the first two categories was superstar center Mika Zibanejad, and the only players with more assists were Zibanejad, Tony DeAngelo, and Kevin Shattenkirk.
Despite some slumps throughout the year, Chris Kreider needed a bounce-back season and he definitely had one. He will most likely be a big part of this team, both on the ice and off, throughout this rebuild and for years to come.
Down: Neal Pionk
At the beginning of the season, most New York Rangers’ fans were excited to see what Neal Pionk could do heading into this season. He had a promising first stint in the NHL, with a February call-up and one goal and 13 assists for 14 points in 28 games.
Although this was a small sample size, he looked great. A lot of fans thought that the 23-year-old would have a long future with the team as one of the group’s biggest contributors.
This year, Pionk became a more regular member of the team, appearing in 73 games (45 more games than last year). He also had 12 more points, five more goals and seven more assists this season (six goals and 20 assists for 26 points).
While on first look it seems like the defenseman improved, and in some ways he did, he didn’t have as great of a year as some thought. Last season, he was scoring at an 0.5 point per game pace, but this year he dropped to about 0.36 points per game on average.
The larger sample size helped fans to see who Pionk is truly becoming as a player. He’s not as offensively gifted as we thought, though he has shown sparks of talent in that area.
He’s also shown a variety of defensive mistakes throughout this season, some that warranted strings of healthy scratches. It seems like Neal Pionk took some steps backward this year, even if it isn’t obvious on the scoresheet.
Up: Mika Zibanejad
It doesn’t take a hardcore New York Rangers fan to know that Mika Zibanejad was one of the most dominant players on the team this year. He rose to the occasion and truly grew into the “number-one center” that many wanted him to be.
At the close of last season, he had 27 goals and 20 assists for 47 points in 72 games. He finished second on the team in points, eighth in assists, and first in goals.
This year, the forward had a huge breakthrough. He finished the 2018-2019 campaign with 30 goals and 44 assists for 74 points in 82 games.
These totals put him in first place on the team in all three offensive categories; goals, assists, and points. He also played in 10 more games, had three more goals, 24 more assists, and 27 more points.
The 26-year-old set career highs for goals, points, and assists, as well as games played. This year was the first campaign in which Zibanejad appeared in all 82 games.
When he came to the Rangers in exchange for fan favorite Derick Brassard, many worried that Mika Zibanejad wouldn’t be an adequate replacement. However, if he hadn’t proved it already, he definitely showed that he is so much more than a replacement during his third full season on Broadway.
Down: Jesper Fast
Of all the New York Rangers whose values decreased this year, Jesper Fast is one of the most unique cases. Last year, many would argue that he was extremely misused by former head coach Alain Vigneault.
For a large part of last season, Fast was playing on a line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, two of the team’s most offensive players. As fans know, that isn’t the type of player that Fast normally is.
Of course, he benefited from being on a line with players who have such a prominent scoring touch. The team’s “Swiss (Swedish?) Army Knife” finished the 2017-2018 season with 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points in 71 games.
He was seventh on the team in points, 10th in goals, and ninth in assists. This year, Fast had eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 66 games.
Of course, he played in five fewer games due to injury, which definitely impacted his point total. However, is it such a bad thing that the 27-year-old’s offensive contributions dropped by 13 points?
Fast’s decrease in production just shows that he was utilized more properly this season by new head coach David Quinn. In that case, it’s perfectly fine and even preferred, that his point total decreased this year.
While this may seem like a lost season for the New York Rangers and their fans, given the lack of regular season success and failure to qualify for the playoffs, it doesn’t have to be that simple. For these four players, this season was significant, whether positively or negatively.