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New York Rangers Stock Market: Summing up the season

By Jennifer Moglia

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and Brady Skjei #76 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: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and Brady Skjei #76 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) /
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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: New York Rangers Defenceman Neal Pionk (44) sends the puck down ice during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers on April 5, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: New York Rangers Defenceman Neal Pionk (44) sends the puck down ice during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers on April 5, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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.

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