Speculation season is well and truly upon us and the New York Rangers will be at the heart of many an NHL trade and free agency rumour this summer.
It is all geared up to be a colossal off-season for the New York Rangers who hold the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, in addition to being able to boast around $20 million in cap space.
They also have a fresh batch of talented young studs primed and ready to make a huge splash in training camp, with the stage set for the likes of Vitali Kravtsov and Adam Fox to take Broadway and the NHL by storm.
The Rangers also have some solid foundation pieces in place with Mika Zibanejad having proven himself as an elite center following his career year in 2018-19, while Pavel Buchnevich, Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome showed enough to suggest that they can help to lead this rebuild to the promised land.
Throw into the mix that Henrik Lundqvist should also enjoy a bounceback year and, with Alexandar Georgiev waiting in the wings behind The King, the early signs for next year look promising.
The forecast will look even brighter of course if the Rangers are able to secure themselves a shiny new toy or two in free agency, with Columbus Blue Jackets ace Artemi Panarin and generational defenseman Erik Karlsson both set to hit the market.
A lot of Rangers fans have their hearts set on Panarin and why wouldn’t you? The Russian ace registered 28 goals and 59 assists for 87 points in 79 regular season games, before going on to put up another 11 points (five goals, six assists) in ten playoff games.
However, there could be a cheaper alternative out there for the Rangers that would serve as a longer-term project and be more suitable for where this rebuild is…
Step forward Andreas Johnsson
Andreas Johnsson took a gamble on himself in 2018-19 and it paid off handsomely as he burst onto the scene and let the NHL know that he was more than ready for the big stage.
A 202nd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft had the 24-year-old facing an uphill battle from the very get-go with history not on his side when it comes to seventh round picks making it in the big leagues.
But, blessed with a robust build for someone standing at just 5’10” and able to boast raw speed as well as sublime vision and immaculate stickhandling abilities, the Toronto Maple Leafs had high hopes for Johnsson.
That was reflected when they gave him a taste of the NHL in the latter stages of 2017-18, and the left wing repaid his franchise’s faith in him with four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games.
Not content with the body of work he put together during such a small sample size with the Leafs, Johnsson went on to further state why he was ready to make the leap to the NHL full time during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Johnsson registered two goals and an assist as the Toronto Marlies crushed the Texas Stars 6-1 in Game 7 to clinch their first ever Calder Cup Championship.
And the organization owed much credit to their silky Swede who was crowned the Playoff MVP following a stellar postseason in which he stood head and shoulders above anybody else, tallying 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in only 15 games.
Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas had seen enough by this point and Johnsson was fast tracked to the NHL for 2018-19 after winning a roster spot out of training camp.
However, all the hype surrounding this young stud looked to have been overstated at one point as Johnsson stumbled out of the gate, looking lethargic and out of place when pitted against the game’s elite.
He was only able to put up three points in his first 18 games as a rookie and his underwhelming and, at times, head scratching performances led to a flurry of scratches and limited ice time – he had less than 10 minutes of average ice time in his first seven appearances.
The tide began to turn in November, however, when Johnsson erupted out of his slump and into life with a hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers.
He would go on to finish the year with 43 points, plus an additional four points in seven playoff games, thus adding his name to the lengthy list of young stars currently taking over the NHL.