New York Rangers: The biggest hole in the roster

The New York Rangers rebuild appears to be over, but if the team expects to succeed in the playoffs, they need to fill a huge hole at center.

Up until the acquisitions of Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba,  it was evident the the New York Rangers were committed to ‘The Rebuild.’ However, with the aforementioned additions, the Rangers’s front office appears to be ending the  rebuild and aiming for the playoffs.

Even with the recent buy-out of Kevin Shattenkirk, the Rangers are still in the midst of cap-purgatory. Marc Staal, Brendan Smith and Henrik Lundqvist all carry contracts that make fans groan and will be an even greater burden when Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov and Jesper Fast all become free agents next off-season. Difficult decisions are inevitable.

Looking at the roster today, the New York Rangers appear to be somewhere between contender and rebuilder. Half the team is composed of developing prospects, while the other half are seasoned veterans. Half of the team needs time to develop, while the other half have their window to contribute closing.

Now, the roster hasn’t been this deep arguably since the 1994 Cup run. The Rangers look as if they have their core for the foreseeable future in Kappo Kakko, Adam Fox, Vitali Kravtsov and the remaining members of the 21 and under club. Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba may have come at a cost, but Panarin was being offered more elsewhere and talented, right-handed defensemen are almost a mirage. You have to pay a premium for such players.

However, if you look at the projected lineup for next seasonm, you’ll notice that the biggest concern is right down the middle. While the Rangers now posses the depth needed at wing and defense, they still lack depth at center, which is the most important position in all of hockey.

Many mistake goaltending to be the priority, but if you look at the Montreal Canadians, you’ll see the team is primarily unable to progress due to Carey Price‘s $10.5 million dollar annual handcuff. On the other end of the salary spectrum, Matt Murray and Jordan Binnington were able to reach the peak thanks to the teams in front of them. You can make a good goalie look great with the right team around them.

True centers

The true centers of the league, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyler Seguin, Jack Eichel, etc. are absolutely necessary to build a championship roster in today’s NHL. It seems a bit comical to say, but often times teams need more than one of these players. St. Louis won the Stanley Cup with Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn. Washington had Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom. Pittsburgh had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Chicago had Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp as fixtures, then added Antoine Vermette and Brad Richards. The Kings had Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. The Bruins had Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and a young, Tyler Seguin.

When the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in 2003, they built that team from the net out, but that’s not how the modern NHL works. The modern NHL starts at center ice. For over a decade, the Stanley Cup winner has had at least one elite-level talent at center and it’s not a coincidence.

On the Rangers’s roster the only solidified top-two center is Mika Zibanejad and despite how good he is, he is not quite ‘elite.’  He might be soon, especially now that he has more talent surrounding him, but he has yet to reach that tier.

Outside of Zibanejad, the team has Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden and Lias Andersson. All of whom are former first-round selections, but are miles behind what constitutes as a second-line center in this league. Toronto has John Tavares as its second-line center. Edmonton has Leon Draisaitl. Nashville has Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris.

Recent History and Expectations

Recent history has shown that the center position dictates a team’s success. The Rangers know this. That’s the very reason they lobbed massive contracts at the likes of Scott Gomez and Brad Richards. They were risks they had to take. The hardest position to acquire is a solidified center, especially when you trade away your draft picks.

There’s no questions that team has taken major strides in rebuilding. Had New Jersey drafted Kakko instead of Jack Hughes and the Rangers taken Hughes, this would be a different conversation. However, the rebuild in reality is far from over. Expectations for this team need to be realistic. This is not a Stanley Cup ready team.

The team may surprise everyone this season. The Rangers may make it past the first-round in the playoffs. Howden, Chytil and Andersson may develop into dominant players, but it all remains to be seen. The truth of the matter is that the New York Rangers require more help at center. Whether through development or trade, something needs to be done.