Highly-rated pipeline proves there is no rush for success

This off-season has been one gigantic home run for the New York Rangers who have become relevant in the NHL again.

After hitting it out of the ballpark in terms of the business done this summer, the New York Rangers are now getting plenty of praise for the sterling work conducted behind the scenes since this rebuild was put into motion.

All of the love the Blueshirts are currently being showered in of course relates to the fact that their rich pipeline has been recognized as the best farm system in the NHL by both the NHL Network and now Elite Prospects.

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That is a rather significant feather in the cap for the Rangers front office, spearheaded by General Manager Jeff Gorton, who has loaded the farm system with young stud after young stud since committing to heading in a different direction.

And, as a result, all of that hard work is now paying off with the Blueshirts having five of the top 51 ranked prospects, including Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Igor Shesterkin.

In other words, the future is extremely bright for this storied franchise and they are now built to compete for multiple championships, rather than become a one-hit wonder and then slip back into hockey obscurity.

So, as a result, that’s why fans shouldn’t be disappointed if 2019-20 results in a third consecutive season without postseason hockey for the New York Rangers. I know that won’t be a popular opinion, but hear me out.

Yes, Jeff Gorton and General Manager John Davidson were aggressive this off-season and they did significantly bolster the roster by drafting Kaapo Kakko with the No.2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, before going out and trading for defensemen Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba in addition to landing the prize of free agency in Artemi Panarin.

However, while those additions will make the Rangers a better team this year and they should be better than their 2018-19 record of 32-36-14, they aren’t ready to morph into a contender just yet and they may need another year without the pressure of playoff hockey.

And the moves made in the off-season were done with the long-term future in mind too. Consider this; both Panarin and Trouba were signed to seven-year contracts and they are seen as players who not only can make an impact now, but also to play huge roles in this team evolving from pretenders to contenders.

Panarin and Trouba will also help to take the pressure off the likes of Kakko, Fox and Kravtsov this year, allowing them to be developed and nurtured by head coach David Quinn without too much of the spotlight on them.

Kakko of course looks NHL-ready and we shouldn’t be surprised if he lights up the majors in his rookie year, although it is fair to suggest that he will endure a slump at some point during the course of the year.

Both Kravtsov and Fox will also no doubt endure growing pains this year and spending time in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack could hold plenty of benefits for the pair.

The point I’m trying to make is that there is no rush for this team. They have executed the rebuild to perfection so far and David Quinn should be given another year of being allowed to focus on just developing his slew of high-end prospects, while squeezing the most out of the likes of Chris Kreider and Henrik Lundqvist.

This rich pipeline is now in a position to pump out elite talent every year and, with a treasure chest that still features a plethora of draft picks, the Rangers have a golden opportunity to continue to bolster their farm system and then sit back and reap the benefits for years to come.

They already have some intriguing prospects to look forward to over the next couple of years, and that isn’t even considering the talent they could have on their hands if the likes of Brett Howden, Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil and Libor Hajek all reach their high ceiling.

This rebuild, although now entering its final phase, still has work to do and 2019-20 shouldn’t be seen as the year this Rangers team comes of age. Instead, it should be considered a season of development, improvement and preparation for what’s to come.

There should be no rush for success this year because, given the abundance of riches in the farm system, the New York Rangers are primed to bring plenty of glory back to The Big Apple for the foreseeable future.

After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day and there is a lot to be said for enduring short-term loss in order to enjoy long-term gain.