Hockey is back! We are just a day out from opening night and officially getting this new and exciting era of New York Rangers hockey underway.
October is finally here and after all the talking, all the blockbuster off-season moves, all of the analysis and all of the fanfare surrounding the New York Rangers, we can finally get down to the nitty gritty of actual hockey on Thursday.
Preseason gave us a tantalizing taste of what is to come from the Blueshirts’ newest and biggest stud in Artemi Panarin, while we also saw glimpses of high-end talent from Kaapo Kakko, the No.2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
We were also provided with a stark reminder that the Rangers are still going through the rebuilding process and, for all of the hype and hope doing the rounds, there will be growing pains for what will again be one of the youngest teams in the NHL.
But, while we know there will be frustrating plays and painful losses ahead, we can stomach that because this storied franchise is on an upwards trajectory and both the immediate and long-term future looks incredibly bright.
Would a return to the playoffs in 2019-20 be nice? No, it would be absolutely fantastic but, let’s not run before we can walk here. This roster as it is currently constituted has plenty of youthful exuberance and that in itself will yield mistakes.
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There are also flaws on this roster and some of those kinks won’t be ironed out until next off-season. This is a process and the building blocks are being carefully laid one at a time.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.
The Rangers are still stuck with Brendan Smith, Marc Staal will offer vital experience both on the ice and in the locker room but his play on the ice will continue to be questioned, while Chris Kreider‘s future will act as an albatross around this franchise’s neck throughout the year even if the front office and the player himself do a good job of shutting out the noise.
This isn’t the perfect roster yet but, then again, it was never intended to be the perfect roster in 2019-20. Again, this is a process and this is just the latest step towards becoming the finished, polished product.
Having Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba on this roster will ensure that we have a bucketload of fun games to watch compared to last year and, as a result, there should be a significant improvement in the win column.
Panarin alone will do a fine job of entertaining the masses at Madison Square Garden and, although he hasn’t got a wealth of quality pieces around him yet, he should still reach the 70/80 point plateau.
Mika Zibanejad will continue to go from strength-to-strength as the unofficial leader of the youthful Blueshirts, Chris Kreider has a huge role to play and a revitalized and energized Henrik Lundqvist should return to some level of vintage Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes.
And, let’s face it, we probably will see Russian stud Vitali Kravtsov at some point in the near future and the Rangers’ glut of high-end talent will have the chance to mature, grow and learn their craft this year ahead of what will be an expected push for the playoffs in 2020-21.
There will be mishaps in 2019-20, there will be setbacks, stumbling blocks and more than a few bumps in the road. That will happen so accept that now.
However, this is a journey and one we should all get behind, throw our support behind this wonderful team of ours and watch the next era of this storied franchise unfold.
2019-20 is another development year but it is setting the scene for a return to the glory days and, whatever happens this year, it is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
Hockey and the New York Rangers are back. Let’s go!