New York Rangers: A severe lack of depth scoring

Why worry?

Okay, so what’s so bad about Rangers’ scoring being dominated by two players this way?  There are quite a few reasons why this is an area of concern.

1. Injuries – If either Panarin or Zibanejad goes down with an injury, look out.  The other Rangers forwards are averaging 1.67 goals per game.  Add those two and the average goes up to 2.40 goals per game.
2. Keying on Panarin and Zibanejad – The opposition knows how to stop the Rangers.  When they were both in the lineup they averaged 1.20 goals per game.  The other ten forwards averaged 1.00 goal per game.   If other teams can stop Mika and the Breadman, it greatly increases the odds of beating the Rangers
3. The pressure – There’s no doubt that Panarin thrives under pressure.  He is a big money, big time player and he has come through repeatedly.  However, he knows how dependent the team is on him to score and as a result, he sometimes overextends his shifts or tries to be a one-man offense.  That can’t be a formula for success.
4. The vicious cycle – David Quinn knows he needs those two players to be on the ice if the Rangers are to have any chance of winning.  So, they play heavy minutes especially in tight games.  That means young players like Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Pavel Buchnevich and Brett Howden see their ice time limited.   That’s not a helpful situation for their development.
5. The trade deadline – With the trade deadline looming, the odds that Chris Kreider will be traded grow every day.  Despite his scoring woes this season, he is still the Rangers’ best scorer outside of Panarin and Zibanejad.  Losing Kreider’s goal scoring will mean that the club will be even more dependent on Zibanejad and Panarin.
6. The well is dry – The Rangers prospect pool is not brimming with snipers.  Outside of Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov, they haven’t drafted anyone who has the potential to be a stud scorer. On the current team, Buchnevich has been inconsistent and Chytil is streaky.  Lias Andersson may become a useful forward, but he won’t be a big scorer. There is a question if Brett Howden will ever break out. For anyone to expect Morgan Barron or Karl Henriksson to become top goal scorers is overly optimistic and they are the best in the amateur system.
7. It’s all about Kakko and Kravtsov –  The pressure on Kakko and Kravtsov to become those depth goal scorers is huge.  There is no question about it, they both have to become top goal scorers to complement Panarin and Zibanejad.  There’s no room in the budget to sign any free agents and the odds of finding a Michael Grabner or Mats Zuccarello are slim.

The Rangers made the best move of the summer when they inked Artemi Panarin.  He’s been worth every penny.  Jeff Gorton’s trade for Mika Zibanejad has already become one of the best deals in Rangers history.   Those two players are the future of the franchise, but they cannot do it alone.

Until the team is able to develop a core of complementary goal scorers, the team will be walking a tightrope with this lack of depth.  Hopefully the answers will be named Kakko, Kravtsov and Chytil.