The Rangers are excited for the playoffs — and planning for the future

Players I would expose (some reluctantly, one happily)

Lias Andersson:  I’ve had it with this kid. No more benefit of the doubt from me. In my opinion, he’s a spoiled brat who for some reason seems to believe the Rangers owe him a roster spot after taking him at seventh overall in the 2017 Entry Draft.

Last season, the 21-year-old center had one assist, a minus-8 rating, and 35.9 Corsi For percentage in 17 games before getting sent to AHL Hartford. Instead of taking advantage of the extra minutes to refine his game, he decided after 13 matches that pro hockey in North America had “become too hard mentally.”

With that, he abruptly left the Rangers’ organization to return to his native Sweden and then requested a trade to another NHL team.

Andersson told Sweden’s Gothenburg Post (subsequently translated by lohud.com) that he had trouble sleeping and took sleeping pills, and that “incidents have disturbed me” while he was with the Rangers. Andersson neither elaborated nor informed the organization of his struggles. He went on to add: “I didn’t think hockey was fun anymore. I thought other things were more fun and more important.”

Look, I don’t wish Andersson any harm and hope he’s healthy mentally and physically, but I’m not buying any of what he’s selling.

This is a kid who tossed away the silver medal he earned with Team Sweden, noting that anything less than gold is unacceptable. And if, as he claimed, pro hockey in North America is mentally taxing, then why did he request a trade to another NHL club? Last I checked, every one of the league’s franchises is based in North America.

The Rangers have agreed to loan Andersson to HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League for next season. The Blueshirts can only hope that he plays well enough to increase his trade value or enhance his chances of being selected in the expansion draft. Kudos to Gorton and Rangers’ president John Davidson for being so patient — and smart.

Pavel Buchnevich: Honestly, I don’t know what to make of this kid. Some nights, he reminds me of the great Alexander Mogilny. Other times, I barely notice him, which is telling considering a player with his size (6-3, 196) shouldn’t be hard to miss.

The 25-year-old has been consistent in each of the last three seasons in terms of goals and points, with respective goal totals of 14, 21, and 16; point sums of 43, 38, and 46; and turnovers (he’s got 172 over the past three years).

I believe his offensive production could be greater by making smarter decisions with and without the puck, as well as a stronger commitment to being mentally and physically involved on a far more consistent basis.

Julien Gauthier: I’m not sure about you, but to me, it seems fishy that Carolina would trade a 22-year-old forward who is 6-4, 225 pounds, scored 26 goals in 44 games for AHL Charlotte last season (before getting dealt to New York and after potting 27 the previous season).

The Hockey News says Gauthier “has a great release.” In the AHL, that’s proven true. Whether he can score at the NHL level remains to be seen. So far, he has three assists in 17 games, including two in 12 for New York.

To be fair, he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to prove himself in the NHL, averaging slightly more than eight minutes per game. The Rangers should play him in at least 40 games in 2020-21 to meet the league-experience requirement for the expansion draft. If he plays well, the Blueshirts have a keeper. If not, they can expose him.

Libor Hajek: Last October, the 22-year-old reportedly ranked higher than Lindgren within the organization. But after 28 games, Hajek had five assists, a minus-4, and Corsi For percentage of 37.2 and was sent to AHL Hartford. He didn’t exactly impress while playing in Connecticut’s capital, posting three points and a minus-10 rating in 23 matches.

The Rangers haven’t given up on Hajek, nor should they considering his age, size (6-2, 196), and what they gave up (Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller) to acquire him from the Tampa Bay Lightning in February 2018.  One consideration is that Hajek will have to play at least 40 games in the NHL next season to fulfill the requirement that they expose a defenseman who has played that many games.  If he doesn’t get into 40 games, the Rangers would have to expose DeAngelo or Lindgren.

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