New York Rangers: Toying with the lines by adding Lafreniere

When the New York Rangers won the first over all pick in the draft it signaled a start of speculation about line combinations

Okay, there is no argument that the New York Rangers winning the draft lottery and getting the right to sign Alexis Lafreneiere could be the most important development in the  history of the franchise.  It will certainly rival the trade for Mark Messier or the drafting of Brian Leetch or Henrik Lundqvist.  The Blueshirts have never had a crack at a generational talent this way, getting a player at the beginning of  his career along with all of the expectations that have been heaped on him.

That means he should play on a top line.  Although observers will point to the trouble that Kaapo Kakko had as a rookie, Lafreniere is believed to be better than Kakko and he will be an older rookie, turning 19 in October.  He will also not have the challenges of coming to a foreign country and dealing with new rinks and surroundings.  So, just like Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.  he should be a top pick that is ready for heavy minutes on a top line.

The immediate question is where he will play.  The Rangers have three top line caliber left wingers in Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and now, Lafreniere.  With the contracts doled out to Panarin and Kreider, they are not going anywhere.  Lafreniere is expected to make the team and be an impact player from the get-go.   So, what do they do about three grade A left wingers?

There’s a a simple answer. Move one of them to center or the right wing.

Who should move?

The answer may be surprising.  First off,  you don‘t move Lafreniere. He’s played his entire career o the left wing, is a lefthanded shot and will be a rookie.  Imposing a position change on a young player who will be under a microscope in the media capital of the world would be foolish.

Furthermore, playing center is a different animal than playing wing and brings different responsibilities.  In 52 QMJHL games he took all of 38 faceoffs, winning 12.  No, moving Lafreniere to center is not an option.

The Rangers experimented with moving Kreider to the right wing early this season. It didn’t work as he looked very uncomfortable and never really meshed.  They could certainly try it again, but based on a small sample size, it could be doomed to failure.

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That leaves the most intriguing change, to move Artemi Panarin to right wing.  First off, he is a righthanded shot.  He’s also incredibly gifted and is used to freelancing all over the ice.  As a team player who loves playing in New York, he may welcome the challenge of making the move in order to guarantee success for Lafreniere.

Mike Rupp said he could envision Lafreniere putting up 70 points as a rookie playing on a line with Artemi Panarin.  That’s what generational talents do.

The lines

This is the mouth watering part.  The first line remains the  trio of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich.  The only other change here would be if Kaapo Kakko can make the jump to the top line leaving Buchnevich on the  third line or as trade bait.

The second line would be Lafreniere, Panarin and Ryan Strome. While the jury is out as to whether Strome deserves to stay, he clearly wants to and based on his production with Panarin, he should thrive even more with Lafreniere on his other wing.

The bottom two lines is where it gets intriguing.  Here are the names.  Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier, Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux, Vitali Kravtsov and either Kaapo Kakko or Pavel Buchnevich.

Who’s missing?  The likes of Phil Di GIuseppe, Jesper Fast and Greg McKegg along with newly signed prospects Morgan Barron, Justin Richards, Patrick Khodorenko and Austin Rueschhoff.

The beauty of drafting an NHL-ready forward like Lafreniere is it makes a thin group of forwards that much deeper.

Trade bait

The sudden influx of forward depth will help Jeff Gorton as he navigates the salary cap and also looks to improve his defense.   While Marc Staal and Brendan Smith both have another year on their contracts, Gorton could dangle a forward in a trade for a defenseman to play with Jacob Trouba.

Brendan Smith elevated his play in the qualifying round playing alongside Trouba, but if the Rangers believe that they are a playoff contender, they need a short term solution on the first defense pairing until K’Andre Miller is ready to take over. In the meantime, Brendan Smith is not the answer.

A clear candidate to be traded is Pavel Buchnevich. The enigmatic Russian has improved steadily, but he is an arbitration eligible restricted free agent after next season and he is making over $3 million. Although Ryan Strome seems to  be destined to return, if the team believes that Chytil has second line center potential, Strome could find himself on the block. A lot will be determined by Vitali Kravtsov’s NHL readiness.

One thing is for sure. The addition of a talent like Alexis Lafreniere will only give the Rangers options that they could only dream of.   Just like the rebuild was accelerated into playoff contention with the addition of Panarin and Trouba, that phase just got a another jump start.