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Armchair GM New York Rangers roster review: Part 3- Right wings

By Jason Katinas

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal at 14:20 of the second period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 03, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrates his goal at 14:20 of the second period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 03, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 12: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers skates at Madison Square Garden on October 12, 2019 in New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 12: Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers skates at Madison Square Garden on October 12, 2019 in New York City.  (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#17   Jesper Fast

Jesper Fast is the duct tape of the New York Rangers. He fits into any situation and is by far and away the most versatile and responsible player on the ice. He is not only a team leader, wearing an “A” on his sweater, but he has won the Rangers Players Player award five times running. The impact of him not being in the lineup was wholeheartedly felt when he went down with an injury in the Qualifier round against Carolina.

The only strike against Fast is that he is not the most offensively gifted player. He holds a career high of 33 points, and while playing along side Artemi Panarin (95 points) and Ryan Strome (59 points) for most of the season, he only scored 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists). It can be argued that his defensively responsible game allowed Panarin the comfort needed to establish himself as a Hart trophy candidate. Panarin-Strome were on the ice for only 11 goals at even strength with Fast on their right (454 minutes) versus 21 even strength goals against (290 minutes) when paired with a different right wing.

While defensive prowess is admirable, a player given top six minutes needs to be able to produce more than Fast has been able to. Add to this that, as noted above, Kakko and Kravtsov will be vying for ice time and with a flat cap it is an inopportune time for Fast to be an unrestricted free agent. In essence, as valuable as  Fast’s role has been to the team, his importance is diminishing.

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