How Alexis Lafrenière upset the Rangers’ applecart
By Steve Paulus
Domino #4 – Drafting a second line center
The Rangers need help at center. After Mika Zibanejad there are nothing but question marks on the roster. Is Ryan Strome that good or is he riding Panarin’s coattails? Is Filip Chytil a potential number two or is he better as a power winger? Is Brett Howden anything more than a third or fourth line depth center? Can anyone on this team win faceoffs?
In looking at a very deep draft, the Rangers were probably assuming (quite realistically) that they would have a shot at a center in the middle of the first round. They were hoping that Cole Perfetti or Marco Rossi would drop or they’d have a chance at Anton Lundell, Dawson Mercer, Seth Jarvis, Dylan Holloway, Rodion Amirov or Hendrix Lapierre.
When they won the lottery their ability to fill that hole at center through the draft just disappeared. They had no choice but to draft Lafrenière. Interestingly, Hendrix Lapierre was available when the Rangers picked 19th, but they passed, possibly scared off by his concussion history.
Teams traditionally don’t draft by position, but with so many quality center prospects out there, it’s likely that the Blueshirts were planning on picking a center with their first pick. They still could have drafted defenseman Brandon Schneider who they were enamored of, with their second first rounder.
At any rate, the team is still weak at center and the first pivot they drafted was Oliver Tärnström from Sweden with the 92nd overall pick. They have high hopes for NCAA star Morgan Barron, but he is anything but a sure thing this season.
It also meant giving Ryan Strome a two year deal, a decision that clearly agonized over.