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It’s Christmas! Some gifts the Rangers could be wishing for

By Jake Mozarsky

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: Pavel Buchnevich #89 (l) of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers and is joined by Chris Kreider #20 (c) and Mika Zibanejad #93 (r) at Madison Square Garden on October 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: Pavel Buchnevich #89 (l) of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers and is joined by Chris Kreider #20 (c) and Mika Zibanejad #93 (r) at Madison Square Garden on October 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 22: Jacob Trouba #8 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal against the Ottawa Senators with team mates Brendan Smith #42 and Tim Gettinger #26 in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on November 22, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 22: Jacob Trouba #8 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal against the Ottawa Senators with team mates Brendan Smith #42 and Tim Gettinger #26 in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre on November 22, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

The second defense pair

This defensive pairing is also extremely important to New York’s success this season. The team lacks depth defensively (at least at the beginning of the year) and can use production from these two.

Brendan Smith: Defense over offense

Smith started last season at forward and after the deadline trade of Brady Skjei, he moved back to defense, partnered with Jacob Trouba.  He actually started playing well after the move but in the postseason, he was erratic and it seemed like he forgot to skate while in the defensive end at times.

Smith has to realize that he is a defensemen and that is where New York needs him most. The team has plenty of offense and needs a second gritty left defensemen.

Jacob Trouba: Recapture the star power

Going back to 2018,  Jacob Trouba was one of the best defensemen in the NHL, leading Winnipeg to the Western Conference final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Trouba brought both an offensive and defensive aspect to his game that made him almost unstoppable. Last year, in his first year with the Rangers, he did not live up to the expectations. While he did pick it up in the second half, this is not enough for someone the Rangers are paying tons of money for.

If Trouba is able to recapture what made him a star, this will only help New York defensively and offensively. The Blueshirts need him to be the quarterback of the second powerplay unit and shoot the puck more, while also bringing a physical aspect to his game that he lacked for the first half of the year.

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