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Maybe not Eichel, but the Rangers need a center

By Steve Paulus

Mar 2, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (9) stretches in warm-ups prior to a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Bennett-POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (9) stretches in warm-ups prior to a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Bennett-POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 10, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) in action during the game between the Rangers and the Stars at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) in action during the game between the Rangers and the Stars at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

In the organization

After Zibanejad the centers on the team are Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden and journeymen like Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney.  Strome has proven to be a serviceable number two and a perfect complement to Artemi Panarin, but he is not a number one.  He’s not good enough on faceoffs and he is not the player who can lift his team singlehandedly through leadership.  Additionally, he is signed through 2022 and if he wants a bigger payday than the $4.5 million he is making now, it will probably be somewhere else.

Brett Howden is destined to be a third or fourth line center, decent on draws and solid defensively.  Still looking for his first goal after 21 games, he appears to have hit his ceiling.

Filip Chytil has the best potential of all of the centers in the Rangers’ organization, but the question is whether he can raise his level to become the number one.  He is awful on draws, but has shown the potential to drive the offense. He’s still only 21 and has to classified as a project,but he looks to replace Strome on the second line as a solid center on a contender.

The Blueshirt faithful have a lot of hope for Morgan Barron. The 22 year old sixth round pick is off to a good start in Hartford, with three goals and five points in six games.  He was one of the best collegiate players in his junior year at Cornell and he has excellent size, but in reality, his future is more as a Brian Boyle clone than as a top line center.

Of the five centers drafted by the Rangers who haven’t signed their Entry Level Contracts, the most potential belongs to Karl Henriksson, a second round pick in 2019.  While he has shown a lot of flash in Swedish junior hockey, that hasn’t translated to his play in the two Swedish professional leagues. In 63 games as a pro over three years, he is still looking for his first goal and has totaled eight assists.  He just turned 20 so he is still young and the Rangers have high expectations for him, but he needs to start showing some offensive ability

The bottom line is there is no clear cut number one center in the pipeline.

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