Evaluating the Rangers rotating fourth line unit moving forward

With the departure of Brendan Lemieux and the pending debut of Vitali Kravtsov, the New York Rangers bottom-six forward “log-jam” has a bit more clarity to it. With the 2018 first-rounder’s hat in the ring, not only is this year’s group starting to take shape, but the identity for the foreseeable future is pencil-sketched.

Kravstov is a top-nine forward from the get-go and will likely accompany Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil on the third line. Without a deal being made, a handful of important contributors would have suffered in turn competing for fourth line minutes; these players being Lemieux, Julien Gauthier, Phil Di Giuseppe, Kevin Rooney, Colin Blackwell, and Brett Howden.

Now, when I say “important,” I simply mean that these players perform their respective unique roles on the team, and some are needed to make the wheel turn. The problem is determining what combination of the six of them should dress each night. There is no sense in playing musical chairs.

Lemieux was the odd man out because while he was an asset for drawing penalties and dropping the gloves, he really wasn’t contributing much on either side of the puck. With only two goals on the season, he was projected to have been more of a point producer at this point. His contributions could be compensated for with other personnel.

Even with Lemieux gone, there’s still a juggling act here. It is going to be interesting to watch how things are handled once Howden is back to full health. Gauthier wields the most skill and potential, but may not deserve the spot every night in comparison to what a Blackwell or Rooney bring. Plus, is it beneficial for someone of Gauthier’s ilk to ride the fourth line?

Gauthier should be in this lineup every night, but the intangibles of his competition may prove more useful to Quinn. Both Blackwell and Rooney are used on the penalty kill and give the bottom six a work-hard, technically-sound rhythm that provides a reliable floor to the Rangers.

I don’t think an argument could be made that Di Giuseppe hasn’t earned the right to dress this year. He’s a spark plug that does all of the little things right, which like Blackwell and Rooney, provide the insurance plan needed with the inexperience in this lineup. The issue is how would you prioritize PDG, Blackwell, and Rooney? I certainly don’t think all three of them need to dress together.

Upon merit, Howden’s play should make him the fifth priority amongst these forwards, but that is not likely to be the case. He seems to have an unlimited supply of trust from David Quinn and the coaching staff; the fact that he’s a bona fide center is something the Rangers won’t let go of. It’s almost as if the organization won’t throw in the towel on the poorly-aged Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller deal that brought Howden into New York.

Speaking of which, it’s time to call a spade a spade and chalk that up to an “L”. The 2018 deadline trade that sent the two Americans to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Howden, Libor Hajek, a 2018 first-rounder (Nils Lundkvist), a 2019 second-rounder (Karl Henriksson), and Vlad Namestikov is starting to smell stale.

Unless Lundkvist becomes a stud top-four defenseman (which looks possible), the Rangers simply vended two stars with a lot of career left for an underwhelming price. While it was probably the time to deal McDonagh, amongst all of the players that have been shed in the last several years, Miller is the one that got away.

You can argue the change of scenery and some other circumstantial intangibles sparking his play with the Vancouver Canucks. But, at the end of the day, he was a high-end talent just starting to make noise at this level. He’s a skilled player who also brings a hard-nosed physical edge to the ice, which makes for an effective weapon on a first line and special teams. Jeff Gorton threw him in to acquire Hajek, who will likely stay a third-pair defenseman. Miller currently has 29 points in 34 games for Vancouver.

The irony is that of all of the assets sold since February 2018, it seems the Rangers got the least out of the most costly transaction, but I digress. There are a bevy of exciting developments that have been acquired since and it’s just not realistic to expect the bigger half of the wishbone on every move in this business.

Getting back to the matter at hand, before the question of who dresses on the fourth line becomes relevant, someone has to play their way out to open the door for Kravtsov. At first, it looked as though Quinn was waiting to play his Kravtsov card strategically, but it’s more clear now that he would rather keep things as is before making a change.

Then of course, it’s a conversation of whether Kravtsov sinks or swims, which would open another dimension of forward drama. Until then, everyone’s play will be under critical evaluation. After all, internal competition does bring out the best in the team.