If this is it, are the Rangers a better team?
While a big trade could still happen, it is also very possible that Chris Drury and the Rangers are done for this off-season. If no more moves are to be made except for signing Igor Shesterkin, are the Rangers a better team now than they were last season?
In looking at the lineup, one thing stands out. It really isn’t that different. Only one player you could qualify as key is gone. The other departures involved bottom tier players who were easily replaced. The changes made will allow Gerard Gallant to clearly define the roles for all of his players.
Ranger fans are an odd lot. They tend to see the glass half empty and will question every move made by Chris Drury till the wee hours. Second guessing is easy and he has been slammed for everything from his draft picks to his free agent signings to his trades. It’s important to note that he hasn’t overpaid for Jack Eichel…yet.
The fact remains the Rangers have the reigning Norris Trophy winner who has played only two seasons in the NHL. They have one of the best offensive players in the NHL, a year away from being a finalist for the Hart Trophy. They have a top center in Mika Zibanejad, a two-way player who has put together two of the finest stretches of scoring in the NHL the last two seasons. They have a core of young players recognized by all as graduates of the finest prospect pool in hockey.
While the fandom is bemoaning the fact that Pavel Buchnevich was traded for a bag of hockey pucks (just kidding Sammy), it’s time to take a rational look at the lineup that would take the ice on opening night starting with the forwards.
The forwards
The forward lines will have a very different look next season. While most can be attributed to a redistribution of assignments, there is also the potential for three new faces in the lineup every night.
Additions: Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, Ryan Reaves, Dryden Hunt, Morgan Barron, Greg McKegg
Subtractions: Pavel Buchnevich, Colin Blackwell, Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux,
The four forward lines:
Line 1: Alexis Lafrenière – Mika Zibanejad – Kaapo Kakko
Line 2: Artemi Panarin – Ryan Strome – Vitali Kravtsov
Line 3: Chris Kreider – Filip Chytil- Barclay Goodrow
Line 4: Sammy Blais – Kevin Rooney – Ryan Reaves
Substitutes: Morgan Barron, Dryden Hunt, Julien Gauthier
Analysis
On paper, there is no doubt that this is a better balanced cadre of forwards. The top two lines are replete with skilled scorers including two of the best in the NHL in Panarin and Zibanejad. Gerard Gallant has indicated that he is open to playing those two on the same line leaving Ryan Strome to center for two of the kids.
The third line could be impressive if they move Chris Kreider down and put him with Goodrow. That line combines skill (Kreider and Chytil) with muscle in Goodrow.
The fourth line is the definition of being tough to play against. Blais loves to hit (why he is often injured), we all know Rooney and depending on the opposition, we will see Reaves, Barron or Gauthier in the lineup. It’s also possible that Gallant will go off the board and take a look at Justin Richards, Greg McKegg and Dryden Hunt as lineup options.
There are a lot of question marks when it comes to this group. Can Lafrenière , Kakko and Kravtsov make the leap to permanent top six status? Will Gallant play Zibanejad with Panarin? Can Chytil take the next step as an NHL center? Will they really play Kreider on the third line or will they try him at right wing, a move that hasn’t worked in the past? Can Morgan Barron muscle his way into a starting role and if so, who sits? Can any of the centers be counted on to win a crucial faceoff?
The key to success will be the trio of top draft picks. Can Gerard Gallant be the coach who gets Lafrenière , Kakko and Kravtsov to be the players that the team thought that they had drafted?
So, are they better than last year’s team? The answer has to be yes with a question mark.
What about the defense?
The defense
The top four in this group remains while the bottom pair could include two newcomers.
Additions: Patrik Nemeth, Nils Lundkvist, Jarred Tinordi,
Subtractions: Tony DeAngelo, Jack Johnson, Brendan Smith
Defense pair 1: Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
Defense pair 2: K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Defense pair 3: Nils Lundkvist – Patrik Nemeth
Substitutes: Zac Jones, Libor Hajek, Jarred Tinordi, Tony Bitetto
Analysis
The Rangers defense is good and will only get better. All Ranger fans can’t wait to see what Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox can do for an encore. With Ryan Lindgren’s new contract, the dynamic duo will be together for at least three more years. The pair complement each other perfectly and are this generation’s version of Leetch-Beukeboom.
There’s stability on the second pairing with Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller. Trouba turned out to be a solid partner and mentor for Miller who made the All-Rookie team. Miller is still raw at age 21 and as he learns to take advantage of his size and reach, his upside is enormous.
The third pairing is where we will see changes. New addition Patrik Nemeth will end up pairing with either Nils Lundkvist or Zac Jones, depending on who shows the most in training camp. Although he has 10 NHL games under his belt, Jones is younger than Lundkvist (by three months) and the Swede has three full years playing as a pro in the SHL with skaters much older.
Libor Hajek and Jarred Tinordi will be depth defensemen and with inevitable injuries, they will see some action. Tony Bitetto has dropped down the depth chart and should end up spending most of the season in Hartford.
The wild cards are Braden Schneider, Matthew Robertson and Tarmo Reunanen. You can be sure that Gerard Gallant will give them all a good look in camp.
Is the defense this year better than last year’s version? Nemeth is an improvement on Brendan Smith or Hajek and Lundkvist’s upside rivals Tony DeAngelo. Zac Jones will be ready to step in if Lundkvist isn’t ready. With another year of experience, we can count on improvement from the the three top youngsters so the answer is definitely yes.
The goalies
The goaltending situation for the Rangers has not changed except that all of the Rangrers netminders are one year older. Igor Shesterkin remains an unsigned RFA and the odds are that the Rangers will try to lock him up long term. Alexandar Georgiev is the backup and based on the salaries doled out to free agent goalies, some may consider him to be overpaid.
Keith Kinkaid is an able emergency choice and it remains to be seen if Adam Huska and Tyler Wall have a future in the NHL.
So, is the goaltending better this year than last? Right now, with another year of experience for Shesterkin and Georgiev, the answer has to be yes, but both goalies have something to prove.
Special teams
It will be interesting to see how Gerard Gallant uses his assets, especially on the power play. David Quinn rode the top unit of Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider, Strome and Fox with the second until seeing virtually no ice time with the man advantage.
It will be tempting for Gallant to do the same as the Rangers boasted one of the best power plays in the NHL before a late season slump dropped them to 14th overall. Gallant will be free to experiment and he could see an advantage to evening out the power play time among his skilled forwards.
The loss of Pavel Buchnevich will be felt most on the penalty kill. Surprisingly, he developed into an effective penalty killer, averaging 2:06 minutes shorthanded per game, second among Ranger forwards to Mika Zibanejad. Brett Howden will also be missed as he was third among forwards in shorthanded ice time per game.
Barclay Goodrow led all Tampa forwards in shorthanded ice time and will replace Buchnevich on the first unit. The second unit will be anchored by Kevin Rooney and we will have to see who will step up the replace Howden with Strome the early frontrunner.
As for the defense, Patrik Nemeth led all Detroit defensemen in ice time on the penalty kill and he could take some of the heat off K’Andre Miller.
As for special teams, the power play should be as good as it was last season and the penalty kill (top 10) should be just fine.
So, we’ve looked at the forwards, defense, goalies and special teams. What is the verdict?
The verdict
Chris Drury has done a solid job getting this team ready for next season. He’s counting on the skill of the top two lines to be complemented by a hard working bottom six. The team has better forward balance and they won’t get pushed around any more by physical teams like the Islanders.
The best news is that an outstanding defense corps will only get better. Gallant will be well served to make Jacob Trouba the team captain in the hope that he will rise to the challenge of leadership. If Nils Lundkvist is the second coming of Tony DeAngelo (the good Tony), defense will be the team’s strength.
This should also be the season when we will find out if Igor Shesterkin is the goaltender we believed him to be. If he isn’t then we will also learn if Alexandar Georgiev is capable of shouldering more of the load.
Special teams should perform as they did last season
Scoring has not been a problem for this team the last two years. Toughness has been and that has been addressed. Faceoffs are an issue that has not gone away.
So, the 2021-22 New York Rangers are a better team than the 2020-21 team, but there is one problem. The 2020-21 team didn’t make the playoffs. The question is whether they have improved enough to make the playoffs. And once they get there, are they built for a long run?
They will be if Lafrenière, Kakko and Kravtsov improve as we hope. They will be if Igor Shesterkin is the goalie he is supposed to be. They will be if an outstanding defense corps gets even better with Lundkvist and Nemeth.
That’s a lot of “ifs.” Perhaps the biggest difference between the two teams will be the man behind the bench. Gerard Gallant is known for getting the most out of his players and if he can be the miracle worker he was in Las Vegas, things look good for the Blueshirts.
If there is another move to be made that will shore up the remaining holes in the lineup, it could look even better.
One note. This is just about the 2022-23 team. It doesn’t take into account the salary cap situation in the coming years or the contractual status of players like Zibanejad and Strome. It’s a look at this year’s team versus last year’s. Call me a cockeyed optimist, but this team is on the right track.
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