New York Rangers player preview: LW Sammy Blais

The New York Rangers acquired Sammy Blais and a 2022 second round pick from the St. Louis Blues in the Pavel Buchnevich trade. Although losing a top-six forward like Buchnevich for that return sure does sting, Blais is not a bad hockey player in the slightest. Now, it is clear that he is not at the same skill level as Buchnevich, but he should still be a nice addition for the Rangers.

The Blues took Blais in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, so naturally, he was a bit of a project for them. It took until the 2017-18 season for him to get his first taste of NHL action. Yet, the 2018-19 season was huge for him, as he became a big part of the Blues’ bottom-six during their Stanley Cup run. In 15 playoff games, he scored a goal and recorded three points, but primarily left an impact because of how often he threw the body. Since then, that is what he has become primarily known for.

Blais also is coming off of the best season of his short career thus far, too. In 36 games this past season, he scored eight goals and recorded 15 points. Those are not jaw-dropping totals, but it does show that he can be provide decent offense in a depth role. This is something that should benefit the Rangers going into next season.

Yet, one thing to note regarding Blais is that his hard style of play makes him prone to injury. Over the last three seasons, he has missed a total of 52 games because of injuries. In each of them, he missed at least 10 games, with 30 being the most during the 2019-20 season. Sometimes, he simply gets the worst of hits. This attempted check in 2019 on then Bruins’ forward David Backes is a clear example of this.

Where will Blais be inserted into the lineup?

Barring any major moves involving their forward group, it is very likely that Blais will be playing bottom-six minutes. The Rangers are particularly strong at left wing and they also added Barclay Goodrow this off-season, too. Goodrow plays center and right wing, but this still takes away a potential spot for Blais on the third-line. However, given the fact that this is a role that Blais has grown accustomed to, it shouldn’t impact his game in a negative way at all.

The Rangers also have plenty of wingers who simply warrant higher spots in the lineup. Also, it’s hard to envision Blais taking spots away from younger wingers like Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov. It is extremely important for them to develop. All of this makes the likelihood of Blais being on their fourth-line at the start of the season quite high.

Blais adds a significant amount of physicality to the Rangers.

What Ranger fans will most appreciate about Blais is the fact that he constantly throws his body around. In fact, in 76 games over the last two seasons, he threw a whopping 258 hits. When seeing as how the Rangers also added Ryan Reaves this off-season, it is clear that their fourth-line is going to be far more intimidating.

Yet, the primary difference between Blais and Reaves is that the former can still produce decently when it comes to his offense. Sure, he will not come close to Buchnevich’s offensive totals, but from an optimistic standpoint, he’s still not half bad.

The Rangers received an immense amount of criticism for not being tough enough last season. This was especially the case after the Tom Wilson incident. The Reaves trade and Jarred Tinordi signing clearly help with this, but Blais does as well.

At the end of the day, give this 25-year-old forward a chance. He is a victim of circumstance, but can still be a solid little pick-up.