With a lengthy break due to COVID and the holidays, we are scrambling for topics to write about. 30 games into the season is a good time to list the five biggest surprises of 2021-22 for the New York Rangers.
Now, this is a completely subjective list and we need to remind you that surprises are not necessarily good. They could be team-related or based on individual performance. Please feel free to weigh in after this story with your own suggestions or if you agree or disagree with our choices.
We will start with some honorable mentions, surprises we considered for the top five, but didn’t quite make the cut.
Honorable mention #1 – Ryan Reaves
Okay, we all wanted Ryan Reaves to be a Ranger, but that was three years ago, not this season. When Chris Drury dealt a 2022 third round pick to Vegas on July 29 for the 34-year old enforcer, it was met with some skepticism that was elevated to near hysteria when he signed him to a contract extension for $1.75 million. Everyone figured that he was a Gallant guy and the new coach wanted some of his former players on the team. The question was whether Reaves could still be an effective NHL player after a season when he played his fewest games and was benched in the playoffs.
He has answered any questions by proving that he can still play, hit and fight and that he is also an incredibly positive force in the locker room and on the bench. In a team that sometimes lacked leadership, he has provided it in spades. A perfect example was in the October 25 loss to the Flames when he sustained a leg injury, but insisted on staying on the bench though he couldn’t skate.
Sure, he is old and sometimes looks slow as molasses, but he still leads the team with 112 hits in 26 games. He knows his role on the team and he’s had some surprising moments on offense including his two-assist game against the Islanders. He’s been better than any of us could have hoped.
Honorable mention #2 – Barclay Goodrow
This a tough one. Chris Drury traded a seventh round pick to Tampa so he could have the inside track on signing Goodrow, then inked him to a six-year, $21.85 million contract. The reaction from hockey insiders was that it was too rich a contract ($3.64 million AAV) for too long.
The reason? While Tampa’s “Grind Line” of Goodrow, Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman played a key role in Tampa’s run to the Cup, it was a line, not an individual player. Critics said that the Rangers should have gone after Gourde, the center who was drafted by Seattle, instead of Goodrow.
One issue when a player like Goodrow gets a big contract, is there is an expectation that he will be an offensive star. That has never been his identity, in fact, he’s never scored more than eight goals in a single season. He was the tenacious defender on that line and it was his forechecking that helped set up the offense that was provided by Gourde and Coleman.
That’s why this is a surprise. There was an expectation that he would arrive and magically turn into a player he has never been. He has been a team leader and a defensive presence and is the Swiss army knife on the Rangers, killing penalties, taking important faceoffs, while playing on all four lines and at all three forward positions.
Anyone who has followed his career knows that the Rangers got exactly what they wanted when he was signed. It’s more of a surprise to the fans who expected more. The simple fact is the Rangers are not as deep as the Lighting up front and that could make the addition of a $3.6 million Swiss army knife an issue moving forward.
Honorable mention #3 – A healthy defense
A very significant factor that has contributed to the Rangers success has been overlooked and the Rangers are tops in the league in this category. Believe it or not, through 26 games, the Rangers had not lost a single man-game due to injury on their defense. The first time a defenseman missed a game due to illness or injury was when Nils Lundkvist was out in game #27.
With a blueline that hasn’t missed a single game they are tied with the Anaheim Ducks who also have not had a defenseman out even once. Western Conference defensemen seem to be pretty hardy as Calgary came close with Noah Hanafin missing one game in October and Winnipeg’s defense corp missing only game in the first 26.
Some teams’ defense squads have been absolutely hammered including Edmonton who lost 55 man games, San Jose who lost 51 man games and the Flyers with 50 games lost.
Why does it matter? It means that the big four of Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller have remained intact the whole season and their third pairing has been able to get consistent ice time. One of the strengths of this team is the defense and keeping them healthy has played a huge part in the Rangers’ fast start.
Now, let’s move on to our top five