Positives for the Rangers from the long playoffs run

We’ve had a few hours to digest the bitterness of the loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, so now we can look at what we learned about the New York Rangers. Losing is never easy, but this one seems a bit easier to take.

There’s no doubt about it, you have to lose first to win later.  The Lightning are the perfect example of that.  They were the team that took down the President’s Trophy winning Rangers in 2015, only to lose in the Final to Chicago.  Look at what followed. A Conference Finals loss in 2016.  Missing the playoffs in 2017. A Conference Finals loss in 2018.   Then, in 2019, after a 128 points season,  they were swept in the First Round by the Blue Jackets.  We all know what followed.

The Rangers have to hope that their road to a Stanley Cup is not as arduous.

This one is easier to take because no one thought that they would get this far.  Blue Line Station’s unscientific poll asked readers how far they honestly thought the team would go in the playoffs.

It’s no surprise that 70% thought a Second Round exit was in the works with 19% believing that would be ousted in the First Round. Only 11% believed they could make it to the Final.  Call them the “Optimists Club.”

In 2012, 2014 and 2015 we felt nothing but despair after those bitter playoff losses.  In the early 1980s it was nothing but frustration after being ousted by the Stanley Cup Islanders almost every year.  In the 1970s it was a broken ankle to Jean Ratelle and a beatdown by the Broad Street Bullies that left us feeling empty.

Of all the playoff losses, this one feels most like 1979 when a team that had no business making the Stanley Cup Final got that far through superior goaltending and pure moxie.  Of course, after that run, that team had the misfortune of running into a dynasty on Long Island.

So, this one feels different. It gives us a reason for hope for the future.  We’ll get into the salary cap situation soon (it isn’t pretty),  but for now, let’s reflect on the positives we can take away from the playoffs.

Igor Shesterkin

Igor Shesterkin is everything he was billed to be.  He’s going to win the Vezina Trophy and he was the primary reason the Rangers got as far as they did.  Yes, that first Stamkos goal was one he should have stopped and he imploded twice against Pittsburgh, but for his first playoffs, he confirmed what we learned in the regular season.

Most important, we learned that has the stamina.  A lot was made of the fact that he had barely played 40 games in a single season before this year. Well, he played 53 games in the regular season and followed that with 20 games in 40 days in the playoffs.  He’s got what it takes and after January 1, he avoided any injuries, our biggest fear.

He justified that big four-year contract he signed last summer. It was the biggest payout to a goalie on his second NHL contract in league history and it raised some eyebrows.  Now, we wish that he had more than three years left on his deal.

A progression from John Vanbiesbrouck to Mike Richter to Henrik Lundqvist to Igor Shesterkin.  The New York Rangers and their fans have been very, very fortunate.

At 26, Shesterkin is a senior citizen compared to the next group of youngsters who excelled in the playoffs.

The kids are all right

Alexis Lafrenière proved that he is a keeper.  He played with an edge, took the body and showed no hesitation to take on players like Stamkos. On a team that is overly reliant on the power play, the fact that he scored 19 goals (second most on the team) at even strength is important.  He is the only first overall pick to not score on the power play in his first two seasons. True, the team has to figure out where he will play in the future, but he’s young.  He turns 21 in October.

Filip Chytil became a different player in the playoffs. Something clicked and he became a dangerous scorer and a physical presence.  Sure, we don’t know if it will carry into next season, but after parts of five seasons in the NHL, the 22-year-old has given the Rangers reason to believe that he will be big part of the team for years to come.  He turns 23 in September.

K’Andre Miller has played two seasons at the toughest position in hockey and he is still only 22-years-old.  He has improved steadily and he was second in average ice time, behind only Adam Fox.  He is using his big body more and relying on the stick check less.  He will only get better. He turns 23 in January.

Braden Schneider got an education this spring that will make him a much better defenseman in the future.  At times in the playoffs, teams like Carolina and Tampa tried to exploit the Rangers’ third pair, but Schneider held fast.  While he struggled at times, he committed no egregious mistakes that led to goals.  After this master class in playoff hockey, Schneider is further along in his development than anyone could have hoped.  He turns 21 in September.

Ah, Kaapo Kakko.  There was a lot to like about Kakko’s play in an injury ridden regular season and the playoffs.  He’s tenacious on the boards and has become a possession monster, one of the best on the team.  Unfortunately, he will be remembered for missing an open net in the first playoff game and for being a healthy scratch in the Rangers’ last game.  That last one was a curious decision, replacing him in the lineup with a one-legged Ryan Strome and Dryden Hunt.  How that affects the relationship with the young Finn will be worth watching. He turns 22 in February.

He’s also still just a kid, but in the playoffs, Adam Fox proved that he is elite.

Adam Fox is elite

The skeptics point to Adam Fox and say that he feasts on weak opponents, padding his points total.  Well, all he did was finish the playoffs with 23 points, most of any defenseman. His record in elimination games was notable so he came through under pressure.  In only his third season, he will just get better.  There’s no small wonder that he is drawing comparisons to Sergei Zubov, a  Hall of Famer.

The skeptics will look at Fox and say that he is too small and can get worn down.  Well, he played an average of over 26 minutes per game, most of any Ranger.  Did he show some fatigue from the 20 games in 40 days?  Yes, at times he did, but look at his minutes.

When it comes to playoff scoring, he will be surpassed by Cale Makar who has 22 points in six fewer games, but Makar also plays in the wide-open Western Conference.  Let’s see how he does against a much tougher Tampa defense.   It would have been a joy to see a Fox-Makar match-up in the Stanley Cup Final.  Hopefully, we’ll get that in the future.

Fox signed a seven-year, $66.5 million contract in November that kicks in next season.  When the impact of COVID on the salary cap goes away, that $9.5 million AAV will be a bargain.  Oh yes, Fox turns 25 in February.

While we knew that Fox was good, there were questions about a past Cup champion going into the season.

Barclay Goodrow is a leader

Any doubts about Barclay Goodrow’s signing were erased in the playoffs.  He is exactly the kind of player a team needs to go deep into the playoffs. It’s no mystery that the Rangers’ revival against the Hurricanes coincided with his return to the lineup.

We are dying to find out exactly how badly he was hurt when he blocked that shot in the second period of Game One against Pittsburgh.  If it was a fractured ankle, that means he played over three full periods on it.   Ouch.   And you can be sure that he was much less than 100% when he returned.

Let’s not forget that he scored 13 goals and 33 points, the most of any season in his eight-year career. With only one goal and two points in nine playoff games, he had to be hurting.

At $3.6 million a year, Drury might have paid a heavy price for him, but these playoffs showed that Goodrow has what it takes and he will be a Ranger for five more years.

As much as Goodrow is a leader, there is one player who went above and beyond in the playoffs.

Is Ryan Lindgren the next captain?

Some may say let’s just get this done and make Ryan Lindgren the captain.  His gutsy performance in the post season is the stuff that makes legends.  Hopefully, we will learn the full extent of the lower body injury that caused him to hobble off the ice, only to see him return minutes later.  You know that he had to be an inspiration to his teammates.

Is he the next captain?  If the team needs a Mark Messier or Steven Stamkos kind of leader who wins games by sheer will, maybe not.  But as an inspiration for his teammates who leads by example, Lindgren is an excellent choice.

Lindgren has two more years left on his $3 million contract and he is still only 24 years old.  Locking him up for three years was a solid move by Chris Drury and hopefully the cap situation will be better when he is ready for a new contract. And let’s not overlook his biggest impact on the team.  He makes Adam Fox a better player.

It’s players like Fox and Lindgren that make the Rangers a destination for veterans looking for a winner.

A team to play for

By showing that they are a legitimate playoff contender, the New York Rangers have become a team that players will look to play for. That will help when it comes to a salary cap strapped team  like the Blueshirts.

Look at the Lightning.  Corey Perry, Pat Maroon,  Pierre-Édouard Bellemare and Zach Bogosian all make $1 million or less. Compare that group to Dryden Hunt, Kevin Rooney, Greg McKegg and Jarred Tinordi. There’s no mystery as to which group had a greater impact in the playoffs.

It’s a fact that players want to win and veterans in the twilight of their careers will take less money to join teams that they believe can give them a chance to win a Cup.  The Rangers proved that they have that pedigree and it should help them recruit in the future.

It doesn’t hurt that the Rangers have a coach that NHLers like to play for.