Should Bo Horvat be on the New York Rangers’ wish-list?

Bo Horvat would tick a lot of boxes at center for the New York Rangers

While the goaltender is considered the most important position in hockey, on the same level as a starting ace in baseball or an elite quarterback in the NFL, having both quality and depth down the middle is conducive to success for any team in the National Hockey League.

It is clear that the Rangers are in their win-now window having made a superb run to the Eastern Conference Final last year, but they lack the kind of center depth that any legit Stanley Cup contender needs in order to scale the mountain top.

Just look at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s roster from their three trips to the Stanley Cup Final over the past three years, where they won back-to-back championships, of course. They had Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Yanni Gourde at center early on in their dynasty, and they were able to add very good depth pieces down the middle when they lost the likes of Gourde in Free Agency.

That’s what the best teams do. They build depth at the center position and then add to it from either within the organization or by using assets to go out and acquire a pivot that can make a difference. That is what the Rangers should be aiming for now.

With Training Camps on the cusp of opening, the Blueshirts will head into preseason with Mika Zibanejad as their No. 1 center. Zibanejad has established himself as an elite pivot in New York and he’s probably another very good season away from breaking into the upper echelons of the best centers in the NHL. Having lost Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp in Free Agency, the Rangers went out and signed Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year, $39,375,000 contract.

Trocheck was New York’s marquee addition of the offseason and he is an upgrade on Strome in all aspects. He put up 51 points (21 G, 30 A) in 81 games for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021-22 and, with Artemi Panarin as his linemate this coming season, expect that points total to elevate to between 70-80 points. The offense aside, though, Trocheck also boasts a career 52.1 percent faceoff percentage, including a 54.6 winning percentage last year, and he plays a tough, gritty 200-foot game. He will contribute in big ways all over the ice for his new team.

However, outside of Zibanejad and Trocheck, there isn’t much down the middle for the Rangers. They lost Copp and didn’t really replace him, bringing in veteran Ryan Carpenter who can play center and on the wing. He’s a bottom-line piece and won’t provide much offense. Then there is Filip Chytil who enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year in 2021-22 with nine points (seven G, two A) in 20 postseason games. But, the main caveat at play here is that ‘The Kid Line’ that was so successful in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be broken up this year with Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko set for top-six roles.

This is where Horvat comes in. By acquiring the Canucks Captain, the Rangers would automatically give themselves a lethal three-headed monster down the middle with Zibanejad, Trocheck, and Horvat. It would also allow Head Coach Gerard Gallant to shift Chytil over to the wing and all of a sudden you have a potent third-line with Horvat, Chytil, and Barclay Goodrow. That’s a pretty good and dangerous top nine.

Horvat would tick a lot of boxes for the Rangers too. For starters, he has established himself as a very good to great top-six center over the past years. He can play top-line minutes and has averaged 18:30 minutes per night over his career, including 19:31 in 2021-22. He put up 52 points (31 G, 21 A) last year with 13 goals on the power play. Like Trocheck, he’s elite in the faceoff circle with a stellar 57.0 percent winning percentage last season.

Horvat won votes for the Selke Trophy in 2021-22 due to his defensive prowess. In addition to his elite skills in the faceoff circle, he recorded 45 blocks, laid on a career-high 96 hits, and had 32 Takeaways. The 27-year-old also ranks high in a number of offensive metrics, including a 51.8% CF% in 2021-22.

With a total of 366 points (170 G, 196 A) in 572 career regular-season games, Horvat is a proven offensive producer who can also win faceoffs on a nightly basis, lay the body on, get to the dirty areas, play hard in the corners and make huge plays in all three zones. He would make the Rangers a better team overnight and would give them considerable depth and quality in one of the most important positions in the game.

Still only 27 years old, Horvat has yet to hit his peak so his best years could be ahead of him which would be another green flag for the Rangers should they trade for the pivot. They would be acquiring a forward who has established himself as a true leader on and off the ice, as well as a player who plays hard every single night and would provide a boatload of offense from the third-line as well as being able to excel when it comes to his defensive responsibilities. He would also be able to be used on the power play and on the penalty kill, giving the Blueshirts a different dimension that they currently lack.

Plus, if there are injuries to either Zibanejad or Trocheck throughout the year, then Horvat can slide up the lineup and Chytil can go back to anchoring the third line. As a result, the Rangers wouldn’t miss that much of a beat and their top six wouldn’t take that much of a beating because of Horvat’s quality and resume. That’s a pretty nice insurance policy to have.