Why the hate for New York Rangers winger Vitali Kravtsov?

If there is one fact about fans of the New York Rangers, they are passionate about the team and opinionated about players.  No one is exempt from criticism (nor should they be) and it’s easy to throw darts at athletes making millions of dollars.  If anything, the NHL is a “what have you done for me lately” league and the fans reflect that.

One fascinating storyline is about Vitali Kravtsov.  Destined to be banished from New York, he has come back from purgatory and is contending for a job on this year’s team as a top nine forward.   While many fans are hopeful that he will finally live up to his promise as the ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, there are quite a few who see him as nothing more than a spoiled brat who doesn’t deserve a job.

Here are a couple of comments from fans posted on Blue Line Station:

"“Kravtsov didn’t do anything to rule him out as a top-nine forward… Yeah in the KHL either so I don’t understand the hype for this guy and letting him play with Bread and Troch in the top 6. Another Lias-I-belong-to-Nhl Anderson.”"

"“Kraptsov showing the same level of competition and ability to finish bas (sic) he did last season. He’ll make the team because the Rangers are afraid he’ll throw a tantrum.”"

This preseason he has played in three games for a total of just over 48 minutes of ice time.  He has one assist and has a plus/minus of -1 in those three games with six shots on goal. “Kraptsov.”  Really?

Is the criticism unfair?  Here are some reasons why.

Money, money, money

Vitali Kravtsov signed his Entry Level Contract in May 2019.   The 19-year-old came to New York early to work out and prepare for the NHL season, fully expecting to make the team. When he didn’t make the team out of training camp, he reported to Hartford, but found himself a healthy scratch with some “attitude issues.”

Jeff Gorton explained the demotion in practical terms, saying “He’s a highly-skilled guy that’s a young player that’s trying to figure out North American hockey, and I think he shows flashes of really good things — specifically on the power play…I think we saw his skill. We can all see his thinking, his skill, and his hands. I don’t think he’s too far away, but I think 20 minutes is a better service to him than six, seven, eight minutes or not knowing if he’s going be in the lineup.”

Here’s where the money comes into play.   As an NHL player, he was making $832,500 along with a potential additional $850,000 in performance bonuses.   Guess what his salary was playing in Hartford?  $70,000.

To put it bluntly, by going to Hartford, Kravtsov saw his daily salary drop from $2,300 a day to $193 a day.

Now, no one knows Kravtsov’s personal financial situation, but it must have been a shock and huge disappointment for a 19-year looking at making million dollars after being drafted ninth overall by the New York Rangers to be demoted to the minor leagues and take a 92% cut in pay.  It’s no wonder that he exercised his European Assignment Clause and went back to Russia where he signed a contract with Traktor that had to pay him at least $500,000, much more than his $70,000 minor league salary.

Back in the USA

To his credit, he returned to the United States after the 2020-21 KHL season ended and played 20 games for the Rangers.  He had remained in Russia that season when the NHL season was delayed due to COVID.    While he didn’t set the world on fire (2 goals, 4 points), he saw regular bottom six action and the 22-year-old was poised to finally become a regular under new coach Gerard Gallant.

And that’s where much of the animosity for Kravtsov was born. He got off to a good start in training camp but was injured and missed some time. When he was demoted at the start of the season, he refused the assignment and ended up going back to Russia with his future as a Ranger in doubt.

Was he a spoiled brat with a sense of entitlement?  Or was he upset at taking another 90% cut in pay to play in the minor leagues, beaten out for a job by Dryden Hunt?

There’s no way of knowing what happens in the locker room or the front offices, but if there is one thing we know about Gerard Gallant, at times he has not shown the best communication skills with some of his young players.

That came to the forefront in the playoffs when Kaapo Kakko was a healthy scratch in Game Six of the Tampa series, sitting out in favor of Dryden Hunt.  It came out later that the 21-year-old Finn found out he wasn’t playing by reading the lineup card.  Gallant never told him directly and didn’t explain to him why he made the decision.

When Kravtsov refused to go to Hartford, it was reported that Gallant called him and tried to talk him into staying.  That means it was after the fact that the coach tried to explain the reason for his demotion, not at the time the young Russian was demoted.

It’s all about communication

There’s a lot of speculation here and there is no doubt that there will still be a number of fans who will continue to believe that kids like Kravtsov, Kakko, and yes, even Lias Andersson are entitled, spoiled brats who should just shut up, take their medicine and be happy that they are even contending for a job in the NHL.

It’s clear that Rangers upper management doesn’t feel that way and some credit has to go to Chris Drury who knows that you cannot just give up on talent and has taken pains to try to restore the team’s relationship with Kravtsov.

But it’s important to remember how young these kids are and that they are not from North America.  There are cultural differences and they are immature, but they are barely out of their teens.  We’d love them all to be like Filip Chytil who took his demotion to Hartford “like a man” and worked his way back to the NHL.

But what we would love even more is for a young player like Vitali Kravtsov to blossom into an NHL star.  It looks like he is going to get the opportunity this season with a chance to play with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.  Let’s hope he makes the most of it.