New York Rangers Regular Season Review: Defense
For the New York Rangers, this season was a strong one for the emerging talents on the backend. All six guys that are expected to play in game one had fantastic seasons, and the 7th defenseman on this team has a great story of fighting back to get into the show. It was a good year and it seemed to show the Blueshirts take a step forward in their own end throughout the entire team.
Whether that is just due to the adjustments made by the coaching staff or if the players themselves have just shown that level of progression to no longer have to rely so heavily on their elite shot-stopper behind them, this was a good year. There’s still plenty of time left for things to get even better for this Blueshirts’ blue line but we have all seen the positives from this roster to this point.
For the youthful side of this core, there was a fantastic breakout year for a left-shot defenseman, there was a right-shot defenseman who made himself look right at home lower down the defensive core and may have an argument to be made about moving up the lineup and getting more ice time, and there have been no arguments with the elite production from the Rangers star defenseman who just also happens to be one of the best in hockey.
For the veterans, it was good too. One of the defensemen on this team laid a hit so big it destroyed the season for one of the most successful teams of the salary cap era. There was so much to like from the 82 games this rosters backend played and we will need to see more from it if the Rangers are going to knock off New Jersey, but for now, let’s talk about this Rangers’ defensive unit.
Adam Fox
You cannot talk about the Rangers’ blueline and start with anyone but number 23. Not only is Adam Fox one of the best defensemen in the NHL, but he is also one of the best defensemen in the history of the New York Rangers already. With the Jericho native still getting better with each passing day, you cannot deny that the future is bright on the back end of this organization with people like Adam Fox.
Offensively? Just the 12 goals and 60 helpers for 72 points. Remember that he had a spell for more than a quarter of the season where he just couldn’t score, and this is probably low for him. Think about that, a defenseman that you can genuinely say underperformed his talents with 72 points. Considering he had 74 points in 78 games last season and not 72 in 82 like this year, there’s more to give, and we can see that.
Fox defensively had some moments, but every defenseman is going to have some times where they cannot get it perfect. They are human beings and not machines after all, despite how easy they make playing this incredibly difficult sport look. It was a solid season for Fox and yet it feels like he could have done more in all three zones. It’s a fairly strong inditement of how good he was.
In round one, Fox is going to be the Rangers’ answer to the explosive offense of Dougie Hamilton on the Devils’ blueline. He needs to continue to play at his sparkling best if the Rangers are going to have any chance of beating New Jersey. Fox is one of the most important players for the Blueshirts in this series. If he plays at his best, the Rangers have a shot. If he doesn’t turn up, it could be a long series.
Ryan Lindgren
It has not been the easiest of seasons for Ryan Lindgren. This isn’t due to a performance as the Burnsville, Minnesota native was able to perform at his sparkling best defensively, but more in the health category due to Lindgren missing almost the entire final quarter of the season due to an injury he suffered after taking a big hit from Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie.
Lindgren is expected to be ready to go for game one, and I feel like that needs to be cleared up specifically due to his inability to stay in the lineup at the tail end of the season. Some of the Ranger fans who checked out and wanted to watch the Knicks close out their playoff push or watch the Yankees get things started out in the MLB may not be aware that the defenseman has not been healthy.
Lindgren did not have a spectacular season in terms of his basic production. Tallying just 1 goal and 17 assists for 18 points in 63 games, there wasn’t the offensive output you may want. However, those 18 points are a career-high for Lindgren. The offense is just not where you’re going to see New York’s number 55 make his money. He’s a defensive stalwart and he is going to need to continue to be that.
Anyone that watched the games where Lindgren was absent will know just how important he is. This is clearly a team that improves with their first-line left-shot defenseman. He’s become such an integral part of this roster at such a young age that losing him in this postseason for any extended period of time may very well mean the Rangers’ chances at a deep playoff run take a nose dive.
K’Andre Miller
If you want to talk about breakout players on this Rangers roster, you can start with someone like Filip Chytil but there will be many that jump straight to K’Andre Miller, and with good reason. This has been a season that K’Andre Miller would have dreamed about as a kid. Great offensively, fantastic defensively, and solid in transition means that there was no real downside to his play.
Miller tallied 9 goals and 34 assists for 43 points in 79 games. This may mean it costs the Rangers a pretty penny to extend St Paul, Minnesota native but it will be well worth it for what he has given this organization this season. If he can continue to step that step offensively this postseason, there may be a case for him to be playing on the first pairing next season.
Perhaps the only downside to his entire year was the three-game suspension Miller received for spitting at Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. Miller has since come forward and said it wasn’t intentional and it must be said it seemed very out of character for K’Andre, but the Rangers need to have their best players in the lineup. Miller can’t be getting suspended again if the Blueshirts want Lord Stanley.
Miller is a pending restricted free agent and this breakout year is going to drive his next contract up a ton. I cannot wait to see the hurdles the Rangers jump through to try and retain his services. They know that this is a defenseman who is on course to become a true stud in this league. If he has a big playoff performance, he is going to be a very expensive player moving forward for the Blueshirts.
Jacob Trouba
When we talk about the captain of your New York Rangers, it is no secret that people want to see him lay huge hits, get into fights, and lead the team more than they expect production from the hulking defenseman. However, it has been a strong season for Jacob Trouba. He’s still got those defensive warts but he has seen another good season for the New York Ranger captain on the backend.
Trouba tallied 8 goals and 22 assists for 30 points. These are not the 50 points he had in Winnipeg or even the 39 he had last season, but it has been a modest improvement. Trouba as a player has issues but he’s NHL quality. The issue lies in having to pay him $9 million a year against the cap. That is where this roster starts to get kind of hamstrung, but that is not the point of this. This is to focus on a good season.
If you want to talk about a good season, Trouba may have single-handedly turned this Rangers campaign around. With one hit, he seemingly sent the Rangers on their way to the postseason and banished the Penguins to the doldrums of irrelevancy for the first time in the salary cap era. As an emotional leader, this group responds to Trouba and he knows how to get them ready to go which is a strong mix.
In the playoffs last year, we saw Trouba lay massive hits on the likes of Crosby and Guentzel in round one, but he also had some beautiful open-ice hits against the likes of Seth Jarvis and Max Domi in the second round. Those physical plays were what he is going to need to do if the Rangers are going to go deep. He’s got issues defensively, so the best cure is to make the attacker into a human pancake. Take the 1960s approach.
Braden Schneider
Another truly special player that seemed to emerge from the Rangers prospect pool this year, Braden Schneider finally made the jump to the NHL roster full time and he had become such an important player for the Rangers. Capable of sliding up the roster if needed, he had a solid season on the third pairing despite having an ever-changing cast beside him. It shows his adaptability and his pure skill.
Schnieder’s offense wasn’t anything special, but as a third-pairing defenseman that is still just 21 years of age, there’s no reason to complain with the 5 goals and 13 assists he contributed to this roster during the course of the season. For his first full season in the National Hockey League, this is impressive. There is still plenty of room for Schneider to develop and grow as a player, but this is strong.
He’s got some work to do in terms of his transition game. There’s still a long time for the player from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to put together all the pieces and progress as a defenseman at the NHL level, but this was a really strong start. Outside of moving the puck in the neutral zone, there needs to be a step up in his aggression and physicality along the boards. There’s a lot to like about the young player.
Schneider is still progressing but this is going to be a good chance for the young man to get battle tested against one of the best teams in the league this season. It’s not a series where you would expect him to have a major part to play in the events that are going to unfold. Schneider has his entire career still ahead of him so this could be a good chance for him to gain some much-needed experience to take on future deep runs.
Niko Mikkola
When the trade deadline came around, the glaring need was at the right-wing positions in the top six. If there was ever another hole in the lineup, it was probably the third-pairing defense on the left-hand side that would probably have been mentioned next. So when Chris Drury went out to pick up defenseman Niko Mikkola from the St Louis Blues, it helped one of the biggest holes on the roster.
At 6’4, and 210 lbs, Mikkola has shown that playing the puck is completely optional in a contact sport like this. His physical play has seen many Ranger fans fall in love with him. Capable of big open ice hits and changing the momentum of a game with just the way he moves around the ice, he has been one of the better trade deadline acquisitions to this point around the NHL. He fit in seamlessly.
All of this isn’t to say that Mikkola is only there to hit what moves. When the Rangers were without Ryan Lindgren, Mkkola did an incredible job slotting into the top pairing and making it look like the Rangers were not missing anyone whatsoever. He’s shown himself to be able to play hockey as well as smack things and that is just another reason the fans of this great organization seem to have fallen in love with him.
Mikkola did have 1 goal and 2 assists in his 31 games as a Ranger in the regular season but we have seen that the offensive aspect of his game is not going to be where he makes his money. He’s much better at breaking up rushes, being physical on forecheckers, and winning board battles. He’s going to need to play at his physical best for this postseason run for the Blueshirts.