3 Issues About the Rangers' Defensive Lineup that Need Addressing

The New York Rangers currently hold an 8-2-1 record this season, good enough for fourth in the Metropolitan Division at 17 points, behind three other teams with 18 points. Despite that, a few small holes exist on New York's defensive lines, which may need to be addressed in case the team suddenly starts to struggle.

First off is the debate between two young defensemen. Zac Jones and Victor Mancini have certainly made their mark so far this season, with the latter outperforming the former, currently posting 1 goal and three assists for four points in his first nine NHL games. Compared to Jones, who hasn't really been able to land consistent playing time even after two partial seasons in the NHL, Mancini is looking like the better player to keep around compared to Jones.

Now, Jones did play in 31 NHL games last season, totaling two goals and seven assists, but has yet to find the back of the net this season, which is disappointing, given his hot streak built in the preseason. Jones is also the kind of player that really only plays on an emergency basis- when the Rangers need one extra defenseman if one of their usual key D-men is out with an injury or is even a healthy scratch.

On paper, that seems good, but it's really not, considering that most players wouldn't properly develop if they only played that particular way for as long as Jones has been, which is now at least two and change seasons.

The next hole for the Rangers to fill on the defensive fronts is rather a question- will Ryan Lindgren get back to his old playing self and capabilties?

Lindgren is a defenseman that is also still waiting on a fresh contract deal, like other Rangers, except his might be more of a lost cause, given that he hasn't performed as well in years past, posting three goals and 14 assists in 76 games last season. That's alright for a typical defenseman, but considering he played in just 63 games in 2022/23 with just one goal the whole year, it's clearly a sign that Lindgren's time in Manhattan might be running out.

And what's also disappointing is how young he still is; at age 26, he's not as aged as lots of other players who struggle with the same kind of playing and scoring drought once they reach their mid-30s. Lindgren is also not as much a priority to resign ahead of next spring compared to goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who has his own contractual drama and another young defenseman that would very much like to be retained...

That defenseman in question is none other than 24 year old K'Andre Miller, who's consistently been the Rangers' top D-man, now in his fifth season in the NHL. Miller played in all but two regular-season games last year, something he's got a streak of dating back to his 2nd NHL season in 2021/22. Miller's numbers previous season read eight goals and 22 assists for a solid 30 points, the latest consistency after a nine-goal campaign in 2022-23 and a seven-goal season in 2021-22.

Like many of the Rangers' young stars, he's also due to become an unrestricted free agent after this season if he wants to, making a resign a top priority for the Rangers as this season progresses.

Miller's current contract is a two-year, $7.74 million deal that started last season after the expiration of his rookie contract, which spanned from 2020 to 2022. Such a deal currently yields a $3.87 million per year salary, and Miller will probably get another pay increase if he keeps his consistency up like he's obviously known to do.

The Rangers' defensive lines are a needed fix, considering how much they relied on goaltender Igor Shesterkin throughout their run to last season's Eastern Conference Finals against the Florida Panthers. Often times, New York would end up putting too much pressure on their d-line, resulting in less than ideal play, which led to the team's elimination in five games.

Perhaps with a slight retool covering the remainder of this season, even though it's still early on as only a sixth of the season has now been played by most teams, New York can take another run at the Stanley Cup when the middle of April arrives in the following five or so months.