Chris Drury's aggressive Rangers retool is hiding a massive long term problem

Chris Drury used this offseason to acquire younger players while also improving the Rangers’ backend. Throughout those efforts, moves that might very well be designed to save his job in the short term - the Rangers may have created an even bigger concern on the horizon at arguably the most important position on the ice.

Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller will both enter this season at 33 years old, with several years remaining on their contracts. Given their age, it’s safe to assume their play will decline before those deals expire, all while the two centers currently account for roughly 15% of the team’s salary cap. Behind those two, the position begins to get thin from an offensive standpoint.

Do the Rangers already have someone who can step into those shoes eventually? Or will Drury gamble on a big fish down the line once again? 

Internal Options

Noah Laba had a good rookie season and looks like a promising piece of Drury’s puzzle. However, he fits well as a third-line center right now, and ideally, he would eventually be a fourth-line center on a version of this team chasing a cup. Laba has never been a featured offensive threat at any point in his young hockey career, dating back to his college days. When everything is considered, he appears best suited for an energy and checking role on the third or fourth line.

That is not a knock on Laba. Having a reliable center who can handle difficult matchups and bring energy throughout the lineup is valuable, but the Rangers need to eventually find players capable of filling their top two center spots.

Then there is newly acquired Cole Beaudoin, who could be an important part of how this retool ultimately comes together. Beaudoin works extremely hard and has a well-rounded two-way game, but lacks the offensive upside to be a clear candidate for a future top-six role. The upside case is that he develops into a steady second-line center, but it would probably be considered a win if he becomes a third-line center who can produce offensively while taking on difficult matchups.

Speaking of upside, the internal option who likely has the best path toward eventually becoming a second-line center is 2026 third-round pick Tomas Chrenko. Chrenko was considered a potential first-round candidate after a strong first half of his draft year before ultimately sliding to the Rangers in the third round. If his development goes right,  he could end up being a big steal.

The offensive instincts are there. Chrenko possesses tremendous playmaking ability, but his footspeed and size could create challenges as he works his way toward the NHL. There is obviously a long way to go before we can realistically project Chrenko as an NHL center, but among the current internal options, he might be the best bet to eventually fill one of the holes created by an eventual Zibanejad or Miller departure.

The internal options aren't the most appealing when it comes to replacing two aging top-six centers. Laba and Beaudoin could become useful NHL players, while Chrenko has the highest upside of the group, but expecting any of them to step into a top-line role would be an unfair expectation.

Betting on a Superstar

Free agency is becoming difficult to navigate as the salary cap continues to rise, but there is a world where Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews could find themselves looking for a new home in 2028. If either player becomes available, Drury would likely be all in on one, if not both. 

We have seen this bet before, with the Rangers coming up short in their pursuit of Jack Eichel. Landing either McDavid or Matthews would change the outlook of the franchise for years, but it’s also a massive long shot. There is no guarantee either player leaves their current team, no guarantee either wants to come to New York and no guarantee the Rangers would be able to win a bidding war if one hits the market.

Either way, the future down the middle of the ice is concerning. To add insult to injury, while making the team more competitive in the short term, the Rangers have relinquished multiple first-round picks over the next few years in moves that brought in Pavel Dorofeyev and Marcus Pettersson. Those moves make the team better for now, but also limit flexibility to improve past where they stand now. 

Finding a new top-line center through the draft can be difficult enough even when you have all of your picks. The Rangers could ultimately find themselves in the dreaded messy middle, with very few options to fill out the top of the lineup for years to come. They could be good enough to compete for a playoff spot without being a Stanley Cup contender, while also lacking the draft capital to easily find the elite talent they need.

Drury has made the Rangers younger and improved some of the weaknesses on the roster, but the most important position on the ice could eventually become the team's biggest problem.

The outlook of this retool could heavily depend on an unlikely prospect rising to the occasion or Drury hitting a home run through trade or free agency within the next couple of years. Neither is impossible, but right now, neither feels likely.

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