The New York Rangers boast one of the most dangerous forward lineups in the league on paper but cannot seem to find the right balance since trading for forward J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks. It's been a difficult period of the season for the Blueshirts recently, and they need more out of their top-end guys, but head coach Peter Laviolette needs to find the right balance between the lines if the Rangers are going to be successful.
J.T. Miller is an unrivaled talent on most teams in the NHL; there is little doubt about that, but the Rangers need more from the rest of the lineup, and that balance hasn't been right since he came to this team. One thought is that moving a center out like Filip Chytil distributed the delicate balance of talent around the lineup by stripping the bottom six of one of its key cogs.
Filip Chytil wasn't replaced when the Rangers added a new center because the Blueshirts opted to play all three of Miller, Mika Zibanejad, and Vincent Trocheck in the top six, which means one plays on the wing. This takes away from the center depth the Rangers should have. While the Rangers have enjoyed success with parts of their top six, having Sam Carrick move up into the third-line center role is carving holes in the bottom six.
The answer I propose is simple: Stretch the Rangers' talent down the middle over three lines. Giving players like Brennan Othmann, Juuso Parssinen, and Brett Berard the chance to play with either Mika Zibanejad or Vincent Trocheck in the bottom six would be a massive confidence booster for these young players. The Rangers have the wealth among their forward core to do this, but Laviolette prefers to have two centers on the top six lines so they can ensure they're winning draws.