The Rangers’ defensive deployment is officially standing in the way of the retool

The New York Rangers have found success since play resumed from the Olympic break, but the organization is currently sending a ton of mixed signals. While the front office’s Letter 2.0 promised a focus on the future, the actual on-ice deployment suggests a team that can't make up its mind. While opportunities are a plenty for the young forwards, the same can't be said on defense. Nowhere is this more apparent than the right side of the defense, where a struggling veteran and a waiver-wire project are being prioritized over the most dynamic young defender in the system.

The Rangers' most recent win saw Igor Shesterkin go sicko mode in the final two periods as the team was outshot 42-9, including a 21-1 margin in the final 20 minutes. While that isn't entirely on the defense, it speaks to a unit moving in the wrong direction, and that just brings to the forefront how Adam Fox’s unknown future with the team feel like a nightmare in the making.

Braden Schneider’s mediocrity rewarded once again

When Fox was on injured reserve, the Blueshirts desperately needed someone to eat top-pair minutes. While no one can truly replace Fox, Scott Morrow’s archetype was the most logical fit alongside Vladislav Gavrikov. Instead, Braden Schneider was gifted the position, and the results were disastrous. Schneider’s stint on the top pair coincided with Gavrikov’s worst stretch of the season, a correlation that is likely no coincidence.

With Fox back, Schneider had returned to the third pair, but the coaching staff has now demoted Will Borgen to make room for him up in the lineup. Borgen, signed to a $4.1 million cap hit through 2030, has seen his possession numbers crater this season (45.3 CF%). While he’s battled injuries, they don't fully explain the full pumpkin mode he has hit recently. The Rangers signed a third-pair defenseman to a contract that treats him like a top-four fixture, and now they are scrambling to fix the mess.

Schneider remains the primary fix, but he hasn't been the solution at any point this season. He has logged a team-high 1,139 minutes of 5v5 ice time, and his underlying metrics per Evolving-Hockey (45.63 GF%, 45.61 xGF%) are definitive proof that he is overmatched in top-four minutes. The Rangers are essentially shuffling deck chairs on a ship that can't transition the puck out of its own zone.

The Iorio headscratcher

The confusion reached a new level with the January claim of Vincent Iorio. In five games, Iorio has shown why he was available on the wire: he ranks in the bottom percentile for max skating speed and has struggled with a 41.72 CF%. Claiming Iorio to take an NHL spot while Scott Morrow, a primary piece of the K’Andre Miller trade, toils away in the AHL defies the logic of a retool.

Why Morrow deserves a legitimate chance

While the NHL roster settles for safe (and demonstrably bad) minutes from Schneider and Iorio, Morrow is doing exactly what he was told to do in Hartford. In six March games, Morrow has two goals and two assists. In a recent 7-0 blowout loss to Providence, he was just a minus-one, proving he isn’t being caved in despite the team's struggles.

In his 29-game NHL sample earlier this year, Morrow posted a 48.84 xGF%, significantly higher than both Schneider and Borgen. His 49.11 CF% is fourth on the entire team, trailing only Gavrikov, Urho Vaakanainen, and Fox. Morrow is a modern, puck moving defender who lives for offense. In Mike Sullivan’s system, which is predicated on quick transitions and pace, Morrow’s skillset is a perfect fit. Instead, the Rangers prioritize size and grit, even as those traits lose them the possession battle every night.

The Rangers need to make up their mind

The Rangers know what they have in Schneider (a pending RFA) and Borgen (under contract for years). They are bottom-four defenders who have been asked to play above their heads. They also know what Iorio is: a project that has failed to stick with three different organizations this season.

What they don’t know is what Morrow could do with a full top-four workload. In a season that's all but over, the Rangers should be prioritizing potential upside over mediocre known quantities. If the staff feels Morrow isn't a fit for Sullivan's vision, they should at least prioritize his NHL minutes to boost his trade value. That would require creativity and foresight from Chris Drury, but based on the current state of the blue line, that might be asking for too much.