In a site-wide question, we’ve been asked what do the teams we write about need to be complete? For the Rangers, a handful of choices come to mind, which I list below. I will select mine, but would love your view.
My
three choices, to be listed in inverse order below, are:
a true identify and consistent bottom-six, which I think go hand-in-hand, second line center and top-pair, left-handed blueliner.
True identify and consistent bottom-six:
One area of weakness highlighted by the sweep at the hands of Carolina in the play-in round was the lack of a true identity and inconsistent bottom-six. I will tackle this further in a separate blog, as this was one of the top-25 off-season questions that I identified. Some have espoused the view that New York has addressed this/these deficiency (ies), but I am not fully sold.
Re-signing Brendan Lemiuex for two years should help with the creation of a physical identity. The past two seasons, coach David Quinn has remarked that he wants the team to be more north-south and less east-west. If you look at the current squad, besides adding Alexis Lafreniere, who adds a level of grit along with his wondrous talent, and re-signing of Lemiuex, where else is that north-south and/or level of physical play coming from?
If Kevin Rooney makes the team as the fourth line center, he should provide some physical play and grit. Maybe Rooney, Lemiuex and Morgan Barron, if he makes the team, can be a consistent fourth line while adding a level of physicality to the lineup. But that first sentence has two ifs in it, so nothing is guaranteed. If Brett Howden or Julien Gauthier or Phil Di Giuseppe play on the fourth line with Lemiuex, maybe that will have a similar impact, but I am skeptical.
Second line center:
New York clearly were not enamored with Ryan Strome filling that role. The team tried to deal him, then waited until just about the last minute before signing him for two years. Even though inked for two years, if you ask most Rangers' fans, they expect Strome to be exposed in the expansion draft, which is not a ringing endorsement.
In the short-term, Strome is the 2C. The hope is that he recaptures the magic he had with Artemi Panarin before the pandemic hit. Even if that is the case, the prevailing view will be that Strome is solely a product of skating with the Breadman. But if Strome can improve his defensive play, which as we know is a major weakness, and his play between the dots, see prior clause, then maybe, just maybe, he can be viewed as a semi-long term option. Even if not, it's possible he mans that spot in 2021-22.
Top-line, left-handed defenseman:
One of the reasons given for Jacob Trouba's struggles his first year in New York was the constant shuffling opposite him. While that has become too easy of a default argument, there is a grain of truth in the comment. This is what I wrote a few weeks ago when discussing
Trouba's contract.
Tony DeAngelo will get a looksee in camp on the left side, which would entail ADA moving to his offside, creating a challenge. If he proves capable, that would be Trouba's partner. If not, Libor Hajek, who struggled last season after getting his chance, will get another look. I would not split up Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, so neither should be an option to play with Trouba. Tarmo Reunanen should be in camp and would be a stretch for that spot opposite Trouba, but he might get a looksee, based on the potential upside. If it's Jack Johnson, well you can finish my thought.
Down the road, K'Andre Miller might be the best option to play opposite Trouba. But even if he makes the team, which could be driven by when the AHL starts play, I would not put him alongside Trouba initially. Nils Lundkvist could be a possibility as well down the road, but that would entail Lundkvist playing on his off-side, which would be an additional adjustment besides adapting to North American play. As said in that blog, I would love Sami Vatanen in that spot, but he is likely to be too expensive to sign. That means that we may see a revolving door at the spot, but hopefully someone steps forward in camp to grab the position.
What say you?
Congrats to
Brett Berard, the Rangers' fifth round pick, 134th overall, who was named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the 2021 World Junior Championship. The squad will need to cut four to get down to the 25-man roster for the tourney that is now still slated to start December 25, but with the pandemic hitting again in full force, may be up in the air. Not making the preliminary roster, who was viewed as a possibility, was Hunter Skinner.
Well done by Chris Kreider.
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