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Captain not named, Nils likely not in lineup Wed, Kravtsov sent to Hartford |
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Saying that it has been an interesting Monday in Rangersland is a mild understatement. The morning started with the announcement - or lack thereof, depending on your view - that the team will have sox associate captains but no actual captain. Then, the practice lines came out with Nils Lundqvist and Vitali Kravtsov not one of the active 18 skates. Following that was the coup de gras with the news that Kravtsov was sent down along with two others to Hartford to start the season.
Captains:
This whole offseason and preseason, any time the question of naming a captain was raised, the response was that one will be in place before the season starts. Then two days before the puck drops, the only word that comes to mine is sike. Instead of one captain, New York opted for six alternate captains or basically one-third of the roster has an A on their chest.
Look, those in the room know who the leaders of the team are, so maybe a C is not needed. But after all the talk the past few seasons when one was not in place and comments by Gerard Gallant and Chris Drury that a player will have a C, hearing this news is surprising. I think we all thought when Miak Zibanejad received his contract extension that it might be a precursor to him receiving the C. Same potentially with Jacob Trouba or Chris Kredier, each of whom have displayed leadership qualities.
Now, it's quite possible that Adam Fox will be the team's next captain and they don't feel he is ready for the role just yet. Therefore, not naming a captain then would make sense, as it gives him more time. But, if that is the case, and I would not be shocked it is, then why not give him an A on his jersey?
Lineup:
The Rangers are going with the rock em, sock em lineup against the Capitals. Tom Wilson is clearly still in their heads, as seen by their moves this offseason and lineup for Game 1. Ryan Reaves was added to blunt Wilson's impact. Sammy Blais is no shrinking violet as is Barclays Goodrow. I think we all knew Jarred Tinordi would dress for the game with Nils Lundkvist, who was named the winner today of the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, which is given annually to the top Rangers rookie in Training Camp as selected by the media.
When the lineup came out, the expectation was that Lundkvist would replace Tinordi for Thursday's home opener at MSG with this lineu just a one-time event. The same was hoped with Vitali Kravtsov, but as you likely already know and will see below, not so fast. Part of the key this year was a better balanced roster but also growth from Filip Chytil. While Blais showed more skill than first thought in the preseason and Goodrow can score a little, I would much prefer Chytil to be flanked by Kravtsov, who would bring more of a scorer's mentality and ability to that trio.
PP Units:
The first five were fairly standard last season. Once again, four righties and a lefty and who sets up for the one-timer on the left dot? Blais will be the net front presence on the second unit, which has the inverse - four lefties and a righty. Trouba sees point duty, though this unit could change for game two, once Lundkvist is in the lineup.
Roster moves:
We all knew Morgan Barron would be sent down to the AHL to begin the season as Hartford's first line center. If he gets off to a strong start and Chytil struggles, Barron could be brought back up with Chytil shifting to wing. Greg McKegg also had passed the waivers through waivers last week to be demoted. The big question was who else wouldn't make the roster.
With a 23-man roster - and mea culpa, as I had been advocating a 14 forward, eight d-man roster - someone would need to go down. Dryden Hunt and Julien Gauthier each would have to pass through waivers to go down which we knew was unlikely to happen. In addition, once we saw Hunt in the Opening Night lineup above, we knew he was going nowhere.
The other debate was what to do with Libor Hajek, especially with Tinordi in the Opening Night lineup and Tinordi also needing waivers to be sent down. Though, you could argue it was a good possibility that Tinordi might clear waivers if they attempted to pass him through. Hajek has no spot on the team anymore and I understand not wanting to lose an asset for nothing, but his time has passed. His acquisition came under a different regime, so if Drury and Gallant pulled the trigger, so be it, since he quite likely will be unable to change the perception of the Ryan McDonagh deal. Maybe he does bring back a pick or a minors-eligible player and I will be proven wrong, but as of now, I don't see it.
Kravtsov ended up being the odd man out. I would expect Kravtsov to be back soon, but still a move I disagree with, especially since he started camp in the top 9 and to me did little to lose his roster spot. Kravtsov suffered a minor injury in the preseason that kept him out of a few games, but he returned for the final exhibition game, tallying a PPG on a one-timer. Now he is going back to Hartford, the team he left to return to Russia in 2019 after a bizarre dispute over playing time and his physical conditioning, due to a numbers game. For a player who struggled mentally in the past, impacted heavily by how the team handled the situation, we all have to hope they did a much better job messaging this decision. The hope is that he will be back quickly and that he gets off to a big start in the minors, forcing a call up. But to keep Hajek over Kravtsov still is odd asset management, even if they would lose the blueliner on waivers.
Cap space is not an issue as the team has $8.17 million in room. Next season, the team says $1 mil in dead cap space. The following year, the full $3.327 mil remaining for next year is gone off the books. New York has already allocated those funds to Zib and also will have long-term contracts to be signed for Fox, Kakko, Laf and maybe Chytil. But the team can and very well likely will make a deal if an asset - especially an expiring one - is needed at the deadline.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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