With the New York Rangers’ season only days away, it’s time to take a closer look at this team. Could there be a Cup in Broadway’s future?
The time has finally come New York Rangers fans. The regular season is upon us.It’s amazing how long an offseason can feel after a few years of deep playoff runs. While Blueshirt fans may have been spoiled, last year’s brutal playoff performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins sobered everyone up fairly quickly.
With that pitiful five-game series came talk of doom and gloom.
“The Rangers’ window has closed.”
“There are too many bad contracts and Jeff Gorton should blow up the team as a result.”
“Henrik Lundqvist is past his prime.”
These are just a few of the mantras which fans and writers were spewing for weeks on end following their spring failures.
But then General Manager Jeff Gorton gave all of us hope in the form of Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich.
Add to that formula Mika Zibanejad, and the Rangers roster went from looking like a decrepit bunch to an energized young corps seemingly overnight.
Players had their ups and downs throughout the preseason. Brandon Pirri and Nathan Gerbe came out of the woodwork, while Nicklas Jensen and Brady Skjei gave all of us pause.
Despite how you may feel about the final roster, one thing is for sure. You should feel optimistic and excited about this Rangers team.
It’s time to preview the 2016-17 New York Rangers. We’ll discuss all of the positions, name some dark horses, and even give some bold staff predictions.
Offensive Outlook
If you are an offensive-minded person then you should be very excited about the Rangers offense.
With new players like Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich, and Mika Zibanejad, the New York Rangers will have an offense will unlimited potential.
Now, whether or not they will reach that potential is another question.
Patience will be an important fan virtue for this upcoming season. While the new players is certainly exciting, they will undoubtedly go through growing pains, Vesey and Buchnevich especially,
While both of these young men have great hockey sense and puck-moving skills, they may find the physicality of the NHL a feisty obstacle early on.
It is for this very reason that the veteran players will need to be consistent, no great, but consistent.
Buchnevich will tally 15 goals and 20 assists this season. As for Vesey, he’ll finish with around 10 goals with 25 helpers.
Expect Rick Nash to have a bounce back season. He will most likely never hit the 40 goal mark again, but if he can tally 25-30 goals with 25-30 assists, he will have done his job.
Mats Zuccarello led the Rangers with 61 points last season. Can he match this success?
It will be interesting to see how the World Cup competition affects Zucc. Team Europe making it to the finals and he should have all of the rust shaken off at this point.
But will he be able to match 61 points? Close, but no cigar. Everyone’s favorite Norwegian will tally 20 goals and 30 assists this year.
We will keep Derek Stepan short and to the point. He’ll tally his 20 goals and 30 assists and call it a day.
And then there’s Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. Look for these players to perform with a chip on their collective shoulders.
This may just be the year in which Kreids breaks out. Let’s put him at 25 goals with 30 assists this season.
Hayes will improve his bottom line as well with 20 goals and 25 assists.
Don’t forget about J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast either. Miller had a great season last year, tallying 22 goals and 21 assists.
That isn’t going to happen this year. The young player didn’t look like the same guy in preseason, and while that may shift when the real season starts, we’re going to put him at 15 goals and 20 assists this year.
As for Fast, he’ll improve his goals and assist totals by five this year. (15 goals/25 assists).
Then there are players like Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri, and Josh Jooris. It’s almost a certainty that these players will be substituted by AHLers throughout the season.
Having said that, I believe that Pirri could score 10-15 goals this year. As for Grabner and Jooris, if they can contribute some grit as toss in 5-10 goals, Jeff Gorton will be a happy man.
A Diminished Defense?
We’re not going to talk score sheet projections here but rather how this corps needs to play this season.
If you are excited about the offense, then you just may be equally terrified about the defense.
Players like Marc Staal and Dan Girardi will need to be better, that’s for sure, but it’s not all on their shoulders. Alain Vigneault will need to make adjustments to the defensive systems if the current ones don’t work.
Sounds obvious right?
Well, it didn’t happen last year, which is probably why Ulf Samuelsson is coaching in the AHL right now.
It worked out, however, because new defensive boss Jeff Beukeboom is a big upgrade to this squad. Beukeboom will bring a fresh approach, he knows how to win, and can hopefully rebuild the defensive philosophy, starting with basic positioning.
Once again, what sounds obvious simply didn’t happen last year.
Last year’s defense was run with a man-to-man system which was like fitting a square peg into a round hole. It works if you have players with quickness, which is something that waived bye bye to this squad two years ago.
Run the zone, Alain.
Goaltending Gurus
A rejuvenated Henrik Lundqvist will be huge for this Rangers’ club.
Despite a multitude of changes to the team this off season, the keys to the kingdom remain in the hands of Hank.
Statistically, the King had one of the worst seasons of his career. After looking God-like through 20 games, the 34-year old looked sluggish in the crease the rest of the year.
He held a 2.48 GAA and saved just 92% of his shots. While he certainly was hurt by a lackluster defensive corps, Henrik still looked slow and worn down, especially in the playoffs.
However, Lundqvist has had a full offseason to recover from a season that saw him get hammered with pucks. The added rest will prove vital for a player who will see another huge workload this year.
Expect a bounce back season the Rangers’ franchise player.
Contrary to last year, though, Antti Raanta looked fresh and confident throughout the preseason.
If Hank is going to remain energetic throughout the regular season and into the playoffs, he must have his workload lightened this year.
Like Cam Talbot before him, Raanta is the person who can alleviate that workload.
The only obstacle in front of Raanta however, is Raanta himself.
We witnessed in a game last February against the Los Angeles Kings how pressure can affect the backup net minder. Remember when he said this to New York Post reporter Howie Kussoy?
“I was really nervous out there, the first couple of periods I couldn’t play my own game,” said Raanta, who made 29 saves. “I was moving too much, I wasn’t set any time the shot was coming, it was more about just going down and hopefully it hits you.”
That will not finish the job, that’s for sure.
If Raanta is given a more consistent start schedule this season, it will go a long way to helping Raanta find and keep his game. If he reaches his potential this year, it would go a long way to helping to Blueshirts in 2016-17.
Dark Horses
Kevin Hayes
With so many new faces coming to Broadway, one player who has gotten lost in the fold is Kevin Hayes.
After bursting onto the scene in his rookie year, Hayes took a big step back last year.
He constantly held on to the puck too long in the offensive zone, turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and was a nightmare to watch defensively.
This resulted in him getting benched late in games and being a healthy scratch, including in the playoffs.
Now entering his third season in the NHL, Hayes is ready to return to his rookie year form.
The Boston College native lost over 20 pounds this summer, which will certainly improve his mobility on the ice.
He looked sharp during the preseason and will benefit from playing alongside Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich. Hayes is still an incredible passer and he knows how to use his big frame to protect the puck.
Last year was a wake-up call for Hayes. Now it’s time for him to respond.
Derek Stepan
Similar to Hayes, the infusion of young talent has allowed Derek Stepan to fly under the radar this offseason.
Stepan was arguably the Rangers’ best player in the second half last year. After being virtually silent in the beginning of the year, the 26-year old played at a point per game rate for the last 40 games of the season.
He set career highs in goals, power play goals, and face off win percentage.
The former second-round pick is the Rangers smartest player and their best all-around forward. He is solid on special teams and always seems to score big goals.
While he certainly isn’t the flashiest player on the ice, he is such an important piece of this team. He is already a top center in this league, the question is will he be able to to take the next step.
A huge season could await Derek Stepan.
Antti Raanta
Surprised to see Anti Raanta here? I can’t blame you. Seeing a backup goalie on a players to watch list is certainly odd.
Raanta deserves to be on here, however. Let’s take a look why.
As discussed earlier, the Rangers keys to success this year is going to be through a really good forward play and good goaltending.
While in most years good goaltending on Broadway was a given, there are many concerns regarding how the Rangers will fare in net after a shaky season from Henrik Lundqvist.
Although the King has looked solid so far in the World Cup of Hockey and in the preseason, Alain Vigneault will likely look to limit his workload this year.
If Lundqvist is only able to play 55-60 games, Raanta is going to play a very important role on this team.
Raanta was shaky last year at times, but, overall, did a really nice job for the Blueshirts. He went 11-6 while possessing a mere 2.24 GAA.
He definitely could see an increase in workload this year and believe it or not, he could be the difference in where the Rangers finish in the standings.
Anti Raanta’s play is certainly something to look out for going forward.
ESNY Staff Predictions
Gregg Cambareri
The New York Rangers may no longer have the lofty Stanley Cup expectations of years past, but there’s still plenty of reason to be excited for the upcoming season.
Jeff Gorton managed to bring much-needed youth to the roster under heavy salary cap issues. Young guns like Vesey, Skjei, Buchnevich are all names to watch under the upcoming season.
Alain Vigneault’s system has not been prosperous without several shutdown d-men, which he now lacks. While Dan Girardi and Marc Staal are no longer the players they once were, that doesn’t mean they still can’t contribute to a winning roster.
The bigger questions will circle around Brady Skjei and Dylan McIlrath, whom AV needs to let make mistakes and grow, rather than being shelved in tough times.
The Rangers may not be a dominate Eastern Conference force, but there should still be a raucous Madison Square Garden when comes playoff time.
The Blueshirts will earn 98 points but will falter in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Islanders in 6 games.
Jackson Heil
Over the past couple years, the Rangers have been centered around proven veterans like the aforementioned Lundqvist, Rick Nash, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Derick Brassard.
While that formula definitely had success for a time, the front office recognized that a change was needed if the Blueshirts wanted to get back to the Stanley Cup.
Gorton did exactly that. He swapped leading goal-scorer Derick Brassard in exchange for 23-year old Mika Zibanejad. They added Harvard sensation Jimmy Vesey and 23-year old defenseman Adam Clendening. 2013 third-round pick Pavel Buchnevich was also called over from Russia.
In addition, the Blueshirts opted to not resign veterans Keith Yandle (traded to the Florida Panthers), Dominic Moore, and Dan Boyle.
The Blueshirts now find themselves with a more than formidable pool of youth talent that they will need to come up big this year. Guys like Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, and Kevin Hayes (in addition to the new faces mentioned before) will need to take the next step in order for this offense to be elite like it was two years ago.
This offense has the chance to be special. If the Blueshirts want to be playing playoff hockey again, it is going to have to.
Pittsburgh Penguins: 108 points
Washington Capitals: 102 points
New York Rangers: 101 points
New York Islanders: 97 points
Jay Travers
The New York Rangers ended the preseason with a difficult loss against the Flyers on Thursday night at the Garden. While it was a gloomy, there is still hope in Rangers Town.
The team has new faces up and down the lineup, each with their own positives and negatives. Having said that, there are a few players who will drag them down into a dark, dark hole (I’m looking at you Dan Girardi).
The Rangers will have a good season, but things will not come easy. While there are undoubtedly a few areas of concern, the Blueshirts have the potential to make a deep run with this young group of players.
The NYR will finish the season third in their division.
Robby Sabo
Despite the notion that last year’s preseason hopes were more positive, entering the 2016-17 season brings more overall hope. Sure, the defense presents many problems. It’s a real issue. But looking at some of the young faces infused in the current roster has me much more excited for this season.
Overall, I don’t believe AV’s offensive style and structure will ever play well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again. The reason his rookie season saw much success was directly tied to a dominant defensive corps doing their thing.
Give me the Rangers to make the playoffs, but stall early in the tournament.
Pittsburgh: 112 pts
Washington: 110 pts
Rangers: 103 pts
Islanders: 95 pts
Philadelphia: 90 pts
New Jersey: 85 pts
Columbus: 84 pts
Carolina: 74 pts
Chris Wengert
This year’s team will be an exciting and hard working bunch. Yeah, be ready to hear “hard-working bunch” from Joe Micheletti.
While the way the team plays will look very different, I expect this team to look a lot like the 2011-12 New York Rangers. That team worked hard but had to grind it out to win games.
This year will be very similar, and the results could be similar if some players overachieve.
Having said that, you’ll be proud of your Blueshirts come April, but they just will not have the horses.
They’ll make it to the second round and lose to Pittsburgh…again.
Pittsburgh: 113 pts
Washington: 108 pts
Rangers: 104 pts
Islanders: 100 pts
Philadelphia: 97 pts
New Jersey: 86 pts