by Deb Seymour ~ October 1, 2022
One of the most tantalizing and yet slippery aspects of major league sports is the trade deadline. Not because some of the worst trades happen at that time, despite some of the best trades occurring. Not because suddenly one new player can trick you into thinking that your team is actually good. And not because most trades that happen mid-season are like one coat of paint when you really needed several: easily scratched off to reveal what’s underneath — which may be ugly at worst, or questionable at best.
No, trade deadlines are a tease because they almost never set up your team for the next season, or the one after that. The paradox of the trade deadline is that the most desirable “commodities” available on the market are the ones that last for the shortest time. Hello, good-bye. We loved you for three months. See you next year playing for our worst rival.
And this paradox is going to have an impact on the NY Rangers this season. No more Frankie Vatrano. No more Andrew Copp. No more Tyler Motte. No more Justin Braun. Instead we have, potentially, Sammy Blais (returning from injury), Jimmy Vesey (on a PTO in training camp), Vitaly Kravtsov (returning from the KHL), Ryan Carpenter (acquired in the off-season), Zac Jones (coming up from the AHL), and Libor Hajek (backup defenseman for the past several years). Add onto that losing Ryan Strome to free agency, likely to be replaced by Vinny Trocheck (acquired in the off-season), and (some may say fortunately) losing Patrik Nemeth to an offseason trade.
So where does this leave the Rangers’ roster?
Forwards:
The top offensive line, occupied by Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, has lost their second half right winger from last season — Vatrano — and it’s beginning to look like his replacement, at least initially, is going to be Sammy Blais. As I referenced a couple of weeks ago in a post about Alexis Lafreniere, prior to his early injury last season Blais was the top line RW and it’s only logical that Gerard Gallant would try to place him again in that slot to begin the season.
Jimmy Vesey, although technically a LW, is playing his best hockey as a Ranger this preseason, however; and he looks like he’s vying for that spot — and so we could see him get that top line RW spot instead of Blais initially — but that probably means Blais gets dropped down to the fourth line. Would Gallant actually do that? Great question.
Is the Vesey preseason just a veneer for the player he’s traditionally been? I’m not advocating this — but there would be only one way to find out.
The real issue for younger players on the team who can play RW is the amount of ice time they’ll be awarded as a result of Blais or Vesey being in the top six; but I still do think Blais will get a fair shot there before any change is made. Would Lafreniere be initially placed at RW (out of what is his traditional strength) on the top line? He’s certainly making a case for it.
The second line is the one on which we’ll be seeing the most important changes. Left wing is going to continue to be Artemi Panarin. Most of our gut feelings about the other two forwards we’ll be seeing on that line are probably coming to fruition: I think we all believed Vinny Trocheck would replace Strome at center, and Vitaly Kravtsov would be given a fair shot as RW to begin the season. From Rangers practice squads to date, that’s what we’re seeing and although the line has gotten mixed up a bit in preseason games, ultimately I do think the early season line will be Panarin-Trocheck-Kravtsov. Kravtsov has a lot to prove this year, but the Rangers are somewhat limited on RW options and he certainly has the talent. Now he has to go out there and actually play like it.
The third line, at least to begin the season, is more and more beginning to look like it will, once again, be “the kid line.” Although Filip Chytil was given the opportunity to center the second line in last night’s preseason game, and he’s been playing top shelf hockey in preseason, it’s doubtful the Rangers acquired Trocheck to drop him to the bottom six. And the chemistry between the three forwards on the third line (Lafreniere, Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko) is unmistakable. Kakko will be the one most in the trenches on that line, doing a lot of the dirty work. Lafreniere’s beginning to show signs of being an elite scorer when given the chance and Chytil’s broken through lately as a solid stick handler and more nuanced, aggressive center.
What we’d really like to see is the third line being very competitive and thus awarded ice time that doesn’t trail the top two lines by over five minutes every game. The “kids” deserve that opportunity and it’ll help prevent burn-out by season’s end in the top six veteran players.
The fourth line is the one that appears most up for grabs. Barclay Goodrow will most likely be on that line just about every single game. Ryan Carpenter was likely acquired to play on that line. Will Dryden Hunt make the team? How about Jonny Brodzinski or Julien Gauthier? Will Jimmy Vesey or Sammy Blais end up on the fourth line? How much playing time will Ryan Reaves see? Will any of the other players, such as Gustav Rydahl, make the team and play on that line? It will be interesting to see what decisions are made.
Defensemen:
Five of the Rangers defensemen are pretty much set: Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox; K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba; and Braden Schneider. It’s the sixth and seventh spots that remain open positions at the moment.
Zac Jones and Libor Hajek appear to be battling it out in preseason for the sixth and seventh spots. Because of Hajek’s historically questionable play in the past for the Rangers, it seems he’d have to really impress Gallant in preseason to be awarded the sixth spot. But I don’t think we can quite rule out that possibility just yet.
Because the sixth spot is paired with a sophomore player who’s not 100% developed yet himself (Schneider), Hajek may win out just on the basis of longer experience. You’d have to then believe Zac Jones gets the seventh spot, and he’s been playing well enough in the preseason to deserve it. He’s got good instincts and played in some dozen games last season for the Rangers. Again, it’ll be interesting to see on the basis of what factors Gallant makes his decisions. Hajek, not a fan favorite, may get what many feel should be Jones’ spot; but only the next week will tell.
Goaltenders:
This requires no real discussion. The goaltenders will be Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin and seasoned backup net minder Jaroslav Halak. Second backup goalie will be Louis Domingue, whom the Rangers faced in the last postseason playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
We do know this much: head coach decisions aren’t always made on the basis of analytics and/or player development. The eye test, veteran presence, team chemistry, on-ice player defense and enforcement, seasonal match-ups, and preferred style of play all are factors in how roster decisions get made. Plus, one can never rule out front office preferences being in the mix, no matter how independently head coaches are said to be operating. The best hope is that the Rangers will field a very competitive team this season, and exceed last year’s performance — which, as we all know, already exceeded that of a number of years prior to it.
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