Construction tends not to be a glamorous business, but you couldn’t tell that by all of the hoopla generated by the glitzy moves the Rangers made this offseason by — repeat after me — adding Artemi Panarin via free agency, Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox via trades and selecting Kaapo Kakko second-overall in the draft.
So there is more talent. That is undeniable. And there is excitement on top of intrigue, even if some of both might have been temporarily mitigated by management’s astute recognition that young blue chippers Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov would both be better served by starting the year in Hartford.
That decision is reflective of the rebuild process through which the foundation is laid one brick at a time. Except, of course, we’re talking about hockey players, not bricks. And hockey players tend to develop on their own timetable. The organization’s responsibility is to put players into positions where they have the most chance of achieving sustainable success.
And this is what the Rangers have done through preseason, without worry about perception from the outside. The team has bulked up and has added top-end pieces in the right places, but there are still significant questions relating to their depth chart down the middle and their capacity without the puck and in the defensive zone.
There will be good times this year, but also bad. The Rangers won’t have one without the other.
Offense
No offense (well) to Ryan Strome, but it doesn’t necessarily bode all that well for a place-holder to command the second-line slot in the middle between Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko. The Rangers are going to require Kreider to be a consistent presence. The first-line Artemi Panarin-Mika Zibanejad combo should be dynamic and deadly, with Pavel Buchnevich reaping the rewards of getting the first shot at playing right wing on the top unit. If No. 89 wavers, the team won’t hesitate to promote Kakko.
The third and fourth units seem to be a mix of fairly interchangeable blue-collar parts, but the Rangers will be making a mistake if Brendan Lemieux is chopped down to fourth-line minutes. And it’s going to be a fight for ice time for the fourth-line center, which isn’t exactly optimal for either Lias Andersson or Brett Howden.
The organization for years has had this odd obsession with having a fourth-line puncher on the roster. Hence, Micheal Haley, but why, when Brendan (Motor City Smitty) Smith brings that kind of presence and mentality to the fray? The Rangers have cited Islanders shenanigans in Saturday’s final preseason game as at least a partial explanation for the decision to sign/keep Haley … except that Haley was in the lineup in Bridgeport with Lemieux and with Smith and he proved no deterrent.
The first power-play unit that will open with Zibanejad-Panarin-Kreider-Kakko-Jacob Trouba should be a weapon, but the team and players themselves are going to have to work out the defined roles for Zibanejad and Panarin, both of whom are lethal letting it fly from their off wing at the left circle. And Trouba’s spot is not sacrosanct if second power-play unit point-men Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox push up.
Defense
There is more one-through-six talent here, but at the same time so much uncertainty that it could still be a dog’s breakfast on the blue line. Trouba brings a first-pair mentality with him from Winnipeg, but No. 8 will confront as many challenges as opportunities as an $8 million signee in the spotlight. And Brady Skjei, coming off a pair of disappointing seasons following his NHL All-Rookie 2016-17, will need to pick up his game in order to keep his spot on Trouba’s left. DeAngelo and Fox are prime, mobile, puck-movers, but both will have challenges in their own end and in one-on-one battles. Ryan Lindgren outplayed Libor Hajek through camp, but it was the latter who got the spot. Marc Staal, miscast as a first-pair shutdown guy last year, will open with DeAngelo while Hajek and Fox comprise the third pair.
Goaltending
Henrik Lundqvist, who has been the face of the franchise longer than any player in Rangers history that dates back to 1926, is coming off an excellent camp and seems primed for a fast start. The team will need a fast start from the King — the kind he provided last year — but also a fast finish. To that end, Alex Georgiev will play more often early in the year. Each will have to earn his starts in what must be a merit system. If Igor Shesterkin’s work in Hartford demands a recall, the organization will deal with the implications at that time.
Coaching
David Quinn caught everyone’s attention last year in revitalizing the team’s work ethic and commitment to details. Having established that baseline, which was no small trick, the second-year coach’s command and implementation of X’s and O’s and his ability to adapt will be under inspection this time around.
Most important offensive player
Artemi Panarin brings a rare level of talent to the mix, but if the Rangers are going to compete in a meaningful way, Chris Kreider has the responsibility of propelling the second line.
Most important defensive player
Let’s put it this way. The Rangers are sunk if the Brady Skjei-Jacob Trouba first pair equates to a sunk cost, but if Tony DeAngelo can maintain his poise, the team could have a special talent coming out of the back end.
Most important rookie
The Finnish guy they took second-overall. Name’s Kakko.
Key coaching decision
The second-line center spot will be a focus, but more generally, how much responsibility will the coach be comfortably able to give the kids … and that’s before presumed recalls of Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov, if not Ryan Lindgren and maybe the injured Yegor Rykov.
Prediction
The Rangers will compete. There should be stretches in which they look like a conceivable playoff challenger. But the team is scary thin down the middle and questionable on the blue line. The Blueshirts will be an intriguing watch, but may well take a step back in the season point total while primed to take at least two steps forward in 2020-21.