The #freelaf movement - at least in the short term - can take a break as Alexis Lafreniere will be back in the lineup Sunday against the Panthers. Along with the return of Lafreniere, the blender is out again, which in several cases makes no sense. The schedule gets no easier after today, and if fact, gets harder, as New York faces the red hot Carolina Hurricanes at MSG on Tuesday.
Happy New Year to all!!
At Rangers practice on Saturday the lines used were:
Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Vitali Kravtsov Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Jimmy Vesey Sammy Blais, Barclay Goodrow, Jonny Brodzinski, Julien Gauthier
I am all for Lafreniere getting back in, as the message clearly has been sent. But as Larry Brooks noted and what should be in all of our thoughts, is why break up the Kravtsov-Chytil-Gauthier third line that played dynamic hockey against the Lightning? The Kreider, Zibanejad and Kakko trio remain intact, why not have the same for the third line that was so good in the game?
Placing Lafreniere on the right side of Panarin and Trocheck would have reformed the unit that was together for 12 games in the early weeks. Laf is not great on the right side, but he likely deserves another chance there. Instead, the best line from Thursday is broken up with Kravtsov changing lines yet again, so much for building chemistry. This offseason, his skating needs to be primary focus one, but right behind that is telling him to work on playing right wing to aid his comfort there. That is especially so with left wing Brennan Othmann expected to be part of the 2023-24 team.
Jonny Brodzinski will be the odd man out, likely driven by his recent propensity for offensive-zone penalties and his play having leveled out a bit. Gauthier has shown he can be effective on the fourth line, but he should have been rewarded for his fine play and remained on the third line with Jimmy Vesey staying with Barclay Goodrow.
Gerard Gallant provided the following on Lafreniere after yesterday's practice:
“he’s going back in….it’s part of building a young man. He’s 21-years old, played parts of three years in the league, obviously with Covid so it’s not really…it’s part of the game. Kaapo sat out games before, people sit out games. It’s not a big deal. Sometimes the kid might say, ‘well, I’m gonna come back and play real well.’ We’ll see what happens. Maybe he’ll say it’s a wakeup call, maybe he can say what he wants and that is fine. I didn’t like the way he played last game, the 3-4 games prior to that weren’t great either, they were okay, not great. Sometimes it’s be more consistent, play better. He wants the same thing, he’s a good kid, we like him. It’s not like we don’t like the kid, it’s…they are lessons learned and I was fortunate enough to play pro hockey and I got sat out some games too….shake it off.…
Brooks clearly stated his views in his column.
Regarding L'Affaire Lafreniere: What's Next? https://t.co/hYeagpRiWF via @nypostsports
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) December 31, 2022
The biggest takeaway to me, and the topic is one we have discussed before, relates to the lack of prospect development. Unanswered and maybe somewhat unanswerable is why. Figuring out the why may be even more important than determining how to fix the problem. Because once you have identified the root cause, a solution should then hopefully fall into place. A top-to-bottom organizational review is needed, as the issue is not just a 1-2 year problem but a 30 or so year one.
The burden of proof is on everyone, but the Rangers do go back administration after administration culpable of either mishandling or misidentifying prospects. The organization is famous for eating its young, so it is not a particular reach to wonder how much of Lafreniere’s one-step-forward, two-steps-back dance this season is on the team.Progress in fulfilling the potential of Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov and, soon enough, Brennan Othmann — all first-rounders — is paramount to the success of the franchise.
World Junior Tournament: Preliminary play ended yesterday with several Rangers having big games to aid their team's victories.
Jaroslav Chmelar had a pair of goals and an assist to help lead Czechia to an 8-1 win over Germany. That effort resulted in Chmelar getting named "Best Player" for the contest. In the tourney, Chmelar, who has shown a solid mixture of skill and physical play, went 3-2-5 in four preliminary round games. Czechia finished in first place in group A and will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
Brennan Othmann had his best game of the tourney with a pair of goals in Canada's 5-1 win over Sweden. Othmann clearly has a wicked shot and loves the physical play. What he will need to succeed in the NHL is a quicker first stride and improved skating, two areas that can be developed. Othmann came into the game with one assist the first three games. Canada finished second in Group A and will face Adam Sykora and Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
Slovakia and Sykora would have finished first in Group B and had a better matchup with a win, but lost 4-3 in a 10-round shootout to Switzerland. Sykora tallied his first goal in the tourney yesterday resulting from hard work and strength down low. Even more impressive has been his defensive work this tourney, which bodes well for his possible future role.
Kalle Và¤isà¤nen went scoreless yesterday while Noah Laba didn't play in Finland's 6-2 loss to the US. Finland and Và¤isà¤nen face Sweden in the quarterfinals while the US will take on Germany.