The Rangers had a choice, keep Anthony Duclair at least a little while longer or return him back to juniors, costing them the ability to use his talents until around May 31. The decision itself was not easy as salient arguments could have been made on both sides of the equation. In the end, the rangers chose the path of least resistance, returning Duclair to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.
Most of his hailed - or at a minimum - were okay with the move of allowing Duclair to play with Canada in the World Junior Championships. That decision looked even better after seeing how well Duclair played in general and how he meshed with Max Domi and Sam Reinhart. That line was dominant, generating chance after chance each time they were on the ice. Reinhardt and Domi had palpable chemistry and Duclair seamlessly fit in with this two. Duclair finished the tournament with four goals and four assists with a plus-11 rating in seven games but the production was the least of what I took from watching him.
When New York allowed Duclair to join Team Canada, part of the goal was to restore or boost the confidence that may have lagged a bit after a strong pre-season. Duclair got to see first hand what it takes to be a success in the NHL. He rode the pine at times, watching from the press box, which became more prevalent as the season wore on. The goal of restoring his confidence clearly was met, as Duclair dominated when on the ice in the WJC. So with that goal met, the determination then shifted into what's best for the player and the team; two concepts that may be mutually exclusive.
For Duclair, it's to build off his success from the WJC. For New York, to an extent the decision made was the politically expedient one. It was easy to send Duclair to the Remparts. The below quote from coach Alain Vigneault makes that clear.
"We had a long discussion about it as a staff--myself, (team President and General Manager Glen Sather), (assistant GM Jeff Gorton), and (assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld), and the coaches--and right now our team is healthy, our team is playing well, J.T. (Miller's) play has picked up, and it would be tough right now for Anthony to crack our lineup."
Yes, Duclair fits best as a top-six player. However, given the recent comments made by AV how the lineup is not the same as it was last year, when the fourth line was a checking line and the top-three were scoring ones, Duclair didn't have to be in the top-six to be effective. AV could have easily put him on the third line with Kevin Hayes and Carl Hagelin while playing Miller with Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast. That would have given New York depth up and down the lineup and available on the bench if needed, with either Tanner Glass or Lee Stempniak there.
Will Duclair learn while in the minors? Of course. Will his confidence likely rise some more? Probably. Is he going get that much more from playing in the minors? In my view, no, because he played at the highest level again players around his age from around the world and dominated. Returning to play against players of a similar age at a slightly lesser level may be a step down. If you want him to learn, have him learn at this level, because even if grows substantially and dominates in juniors that won't translate or have a material impact on what he does next year.
New York made the easy and readily available decision but it's not the one I would have made.