Rangers General Manager Chris Drury held a press conference today with the beat writers and others. A few nuggets came out of that discussion, few of which though should move the needle much. Below is a compilation taken from the various tweets sent by the beat writers. especially Vince Mercogliano and Dan Rosen during and post-meeting.
Drury on whether he sees Filip Chytil and Morgan Barron as centers: "That’s for (Gallant) to decide – lineups. We’ve had discussions… In my head, I see both of them as centers."
Chytil gets a chance to show that his best spot is at center. As we have seen to date, the jury is out on this, but Chytil now has a relatively clean slate with coach Gerard Gallant taking over. If Chytil is the 3C, Barclay Goodrow is likely one of the wingers on that line with the left winger to be determined. Alexis Lafreniere or Chris Kreider is the probable clubhouse leader for the spot.
Barron has an uphill battle. Kevin Rooney is the de facto fourth line center, though he can move to wing, Rooney has the edge as he can kill penalties and is used for defensive zone draws. Barron could open 2021-22 in Hartford as the first line center. However, Barron can shift to wing, even if he starts camp at center. My expectation is rather than have Barron be a 13th or 14th forward, he opens the season in the AHL.
Drury stops short of saying Nils Lundkvist is penciled into a starting spot, but says, "It wouldn’t surprise me if at the end of it, he’s standing there on our team.
“He can skate, he’s got a big shot, he can be on a power play… I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on the team.”
No real surprise here. Part of why Patrick Nemeth was attractive as a free agent signing was that he is a countryman for Nils to help his transition. We all know about his offense, but Lundqvist also has shown a willingness to take the body and won't be overmatched physically despite his size and stature. Lundqvist gets an immediate chance to start building his case for an Opening Night roster spot at the Development Camp tomorrow.
On captaincy, Drury reiterates "it's an important piece for us moving forward to have a captain." But cautions he wants to give Gallant time to get to know players and not force a decision..
Expect the Rangers to have a captain this season, first time since trading Ryan McDonagh. GM Chris Drury said he wants coach Gerard Gallant to get to know the players better, but certainly it sounds like nothing has changed in the thinking and they want to have a captain.
Even without a captain last year, leadership was not lacking in the locker room or on the ice, though the Tom Wilson affair may have others thinking differently. Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba all are leaders, each leading in a different way and all three will be possibilities for the C on their chest. Zib may be the least likely since he is unsigned beyond this season as of now. One more name to add to the mix is Adam Fox, but as we saw with Mac Truck, you need to be careful with overburdening someone with this task too early in his career.
Drury on the decision to trade for Ryan Reaves:"We think Ryan is a good player who can do a lot of things… It wasn’t a reaction to one thing… Truth be told, we tried to get Ryan three years ago... His size, his strength, he's physical on the walls. We think he's a good fit."
Why did Drury give Reaves a one-year extension for his age-35 season? "We just wanted him for another year. It's pretty simple. We think he's going to be good in our room and a valuable piece to what we're doing."
Three years ago is what I take from the above. Meaning that the Rangers supposed lack of focus on toughness is somewhat overblown. I think Reaves is here for his leadership and presence irrespective of the number of games he plays, We have hashed and re-hashed the wisdom of this acquisition and extension and I am hoping that the positives he brings to the equation are evident early and often.
Drury said Vitali Kravtsov isn't participating in the development camp because he's more "experienced" than other prospects. He's here and will participate in voluntary skates w/ NHL regulars, indicating his status has elevated. "We were excited with big parts of his game last year."
Kravtsov, Calder Trophy eligible, is penciled into the top-nine. The line on which he starts is up in the air, but I don't think any of us would be shocked if he is the second line right winger. Kravsov is being counted on to help replace some of the production lost in the Pavel Buchnevich trade. He benefits from the 20 games he played last year, as that should provide a nice springboard for him in terms of expectations and what's needed to succeed at this level. Now, the burden is on him to take a major step forward.
The Rangers Development Camp opens Friday:
With the team not participating in the Traverse City tournament, this will be the chance for the kids to show their stuff. New York does play Philly in a pair of games, as you will see below. In addition, the week-plus is highlighted by a pair of scrimmages on Sunday and Monday.
From the list of attendees, the defense is much more impressive than the forwards. Besides Lundkvist, Zac Jones, Braden Schneider and Matthew Robertson are also playing. I am looking forward to seeing Hunter Skinner. Up front, Brennan Otthman (2021 1st Rd). Karl Henriksson and Will Cuylle draw my interest. A sleeper is Brody Lamb, given his ridiculous production before he was drafted.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10: On ice testing
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12: Scrimmage 10AM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13: Scrimmage 11AM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18: Rookie Game vs. Philadelphia Flyers (MSG Training Center)…3:00 PM
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19: Rookie Game at Philadelphia Flyers (Skate Zone Voorhees)…5:00 PM
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