The Rangers start the Peter Laviolette era Thursday in Buffalo. After facing Columbus on the road Saturday, New York comes home Monday to face Arizona, then gets two days off prior to taking on Nashville at home Thursday. After, the next five games -the remainder of October - is spent on the road, the majority of which will be on the West Coast, including the three-game Western Canada swing.
Rangers hype video:
Rangers lineup in practice today will be the lineup Thursday:
Jimmy Vesey and Zac Jones skated as the extras. Vesey has to be wondering what happened. He parlayed a PTO last season into a one-year deal with New York. His play under former coach Gerard Gallant earned Vesey a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the Rangers in January. Now, after playing in 81 games in 2022-23, Vesey will be a healthy scratch. The "kids" are filling two right wing spots, Blake Wheeler was brought in, Will Cuylle earned a spot on the third line and Tyler Pitlick is filling the fourth line right wing spot.
New York enters the season with a 22-man roster and 675K of cap room. With Vesey and Jones as the reserves, if the Rangers have one injury up front and on the back line, they have replacements. Beyond that, they would have to play shorthanded unless they petition the league to allow an emergency move. If all stays the same, the Blueshirts could end up at the deadline with $3.1 million in cap room.
The #NYR opening roster appears set & has $675K Projected Cap Space with 22 active players (13F/7D/2G)
With no roster moves, this can fit $3.1M Annual Cap Hit at the deadline
A few keys to the season:
1) How quickly do the Rangers adapt to Laviolette's system. The key word here is system. We railed that Gallant lacked a true system, creating some anarchy and an inability to adjust. That is not the case here, as Laviolette uses a form of left wing lock but stresses puck possession and forechecking. That requires players to be in the right spots and read off each other to maximize the system and the roster talent. In addition, all the defensive burden is not on the blueliners, but the forwards have to back check but also make sure to be in the right position. This means, don't leave the front of the net open to chase the puck behind the net.
2) The Kids Are Alright - Filip Chytil took a major step forward last season but he has several higher levels he can reach. Kaako Kappo is scratching the surface of how good he can be and is viewed as the team's best breakout candidate. Then we reach the fanbase's whipping boy, Alexis Lafreniere. Laviolette is giving Laf every chance to succeed, playing him on a line to the right of Chytil and Artmei Panarin. If the three, or at least two of the three, have big seasons, the Blueshirts should be in good shape.
3) The bottom-six as a true bottom-six. The fourth line should to a certain extent be a grinding line. Barclay Goodrow can move up and down the lineup, but if the other nine skaters do what they are supposed to, then the fourth line can focus on just doing their job. That role will be getting pucks deep, playing physica and creating an identity that has been lacking on this team. The third line mixes a pair of big wingers in Cuylle and Wheeler with Trocheck, who has more than shown a willingness to take the body. If that line can cycle pucks deep and force the opponent to consistently turn and change direction and get worn down while also scoring as expected, then all of a sudden we have a bottom-six that is dangerous.
4) Jonathan Quick being passable. Notice I said passable, not necessarily good. The goal is not to overuse Igor Shesterkin, who played 58 games last season and is going for win #100 in Buffalo. Let's seay we max Igor at 55-60 games, that leaves 22-27 games that the backup has to play. Ask anyone right now if they have confidence in Quick and the answer will be a resounding no. Quick came cheap and he was a local product growing up. The jury is out if he can turn back the clock at all after falling off a cliff last season. If Benoit Allaire can work his magic and Quick is good enough, then this won't be a weakness. If not, then either Igor gets overused, Dylan Garard or Louis Domingue is promoted or Jaroslav Halak is re-signed. With the Eastern Conference already difficult and now including a few young teams on the rise, every point is precious. A few bad games from Quick and the concern meter will rise significantly
5) The D-pairings - Laviolette mixed up the defensive pairings to allow each player to skate opposite a new partner. The top-four, which is what we will see tomorrow, remains the same as last year. But that may not be set in stone if Miller-Trouba struggles as they did last year. Erik Gustfasson, who played for Lavy last year in Washington, earned the sixth d-man spot over Jones. I expect Braden Schneider to be closer to the blueliner we saw down the stretch and in the playoffs following his promotion in 2021-22 rather than the one who had a step back last year. Defenseman growth is not linear and Scheider should benefit from playing opposite Gustafsson.
6) In-game adjustments - a foreign concept the last two years, this is where the new coaching staff should help. Laviolette is a hands-on coach who will pick up modifications that need to be made from the bench and implement changes. Phil Housely, Don Muse and Michael Peca all will provide different skill sets and focus from the bench and on the ice during practice. My hope is that Peca helps with faceoffs and energy right from the opening puck drop, which we all know have been two issues the last several seasons.
7) Let the lines marinate Gallant was notorious for changing trios at the drop of a hat or it just seemed that way. With new combinations and a new system, Laviolette has to allow some time for the players to build chemistry with one another. Make changes if needed be but not as a knee-jerk reaction.
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