NY Rangers 2022-23 Season Primer: The Forwards
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Last week I covered the Rangers back end as the first part of my season primer. Barring injury there's really not much in terms of risk or concern there. Zac Jones can't be any worse than any 6th defender they had a season ago while the veteran Jaro Halak seems more adept at playing second-fiddle to Shesterkin between the pipes than Georgiev was. Otherwise, the rest of the defensive corps are in/entering their primes & should build upon what they've been able to accomplish so far. Up front though is where they'll need to take a collective step forward if this squad plans to put themselves in favorable playoff position and make another run. They relied too much on their top guns & deadly PP to finish 17th in league scoring as a team. The time is now for some new blood to pitch in as secondary options & make this group a deeper, more dangerous one for opponents to handle.
The Core
Zibanejand, Kreider, Panarin, Trocheck - these four guys are the unquestioned leaders of the forward group & you know exactly what you're gonna get. The Zib/Kreids bromance continues to blossom and they'll continue to carry the load. Zibanejad is a lock to push 30+ goals & a point-per-game pace while Kreider, despite a bit of likely regression, will once again be one of the league's top finishers. They're a reliable two-way duo who are key cogs on an elite PP1 unit & last year morphed into a "power kill" PK tandem that generated 4 shorties. Wherever Gallant chooses to roll them out, they're dangerous.
Panarin & Trocheck are a little less of a "lock" but mostly because chemistry like Mika/CK or Bread had with Strome doesn't magically happen overnight. It may take some time. I don't anticipate any season-long problems though. Trocheck is at least as equal an offensive talent as Strome was and an improvement everywhere else. Trocheck's sandpaper play & defensive prowess should open up more opportunity for Panarin to cut loose & get back to the wizardry fans missed throughout the Blueshirts' postseason run. His even-strength production took a dip but Trocheck's presence should right the ship. The only question I have is what impact will Panarin have on his new pivot. I don't think he gets enough credit offensively, but Vinny's got a 31/44/75 season in his pocket and two seasons ago was nearly a point-per-game guy over 47 contests. 60+ points, something Strome never did, seems likely in his 2C debut on Broadway.
The Glue
Barclay Goodrow was inked after a couple Cups in Tampa to be the ultimate glue guy & he did just that last year. Goodrow is capable of playing any forward position, on any line - although in a perfect world the Rangers would love to keep him as the anchor to their bottom six. Sammy Blais is similar in his versatility outside of Goodrow's prime role on the penalty kill. Another guy whose spot should be firmly entrenched in the bottom six but has enough skill to go along with his wrecking ball style & play above his head if the team needs it. Blais' biggest issue? Health. After PK Slewbban took out his ACL a year ago, it looks like he'll miss opening night with an upper-body injury. He's certainly not Pavel Buchnevich but I have no doubt Blais can play a big part on this squad & become a fan favorite if he can just stay on the ice.
The other glue spots will be occupied by newcomer Ryan Carpenter and Round 2 of Jimmy Vesey. Vesey came to camp on a PTO with nothing promised & showed a hard-nosed, responsible skillset the Blueshirts couldn't let go of. The hype around his NHL recruitment back in 2016 put unattainable expectations on the kid but he's rebuilt his game & become a player Gallant will seemingly rely on to help give him a 4th line that he can deploy with purpose, not reluctance. He'll also help round out their PK along with centerman Ryan Carpenter. The veteran won't bring much in terms of offense but is a quality checker, defender & faceoff guy who the Rangers are hoping can help keep the ice a little less tilted against them than we've seen with 4th lines of the past.
The Wildcards
These four right here will have the biggest say as to whether or not the Blueshirts build on last year's improbable success. It doesn't necessarily have to be all of them - although that'd be awesome - but at least two of their former first-round picks (Lafreniere, Kakko, Chytil, Kravtsov) need to grow from passengers to drivers. How they'll do it is anyone's guess as Gallant has jumbled his lines non-stop looking for combos he likes. Everyone assumed Lafreniere would slot next to Zibanejad, but instead we saw the Kid Line together & Sammy Blais there. We've seen Kravtsov get the majority of time playing on the second line but also got a peek at Vesey there. Now it looks like we'll see Kaapo Kakko on the top trio, Kravtsov staying put with Panarin/Trocheck while Lafreniere & Chytil stick together on the third. A lot of movement, but that's what camp is for.
It was a longshot for the Rangers and Kravtsov to be playing nice after last season's unceremonious breakup, but Krav was here early putting in the work and by all accounts has significantly matured. Still, his play on the ice has left a lot to be desired so far. No one else has really blown the doors off on the right side though so here's to hoping that offensive talent can finally show itself. He won't have a better opportunity than on a line with Artemi Panarin. Meanwhile, Filip Chytil is coming off a hell of a playoff run and while a promotion up the lineup was never in the cards he'll still be relied upon to drive their third line and ramp up production. It was only two seasons ago where he put up 8/14/22 in 42 games without the help of a single PPP. If he can simply match that 5x5 scoring pace and their PP2 can chip in a bit, a 40+ point campaign would be about as big a contribution as you could ask for from a 3C. No one's questioning whether he's got the skill to do it. It's consistency which, after a confidence building postseason, I expect Chytil to finally find.
Being flanked by Lafreniere should help. Laf was another one who seemingly found a new level of confidence to his game and is primed to take a big leap this season. Perhaps it won't be as big as the prospect of playing next to Mika & Kreider led a lot of us to believe, but their top six isn't where they need the most help. With all the young talent on this roster they should be capable of putting together a third line that can take advantage of the favorable matchups they'll see with opponents keying in on their main weapons. So at least to start this season, Laffy is tasked with hopefully having bottled what he put on display during the playoffs & giving the Rangers exactly that. If he & Chytil can, this squad becomes an entirely different monster.
The biggest surprise to come out of the preseason if you ask me is top-line Kaapo Kakko. Surely didn't see that one coming after three partial seasons of lackluster offense from a kid who was pegged to make an immediate impact after he was drafted. The kid is ripping the puck though & has given us a glimpse of the incredible skillset a lot of us started to think we might never see. While he's been a highly capable player without the puck for the start of his pro career, it looks as though he'll get first crack at piling up points as the top line's third wheel. If you asked me coming into camp to rank these four in terms of scoring potential, I'd have put him Kakko last without hesitation. There's nothing I'd like more than to be dead wrong. He's already got the difficult part down. If he all of a sudden breaks out & produces like a top-line winger he'd easily be the Bluesirts biggest, most welcome surprise of the year.
They've all got ample opportunity. Two are on lines with elite NHL talent while the other two are teaming up together after a taste of success a year ago to hopefully pummel opposing lines that can't match their skill. They may shuffle around a bit in these spots but I simply can't imagine how a couple of these kids don't turn a huge corner this year - and when they do, so do the Rangers. I just know it.
VIVA LA BLUESHIRTS!!!