*Photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette*
Last season was a season of almost for the New York Rangers. The year they were supposed to emerge from a very quick rebuild and jump right back into playoff contention, with the stars seemingly aligned. Yeah, that didn't happen. They sputtered to the tune of a 27-23-6 record, finishing in 5th place in the MassMutual East Division. That reality, plus what they've done this winter, leads me to believe that they are one of, if not the biggest wild card in all of hockey.
First though, we have to look at what they've done this offseason. They changed their identity, from agile and offensive to grit and veteran based. Forwards Ryan Reaves, Greg McKegg, Sammy Blais, and Barclay Goodrow were added to boost the bottom six, and defensemen Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi added to bring more grit on defense. Blais came at the cost of scorer Pavel Buchnevich, traded to the Blues in exchange for Blais.
It wasn't just new players, they went out and overhauled their coaching staff as well. Head coach David Quinn and a few assistants gone at the end of the regular season. In to replace Quinn is Gerard Gallant, who most recently led the brand new Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley cup finals in their first year in the NHL. He's got a winning record in the playoffs, and seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Rangers.
One question can be found in net as well. Igor Shesterkin, recently signed to a nice shiny contract, has proven he is worthy of number one goalie minutes. He's very good. The big question is if he can stay healthy enough to be the number one all season. He missed a decent chunk of time with injuries last season, as well as at the tail end of his rookie season, before Covid-19 shut everything down. Alexandar Georgiev is a proven number two, but 3rd goalie is something they should get sorted out.
Something else they need to figure out is who's playing defense. Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox is still Adam Fox, which is a boon for the defense. But, outside of him and Jacob Trouba, they need to figure out who can really play. K'Andre Miller shows promise, but he needs another season to really grow. Outside of them, it's Anthony Bitetto, Ryan Lindgren, Nemeth, Tinordi, and Libor Hajek as the guys first in line for minutes. That's a lot of names and not a whole lot of numbers behind them.
The Rangers have lots of questions facing them this season. Who's gonna score goals outside the top line? How much grit is too much grit? How will Gallant lead the team? What's the backup plan at goalie? Who's playing defense? This makes the Rangers one of the biggest wild cards in the NHL. Everything could go perfect and they can return to the playoffs, or everything could fall apart again.
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