Welcome to your New York Rangers offseason grades! It ultimately did not end the way the organization wanted it to, but there was a lot of jog and excitement. It is summertime for the Rangers, but that does not mean we cannot reminisce on the season. Today we will look at Niko Mikkola’s offseason grade.
New York Rangers Offseason Grade
Report Card: Niko Mikkola
This next New York Rangers offseason grade was a deadline acquisition. The first splash general manager Chris Drury made was for Vladimir Tarasenko. However, part of the deal saw the Rangers acquire defensemen to further boost the back end. It is a pretty good prize for parting ways with struggling forward Sammy Blais. Standing at 6’4 209 pounds, the big defensemen would help bolster the third pair on the Rangers. Mikkola has been in the league for four total seasons and would spend the second half of the year with New York. Let’s take a look to see how he did in Ranger Blue.
The Season
This is a player who is not known for his offensive production. In 50 games with the St Louis Blues, Mikkola had just three assists. When he got to New York, he went on to score one goal and two assists. His point production was the same and he went on to finish with six points for the season. However, that is not what he was brought in for.
In the event to add more physicality and size, that is exactly what Chris Drury got. Mikkola is a player that plays to his size as he recorded 151 hits. In addition, he fits in nicely and finished the year with 106 blocked shots. However, there is one area that was a sore spot for him on the ice. Mikkola was a turnover machine and finished the season with 34 giveaways. To make matters worse, 28 of them were in the defensive zone.
Mikkola got outworked when he was on the ice. The opponents feasted on the team in shot attempts (39% Corsi for), and the expected goals were not in his favour. Mikkola is not known for generating offence and it showed when he was on the ice. In a sense, you got what you paid for in size, but was not very effective overall.
The Playoffs
As evident in the regular season, this part of the New York Rangers offseason grade does not change. The needle did not thread much at all. Like much of the team, they got outplayed in most areas on the ice. New Jersey just kept coming like a tidal wave. Mikkola went on to have just two assists in the seven-game series against New Jersey. Like many others on the roster, shot attempts were not in his favour (45% Corsi For), and the ability to generate chances was against him as well (47.1%). Not a recipe for success at all. His metrics got a bit better in the playoffs but were still not great. Keeping this one as simple as it can get; Mikkola was not bad but was not impactful either.
The Verdict
This New York Rangers offseason grade is as simple as it can be. Chris Drury got a throw-in with the Tarasenko trade in an area where he was looking to improve the roster. Mikkola was not the most effective player but he was a big body. The experiment on the top pair with Adam Fox was bad, but he was serviceable with Braden Schneider. Mikkola is a pending free agent and there is no telling if he will be back in New York.
Grade: D+
All stats come from Money Puck
Main Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
