It has been a busy offseason for the New York Rangers. Chris Drury has seen key players walk away this summer but has implemented the roster with impactful veterans. Furthermore, younger players such as Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere should see increased roles. One key element on the lineup will be what the Rangers power play looks like. Let’s take a deep dive into what the options will be for new Head Coach Peter Laviolette.
How The Rangers Powerplay Should Line Up This Upcoming Season
With the addition of former Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler, the Blueshirts look to continue their success on the powerplay.
The Rangers have a few crucial on-ice decisions to make before the start of the upcoming season. The first decision was made when the organization hired Laviolette as the 37th head coach in the franchise’s history.
Peter Laviolette makes sure he smiles for his opening introduction as Rangers head coach pic.twitter.com/Lj1oBDzo0v
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) June 20, 2023
Now, it’s time for the Broadway Blueshirts to dive deeper into the “nitty gritty” and figure out the 20 names that will hit the ice on October 12th when the Rangers head upstate to Buffalo when they take on the Sabres in the first game of 2023-24 regular season.
The Majority of the Rangers Powerplay is Locked and Loaded For a Long Time
We are all aware of this team’s core and who will be calling Madison Square Garden home for the foreseeable future. Artemi Panarin is here to stay. Adam Fox is here to stay. Mika Zibanejad is here to stay. Chris Kreider? You guessed it, he’s also here to stay. The defensive core is pretty much set in stone with the offseason addition of Erik Gustafsson, the offence is dealing with two significant losses in the form of their biggest moves at the past trade deadline: Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.
Now, it is still a possibility that Kane can make a return to Broadway (if they can move some money around). For Tarasenko, the reunion is no longer possible with him signing a 1yr/$5M deal with the Ottawa Senators. Kane’s departure leaves a hole in one of the most prominent spots in the lineup: the RW on the first powerplay unit. Who fills that spot? A grizzled veteran or a youngster trying to find his groove?
First Unit Prediction: Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafrenière-Panarin-Fox
The first unit for the Rangers power play is a stacked unit. Now I know that a lot of heads will be spinning with this decision, but it is fair to say that we as hockey fans have not seen the best of Alexis Lafrenière just yet. The 2023-24 season could be the breakout year for the former 1st overall pick from Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL.
Average fans and consumers just care about statistics and not the little things that writers, analysts, and broadcasters look at from game to game. If you look at Lafrenière’s style of play from the past few years, he is a very intelligent player and always knows what to do with the puck before he receives it. A spot on the first powerplay unit will be a saving grace for the 21-year-old forward.
Second Unit Prediction: Wheeler-Trocheck-Kakko-Chytil-Trouba
This is the perfect spot for newly acquired forward Blake Wheeler: a spot on a unit with his former teammate Jacob Trouba. Now it is just factual that the second unit does not play nearly enough as the first unit, but this unit can make the most of less than a minute on the man-advantage. With snipers on both wings in the form of Wheeler and Filip Chytil, a playmaking centre in Vincent Trocheck, a strong puck-moving forward in Kakko, and a defenceman with one heck of a slapshot in Trouba, this second unit can surprise a lot of people this season if the first unit comes up short.
Laviolette Needs Two Balanced Units
One idea that should be implemented by Laviolette and the new staff is splitting time evenly among the two groups. There were countless times last season under former coach Gerard Gallant where the top unit would stay out for the entirety of the man advantage. A stronger second powerplay unit will provide that occasional “spark” when needed. A veteran like Wheeler will do wonders for the youngsters like Chytil and Kakko.
With two evenly distributed units, one highlighted by your top offensive point producers and the other by the 36-year-old Wheeler, the Rangers’ powerplay unit can find itself back home, resting in the top quarter of the National Hockey League.
Main Photo: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
