Evaluating the first month of the regular season is going to be interesting for the New York Rangers. More so than most playoff teams. In fact, the Rangers very well may enter the regular season under a level of scrutiny not seen in Madison Square Garden in quite some time. Between their elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Jacob Trouba saga of the offseason, it’s been far from a quiet offseason for Chris Drury and the organization. Some feelings were hurt and hard conversations were had. The Rangers enter this new season with much of the same team as last year, for better or for worse, with the same goal as last year, and the year before, and the year before that.
So how should the Rangers be evaluated in the first month of the season?
How the Rangers Should be Evaluated
Results Over Process
This is, perhaps, the most shallow way to evaluate the team, and it has indeed been, for the most part, the only way the team has been evaluated in the past: win no matter what. The Rangers have been masters at covering their warts with some individual performances, namely their goaltending. Igor Shesterkin has, ever since his arrival from Russia, been enough of a presence between the pipes that, even if the Rangers are getting walked all over by their opponent, they still have a chance to pull out the win because Shesterkin, more nights than not, give them a chance to win.
In the first month, this isn’t necessarily a bad way to evaluate the team. Chalking up the team’s performance to a simple “did they win” question can work early in the season because, frankly, a Stanley Cup champion isn’t crowned in October. It takes time for teams to round into form, so banking points as early as possible, especially how the Rangers did last season where they won 15 out of their first 20 games in a President’s Trophy campaign, is usually all that’s important.
Can the Rangers replicate that this season? Sure, there’s no reason why they couldn’t, but is that the best thing for this team? Chris Drury had the intention of drastically altering the make-up of this roster; it started with Barclay Goodrow and would have continued with Jacob Trouba, but we all know how that ended. So now, essentially, he’s stuck with the same team as last year, and the fans are stuck with the same team, too. Do they want to see that same team take the ice this October with the same warts and all?
Or do they want to see something different?
Process Over Results
What if the Rangers don’t get off to as hot of a start as they did last year? What if they show improvement across the board in their even strength play and offensive production, but fail to get the timely save? How much panic will there be in the fanbase?
Such is the unenviable position the New York Rangers are in: if they stumble out of the gate after last year’s end, the fanbase will be in a full-blown crisis with white hot takes flying around social media. And yet if they come out hot but appear much the same as last year, how much hope can the fanbase take from something like that?
In evaluating the first month of the season, this is where the true crux of the matter lies. The Rangers need to prove they’ve made a fundamental change to the x’s and o’s in their gameplan. Being a middling team at 5v5 offense generation and chance suppression, at best, will not suffice. How much can Peter Laviolette and his coaching staff affect such a change? For most fans, this will be the most scrutinized aspect of the opening month of games. It’s all well and good if the Rangers get out to a 15-5 start to the season, but if that start is mainly because Shesterkin (or Jonathan Quick) is bailing them out, or if the power play is red-hot to start the season, then questions like “how sustainable is it” starts to arise.
We’ve seen that story play out before. It’s been the same story for the last three years. At some point the Rangers are going to have to rely on more than just goaltending and the power play. Can this be the year where they figure it out?
That may depend on certain players.
Players to Watch Closely
Evaluating the first month of the season is not just limited to the team’s performance as a whole. There sure are a number of players that are going to require close attention this season. To no one’s surprise, they’re all names fans are familiar with.
Will Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider fix their five on five scoring woes? Their line was one of the more inconsistent lines on the team and often featured a revolving door of options at right wing. It’ll be interesting to see how Laviolette opens the season with these two. How much runway do they get this season? How much longer do you keep trying different options on the right side before evaluating the two whose “bromance” have made them inseparable on a line together? If the Rangers want to be a dynamic offensive threat, they need Zibanejad and Kreider to score. Simple as that.
There’s no reason to worry about Artemi Panarin this season until it’s the playoffs. Can Vincent Trocheck replicate his production from last year? To be honest, even that seems like the less important storyline of that breakout line that did a lot of the Rangers’ heavy lifting. Truthfully, the player to watch closely will be Alexis Lafreniere. What new heights can the former first overall draft pick take this season? Will he finally usurp a spot in the top power play unit this season?
This is the make-or-break year for Kaapo Kakko. Depending on his performance in these first few months, he might play himself into an extension. Or a deadline deal off the team come late June. It’s entirely up to him.
Speaking of Chytil, will he avoid any long-term injury this season? His career might depend on it.
Will Jacob Trouba rewrite the narrative surrounding him?
So How Should They Be Evaluated?
Like so many things, there’s no clear one way to answer this question. Some fans will care only about the results; just win games and figure everything else out later. There is some value to that, no doubt. It just might be the more short-sighted way to hold the team up to standard. That being said, it is better to secure points as early as possible rather than playing catch-up throughout the season.
But the Rangers need to show more than what they’ve shown over the last few years. There’s no denying the immense talent this team has from top to bottom. But the Rangers need to be more than just talent. They need to be more than just goaltending and power play.
The game isn’t just about metrics. Winning a Stanley Cup isn’t done through a computer screen. Like all things, the human element is still all too important. But metrics do play an important role in a team’s success. The Rangers need to pay serious attention to how they’re grading out in those categories when evaluating the first month.
Entering the 2024-25 season, the Rangers need to show more than what they’ve been. Players will need to step up. If they do, then the long-term picture for the team this season will be all the better.
If not? Well, then, you’ll at least just have to enjoy them in the moment.
Main Photo: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
