For the longest time now, it has seemed as if the Rangers and Alain Vigneault had seven top-six forwards at their disposal, with the coach deciding between rookies Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey for the spot on the left side of the second unit.
But as the long and winding season has worn on, the kids appear to have worn down due to a sheer lack of physical strength as opposed to any issues related to talent or work ethic. The Rangers have two very good young ones here, but neither may be ready for a lead position for the grind of a long playoff run.
So what if, in actuality, the Blueshirts only have five legitimate top-six forwards as they approach the tournament as a Stanley Cup hopeful whose chances may depend on their draw?
Well, March 1, that’s what.
Look, the Rangers’ primary need heading into the trade deadline remains that elusive, upper-echelon top-pair right defenseman they’ve lacked since wear turned Dan Girardi into a D more suited to sheltering than matchup duty alongside Ryan McDonagh. But we’ve been through this before. The likelihood of general manager Jeff Gorton threading that needle in a haystack over the next 13 days without depleting the club’s signature depth up front is nil.
But acquiring — or more specifically, renting a winger — is a much more realistic assignment should the general manager choose to accept it.
Just so there is no confusion: Of course J.T. Miller qualifies as a top-six forward who easily could slide into one of the Rangers’ top-two lines, but that would create a significant void on the third unit, where Miller, Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner have unique chemistry.
So Miller stays where he is, leaving the relatively interchangeable top five of Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad in need of a complementary sixth for the playoffs who doesn’t necessarily require the pedigree of a 40-goal man but preferably would bring some jam with him to a team that leans a little too heavily to the finesse side of the equation.
Thursday night’s Belmont Stakes in Brooklyn against the Islanders, for which Buchnevich was a healthy scratch after having his ice time dwindle over the last week, will provide a good test for the Rangers, who almost always absorb physical punishment from their neighbors.
The Blueshirts are talented and resolute enough to win regularly when they get the goaltending they expect from Henrik Lundqvist. There is no doubt about it. This is a nice team.
But nice hockey gets you only so far in the playoffs, and so does tic-tac-toe hockey that is dependent on time and space. If Gorton is going to rent a top-six, better the GM find an abrasive personality than a pure-skill winger.
Which brings us to the semi-notorious Alexandre Burrows, the soon-to-be 35-year-old who spent much of his career in Vancouver playing with and riding shotgun for the Sedins (Henrik and Daniel) while Vigneault was behind the bench. This season, he most often has played with talented young studs Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi.
Burrows once bit off more than he could chew in a seven-game defeat to a less talented Bruins team in the 2011 final in which the Canucks were strangely muted over the final five games. It should serve the coach as a reminder sandpaper is an essential ingredient for a championship.
The winger, who has 20 points (9-11) off a four-point weekend that featured a throwback dustup with Buffalo goaltender Robin Lehner, has a no-trade clause. It is not known whether the impending free agent would waive it to come to New York after 12 years in Vancouver, but its existence prevents the Canucks from holding a full-scale auction for him. Thus, the price shouldn’t be exorbitant.
What does that mean? Good question, but the Rangers are going to have to give up something. A third-rounder probably wouldn’t get it done. One of their seconds next year, when they also own Ottawa’s No. 2? Oscar Lindberg, if the Blueshirts believe that Marek Hrivik could center the fourth line off his impressive 16-game audition earlier this winter?
Would that be too much to fill a pothole that might not have existed a few weeks ago but realistically needs to be filled if the underdog Rangers are going to travel the long road of the playoffs?
Probably not.