Regarding the Rangers, who somehow seem destined to compile a poorer post-deadline record than last year’s remnants of a team:
1. Despite playing for a coach in Alain Vigneault who was not terribly invested by that point and putting out a lineup that included defensemen Ryan Sproul, Rob O’Gara and John Gilmour and forwards David Desharnais and Paul Carey — a quintet that has not played a second of NHL hockey this season since Carey was sent to the AHL by Ottawa after five games — the Rangers went 7-9-3 after tearing the team asunder a year ago.
This year, with David Quinn coaching as if it were the first half of November with his team occupying a playoff position, the Blueshirts have gone 1-2-4 since both Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello were sent away.
So Chris Kreider’s rather extended walkabout in which he was bounced off the first line, shuttled to the fourth unit for a time and has settled well, who knows where, either complicates the issue or confirms it for management.
Because no one can tell me this stretch in which the winger has no goals and two assists in the last seven at exactly the wrong time is not going to factor considerably in the decision whether to sign Kreider to a pricey, long-term contract extension or trade the 28-year-old (as of April 30) at the draft before he gets into his walk year.
But you know what, too? A couple of those games where Did You See Chris was followed only by a question mark should not have been enough for Quinn to separate Kreider from Mika Zibanejad, himself with no goals and two assists in the last half-dozen matches.
2. If my math is correct, Tony DeAngelo made it through six weeks and 17 games without needing correction for another breach of behavioral conduct.
And this is supposed to represent progress?
Are the Rangers and Ranger fans honestly supposed to feel good about this?
DeAngelo is 23, not 18 or 19. This is his fourth season of pro hockey. And, given the opportunity of a lifetime to play first pair in the NHL, the New Jersey native could not make it through two months without being bounced from the lineup for being unable to meet one of the coach’s “non-negotiable” principles.
The conundrum the Blueshirts face going forward with this pending restricted free agent (without arbitration rights) is weighing his immaturity against the tantalizing lure and promise of his talent he displayed through those last 17 games on the top matchup pair before sitting out Monday’s 3-2 overtime defeat in Edmonton.
DeAngelo’s package of skills is not only elite, it stands out on a team that is sorely lacking in the highest-end NHL talent. So the Rangers try to believe and they put in the time and effort with the righty defenseman.
But as far as being able to count on No. 77 as a building block for this operation, not so much.
3. New Rule: No more hype from anyone in the organization about Lias Andersson’s great off-the-ice progress because, honestly, it only serves to set up everyone for what at this point is an inevitable and almost immediate letdown.This is a player who was rated highly by every organization in the NHL, even if not to the extreme where the Rangers had the center at seventh-overall in 2017. At this still-early stage, however, Andersson’s game in the SEL and for Sweden in international competition has not translated to the Broadway stage.
Of course there is room for improvement, of course it is ludicrous to write him off at the age of 20 and it serves no purpose to relitigate the draft, but Andersson appears to lack explosiveness in his skating and creativity in his game. Oh, is this the part where I’m bound by law to credit his competitiveness and work ethic?
Then, too, getting under 10 minutes a night on the fourth line as Andersson was awarded in the three games (declining from 9:16 to 8:57 to 6:59) before being designated as a healthy scratch against the Oilers wouldn’t seem to present the optimum opportunity for success.
I not only understand Quinn’s commitment to approaching these games as meaningful ones and using the rest of the season as a platform for next season, but endorse it, and won’t the coach sleep easier knowing that?
But is it honestly the worst idea to give Andersson a shot at playing top-six (maybe with Vladislav Namestnikov and either Ryan Strome or Jesper Fast) and see whether he can elevate his game when surrounded by better players and given more responsibility?
What is there to lose other than another game?