Just as there are 14 conference schools in the Big Ten, the Rangers’ bottom six has about 10 forwards that head coach Gerard Gallant will be able to choose from after Monday’s deadline maneuvering.
But there can only be five strikers in the top six who legitimately fit into that category, a fact of life exacerbated by the news that Kaapo Kakko will be out until at least the end of March before the Finn can return from a wrist injury. knocked him out of the game since January 21st.
At best, Kakko could have three weeks before the playoffs to get in shape and hone his time while trying to match the pace of the playoffs. This will be a challenge for him.
And it will be a test for the Rangers, who are so dependent on their top names in attack but have scored the fewest 5-on-5 goals of the 16 teams currently in the playoffs.
So in the near future, what you’ve seen in the last three games is probably what you’ll get: Mika Zibanejad between Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafrenière with free agent Ryan Strome waiting between Artemiy Panarin and Frank Vatrano.
Is it appropriate to note here that Panarin scored once in a five-on-five game in the last 19 games and twice in the last 28 matches? Or that in his last 23 matches, Strome has gone five-on-five without goals in nine consecutive games, scoring three goals? Or that Kreider has scored once in the last seven matches at full strength, while Zibanejad has scored eight in a row without a single goal, and in the last 26 games he has scored three goals? Is it appropriate to repeat here that the team has scored no more than two goals in 10 of the last 16 games?
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Chris DruryGetty Images
After Vancouver denied the Rangers the chance to get J.T. Miller, and then when the price of Anaheim’s Plan B (or C) Rickard Rackella rose beyond general manager Chris Drury’s comfort zone, it became the inevitable outcome. The top six will need as much support as possible from the bottom six.
Drury was able to add that support to the lineup by coming out of his first rodeo on deadline with coveted Winnipeg middle sixer Andrew Kopp and Vancouver bottom sixer Tyler Mott up front and with veteran Philadelphia right-back Justin Brown at the back end. And Drury did this without giving up any of the organization’s major assets in return.
Several draft picks were donated to the sacrifice over the next two seasons, including a couple of suspended seconds to the Jets in exchange for Kopp, one of whom would become this year’s first round player if the Blue Shirts made it to the conference finals. . It’s a compromise anyone would make.
Morgan Barron, a striker who simply couldn’t break into the roster, was sent to the Jets as part of the Kopp deal. This further dilutes the organizational pipeline in the middle, which seems almost bare. But let’s face it, if Drury and the hierarchy considered Barron a legitimate candidate, they would have found a way to keep him.
Tyler MottNHLI via Getty Images
Andrew KoppNHLI via Getty Images
Every middle-man who crosses a deadline is being compared to the 2020 version of Blake Coleman or Barclay Goodrow. Kopp, 27, has the versatility and advantage to be a facsimile and key third line component of, say, Goodrow and Chitila. Kopp’s attacking game also has enough positives to allow him to climb into the top six from time to time.
There is also this. Although Kopp is on loan, he could become one of the centerpieces of the club’s second tier next season if Strome escapes. I was recently informed by a third party that the contract renewal negotiations were “difficult”. So it will be sort of an audition for the product of the University of Michigan, who scored 35 points (13-22) in 56 games, playing mostly Nikolai Ehlers and Mark Scheifel. Kopp was also in the Jets’ first division in free throws.
If the top nine levels out as previously suggested, that would leave Mott, Dryden Hunt, Ryan Reeves, Johnny Brodzinski, Greg McKegg and Julien Gauthier playing musical chairs while Kevin Rooney, also sidelined for at least the rest of the month, won’t join the crowd. At the very least, there will be a few players in the non-mandatory practices.
Justin BrownAP
It’s unclear if Brown will push Braden Schneider into streetwear in the third pair, or if the defensively oriented 35-year-old, who played 12 years on the right side, will try to move to the left side, thus pushing Patrick Németh to the right side. arrangement.
Consider the following: Gallant usually puts Schneider in the last 10-12 minutes of the game. Nemeth’s time is also shortened at a critical moment. Bench shrinking becomes a problem in the postseason. Brown was also in the Flyers’ top division. Gallant may want to use him in place of Adam Fox in some shorthand situations to hit #23.
In keeping with the principle of protecting the future, Drury did well on Monday. Maybe a standing double.
To the dregs!