The Rangers have come a long way since the rebuild, especially on the back end building from the ground up following the days of Girardi, McDonagh and Staal. In the blink of an eye, what was once a major concern for the Rangers seems to be a strong suit of there’s as their pairings have been quite consistent throughout the season. Now with COVID issues arising, different guys are getting different looks and that includes a better view at the Rangers blueliners.
First, let’s take a look at their depth chart:
Ryan Lindgren Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth Nils Lundkvist
Libor Hajek Jarred Tinordi
Zac Jones Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson Tarmo Reunanen
Anthony Bitetto Hunter Skinner
Thus far this season, the Rangers have used nine of those twelve defenders with Reunanen making appearances in the taxi squad and most recently, Braden Schneider being assigned to the active roster. With Scheneider impressing in Hartford and likely getting a crack at the NHL and the pressure of improving the team for a playoff run increasing, the Rangers may have to make some moves that may include some talented prospects on the back end.
Who’s Safe?
This is for sure the easy answer as Adam Fox is without a doubt the Rangers guy for the next eight years. You can’t script a better story, the hometown kid forcing his hand to New York to win the Norris Trophy at such a young age, establishing himself not only as one of the team's most important players, but one of the league's best. Along with Foxy, Trouba is locked up for the next six years with a modified no trade clause. Between his steady, veteran presence and locked-in contract, it’s safe to assume he will be the shutdown right defender on the second pairing behind Fox for years to come, barring any major declines that result in a trade or buyout situation down the line.
The next name that comes to mind is Adam Fox’s left hand man, roommate and most underrated Rangers player, Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren is signed through the next couple of seasons and has perfect chemistry with Adam Fox on that top pair. His style of play is almost reminiscent of Rangers great Dan Girardi, which is both a blessing and a curse. The biggest concern regarding Lindgren’s future is how long will his tough, “ready to bleed and block shots” style of play be able to hold up for? Frankly, this shouldn’t be as big of a concern as one may think. Lindgren is only 23 and is under contract through 26. Assuming he only gets better and maintains his presence in the Rangers top four over the next couple of years, I don’t see why signing him to a three, four, even five year extension, keeping him in New York through his prime is an outrageous plan? He’s a more than effective player with leadership qualities that the Rangers can truly benefit from in their five year plan.
When predicting the future, the biggest issue for the Rangers is the salary cap, and it’s players like K’Andre Miller, one of the Rangers prized prospect possessions, who will be impacted by these decisions. Miller has two years left on his entry level deal and growing pains aside, is already proving to be a top four defender, locking in with his partner Jacob Trouba. If you want to worry about cap space down the line, Miller still has plenty of time to prove he’s worth the big bucks. If things continue down this path, trading Miller may be the more likely scenario then Lindgren being forced out of town.
Lundkvist vs. Schneider
With Fox and Trouba locked in for the next 6-7 years, it’s hard to imagine that both Braden Schneider and Nils Lundkvist will find long term housing in New York unless one of them gets comfortable playing on their off-hand. Lundkvist, who has a year on Schneider, was the favorite out of camp, making the team to start the season. While he hasn’t blown us away the way Adam Fox has, he has certainly made positive strides. Despite some bumps along the road including some nights spent in the press box, he will now have the chance to continue his development and see lots of ice time, including power play time with the Wolf Pack in Hartford.
As for Braden Schneider, who has impressed in his early campaign with Hartford, collecting nine assists in 24 games while maintaining a +/- of 6 as one of their top blueliners, he will now get his chance at the NHL after being moved to the active roster in place of Lundkvist. Schneider, who was a 19th overall draft pick by the Rangers in 2020, has plenty of promise, with the potential to be a Jacob Trouba Jr with an even higher ceiling. Regardless, it’s a good problem to have and far too early to tell which of the two is the better long term investment. It’ll be good for both guys to get different looks with different opportunities, but also poses the question of what each of their future holds on the crowded blue line.
Zac Jones, Libor Hajek and the Rest of The Bunch
Lost in the deep pool of defensive talent is Zac Jones who is essentially the odd man out with veteran depth pieces Patrik Nemeth and Jarred Tinordi being mainstays with the varsity squad. On top of that, the Rangers are still holding onto Libor Hajek for dear life. I’ve written about this before, Libor Hajek has done everything the Rangers have asked from him, I’m sure he’s a great kid and I hope he goes on to make an impact in the NHL. However, it is just painfully obvious that is not going to happen in New York. With how deep this teams defensive talent runs there just isn’t room in the teams plans, long or short term for Hajek. I understand not wanting to lose him for nothing but at the end of the day, what are we gaining from holding on to him? If he gets claimed on waivers, all the best to him, the team will be fine.
In a perfect world, Jones should be one of the Rangers seven defenders. The Rangers brought in Patrik Nemeth to be this steady presence on the back end as well as a mentor to the young guys like Nils Lundkvist. At this point in time, with Jones playing the way he has and if Schneider has early success in his call up, why not give a rookie pairing a shot and run Nemeth as the extra defender? Realistically, there’s a pretty good chance the Rangers D squad can appear as follows through 2023:
Ryan Lindgren Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones Braden Schneider
Patrik Nemeth
This still leaves guys like Matthew Robertson, Tarmo Reunanen and Hunter Skinner in the prospect mix as well, making the possibility of a guy like Nils Lundkvist, or one of K’Andre Miller/Zac Jones getting dealt if the opportunity presents itself. We talk about the Rangers window for winning and while for many it may seem like it’s just opening now, this season could be the one real chance they have to go “all in”.
This could be the last season the Rangers truly have cap flexibility to be big buyers at the deadline and while that may be risky, who’s to say it’s not the right call? Let’s spitball and get crazy for a second, what if trading Lundkvist and Miller brought in a William Nylander from Toronto? Lundkvist, Hajek and a first for Brock Boeser from Vancouver? I’d even consider losing a young defenseman and a pick for Jonathan Marchessault from Vegas if it meant the Rangers really went for it this season. Chris Drury will have plenty of options at the deadline and I’ll likely go into more of those hypotheticals in a different piece but for now, the balls are in New York’s court as they will have to begin to think about where to go from here as they officially begin to push for playoff runs.
Chris Feldman
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