In what seemed like an innocent roster move to allow Kravtsov the opportunity to continue developing, assigning him to the AHL has turned into a bit of an asset management disaster. After not making the New York Rangers opening night roster, Vitali Kravtsov was sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Gerard Gallant felt that he would benefit from the time in the minors to start the season and assuming he did well, he would likely be called up further down the road of this season. Vitali has been down that road before with the last batch of coaching staff in New York, decidedly so, realized that’s not something he wants to go through again. With that, he and his camp have decided to refuse the assignment to the Wolf Pack, and has been granted permission to explore potential trade options.
The Good:
Obviously this is a less than ideal situation, however there’s always a bright side somewhere. In this case, the brightside is depth players like Sammy Blais, Julien Gauthier and Dryden Hunt have all turned some heads and proved their worth to this team. Sammy Blais has a lot of value that I think many fans are kind of sleeping on and with how he performed in preseason in mind, he could get more all around use than Rangers fans may have been expecting. A similar sort of theory can be applied to Dryden Hunt. He’s only six feet tall but he plays the game like he’s got an extra five inches on him, he plays the game with energy and can provide a little bit of everything in a depth role. Lastly, Rangers fans spent all of last season begging for Julien Gauthier to get more of a chance and as of right now, it looks like he’s the next in line guy.
The Bad:
I’ll reiterate how less than ideal of a situation this is, it can’t be overstated. Vitali Kravtsov has been one of our young guns with the most promise since the rebuild started and it seems like overnight he has joined Lias Andersson in the soiled prospect relationship category. Now there’s a lot to digest with this situation because while it is another poor example of asset management by the organization, there’s also reasoning behind why the team made the decision they did.
My biggest issue with the situation is when all the cards are on the table, the real reason Vitali Kravtsov didn’t make this team to start the season is because the Rangers didn’t want to put Libor Hajek on waivers. Sure, that’s good asset management to avoid putting a waiver eligible player on waivers. However, when the price you have to pay in order to accomplish that is the relationship with a former top ten draft pick, that’s when it becomes disastrous. Personally, I’m not a fan of carrying eight defensemen in general unless there’s a really good reason to do so. Libor Hajek is not a very good reason. It’s almost like the organization is trying to overcorrect and force the belief that the McDonagh/Miller trade wasn’t a total wash. Namestnikov didn’t work out, they finally moved on from Howden and now it’s like they’re refusing to move on from Hajek unless they get a return to add some sense of justification. The Rangers are stacked on defense, if we lose Hajek for nothing, it’s not the end of the world. That trade already doesn’t look great, a return for Hajek really won’t change much.
I understand the Rangers not using Kravtsov for opening night, it’s obvious they want to go with their biggest, baddest, toughest lineup possible. However, why not go with him for the home opener? Especially considering the first two games of the season are back to back? Again, I can understand guys like Gauthier and Hunt forcing themselves into the lineup over Kravtsov but at the same time, Kravtsov had a solid preseason and scored a pretty goal in the final game coming off injury. Perhaps management wasn’t transparent enough with their plans for Vitali regarding the assignment to Hartford but either way, this all could’ve been avoided by cutting Hajek loose.
The Ugly:
For as much as this situation doesn’t reflect well on the Rangers, it’s arguably just as ugly on Kravtsov. This isn’t the first time he’s handled a demotion poorly and regardless of whether or not it’s what he deserved, he has to be a professional and show he can handle it. Chris Kreider did it earlier in his career, Filip Chytil did it more recently, when you get sent down, you have to just put your nose to the grindstone and play your game. I understand his frustration and I certainly felt he should’ve made the team but at the end of the day, he’s still young and still has to prove his keep night in and night out.
Now both parties are in a tough situation. Whatever trade value Kravtsov had has certainly taken a hit given the circumstances. The Rangers ability to draft and develop talents is also now being put into question, especially considering this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Granted, Vitali’s situation is a little different. The Rangers didn’t have Artemi Panarin, Kaapo Kakko or Alexis Lafreniere when they drafted him. Those are three wing positioned names that are solidified into the Rangers future for the next 6+ years and as far as the near future is concerned, Chris Kreider is still in that mix as well. If Kravtsov and his agent believe he is ready for a top six role, that’s just not a possibility in New York for at least another three or four years.
The Conclusion:
No matter how you slice it, no matter who’s to blame, this situation just sucks. Part of the reason we traded Buchnevich was to open the door for guys like Kravtsov and now it looks like the only door he’s opening is the one out to W 33rd and out of the city. It’ll be interesting to see how the situation will be resolved and with that, how soon. Will the Rangers try to package Kravtsov and Hajek in a trade? Will we use Kravtsov to revisit Eichel negotiations? Will Kravtsov just go back to the KHL? Who knows. What I do know is the Rangers want to win now and because of that, some tough decisions are going to be made. This organization makes it hard, but we have to trust the process and understand the pressure to win now is ever increasing.
Chris Feldman
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