The Rangers still look like a club full of unanswered questions, and that much is hard to dodge.
One of the biggest ones centers on Alexis Lafrenière. Aiden Saavedra didn’t hold back, calling the 2020 first overall pick “a disappointment in a class with Kaapo Kakko, picked second overall in 2020,” and saying, “At some point it will be time to realize that Laffy is not working out. When that happens, trade him for a couple of draft picks - or prospects.”
That’s too soon, in my view. Lafrenière finished strong, and after that homestretch run, now is not the moment to move him. Players of the caliber of Guy Lafleur and Jean Beliveau took three years to settle in and start producing at a higher level, and I expect Laffy to have his best success this year.
The other question is what Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pavel Dorofeyev can do for the offense. Saavedra believes they’ll matter right away, saying, “They bring talent and offense,” and adding, “as well as leadership.
This club needs leaders like these two arrivals. If the Blueshirts make the playoffs, all the better since that's when Dorofeyev plays his best.”
That may be jumping ahead. There’s no way to know how Bjorkstrand and Dorofeyev will handle the Rangers’ “culture,” if that’s even the right word for a dressing room where the “culture” has been losing.
Dorofeyev had premium setup men in Vegas, with Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel helping feed him those passes. He won’t have that same kind of support with the Blueshirts, so the best move here is patience.
As I’d put it, caution is the key - and, by the way, it can’t be bought at Trader Joe’s.
In Other News...
Rangers Top Prospect Is Forcing A Decision Sooner Than Expected
Alberts Smits has already given the Rangers something to think about. After a productive season in Finlands Liiga and a stint in Germanys DEL playoffs, the young defenseman has pushed himself into the conversation as a player who might be closer to the NHL than many expected when New York took him to help shape the blue line of the future.
Now comes the part the Rangers did not need to confront quite so soon. Preseason will be the real test for Smits, with the organization trying to determine whether he can handle NHL minutes right away or whether more seasoning overseas still makes the most sense as his development continues. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Enter Camp With One Huge Question About This New Core
The Rangers open a shortened training camp with a lot more new faces and a lot fewer familiar answers. After a busy stretch that brought changes in ownership, management and the roster, Mike Sullivan is taking over a group that also has to move on from key departures like Artemi Panarin and Jonathan Quick while trying to make room for additions such as Marcus Pettersson and Joonas Korpisalo.
Sullivans first real challenge is figuring out how all of it fits together before the games start to count. The forward combinations are still being sorted out, and the blue line has its own reshuffling to do, with the Rangers trying to settle into a look that can get them back to the playoffs. For a team built around a new core, camp may be short, but the questions are anything but. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Backup Goalie Decision Is Already Stirring Up Fan Debate
The Rangers offseason goalie picture is already a source of frustration for a segment of the fan base, and it is easy to see why. The team moved to bring in veteran Joonas Korpisalo as the backup to Igor Shesterkin, a decision that immediately raised questions about both the price of the deal and what it means for a prospect like Dylan Garand, who had seemed to be working his way toward a bigger role in the organization.
Korpisalos recent performance has only added to the skepticism, while Garands situation has become more complicated as the roster picture tightens up. He is no longer waiver-exempt, which means the Rangers cannot simply shuffle him down without consequence if they want to carry him through camp, and that gives the backup battle a little more intrigue than a routine insurance move usually brings. [Read more 🡒]