We are around a month away from Peter Laviolette’s first training camp as coach of the Rangers.
With a slightly retooled roster from the one that was unceremoniously eliminated by the Devils in the first round of the playoffs in April, in particular missing the slew of trade deadline additions GM Chris Drury made in hopes of a title run, it will be an intriguing few weeks beyond the introduction of the new man behind the bench.
The Rangers come in with the same championship expectations as last season, but will be more heavily reliant on their younger players and on a group of free agents signed by Drury to try to paper over the team’s holes.
Here are the five most important players coming into camp.
Alexis Lafrenière
It is a little odd that Lafrenière remains unsigned at this point in the summer, but barring something unexpected, the former top overall pick will be back with the Rangers, who have $2.27 million of salary cap space left (per CapFriendly) to accommodate the restricted free agent.
Assuming he agrees to a deal at some point between now and the opening of camp, Lafrenière will come in as the player with the most to prove under Laviolette.
It’s no secret that he hasn’t quite lived up to the billing, putting up 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) last season and failing to break into a permanent top-six role.
The bridge deal he eventually signs should amount to something of a make-or-break for Lafrenière ever turning into that player, especially given that Laviolette will be his third NHL coach.
Given where the roster is — with Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko gone and the salary cap stopping Drury from making major additions this summer — the Rangers are also banking on Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko (more on him in a minute) to become high-end producers in 2023-24.
Lafrenière should get ample chances to break into the top six, and there will not be much of an excuse if he can’t.
Kaapo Kakko
Much of what is said about Lafreniere also applies to Kakko, with the caveat that the Finn is a little further ahead in his development (which makes sense, given he was drafted a year earlier).
Like Lafreniere, though, Kakko hasn’t produced at quite the level expected of a high-lottery pick, and the Rangers will need him to become a consistent top-six player sooner rather than later.
Unlike Lafreniere, Kakko is coming to the end of his first bridge deal, which was signed last summer, meaning this season will have a large impact on his earning potential as a restricted free agent next summer.
Kakko also could get the first chance lining up next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers’ top line — a trio that got 229:43 together last season with favorable numbers, per Natural Stat Trick. If he can stick there in training camp, that would answer a big early question for Laviolette.
Artemi Panarin
Maybe training camp is the wrong forum to have Panarin on this sort of list, given that no one is really questioning his regular-season production.
But the dialogue around Panarin this summer after a second straight disappointing playoff run dictates he will be a story at camp. So too does his shaved head, after a reportedly getting the haircut to remove evil forces and negative energy.
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With Panarin turning 32 two weeks into October, it’s also reasonable to wonder whether his production will start tailing off. There are still three years left on his contract, which pays $11.6 million annually, so any kind of drop from the 90-plus points he’s put up in every non-COVID shortened season with the Rangers would be a serious blow.
Given that he’s led the Rangers in points every season since signing on Broadway, it’s almost certainly premature to start thinking about that. But Panarin is too important to the Blueshirts’ Stanley Cup chances for his poor playoff series against the Devils to go unnoticed. At least for now, he can put a rest to that talk quickly once camp starts.
Jonathan Quick
Lost in the first day of free-agency chaos during which Quick inked a one-year, $825,000 deal to be Igor Shesterkin’s backup was that he might not end up being Shesterkin’s backup when all is said and done.
Certainly, Quick comes into camp as the favorite for the job, but over the past two years, the 37-year-old has an .897 save percentage despite good teams in front of him, and the Kings decided they no longer had use for him.
According to MoneyPuck, Quick saved negative-17.2 goals below expected last season, worse than all but four goalies who played more than 10 games.
Louis Domingue has not been a full-time NHL backup since playing 26 games for the 2018-19 Lightning, but the chances of him beating Quick out are not zero.
And keeping Shesterkin’s workload relatively light is an important piece of the puzzle for the Rangers, who played the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner 58 times last season compared to 52 in 2021-22.
Blake Wheeler
Of the Rangers’ group of July 1 additions, Wheeler is the one the Blueshirts are most depending on to contribute toward the top of the lineup this season. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has declined from his peak, but put up 55 points last season in Winnipeg with his most common linemates being Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti.
If the Rangers can get similar production from Wheeler this season, it would go a long way — and come at a bargain-bin rate of $800,000. The chances should be there for Wheeler to play alongside the likes of Panarin and Filip Chytil, so seizing them early in camp will be vital.
On paper, it seems as if adding Wheeler was a slam dunk for Drury — or at minimum, the sort of low-risk, high-upside move that rarely presents itself in free agency. But it is on the player to deliver now.
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Honorable mentions
The competition between Filip Chytil and Vincent Trocheck for the second center spot will be one to watch throughout camp.
Ditto for the battle between Zac Jones and Erik Gustafsson for the sixth defense spot.
Barclay Goodrow was the subject of trade rumors going into the offseason — he will be playing to impress Laviolette.
It is unlikely Brennan Othmann or Will Cuylle will make the opening night roster — Cuylle likely has the best chance, but the better path to playing time goes through Hartford, for now. Still, comparing the Rangers’ best prospects to NHL competition throughout camp and the preseason will represent an important benchmark.
How to fix a slump
Former Ranger Brandon Prust, appearing on the “Missin’ Curfew” podcast last week, relayed a tale about then-coach John Tortorella’s way of dealing with a slow start for Brad Richards when he first signed with the Rangers in 2011-12.
“We’re out after the game one night, and Torts must call Ritchie on the way home,” Prust said. “Ritchie comes in, we’re going for dinner. He goes, ‘Torts just called me. He told me to do drugs and stuff.’ Torts was like, ‘Ritchie, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but go out. Get f—ked up. Do drugs or something, man.’
“I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a good night.’”
