Is Miller ready for a big role?

While the baby Rangers are playing in Traverse City, the big club is preparing to defend their Eastern Conference crown. They do so after buying out Brad Richards, their second line center, and letting Brian Boyle, their fourth line center/wing, walk via free agency. There were no free agents signed to replace these departed players, unless you count re-signing Dominic Moore.

As it stands today, the Rangers are slated to have Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard as their top two centers. The third line center position is up for grabs, and the fourth line center position (probably Moore) will be determined by who wins the 3C job. It’s not exactly the best situation to be in, considering center depth has been a common ingredient in recent Stanley Cup winners.

Whether or not you like it, Stepan will be the 1C this year. He’s not going to be a Sidney Crosby, a Claude Giroux, or an Anze Kopitar, but he will put up close to 60 points while playing solid two-way hockey. An improved powerplay should theoretically increase his offensive output, but I get the feeling that will be limited because his decision making abilities are a bit slow. That said, he will likely get the majority of his PP time on the off-wing –likely with the top unit– because he’s one of the few right-handed shots. He’s not the best 1C in the world, but he will get the job done.

Brassard moves up to Richards’ spot on the second line, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him stay with Mats Zuccarello, which will help him repeat his career year. Moving from 3C to 2C will mean he draws tougher competition, so he’s going to need to step up and show that he can be the 2C. Brassard represents possibly the biggest question-mark when it comes to the center depth, and the Rangers have a lot of faith he can fill that role.

Aside from Brassard, the other glaring hole –and the one that will affect other roster spots– is the 3C. Filled by Brassard last year, the Rangers are really counting on J.T. Miller to grab that role. It’s the ideal scenario for both team and player, but he’s been wildly inconsistent without the puck. Stats aside, which don’t exactly paint the prettiest picture (52% Fenwick-For, 58.2% OZ starts, weak QoC), he’s out of position a lot, struggles in the defensive end, and seems to have tunnel vision for the puck.

If Miller can’t fill that role, then the frontrunner for the role would be Moore. Kevin Hayes and Oscar Lindberg are popular choices for this role, but both have their own concerns (Hayes – inexperience; Lindberg – scoring). Matt Lombardi has been penciled in by some, but I’m not banking on someone who can’t stay healthy and didn’t play in the NHL last year. He could work out, but he has as many question marks as the prospects. But perhaps the biggest problem would be at 4C if Miller doesn’t take the 3C spot.

Moore is slated for 4C, giving the Rangers a solid start on the fourth line, then only Lindberg has the skill set required to take the 4C spot. That’s another big gamble.

In essence, the Rangers have question marks at three of the four center positions:

  • Can Brassard hold his own as a 2C?
  • Can Miller make the team as a 3C?
    • If not, can Hayes or Lombardi make the team as a 3C?
      • If not, can Lindberg make the team as a 4C?

That’s a lot of questions for a team that had significant depth last season.

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