Kevin Hayes could easily eclipse the 17 goals he scored last year

Kevin Hayes could easily eclipse the 17 goals he scored last year

With the front office’s apparent decision to hang on to Kevin Klein, it now seems likely the Rangers will entire next season with an identical defense and starting goaltender to the group that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The real cause for concern is up front, where the departures of Martin St. Louis and Carl Hagelin stripped the Blueshirts of 38 regular season goals, equivalent to over 15% of their total offense in 2014-2015.

Obviously MSL was unlikely to produce near that level again even if he did come back, but regardless, a hefty portion of the team’s offense must be accounted for.

Some had held out hope that the club might somehow scrounge up the money to sign one of the few productive free agents on the market, but New York’s cap crunch has only grown tighter since July 1 with increasing concern over Derek Stepan’s raise. The team is now more likely to unload another key player than it is to sign anyone of significance between now and training camp, so basically what you see is what you’ll get for the opening night roster.

So where could some of that lost offense be recovered?

It would be unfair to expect any improvement by Rick Nash on his 43-goal regular season, but established top-six forwards Stepan, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello all could see boosts in their production with regular playing time alongside top offensive talents.

Ranger fans can’t be blamed for scoffing at this one, but it’s also possible the power play will (finally) be in for a spike with a full year of a healthy Keith Yandle, who ranked second in the NHL in power play helpers last season despite recording only three in 21 games after joining the Rangers.

But the best hope for unexpected offense lies with a quintet of prized young forwards still only scratching the surface of their potential. Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, Jesper Fast and Emerson Etem have all shown flashes of considerable offensive ability, but Kreider is the only one that’s come close to putting together a full season of consistent production.

Last year Kreider, Hayes, Miller, Fast and Etem accounted for 21, 17, 10, six and five goals, respectively. There’s room for marked growth from each, and potentially giant leaps for some depending on playing time. It’s not unreasonable to pencil Kreider in for 25 goals, Hayes for 20, Miller for 15, and Fast and Etem for 10 each, which would get the Blueshirts more than halfway to that magic 38 number. Viktor Stalberg and Oscar Lindberg would figure to eat up another chunk, and suddenly the Rangers don’t seem like they’re in bad shape offensively.

Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect each and every player to improve their goal totals or to stay healthy – nor is it imperative that the Blueshirts equal their total from last season, when they finished third in the league in scoring. But the point remains – New York certainly has question marks up front, but it is not an unsolvable problem.

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