keith yandle

A full season of Yandle will be fun.

The Rangers finished up their preseason schedule last week with a win over the Bruins, and then promptly made two more cuts to solidify the opening night roster at 23 players. Those 23 players will include 14 forwards. While most will not be happy with the decision to carry a 14th forward, be it Emerson Etem or Tanner Glass, it shouldn’t really surprise anyone that the Rangers still have decisions to make. Even with decisions to make, we learned a lot from this preseason.

  • Despite what Alain Vigneault said about wanting to start strong, the Rangers will likely be a .500 team in October. AV historically starts slow, as does Henrik Lundqvist. But this year the Rangers will be spending most of the month tinkering with the lineup. There is still a battle for the 12th/13th forward spots between Jarret Stoll, Tanner Glass, and Emerson Etem. One will go. Considering the need for cap space, you can infer where this is going.
  • The Rangers can’t be that happy with Etem’s performance in camp, and if he were waiver-exempt, he’d be in Hartford. Waivers complicates matters. Etem will get a long leash –at least through December– to show he can pick up AV’s systems. Remember how long it took this team to pick up AV’s systems two years ago? Etem will take that long as well.
  • It’s clear the Rangers want Glass to take the 13F spot, and will likely give him as many opportunities as they can. He’s a good guy and a great teammate. The problem is that it doesn’t translate to the ice. Stoll isn’t what he used to be, not by a long shot, but is still a better option than Glass. He’s on the outside looking in at this point.

  • Dylan McIlrath will start the season as the 7D, which means one or both of the following:
    • The Rangers still believe Kevin Klein, despite his rough preseason, can be a factor for the club, and that he can bring more to the lineup than McIlrath.
    • AV and the coaching staff consider this to be an extended tryout for McIlrath, who still needs to win over a few people. He played well in the preseason, but the regular season is a whole different ballgame.
  • While people will point to faceoffs as the reason why Kevin Hayes is on the wing, it goes way beyond that. Faceoffs are just a simple narrative. When Hayes was with Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider, they absolutely dominated possession. That trio deserves more time together. Oscar Lindberg also showed he deserves time in a scoring role on the third line. If Lindberg didn’t have his absurd preseason, and that trio didn’t click, then Hayes would be their 3C, no doubt in my  mind.
  • AV wants a fourth line that he can bury with DZ starts, and Stoll as the pivot between Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast gives him that option. It gives him the ability to get his top-nine out there for more OZ starts.
  • Keith Yandle will be depended upon heavily this season. I’d expect him to get PP1 time and about 60% OZ starts at even strength. Klein has a heavy shot, if a puck gets into his wheel house, it’ll help stir the offense.
  • Just restating point #1, since it’ll come up a lot in October: The Rangers are going to tinker with the lineup a lot. That means healthy scratches people don’t agree with, line combos people don’t agree with, and a likely .500 start for the Rangers through the first 10 games. Do not be alarmed.

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