Chris Kreider has five goals in his last nine games

Chris Kreider has five goals in his last nine games

– Interesting idea by Alain Vigneault to create a “tower” line of Rick Nash, Eric Staal and Viktor Stalberg. I still think Staal makes more sense as a winger in this lineup (who takes a ton of faceoffs), but I admit the idea of this monster line harassing the enemy net in the playoffs is tantalizing.

– How much money has Chris Kreider earned with his late-season surge? He’d been in the midst of a brutal year and it seemed like his lack of production would result in a discounted contract, with the savings earmarked for J.T. Miller. But now Miller’s offense has dried up and Kreider is on a tear with five goals in his last nine games and 10 since January 16. Kreider’s usual strong playoff performance will also have a major impact, but he’s now in position for a hefty raise over his current $2.475 million cap hit.

– For the most part, I think the fervor over the team’s 12th forward has been horribly overblown this year and every year. I’m not too bent out of shape about Tanner Glass likely playing over Oscar Lindberg tonight. The Swede seems like he’s out of gas and while he’s been effective with Stalberg and Kevin Hayes, that line has been blown up since the Staal trade so Lindberg’s place in the lineup is much less obvious. Maybe a few nights off to recharge Lindberg will help in the long run.

– Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, I’m pretty sure I’m going to remember the 2015-2016 season as the Year of the Rookie. Everyone expected Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel to step right into stardom, but it’s not just those two that have game-changing talent. Guys like Shayne Gostisbehere, Dylan Larkin and Artemi Panarin have already become irreplaceable for their clubs and are having a major impact on the playoff race in their freshman seasons. Even the wave behind them of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Robby Fabbri, and on and on are poised to become big-time players. It’s truly a remarkable class.

– Outside of McDavid, Gostisbehere is my favorite to watch out of that group. Unreal stat by Panthers beat writer George Richards that until last night every single one of Gostisbehere’s 15 goals this season either tied the game or gave the Flyers the lead.

Shayne Gostisbehre has easily the best signature in all of sports

Shayne Gostisbehere has easily the best signature in all of sports

– It sounds like Nail Yakupov is a near-lock to be traded by Edmonton in the offseason. Not sure there will be a ton of interest in him at this point, but definitely someone to keep an eye on.

ESPN’s Craig Custance ranked the core of all 30 NHL teams and the Rangers clocked in at…28th. Custance’s criteria were that neither prospects nor upcoming UFAs like Keith Yandle could be included. He identified Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, Rick Nash, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Henrik Lundqvist as New York’s group and commented, “There’s a nice next wave of Rangers not included in this group like Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller. But this is the core that the Rangers will win or lose with in the short term, and there should be some urgency for that to happen soon.”

I’m not sure any defensemen on the team other than McDonagh is really a part of the core, but I’d certainly replace Girardi with Kevin Klein at this point – or Yandle or Brady Skjei if they were eligible. Otherwise, it’s hard to argue with Custance’s list. Mats Zuccarello’s omission is striking, and you could make a case for any of the three youngsters Custance mentioned, but with only six spots to go around in this exercise, prioritizing them is tricky. I’d probably give my six spots to: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Zuccarello, Brassard, Stepan and Miller.

Question time:
1. Outside of McJesus, which rookie do you think will go on to have the best career?
2. Guesses on Kreider’s next contract?
3. Heading into next season and beyond, who do you consider to be the six guys that comprise New York’s core?

Share: 

More About: