ryan mcdonagh kevin klein

Photo: MSG

With the return of Dan Girard in last night’s game against Arizona, the Rangers are finally back to full strength on their blue line. Adam Clendening joined Dylan McIlrath in the press box, as it appears Alain Vigneault will lean on veterans, as expected.

Girardi will likely go back to playing with Ryan McDonagh, while Kevin Klein probably ends up back with Marc Staal. That leaves Brady Skjei and Nick Holden in a third pairing role, with Holden still playing on the right side, a place where he wasn’t comfortable to start the year.

On paper, this is a bottom-ten blue line in the league, even with McDonagh’s resurgence. Even if Staal and Girardi can rebound to 2015 levels, it’s still in the bottom-half of the league. Inserting Clendening, McIlrath, or both for any defenseman really doesn’t move the needle much, either.

Mixing the pairs up may help a bit, but likely has the same effect as inserting Clendening/McIlrath. It can be a slight improvement if executed properly, but still leaves them in the bottom-half of the league.

Aside from McDonagh and maybe Skjei, there shouldn’t be any untouchables on the roster. However upgrading is going to be a difficult endeavor. Steal and Girardi are the two most notable players that fans want traded, but that is much easier said than done. Heck, trading Klein –which I still believe is the only way to make an upgrade on the roster for this season, but I digress– is easier said than done. Trades are easier said than done.

Long story short, the blue line is going to be the Achilles Heel of this club until something can be done to address the overall mediocrity. And it’s not just because of two guys either. The forwards will need to carry this team until the time that comes. Luckily for the Rangers, those forwards are very good.

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