How Jeff Gorton Can Make This Team His Own

It’s no secret that the Rangers are, despite being a good team, lacking something. There’s been a lot of debate as to what exactly that something is, with much of the blame as of late going to the defensive corps (which is probably somewhat deserved), the lack of forward depth (a definite concern, as evidenced by Zibanejad’s absence), and of course the coaching (you already know). Just yesterday we heard from Chris about how the Rangers could be a Stanley Cup dark horse if only they had that extra something. Well, there may be a somewhat simple, elegant way to solve these issues, a move that would solidify this team as Jeff Gorton’s own.

If you’ve been watching the IIHF World Junior Championship, you probably caught something yesterday that came as a bit of a surprise: Team Czech Republic beat Team Finland in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis. Now, while they’ll unfortunately be playing Canada in their semifinal matchup, there is something of note here. The Czech team has, without any true superstars (save Filip Zadina, who is expected to go top-10 in this upcoming draft), made some serious noise at this tournament, and their success must be credited in part to their head coach, Filip Pesan.

If that name sounds familiar to you it’s because the Rangers invited him to their training camp this past offseason in something of an unorthodox move – outside coaches don’t usually get invited to NHL training camps, especially not seemingly random European coaches. The Rangers have obviously taken an interest in this guy, who, according to our very own Josh Khalfin, is well respected in the Czech Republic for his handling of young players in that he’s willing to give guys a chance but still takes a firm line as far as disciplining them goes.

At the World Juniors in Buffalo, he’s done a solid job with the Czech team, who came second in their group behind Sweden and finished with the same amount of points in the group as the Tre Kronor. Although they played in an admittedly easier group, it’s worth noting that the Czech team’s 11 points is one ahead of what Canada finished with (10 points) and three ahead of what the US finished with (8 points).

Especially early on against Russia, his team played a solid, structured game and stymied the Russians’ speedy counterattack, doing a good job of making controlled zone entries and exits. He’s not afraid to be bold either, pulling his goalie with three minutes left in the Czech team’s quarterfinal against Finland. That move gave the Czechs the goal they needed to tie it, enabling them to take things to a shootout where they eventually bested the Finns.

The point I’m going to make is incomplete of course if we just talk about coaching, because personnel certainly has played a part in the Rangers’ woes this season. The Rangers’ top two prospects, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, are both playing in this tournament and doing a damn good job so far. Andersson if anything has been more impressive, because although he’s tied for fourth in points right now with six, he currently leads the pack in terms of goals, with five.  Despite his recent, hopefully minor, injury he’s played some excellent hockey, making good reads both offensively and defensively, getting to the right areas, and making the right passes.

Chytil has had a bit of different experience so far, because although he’s got 2 goals and 2 assists so far, he hasn’t really been getting a ton of ice time and doesn’t play on the top PP unit for his team. That certainly would be a concern if we get to where I’m going with this, but let’s look on the bright side at the very least. He’s put up respectable numbers (4 points in 5 games) and has made the most of his limited shifts, battling hard along the boards and springing some productive rushes that have helped his team gain control of the puck in the offensive zone. Overall, not too shabby for a couple of guys whose selection had some scratching their heads at draft time.

Now, to tie it all together here’s my suggestion: After the WJC is over and when the time is right, Jeff Gorton could make this team his own by doing a couple of things. First, and most importantly, would be replacing Alain Vigneault with Filip Pesan. Next, he’d give Chytil the call for the big kids club (and Andersson once the SHL season ends). The addition of the two would seriously bolster the Rangers forward depth, which of course is contingent on them being handled right.

That’s where swapping AV out for Pesan would be so crucial – the Rangers would need a savvy coach to handle a delicate situation correctly, and Pesan, at least in a small sample size at World Juniors (and again, according to Josh he’s done a good job overseas), has proven himself to be that savvy bench boss. A cherry on top would be that the disentangled loyalty of Pesan would mean he’d have no compunction about sitting guys like Nick Holden in favor of potential call ups Anthony DeAngelo or Neal Pionk. Jeff Gorton could make a serious power move and leave his mark on this club, all while killing several birds with one stone.

Of course, a lot of this is wishful thinking, so let me sketch out how this is more likely to go. The Rangers make another first round exit in the playoffs and Pesan is among the candidates for the vacant coaching job. Given that he’s a relatively unknown quantity gets an assistant’s gig at best. Nash and/or Grabner are traded at the deadline for futures, and although Andersson and Chytil are added to the roster, they find themselves seriously out of their depth and unable to adjust to an NHL that’s asking too much of them.

In the more likely scenario, the Rangers restock the farm a bit and leave things open for next year, but on the whole find themselves in a similar position talent-wise, along with some tricky contractual maneuvering they need to sort out to keep their core intact. It’s still very much a blended Glen Sather/Jeff Gorton team, and come springtime we make another early exit in the playoffs, all while Henrik Lundqvist grows a year older. But hey, one can dream.