Thoughts as training camp approaches

There’s not much going on in the hockey world outside of the 2021 World Juniors. But NHL training camps are just a week away, and there is a buzz in the air. There is some hype among NY Rangers fans, and that comes with some lofty expectations in 2021. However realists like myself don’t think this is the year to compete. As per usual, I have some thoughts.

1. Outside of roster construction, the biggest issue facing the Rangers this year is the division. The Rangers have by far the toughest realigned division this year. Adding Boston to the division is a gut punch, especially when all games are in-division this season. The Rangers will benefit from facing the Sabres and Devils, but the other six teams in the division all made the playoffs last season. That’s an uphill battle.

2. The Blueshirts have some of the best wing depth in the division. They lost Jesper Fast, and that will have a bigger impact than you think. They did add Alexis Lafreniere, but that’s not really a fair comparison since it’s not a direct replacement. Kaapo Kakko will slide into the 2RW spot, while Lafreniere will likely start the season on the third line.

3. The Rangers also have solid right-defensemen. They have one of the best young defensemen in the game in Adam Fox as their 2RD, and a purely offensive Tony DeAngelo on the third pair. These are the two areas where the Rangers have their greatest strengths.

4. The major issues are that the Rangers are top heavy, and have no viable reliability on left defense outside of Ryan Lindgren. Lack of true depth will kill the Rangers, as the best teams in the division have scoring and two-way ability up and down the lineup. Center depth is also a question mark. Goaltending, while likely an area of strength, is still a developmental area. The goalies *could* have growing pains.

5. This is likely a development year for the Rangers. They aren’t going to be a bottom-feeder, but expect growing pains. The Blueshirts are expecting continued growth from the likes of Lindgren, DeAngelo and Filip Chytil. But they are also relying on complete turnarounds from Kakko and Howden.

6. The Rangers may still surprise people, but a lot of things need to go right all at once. There’s nothing wrong with a year where the Rangers have flashes of what they can be, but are overall around hockey .500. Especially in this division. To have expectations that the 2021 NY Rangers will be in the hunt might be a tad extreme.

7. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an early season trade, much like the Vlad Namestnikov trade last season. My “Brendan Smith to Ottawa” thing failed spectacularly, but I think he still has value. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is traded for the cap space. However I do think the Rangers want to see how camp plays out first.

8. Not-so-bold-prediction: I don’t think Ryan Strome finishes the season in a Rangers uniform.