Analyzing the Rangers top line RW options for 2024

The beginning of a new season of New York Rangers hockey is almost upon us, and with it comes the expectation that this team should compete for a Stanley Cup. Last season ended with quite the gut punch, and the Rangers are essentially running it back with minor changes. Chief among complaints has been the Rangers top line RW options, and if the Rangers want to change the ending, this is a key position that needs to be sorted out. 

Since the Pavel Buchnevich trade, the Rangers top line RW spot has been a mixed bag of failures. The revolving door of players next to Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider since the summer of 2021 has consisted of Kaapo Kakko, Jack Roslovic, Frank Vatrano, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane and now Reilly Smith. Smith, brought in over the summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the latest player plugged onto the Rangers top line RW in hopes that he can help make that trio hum not just in the regular season but in the playoffs as well. 

First, and what the Rangers ultimately hope will happen, is that Smith sticks and is the exact type of player that Zibanejad and Kreider needed to help get their line going. Smith’s best offensive seasons were during his time with the Vegas Golden Knights, when he scored over 50 points on four separate occasions topping out at 60 points during the 2017-18 season. He’s been a net-positive possession player throughout most of his career as well.

The hope is that Smith, who is more of a swiss army knife and is solid all around, can complement the more offensively minded games of Zibanejad and Krieder. Drury didn’t acquire Smith to score 40 goals. He got him to help get the puck to Zibanejad and Kreider more and make them more dangerous at even strength than they have been in recent years. If Smith can have a 20-40 season with a net-positive possession and xG impact, it would be a boon for Drury and the Rangers.

So maybe this move will work out and Drury won’t have to worry about addressing any Rangers top line RW issues at the deadline. Dave has made a strong case that Smith’s skill set will help Zibanejad and Kreider be more effective at even strength.

On the flip side, maybe it doesn’t and the Rangers are back in the same spot they’ve been in since that bad trade, looking for help elsewhere. Smith isn’t a terrible player, but when you think Stanley Cup contending top line RW, he doesn’t exactly fit the mold.

If Smith doesn’t work out as the Rangers top line RW, what would the Rangers options be at that point? In this scenario, they’d have two paths to follow: They can promote someone from within the roster, whether its someone moving up the lineup or a call up from Hartford; or they can once again scour the NHL at the trade deadline and try to bring someone else in. 

In house Rangers top line RW options

Could Kaapo Kakko get one last real shot as the Rangers top line RW? He is likely starting this season in a third line role with Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle or Brennan Othmann. At this point in his career it’s getting really tough to believe that he is going to find that next gear and turn into a legitimate scorer. It seems like his ceiling will be a middle six forward with some decent offensive skills, but ultimately more of a defensively minded player.

If the Smith experiment isn’t working early, maybe Peter Laviolette will give the young winger one last chance alongside Zibanejad and Kreider to see if he can have a Lafreniere-type jump as the Rangers top line RW. He wasn’t great offensively during his stint last season, but his defensive play made that line a net-positive possession line. If he can figure out how to produce some consistent offense, he wouldn’t be a bad option.

Things get tricky after Kakko for the in house Rangers top line RW options. Alexis Lafreniere isn’t moving from his spot on line 1B with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. It wouldn’t be in the Rangers best interests to break up that line.

Perhaps Brennan Othmann gets a shot as the Rangers top line RW? But at this point in time it’s not even a lock that he makes the team out of training camp. Would he really go from call up to the Rangers top line RW? That’s a lot to ask of a player who has barely gotten his feet wet at the NHL level. Othmann is still young, and he hasn’t truly dominated in the preseason yet or shown big flashes during his cup of coffee last season to prove he is that player yet.

Filip Chytil should remain the 3C. Moving him to wing has been tried multiple times and it never sticks. Plus moving him to the Rangers top line RW spot creates another hole at center.

Will Cuylle’s game isn’t suited to play a top scoring role, at least not yet. Though there is potential.

That leaves Jimmy Vesey, Matt Rempe, and Jonny Brodzinski. None of them are actual options. Gabe Perreault’s name has been brought up, but he won’t be a true option until after his season at BC comes to an end. Maybe he could pull a Chris Kreider in the playoffs?

The in-house options for the Rangers top line RW spot are few and far between, unfortunately.

Trade deadline options

If we assume the Rangers are all-in this season, then we can also logically assume that the Rangers top line RW spot will be a big need if Smith doesn’t pan out. For the type of player the Rangers would need, one of Kakko or Othmann would wind up on the trading block, possibly Ryan Lindgren as well. As Dave said on Live From the Blue Seats, improving the current roster means making a move some don’t want to make.

I don’t think Drury will have the same restraint in addressing the Rangers top line RW spot as he did last year when he balked at Pittsburgh’s asking price for Jake Gunetzel (which was reportedly Kakko, one of Othmann/Perrault, and a first rounder). Drury understands where this team is in their timeline and he’s going to be aggressive if he needs to be. But he also knows he can’t have too much money on the books with Igor Shesterkin, K’Andre Miller, and Alexis Lafreniere all needing new contracts.

The dream trade scenario for the Rangers top line RW spot is Mitch Marner. He is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. This would be the blockbuster that moves another player or two off the current roster. A Kreider-Zibanejad-Marner line would feast, but Marner’s salary ($10.9 million AAV) will make this deal almost impossible for Drury to pull off. It’s ultimately unrealistic with the salaries and competitiveness of both clubs.

Brock Boeser ($6.65 million), Claude Giroux ($6.5 million), Taylor Hall ($6 million) , Frank Vatrano ($3.65 million), Gustav Nyquist ($3.185 million), Patrick Kane ($4 million), Sam Bennett ($4.425 million), Carter Verhaeghe ($4.166 million), and Nikolaj Ehlers ($6 million) will all be unrestricted free agents in the 2025 offseason. None make nearly as much money as Marner, but all come with varying degrees of risk and realism of a potential trade.

Boeser would be a solid choice as the Rangers top line RW, at least in this scenario, but he’s more of a shooter than a passer. Also, the Canucks are likely a playoff team, so they won’t be trading Boeser any time soon.

Kane has been a Ranger before and we’ve seen Drury doesn’t really like to go back to the same well unless it’s Tyler Motte. Also, he’s 36 and doesn’t do anything at 5v5 anymore. I wouldn’t put it past Drury to check in with Detroit though if they’re out of the playoff hunt.

Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe will most likely stay with the Panthers and ride out their deals while they seek to win a second straight Stanley Cup. There’s also no world where the Panthers make a trade with another top team in the East.

Gustav Nyquist has had some up and down years with his career high of 75 points coming last season. I don’t think he comes close to that again so safe to leave him on the plan B side of things.

That leaves us with four interesting choices: Vatrano, Hall, Giroux and Ehlers. 

Vatrano is the guy everyone seems to want, and he fit the top line like a glove a few years ago. He put up 37 goals last season in Anaheim, perhaps signaling all he needed was consistent playing time. The Ducks aren’t a good team and he could be on the block, but the issue will be dealing with Pat Verbeek. Drury doesn’t like to go back to the well, but Vatrano did work out once, unlike Kane.

Taylor Hall’s best days are behind him, but he’s still a solid player. Coming off an injury riddled season, if he’s able to put up decent numbers on a bad Chicago team, he could be a decent fit as the Rangers top line RW, cost dependent, of course. Hall never lived up to his first overall status but he would be a better fit than the Jack Roslovic’s of the world. 

Claude Giroux should’ve been a Ranger years ago but they opted to take *deep breath* Bobby Sanguinetti. Giroux is likely a pipe dream since he already rejected a trade to the Rangers once. Maybe after some disappointing seasons in Ottawa he will re-evaluate, but he’s also back home. Unless Giroux wants to end his career in Ottawa, they will most likely listen to offers on him.

Ehlers, 28, has been in trade rumors for what seems like years. He has 457 points in 605 games and while he’s been a great 50-60 point guy, it always seems like he’s on the verge of taking that next big jump that just never comes to fruition. The Jets are projected to be another solid team and trading Ehlers is unlikely, but if the Jets want to recoup potential lost assets, they may be willing to listen to offers.

Reilly Smith may work out this season, he may not. Banking on one or the other is a fool’s errand, but Drury will have plans in place if Smith falters and the line isn’t clicking. It unfortunately looks like that help just might have to come from outside the organization again. The Rangers have a massive season ahead of them and Drury needs to make sure he pushes the right buttons if the top line needs a makeover.