Last night, the New York Rangers made a tough but necessary decision with Brennan Othmann getting cut. Othmann was the first Ranger I can remember that played all 6 preseason games, but he only looked good in one of them, with flashes in the others. The decision to cut him was the right decision, as he simply wouldn’t have been put in a position to succeed with the NHL level right now.
As per usual, I have some thoughts.
1. There are a lot of points covered in this week’s Patreon post (subscribe here!), and I’m not going to re-hash them all here. The basic gist is this was coming, we all saw it coming, and no it doesn’t mean he’s a bust. There’s no reason to think that Brennan Othmann getting cut is going to impact his NHL trajectory. At least not yet.
2. That said, the big issue we see right now is skating. Conall and Rob Luker were discussing this, and it’s best summed up by saying Othmann getting cut was because of his stride, which was noticeable in the games. He “train tracks,” which requires quick feet that Othmann simply doesn’t have. Also, his stride is too wide for his edge work. To fix it and make him more viable at the NHL level, he needs a lot of work.
3. The good news is this is all coachable. We saw how Alexis Lafreniere put in the work and had a breakout season. Now it’s Othmann’s turn. Changing one’s stride and skating foundation requires reworking everything learned from the first time you put on skates. It is no easy task. Othmann will have to put in the same level of work Lafreniere did to adjust and have more NHL ready skating.
4. Brennan Othmann getting cut was the right call, and now it’s up to him and the Rangers to come up with a program to work on that skating stride. He’s turning 22 and in January and will be in his second professional season, so bust is premature and irresponsible at this point. He may wind up being a bust, and if you want to hang your hat on predicting it early and being pessimistic, then that’s your right. I prefer to remain optimistic that he can tinker some things and be a midseason call up.
5. Going full tin foil hat for a second, the skating concerns were known, so why did he play in all six preseason games? Perhaps this was because even Peter Laviolette and Chris Drury had him penciled into a 3LW role, and they wanted to make absolutely sure he wasn’t ready before sending him to the AHL. That’s the most likely reason.
But I can’t help but wonder if there was a bit of showcasing going on. Othmann played mostly with NHL talent and did have flashes of great play. It may have been too soon to attach him for a rental last season, but for a more steady scoring forward or top-four left defenseman with term? That’s certainly possible.
6. As mentioned yesterday, the reason why Brett Berard is still with the Rangers is unknown. Brennan Othmann getting cut is because he didn’t make enough of an impression to crack the top-nine. Meanwhile, Berard simply needs to crack the fourth line. It’s not a direct competition between the two. They will have different roles at the NHL level.
Othmann was competing more with Will Cuylle (with Cuylle shifting to a 4LW spot if Othmann won out). Berard is/was competing with Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom, and other fourth line winger types. Berard can move up in the lineup, but he is also a bottom six winger with some grit and offensive talent, which makes him a fine choice for 4LW.
7. Remember, Brennan Othmann getting cut doesn’t necessarily change the pecking order for injury call ups. Assuming Berard is also sent down today, he will be the call up for a defense-first role. Othmann may get the call up for an offense/top-six role. Othmann would likely be the first call up in case Reilly Smith doesn’t work out too. Nothing there has changed.
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