Thoughts on the Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev off waivers

There was some positive news yesterday with the Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev off waivers from the LA Kings. When Kaliyev was waived on Sunday, the instant thought for many was the Rangers should claim him. Kaliyev is far from a guarantee, after all he was on waivers, but his numbers have earned him a real shot. There’s enough in his possession and scoring numbers to warrant a long look in the top-nine, especially after trading Kaapo Kakko for peanuts. As per usual, I have thoughts.

1. The Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev is a no risk, high reward move. The 23 year old winger is skilled, peaking at 13-15-28 in 56 games in the 2022-2023 season, with 8-4-12 coming with the man advantage that season. The 2021-2022 season had a similar output, with a 14-13-27 line, but in 80 games. He put up 6-3-9 on the powerplay that year.

Kaliyev is clearly skilled, something the Rangers desperately need in the lineup. He’s also hungry, given the treatment the LA Kings have given him. It’s up there with how bad the Rangers treated Kakko, and interestingly enough both players have similar offensive output while in these situations with their old teams.

2. Many were happy with the Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev, but we do need to level set expectations a bit. Kaliyev hasn’t played all season as a result of his falling out with the Kings organization. But instead of trading him, the Kings just scratched him every game. It was just an odd situation, again eerily similar to Kakko’s situation with the Rangers.

But since Kaliyev hasn’t played all season, it’s unlikely he’s going to get thrown into top-nine minutes right away. The kid needs to get legs under him. With the Rangers playing Dallas tonight and not having a practice beforehand, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kaliyev scratched tonight (update: confirmed, he’s scratched), then play fourth line minutes for a few games to get back into the swing of things.

3. Of course, Chris Kreider’s injury may change things, though Jonny Brodzinski was fine against Chicago the other day. Perhaps it makes sense to insert Kaliyev directly into Brodzinski’s spot for now. It’s the logical open spot for now, though temporary and dependent on how long Kreider is out. We know he’s out for at least another 3 games, possibly longer since the Rangers will be out west when he’s set to return.

This is why the Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev is a smart move, he has top-six ceiling and it cost them nothing. It may work out. It may not. But they need young skill and Kaliyev will hopefully provide that.

4. The knock on Kaliyev is his skating, but that’s coming from his draft year scouting report from six years ago at this point. I don’t think it’s an accurate assessment of Kaliyev today, and we will simply need to wait and see. I did watch some highlights, in particular his hat trick against Anaheim from 3 years ago.

On the first goal, Kaliyev (#34, keep your eyes on him) read the rush with Alex Turcotte cutting to the net, so he stayed back to spread the defense, leaving the pass lane open on the initial save. He then dug the puck out behind the net to keep the pressure going before parking in front and getting the deflection.

The second goal came on the powerplay, and it really illustrates how lethal Kaliyev’s shot is. This was a “harmless” rebound out to a medium danger area that Kaliyev absolutely rockets past Anthony Stolarz, top corner. That shot is what the Mika Zibanejad line is missing, since Zibanejad simply isn’t shooting anymore.

The third goal was an empty netter, but it was a good read off a turnover at the blue line.

5. On the 5v5 goal, Kaliyev displayed a high hockey IQ and willingness to get to the dirty areas, something we know the Rangers need. What’s more important is that while Kaliyev isn’t a burner, he’s able to find lanes and use his size to generate space and time for him to shoot. There’s a bunch of evidence of this in his goal reel from 2021-2022.

Kaliyev may not be a burner or a top-tier skater, but he’s good enough to create space and use his size and hockey IQ to find and create open space and opportunities. No NHL player is perfect and every single one will have a hole in their game. It’s fair to be skeptical of Kaliyev, but focusing on one aspect will miss the forest for the trees. Also, skating is coachable.

The kid finds open space in the high danger areas. This is what many have been clamoring for, and he’s certainly got that mind set. He may be on the off-wing on the powerplay, but he drives the net at 5v5.

6. The Rangers claiming Kaliyev addressed a few needs. They got another big body that can score and drive offense. His defensive play is yet to be determined, though his metrics do look fine. As a winger, his defensive responsibilities aren’t too complicated in Peter Laviolette’s hybrid man/zone defensive zone system. Simply cover your area since he’s in the zone part of that system.

The bigger question is how he forechecks and backchecks and if he’s consistent. It’s tough to tell from highlight clips. The best guess is that he’s effective at reading the play as an F2 or F3 in the Rangers’ 2-1-2 forecheck, but might lack the foot speed to be an F1 and the first man in. Naturally, this all varies based on puck location and situation.

7. The Rangers claiming Arthur Kaliyev is a shrewd move that has only upside. He makes up for lack of speed with good reads and stick work and has an absolutely lethal shot. It looks like he can play both wings as well, providing the Rangers with flexibility as Laviolette figures out if/where he’s a fit in the lineup.

I’d still expect Kaliyev to play 4th line minutes while he gets his legs under him early on. After that, his numbers and skill set suggest he’d be a good fit with Zibanejad and one of Kreider or Smith, whomever winds up sticking on that line. He’d also be fine with Filip Chytil and Brett Berard.