The New York Rangers appear to have avoided a major blow at this early stage of training camp.
Top center Mika Zibanejad returned to practice Monday at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, a signal that the upper-body injury which forced him to exit Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage is not cause for alarm.
He skated in a red non-contact jersey, with head coach Peter Laviolette wisely noting, “We’ll be 100% careful with him.” He also said “there won’t be any push or rush” to get the 30-year-old into a preseason game, but his status for opening night in Buffalo on Oct. 12 does not appear to be in jeopardy.
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That’s a sigh of relief in Rangertown, leaving coaches, management and fans to focus on more positive developments. As they prepare for the preseason home opener against the Islanders on Tuesday at 7 p.m., let’s take a look at five emerging storylines from camp.
The Laviolette effect
It didn’t take long for the new bench boss to make his mark.
The intensity of practices, the directness of Laviolette’s press conferences and the exuberance the players have shown for his fast-paced system have provided an obvious jolt, setting the tone for the hard-working identity the longtime NHL head coach wants his team to embrace.
They’re clearly in the honeymoon stage, with a long way to go before determining if this was a successful hire or not. But the early returns have been encouraging.
“The attitude he brings, the energy, the enthusiasm,” captain Jacob Trouba said when asked about Laviolette’s impact. “There’s a little direction. I think that’s good for us.”
That direction may have been lacking at times under previous coach Gerard Gallant.
It’s not that players didn’t respect him, and they certainly won plenty of games with him here. But while they initially enjoyed the freedom his hands-off style allowed, it ultimately led to bad habits.
Their consistency from game-to-game was lacking and practices often felt like they were going through the motions. Over time, the simplicity of Gallant’s system − which he seemed reluctant to alter based on opponent, insisting instead that they focus on their own execution − grew stale and predictable.
This coach seems intent to demand more.
Players have already expressed excitement about an offensive philosophy that encourages all five skaters to get involved, and Laviolette explained last week that his neutral-zone structure and left-wing lock defense will be adapted situationally, which should help the Rangers adjust when needed.
What won’t change is his insistence on playing “with speed and with physicality and with tenacity.” His aim is to mold this talented roster into a balanced team that can win with skill and grit, with nonstop hustle at their core.
Will the Rangers be able to maintain that relentless approach for 82 games, plus playoffs? We’ll find out in the coming months, but there’s been a noticeable boost thus far.
Roster is nearly set
Even though we’re less than a week into camp, there doesn’t appear to be many roster spots up for grabs. Laviolette acknowledged as much following Monday’s practice, noting how many NHL contracts the Rangers have in place.
It’s reasonable to conclude that 21 of the expected 22 openings are accounted for.
It would be a shock if the opening night lineup doesn’t consist of the following 12 forwards and six defensemen (listed in alphabetical order):
Forwards: Nick Bonino, Filip Chytil, Barclay Goodrow, Kaapo Kakko, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin, Tyler Pitlick, Vincent Trocheck, Jimmy Vesey, Blake Wheeler and Zibanejad.
D: Adam Fox, Erik Gustafsson, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Jacob Trouba.
We also know the two goalies will be Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, with Zac Jones a near lock to be the seventh defenseman (barring a trade) to avoid placing a valuable prospect on waivers.
That leaves the one and only true competition for the 13th forward spot, with Alex Belzile, Jonny Brodzinski and Riley Nash the leading contenders. It’s possible the Rangers keep an eighth defenseman instead, which would likely be Ben Harpur. But with all the road games they have lined up in October, it would be risky to travel without an extra forward on the roster.
Pending lineup decisions offer opportunities for youth
While the roster is easy to predict, the lineup is far from settled.
There have been three true practice days so far in camp, with different line combinations used for each of them.
Laviolette gave us a fair warning and has stuck to the plan.
“I want to look at different parts and different pieces through training camp and see if there’s a connection with any of the players,” he said last week. “We’re hoping that people push forward and really rise to the top and grab those opportunities and run with them.”
Among the 12 projected forwards, there are only three sure things: Zibanejad will center the top line, with Bonino and Pitlick anchoring the fourth.
Everything in between is up for grabs, but there have been a few hints as to which way Laviolette may be leaning.
Two of the three practice days have featured Kreider, Zibanejad and Lafrenière on the top line, with the new coach showing a clear willingness to A) Give Lafrenière a real chance at playing right wing; and B) Elevate him in the lineup.
The latter can be also said for Chytil and Kakko, with all three already seeing time in the top six.
“The three younger forwards you’re talking about, I think they’re in a position now, where, they’re not in their first year in the league. They’re not 19. They’re not in their second or third year in the league,” Laviolette said. “They’re in a position where they came off three of their best years and can take that confidence, with a little bit of opportunity, and try and push that – try to push higher.”
In discussing how they might be used, he added, “You mentioned power-play time, but also higher in lineup, higher in minutes, higher defensive responsibility, counted on more.”
For Chytil, that could mean playing a pivotal role alongside Panarin. That pair has been on a line together for two of the three practice days, with Kakko on their right wing for Monday’s session.
Laviolette has also expressed his preference to build a matchup line designed to defend against the opponent’s top forwards. It’s likely Trocheck would center that unit, where his team-best 56.1% faceoff win rate could be utilized on important D-zone draws, with Kakko and Wheeler each getting looks as his RW. Both Goodrow and Vesey have been used in that LW spot, with whichever forward doesn’t end up there destined to join Bonino and Pitlick on the fourth line.
As for the D pairs, after opening camp with the new-look duos − Miller playing next to Fox, with Lindgren joining up with Trouba − they’ve reverted back to the usual Lindgren-Fox and Miller-Trouba pairings the last few days. That’ll probably be how they start the season, but it sounds like Laviolette wants the option to switch in certain situations.
Will Cuylle takes the lead among forward prospects
It’s unlikely that any rookie will break camp with the Rangers, but anyone is in position to change that plan, it’s 21-year-old Will Cuylle.
The 2020 second-round pick is the only prospect who’s practiced on a line with NHL regulars. He spent Monday’s session playing alongside Trocheck and Wheeler, a reward for impressing his new coach.
“He’s certainly a player that is on an upward trajectory,” Laviolette said. “He’s going to get more games. I hope he continues to push.”
It’s doubtful the Rangers would keep Cuylle as the 13th forward because they’d rather him get regular ice time with AHL Hartford. The same logic applies to Brennan Othmann, who they’d like to get some seasoning with the Wolf Pack before thrusting him into the spotlight.
Cuylle is more advanced at this stage, both in terms of physical maturation and experience. He completed a full season with Hartford last year, leading the team with 25 goals while expanding his role to play in all situations.
He remains somewhat of a long shot to make the NHL roster, but if a lineup spot opens due to injury or underperformance, he’s positioning himself as the No. 1 call-up.
“He’s a big kid – I think he’s 6-4 – and he can skate,” Laviolette said. “And you can see that he can hit. He had a couple hits (Sunday) night (in Boston). He had a hit in the scrimmage the day before right over in the corner where I was sitting. I thought the person might end up in my lap over there, so he has that element. It’s kind of rare to have that type of element and still be able to score.”
Vets hungry for redemption
The narrative at last year’s camp was all about the Rangers having established themselves as Stanley Cup contenders. They were coming off an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Final, creating feel-good vibes around a young team that had arrived ahead of schedule.
The feeling now is distinctly different. The 2022-23 Blueshirts took a step backwards, falling flat in the face of high expectations. They were humbled by their disappointing first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils, which served as a harsh reminder of how fleeting success can be.
They quickly went from being patted on the back to facing doubts about whether this core is good enough to win it all. That, coupled with the arrival of Laviolette, has intensified the focus at this camp.
The result is a group that seems hungry for a chance at redemption, not to mention reenergized by a long summer.
“When you don’t experience the success that you wanted the previous year, it just dials you in,” Laviolette observed. “It makes you want it more. It makes you focus more on what it is that you need to do. And, so, I think that we’ve got a good group of players that are focused and that want to be successful. For me as a coach, that’s a really good thing.”
That’s especially true among the veterans.
Kreider, Panarin, Trouba and others understand that they’ll only get so many kicks at the can, which is serving as motivation to pour everything they have into it while they still can.
“The core guys have been here for a while now and you don’t have unlimited chances,” Trouba said. “That’s just the reality of sports – the reality of hockey. This is our time. We’ve got a lot to prove and I think, to a man, we’ve got the team in here to do it. I think we all believe that.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers training camp: 5 emerging storylines to watch
