An Inconvenient Truth

[text_output]I’ll admit, this is definitely a reactionary post to the Rangers’ less than inspiring/hopeful season. And it’s partially fueled by my general apathy towards everything as I’m moving halfway across the country.

But, that’s all besides the point, because there is an argument to be made that missing the playoffs may be beneficiary to the Rangers.

Hear me out on this one, because it’s actually not that crazy:

Consider for a moment the Detroit Red Wings.

They had a 25-year playoff streak and while some of those playoff runs were good (and resulted in Stanley Cups), some of them were less than impressive. By the time the streak snapped in the 2016-2017 season, the Red Wings had squeaked into the playoffs and been eliminated in the first round for three straight seasons. Missing the playoffs allowed the Red Wings to have a break, the front office to regroup, and the team to have a fresh start.

Not a bad deal, and definitely something that could be beneficial to the Rangers.

Another benefit to not making the playoffs? A higher draft pick.

Now, there is always the possibility of trading up at the draft (the Rangers did it last season when they traded Derek Stepan to the Coyotes), but getting a higher draft pick without having to give up a player is also beneficial. The Rangers have made it clear in years prior that they don’t intend to sell at the deadline. If that’s the case, the team gets to keep, or re-sign, its current roster and also add a high-end prospect in the first round. Of course, this is dependent on who the Rangers pick and the draft order, but it’s an upside to missing the playoffs.

Then there’s the coach.

Now, I believe that our front office is smart and I give them benefit of the doubt because I don’t know them and I’ve never run an NHL team before. But, something needs to be done about the Rangers’ coaching situation.

Alain Vigneault has produced good results during his tenure with the Rangers, but the underlying numbers and usage of players is less than desired. Pavel Buchnevich, who has time and time again proven to be a highly skilled player who can play on the first line, keeps getting relegated to the third or fourth line.

AV’s deployment is not his only flaw, though. He also refuses to see when players are making mistakes and being detrimental to the team. His evaluation of players is baffling, and it consistently does not work. When AV keeps playing anyone else over Buchnevich, it does not work. Now, these players are good, but not in the role that Buchnevich has played this season: first line left wing.

When the Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich line was together and rolling, that was the Rangers’ definitive first line and was an offensive powerhouse for the team. But with Kreider sidelined indefinitely, Buchnevich has been demoted from the first line and there has been a noticeable dip in scoring. Simply stated, the players AV is valuing and playing over Buchnevich are not as good and this demotion has impacted the Rangers’ points and Buchnevich’s level of play.

But of course, there are people who still say that AV has produced results for the Rangers. A trip to the Stanley Cup Final, another trip to the Eastern Conference Final, consistent post-season appearances, a president’s trophy…there are results.

But there was also some luck involved in those results. Every single season, the Rangers have gotten incredible goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. He steals games for this team sometimes and bails them out night in and night out. The Rangers have faced over 40 shots in a game 11 times this season. In those 11 games, the Rangers are 3-8. The defense needs to be fixed, the entire team needs to be better about shot suppression, and we cannot rely on Hank night in and night out. The amount of shots the Rangers have given up this season is ridiculous and this trend cannot continue.

So how do we fix this?

We miss the playoffs. Missing the playoffs will force management to look at why. And that is when they will see that AV’s system doesn’t work, that valuing players like Steven Kampfer and Paul Carey over Brendan Smith and Pavel Buchnevich isn’t acceptable, and that we cannot continue to rely on Hank to steal games. It’s unrealistic and it’s poor team management to let this continue.

But it is continuing, nothing’s changed, and I’m afraid it won’t unless something drastic happens. So let’s miss the playoffs and force management’s hand in really evaluating this team and fixing what isn’t working. [/text_output][custom_headline type=”center” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true” id=”” class=”” style=””]Guest post by contributor Shannon Re

Follow Shannon on Twitter @shannonre929 and check out more of her work at Pucks ‘n Brews[/custom_headline]