Four games into the season. That’s all it took.
Four games, and Rangers nation has been thrown into full revolt. Part of it is, admittedly, an overreaction to a slow start. One win in the team’s first four games is sure to get any fan base with high expectations disgruntled.
But the malcontent surrounding this infant Rangers season goes far beyond a slow start. The anger running rampant throughout the entire Rangers community is a direct result from the continued mismanagement of the team’s roster.
For the longest time, that anger has been directed at Alain Vigneault, the man directly responsible for determining the starting line-up on the given night. I have been at the forefront of that disappointment, sometimes harping on AV’s poor decisions even in the middle of team success. Now, however, the continued mistakes made by the coaching staff now, to me, is a reflection of Jeff Gorton’s overall management of the team.
It’s easy to direct all anger at Vigneault. It’s his name that’s attached to every line-up submitted each night, and he’s the one dealing with the day-to-day management of the players Gorton assembles for him. We’re at a point now where responsibility needs to be thrown at Gorton’s feet as well, for Gorton isn’t doing anything to dissuade Vigneault from putting out the line-up that sets the Rangers up for failure.
You do not need to be a hockey savant to know Ryan McDonagh should not be paired with Marc Staal, Steve Kampfer or Nick Holden. If practice lines hold going into tomorrow night’s game, Mac will once again be paired with an inferior pair. Furthermore, there is zero statistical evidence to suggest Kampfer and Holden – who have been paired together in each of the last two games and even paired together on the second penalty kill unit against the Blues – should even be on the ice.
Let’s take it one step further. The big splash Gorton made this off-season was trading Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the Phoenix Coyotes for Anthony DeAngelo and the pick used to take Lias Andersson. At the time, the trade completely crippled the Rangers center depth, which was kind-of sort-of addressed by drafting Andersson and Filip Chytil and signing David Desharnais. It was then assumed Andersson would get a shot at making the team outright in training camp to help address the team’s depth concerns.
Instead, it was Chytil who shined in camp, and rightfully earned a spot on the roster to open the season. What did Vigneault do with Chytil once the season started? He played less than 15 total minutes, was a healthy scratch in his third professional game and put Gorton in a situation where he had to demote Chytil to Hartford to protect his ELC.
While Gorton did well to protect Chytil’s contract once it became clear Chytil wouldn’t be given an opportunity on the NHL roster, it’s also on Gorton for not holding his coach responsible for the in-game treatment of his #1 prospect. That’s unacceptable.
Gorton’s second-biggest splash (you could argue it’s the bigger move, but that’s not the point of this rant) was bringing in Kevin Shattenkirk. The Rangers kryptonite over the last three years has been their defense and their power play. Shattenkirk was answering both problems. Half of that has been clear since the season started. The Rangers PP1 has performed better not than at any time over the last five seasons. It’s been electric, has controlled play on the man advantage and has produced at an elite level.
And yet, Shattenkirk is not playing at even strength with Ryan McDonagh – something he specifically mentioned was a perk for signing with the Rangers in the first place. And who is playing with Mac instead of Shattenkirk? Staal, Kampfer, Holden. And why are they? That’s a phenomenal question none of us could explain rationally.
At some point, the continued misuse of the roster becomes a reflection on Gorton for allowing his coach to improperly manage his team. Why trade Stepan, your unquestioned top six center, for pieces AV would refuse to use? Why make your center depth so much worse without improving any other aspect of the roster? Why make this team so much weaker in Henrik Lundqvist’s final years of productivity? What was his reason? Why is he allowing all this to happen?
I want Alain Vigneault fired. I have wanted that for a number of years now. And as much as I love Jeff Gorton’s ability to evaluate value and acquire talent without sacrificing too much in return, this is now on his shoulders as well.
If Jeff Gorton has to go with Alain Vigneault, I’m officially at a point where I’m fine with it. AV’s presence behind the bench makes me question just how much control Jeff Gorton truly has. It shouldn’t be that way, but we’re firmly at that point now.
It is an absolute wonder how we ever got to this point, and only after four games.
Rant over.
Author: Greg Kaplan
Greg Kaplan is a man of mystery. Did he write this? No. Was he asked to write this? Yes. But did he write this article? Maybe, do you like it?