The puck is set to drop for the 2023-24 New York Rangers season. After a disappointing finish to 2022-23, this group has many doubters to prove wrong.
Going into the 2022-23 season, the expectations were very high for the New York Rangers. In fact, many of the NHL media members had picked them to win the Stanley Cup. Going into the 2023-24 season, the narrative has changed quite a bit.
The Rangers first round exit in the 2023 playoffs at the defeat of the New Jersey Devils has left a bad taste in many mouths. The Rangers have gone from a "this is our year" team, to what is now a "prove it" year.
The Steve Dangle Podcast had some interesting takes and opinions on what to expect from the group this year. Adam Wylde started out by saying "The Rangers went from young and fast, to old and slow pretty quickly." Steve Dangle followed that up by saying that the team went from "dominant to bums in one game" in reference to the first-round series last year against the Devils. After Wylde, Dangle and Jesse Blake discussed a little bit further, Blake went on to say "I am worried that the rest of the league has caught up with the New York Rangers." With that said, all three of these fine gentleman, had the Rangers finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
This "prove it" year narrative hinges mostly on Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere who we have spent a lot of time talking about this summer. Kakko had a phenomenal training camp and preseason, while Lafreniere looked a step behind, granted, he spent most of camp playing on the right wing as opposed to his natural left side. But there's no excuses anymore. As Vincent Trocheck said on the first day of training camp, this team has a "no bulls**t" mentality and that's the exact mentality that Laviolette brings to this organization. The Empty Netters Podcast has the Rangers finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan Division as well, but Dan Powers, one of the hosts of the show said that they're lucky to be that high. In talking about Kakko and Lafreniere making that big jump, Powers went onto say "it could happen, but you need it to happen, but I'm telling you right now, you need it to happen, otherwise you're going to finish 4th or 5th."
The Steve Dangle Podcast and the Empty Netters Podcast are just a couple of examples of the vibes that people feel about this team going into the new season. There are still some believers out there, and how could you not be with Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on your roster? If all goes well, this group has the potential to be very scary.
It appears that this is what the Rangers are rolling with for opening night in Buffalo against the Sabres:
Seeing Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere in the top six, I'm assuming, is a beautiful sight for Rangers fans, but now, the excuse in saying that they haven't had the opportunity to excel will completely evaporate. Laviolette is putting the young guys in the position to succeed. If they do, it will be a magical season and if they don't, it could be miserable.
To me, a lot of the conversation has been about Kakko and Lafreniere, but Chytil has potential to have a 30-goal season if he is getting consistent 2nd line minutes.
Mike Rupp and Tony Luftman had Chytil on their "Don't Sleep On 'Em" list on the NHL Network. Rupp said "I wouldn't be surprised and I actually think it would be the best thing for this Rangers team, his game continues to evolve and he becomes a top-six center. Where I think Vinny Trocheck will be most dangerous as a sleeper guy somewhere else in the lineup as maybe a third-line center." It appears that Laviolette was listening to this with the way the lineup looks right now.
Overall, Laviolette's role is to bring this group together and get them to believe that they can achieve more than they think is possible. The preseason wasn't great, but that is now behind them. This season is going to be a journey of ups and downs.