There are plenty of different combinations that Peter Laviolette could try out on October 12th when the Rangers open their season on the road against the Buffalo Sabres, but which lines would make the most sense?
I for one, am all for trying new things to start a season. We all know that the lineup you see in Game 1 of the regular season is rarely the same as that in Game 82, especially when it comes to the New York Rangers.
All of the talk around the Rangers going into this coming season are the questions about Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. Can they get consistent top-six and power play minutes? Then there are the concerns about Lafreniere playing on the right side as opposed to the left side which he has played forever.
Let's face it, this team isn't getting any younger and there are some young, talented players on this roster that can boost this team. So, if you had the chance, what would you do to this lineup to try and balance out the talent on both offense and defense, while also giving Lafreniere and Kakko a true chance to flourish?
Listen, I'm not saying these lines are perfect, but there are some key things that stick out when you look at this lineup. Obviously, the first thing people might notice is Chris Kreider on the third line. I know how well Kreider and Mika Zibanejad play together and I would personally hate to see them split up, but Kreider is a guy that can play anywhere in the lineup and still have the same impact on a game. There aren't that many players on this team that I can truly say that about.
I've talked about it in detail on The Blew Crew Podcast, I don't think Kreider is a third-line player, but it would be beneficial to the future of the team if he were to take on that role. He will still get plenty of ice time on the power play, which is where most of his success comes from anyway. Over the past two seasons, only two players in the NHL have scored more power-play goals than Kreider, who tallied 34 of them and that is Mika Zibanejad (35) and Leon Draisaitl (56).
Artemi Panarin playing on the first line with Zibanejad and Kakko might not be the most ideal situation because this trio hasn't been all that successful in previous attempts, but who's to say that it can't work under a new coaching staff that has a different approach to the game?
Now that Filip Chytil and Vincent Trocheck are both locked up for the next 4+ years, I think it is somewhat inevitable that Chytil will take over the second-line center position at some point in the future. Chytil already had more even-strength goals than Trocheck did in the 2022-23 season, Chytil tallying 19 as opposed to Trocheck's 13. Trocheck can also provide more of a shutdown responsibility playing on the third line.
Below is what the NHL has for the Rangers' projected opening night lines:
I think it's pretty clear that having Lafreniere and Chytil on a line with Blake Wheeler over Barclay Goodrow would certainly help boost their offensive production. Wheeler is a guy who should be putting up a minimum of 60 points, while Goodrow has never exceeded the 33-point mark in his career.
Now, let's get into the defensive pairings.
To me, there is no way that the Rangers would split up Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren. That first pair has stacked up very well amongst the rest of the league. A pairing that I would love to see get some time together would be K'Andre Miller and Brendan Schneider. Obviously, the negative to this is having the captain and $8 million defenseman Jacob Trouba playing as a third-pair defenseman, which is not very common around the league.
Schneider and Miller are both still very young, but they also have incredibly high ceilings and might actually complement each other very well as a pair. Having Erik Gustafsson and Trouba as a third pair could get tricky, but I'm sure that Zac Jones will appear in many games this season as well on defense for the Rangers.
I'm sure that things will change once training camp comes around. There are some young prospects that could make a strong impression and fight for a roster spot come opening night. Maybe Will Cuylle or Brennan Othmann could make their way into this lineup.
It's always fun to do some line projections, so we'll see what they look like a month from now.
I can't wait for the season to start.