Why Rangers coach believes it’s time to scratch Gabe Perreault: ‘Other players are sitting out, as well’
One week after making his NHL debut with the New York Rangers, Gabe Perreault will be a healthy scratch for the first time when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
It’s a curious move by Rangers coach Peter Laviolette for many reasons. Perreault is the Rangers top prospect, a stud forward from Boston College who’s also starred on the international stage and played adequately in his first three games. In addition, by joining the Rangers now, at the end of his NCAA season, the 19-year-old burned the first of his three-year, entry-level contract.
Perhaps more significantly, the Rangers are eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with five games to play. New York’s tragic number is three — any combination of points lost by the Rangers or gained by the Canadiens totaling three, and the Rangers will be eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
No team or coach throws up their hands and tosses in the towel on a season until mathematically eliminated. That would be unfair to the organization, its players and the fan base. But would playing Perreault, seeing what you’ve got in this prized prospect, really alter their unlikely chance of making the playoffs?
“Other players are sitting out, as well, that we want to continue to look at and put into the lineup,” was part of Laviolette’s explanation.
To that end, another rookie, Brett Berard, will draw in against the Flyers. Not to say the 22-year-old doesn’t deserve to be in the lineup, but Berard has played 32 games this season. Don’t Laviolette and the Rangers have an idea of where or how Berard fits in the organization at this point? And if not, don’t they already know what Jonny Brodzinski or Matt Rempe brings? Or how about veterans playing out the string in the midst of a miserable season, like, say, Chris Kreider? Dare we even mention dropping a late-season message on Alexis Lafreniere, he of the two goals in his past 25 games?
The bigger question really is, why the heck aren’t you giving Perreault every chance to gain valuable ice time? If he was completely overmatched and overwhelmed in the NHL at this stage, yes, sit him, get him ready for training camp next fall. But that’s not the case, though he definitely needs to fill out and get stronger.
He’s very much still a kid, but the more Perreault plays, the more he acclimates, then the more teaching moments you have with him.
But Laviolette believes the Rangers are seizing on those teaching moments with Perreault by sitting him.
“Coaches will sit down and go through things with him — the times where he’s done some things that he’s had an impact, and times where he can be better,” Laviolette explained. “I think it’s a learning process for young players, whether it be practice, games, video, watching. It could be a combination of all of it, but it’s a big step coming out of college right into (an NHL) lineup.”
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Gabe Perreault ‘has been good’ but is scratched by Rangers against Flyers
Though Rangers fans are blowing up social media with claims and comments that Laviolette is sabotaging the youngster, that’s not the case, looking at this objectively. One can argue that this is the wrong decision — as it’s been documented here — but Laviolette is not trying to sabotage anyone. You’d also have to believe that general manager Chris Drury was in on this decision, too, considering how important Perreault is to the team’s future.
“For a young player straight out of college, there’s going to be times where you can teach him and show him and let him watch and learn,” Laviolette said. “He’s been good, just a young player that draws out tonight”
Perreault has averaged 13:31 TOI his first three games and is pointless with four shots on goal. He had three shots and played his best in his debut last week against the Minnesota Wild. Laviolette had him in a top-six role and on the second power-play unit, before pulling back the reins and dropping him to the bottom-six in a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
After the game, Laviolette explained that he was protecting Perreault from being exposed against the Lightning’s high-flying top line featuring superstar Nikita Kucherov.
Agree or not, that’s a rational thought process. But scratching Perreault against the Flyers? Why? Again, Laviolette’s thought process is rational, yet also flawed.
This seemed pretty easy when Perreault signed last week. Just let the kid play. Except not so on Wednesday against the Flyers, it now appears.
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