A full six-man defensive corps will be necessary to accomplish this. Along with making the postseason, Drury has emphasized the need for more grit in the lineup and there has been news of the organization wanting to add a veteran defenseman. The top four seem to be obvious, but there are many options to fill the bottom two spots.

New York Rangers defense: Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren have emerged as the top pair

Even in their 2019-20 rookie season, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren often found themselves playing against other teams’ skilled top lines. Fox and Lindgren have developed a noticeable chemistry which helps elevate their play making ability in all three zones.

As a rookie, Fox impressed and made an immediate impact. He didn’t look like a newbie; he appeared very comfortable playing defense in the NHL which isn’t considered an easy task for a young player. Now, he has added an element of offense to his game that has propelled him into the Norris Trophy conversation. He led all defensemen in the league in assists this season with 42, indicating his play making ability. Additionally, analysts have recently compared Fox to Brian Leetch. Since the Tony DeAngelo incident that led to the defenseman’s banishment from the team, Fox has proven to be an excellent quarterback on the power play. It’s possible that Fox could eventually wear a letter as the team evolves and a younger leadership group develops.

Ryan Lindgren has been a pleasant surprise since coming to New York in a trade with Boston three years ago. He initially struggled slightly with positioning in the defensive zone but has since developed into a responsible defenseman. Lindgren also brings an element of grit and physicality that the Rangers lack. He’s certainly a physical presence, bringing big hits each game and not shying away from a fight. Being as physical and tough as he is, he sets an example on the ice that helps to develop a culture in general. Lindgren is still very young and as he continues to develop, the offense will come as well. There were a few glimmers of his offensive potential this season, and his game will only improve.

Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller are the most likely option for the second pair

Jacob Trouba mentioned in during his end of season media availability that he felt much more comfortable with the Rangers this year. He seemed to struggle a bit in his first Broadway campaign after coming over from Winnipeg in a trade. This season, he showed that he can be a solid top-four defenseman and a leader. K’Andre Miller spoke multiple times this season about how helpful Trouba has been to him. At 6’3″ and 209 lbs, Trouba’s size makes him a threat. He uses his reach to take away the opponent’s space and time, especially when paired with K’Andre Miller. However, Trouba plays his best when he plays a heavy game. He needs to make this a more prevalent habit going forward as the Rangers need more muscle.

Similarly to Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller impressed as a rookie, appearing to have little to no trouble adjusting to the pace of the NHL. Throughout most of the season, his defensive play was eye-catching though he did seem to experience a slight decline towards the end of the season. That could have been a result of the grind of an NHL season on a rookie even though it wasn’t a full one or a result of playing with different partners after Trouba was injured. Like Trouba, Miller has wonderful size at 6’5″ and 210 lbs but needs to learn to use it for checking as well as defending. Anywhere the Rangers can add more physicality would helpful as their mindset is currently too finesse oriented.

The Rangers must make decisions on Brendan Smith and Libor Hajek

While Brendan Smith is generally a bottom pair defenseman, he deserves credit for several aspects of his game. Overall, he doesn’t make many catastrophic mistakes and he’s versatile. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Rangers could choose not to re-sign him. They want to bring in a veteran defenseman, which Smith can continue to provide. He also has some playoff experience, but with making the postseason as the goal the Rangers may feel they need bring in a player with more playoff games on his resume.

Smith can also play wing, which is something that former Head Coach David Quinn flirted with last season. Chris Drury has expressed his intent of adding more sandpaper to the bottom six. Moving Brendan Smith to the fourth line would be useful in that case; he brings a physical presence every night. He has also been a valuable leader this season in acting as a mentor to a K’Andre Miller and taking on Tom Wilson in a fight after he injured Panarin. There should be some serious consideration from the organization before they decide to let him walk.

Libor Hajek is a pending restricted free agent this summer, and the Rangers have to decide if he still fits into the big picture. When he first started in New York, his play was promising but he suffered multiple injuries that kept management from seeing what he could really do in the NHL. This season, Hajek played much more for the Rangers, but wasn’t really able to reach a point of playing consistently effective defense. While he isn’t costing the team games, he also isn’t exactly capitalized on the chances he’s been given. With other prospects in the pipeline and the possibility of acquiring another veteran defenseman, Hajek simply may not be the answer on the third pair.

What about Anthony Bitetto?

The Rangers signed Anthony Bitetto last offseason, and he played 14 games this season. In those 14 games, he had one goal and three assist for four points. That’s fine for a defenseman, but he doesn’t by any means stand out offensively. Defensively, he sometimes makes too many mistakes when in the lineup and he was a minus-8. He acted as a sort of placeholder this season as he was able to come in when someone was injured. Though Bitetto may be a good insurance policy, he’s certainly not a staple in the lineup. He may be taking a roster spot from a younger defenseman that the Rangers want to bring to New York. There’s no sense in him just sitting on the roster next season and not playing, especially considering there likely won’t be a taxi squad.

If the Rangers can find some way to trade him, that’s always an option. However, they may be forced to assign him to Hartford even though it seems a bit ridiculous considering his age and the stage he’s at in his career.

Tarmo Reunanen and Zac Jones should be competing for roster spots

Prior to joining the Rangers briefly this season, Tarmo Reunanen posted impressive numbers in 21 games in Hartford. He had four goals and 13 assists for 17 points, and only 4 penalty minutes. In the few chances he was given in the NHL, he showed encouraging flashes of skill and was mostly diligent in the defensive zone. Overall, he seems to definitely be more offense oriented. If he does make the team out of training camp next season, he will of course need time to adjust to the NHL like any other player.

Zac Jones will also be vying for a roster spot out of camp next season and got an opportunity to show what he can do late this season. Being that the Rangers have already gotten a look at him may factor into whether he makes it or not. Analysts have described him as Adam Fox-esque. Considering what Fox has been able to do in his first couple of years with the Rangers, hearing that about Jones is exciting. Size may be a bit of a concern as Jones is only 5’10” and 176 lbs. That could play a role in the time it takes him to adjust to the NHL.

If both are on this roster heading into next season they will be competing for roster spots. That is a big if considering the Rangers desire to add more proven young NHL talent at the expense of some of their younger assets.

When will we see Nils Lundkvist and Braden Schneider?

Assuming the Rangers can get Nils Lundkvist signed to his entry level contract, he will also be competing in training camp for a spot in the lineup. Since being drafted, Lundkvist has continued to play with Luleå in the SHL. This season, he had 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 52 games. According to the scouting report on eliteprospects.com, Lundkvist is a “mobile puck-moving defenseman who likes to make quick decisions and join the rush. Lundkvist displays confidence with the puck on his stick.” His quick decision making will be useful in the NHL where the game moves much faster.

He has been in the Rangers system since the 2018 draft, and it’s time to bring him to New York. He’s had time to play against men in the SHL, and it likely NHL ready. It will be interesting to see what he does at this year’s World Championships as well. It will be curious if the Rangers don’t get him signed this offseason.

The Rangers traded up to draft Braden Schneider nineteenth overall in the 2020 draft. Schneider brings a physical style of play and good size to aid him in that at 6’2″ and 187 lbs. He will continue to develop physically and get stronger to be even more of a presence. He certainly does not shy away from big hits. His physical style is an integral part of his defensive play. He has a leadership quality as he’s the captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL this season.

Schneider also has offensive upside, posting five goals and 22 assists for 27 points in 22 games this season. It may be useful for the Rangers to give him a year in Hartford to further develop his game instead of making a jump from juniors to the NHL. Schneider probably won’t spend next season with the Rangers. It would be more helpful for him to play meaningful minutes in Hartford instead of potentially being the sixth or seventh defenseman on the depth chart for the Rangers.

Note: all stats come from hockey-reference.com and eliteprospects.com

NHL Rumors

JD back in Columbus! Red Wings trade buzz and more here.

If Igor Shesterkin is a go, it would be irregular since he hasn’t taken part in a full practice. He remains on IR per CapFriendly.

UPDATE

#NYR pregame updates:

-Kinkaid in net tonight vs. WSH; same lineup otherwise
-Shesterkin skated again this morning and remains day to day
-Jack Johnson underwent core muscle repair surgery and is sidelined for the remainder of the season pic.twitter.com/26rM0kDEVy

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 20, 2021

Tom Wilson back tonight

Things won’t get easier for the Rangers with Tom Wilson back in the lineup for the Capitals. He’s returning from a 7 game suspension after hitting Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo with a high and hard hit to the head. Wilson claims he wants to be careful, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

“At the end of the day, it can’t happen,” Wilson said Friday of his suspension. “I can’t be missing seven games. I can’t be missing one game. I’ve got to be in the lineup. … I just have to worry about helping the team win playing good hockey.”

NHL.com

NYR News: Jack Johnson out for the season

The Rangers signed the 24 year-old veteran defenseman this past offseason to a one year deal worth $1.15 million. It was an insurance and depth move that really didn’t work out for either side. In 13 games this season, Johnson played admirably and through some pain. He notched 1 goal and 8 penalty minutes in limited action.

New York will place him on LTIR and gain some lift from his cap hit.

Jack Johnson had successful sports hernia related surgery yesterday. Expectation is he will make a full recovery by June/July.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 20, 2021

Read Next: Is Pavel Buchnevich’s next deal to expense to keep?

Rangers Penalty Kill an impressive turnaround

Give credit to where’s credit is due. The hiring of assistant coach Jacques Martin was a brilliant move as he’s turned the Rangers PK completely around in short order.

Last season the Blueshirts were meandering towards the bottom with a 77.4% efficiency rate. This year, Martin has them #3 overall with an impressive 87.1 PK% and just 2.3 points behind the Bruins for the best penalty kill in the entire league.

Furthermore, since January 30 the Blueshirts are operating at a 93.4% rate which is the best in the NHL. In their last 20 games, they also held their opponents to a stunning 79 shots over 65 opportunities. That’s an impressive 1.21 shots per power play allowed.

While Martin deserves a lot of credit, Pavel Buchnevich has been incredible on the PK with Mika Zibanejad. David Quinn saw something there and it was a great move by the coach.

Editor’s note: Some stats ctsy NYR

Pavel Buchnevich’s Rangers future

The New York Rangers are neither sellers or buyers at this point in the season. With 15 games to go before the April 12 trade deadline, they may still work themselves into the playoff picture. If they don’t you can expect them to move players like Brendan Smith and Kevin Rooney for draft picks.

Pavel Buchnevich is the Rangers leading scorer this season with 22 points in 26 games. The 25 year-old leading the team is more a byproduct of Artemi Panarin being out for almost half the season due to injury and a leave of absence. Let’s not forget Mika Zibanejad’s Broadway sized slump either.

However, while the Rangers may have had him on the potential trade chip block for a center in the offseason, a change of heart is likely. That will happen when you play really well.

Though the organization seems stacked on the wings, moving the first-liner would create a hole that might take at least a couple of years to fill. If the Rangers are going to trade Buchnevich, they would have to get either a no-doubt, youngish top-six center or a more grinding-oriented winger in the mold of a Zach Hyman, let’s say, in return. Both of those scenarios seem unlikely.

Larry Brooks, NY Post

That’s why when doing my digging on the Jack Eichel trade rumors I was guided to Vitali Kravtsov and not Pavel Buchnevich being the right winger Jeff Gorton would rather move.

Jack Johnson on waivers

Johnson has appeared in 13 games this season for the Blueshirts and has posted one goal and -5 rating. He’s averaging 16:58 of ice when he plays and posts 1.15 blocks per game to go along with 2.30 hits per game.

It isn’t impossible that a team looking to add a veteran defenseman to their taxi-squad wouldn’t consider a player like Johnson. However, all things being equal he is expected to clear and open up a roster spot.

Rangers set to carry three goalies….again

Larry Brooks highlighted this in his latest article, but here we are less than a year since Henrik Lundqvist’s buyout talking about the Rangers three goalies.

The numbers don’t lie, Alexandar Georgiev has not been very good this season. He may epitomize the Rangers season with his “sporadic” good play. I mean his first start was a shutout over the Islanders. He also had some other big wins like the shootout in Philadelphia, but his play of late is abysmal and his confidence looks shot.

Keith Kinkaid on the other hand is not wasting his second lease on NHL life. He has been solid in net as his positional play right now is head and shoulders above Georgiev’s. There’s no issue at the moment roster wise with Igor Shesterkin on IR, but the Blueshirts can’t send Kinkaid back to the taxi squad without risking him being taken on waivers. Same for Georgiev.

So here we are again – the three headed goalie monster.

• Igor Shesterkin: 6-7-1, 2.31 GAA, .921 SV%
• Alexandar Georgiev: 4-4-2, 3.33 GAA, .887 SV%
• Keith Kinkaid: 1-1-0, 1.53 GAA, .933 SV%

NHL Rumors: TRADE BAIT TRACKER

Don’t miss DGH’s Updated Daily Trade Bait Tracker here.

He can be claimed by noon tomorrow.

Phil Di Giuseppe lands on COVID list

Rangers forward Phil Di Giuseppe has landed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. The 27 year-old winger has 7 points in 23 games this season.

Phil Di Giuseppe: Lands in COVID-19 protocol https://t.co/w02w3uNLuq

— RotoWire🏒 (@RotoWireNHL) March 14, 2021

Vitali Kravtsov lands in NY

Forever Blueshirts has learned that Vitali Kravtsov landed late this afternoon and will begin his 10 day quarantine before hitting the ice with the Rangers.

The 9th overall selection in 2018 has a strong season in the KHL where his work ethic and defense was praised. He finished the season with 16 goals and 24 points in 49 games. In the playoffs he kept up his strong play with two goals and four points in Traktor’s 5 game elimination. He finishes his KHL career with 18 points in 31 playoff games. The Rangers hope he brings his post season play to Broadway.

Per source: Vitali Kravtsov has landed in NY and will begin quarantine #NYR

— Forever Blueshirts (@4EverBlueshirts) March 14, 2021

Latest NHL Rumors

Are the Islanders in on Taylor Hall at the deadline? Read more.

John Davidson connects with Barry Beck

According to the NY Post, the Rangers declined to comment on Beck’s FB post, but they did learn that John Davidson worked with Glenn Healey to get Mark help. Beck gave credit to Healey as president of the NHL alumni association for what he did.

Apparently, John Davidson also reached out to his former teammate about his rant and told him they should focus on mourning Mark’s death. Beck agreed as he wrote on FB:

“I understood everything I said and was soon thereafter contacted by NY Rangers President John Davidson. Years ago John, Mark and I were teammates with the Rangers. John and I discussed the remarks I had made. We both respect each other and agreed that at this time it’s best we focus on mourning the death of Mark.”

Good to see cooler heads prevail. Hopefully everyone will work together to prevent what happened to Mark in the future.

The Rangers and the upcoming trade deadline

There’s a lot of games for the New York Rangers between now an the NHL Trade Deadline on April 12. Eighteen to be exact, and a long way from knowing what their mindset will be on how to approach it. That will depend where they sit in the standings.

When you look at the NHL Trade Deadline, you must keep the Seattle Expansion draft in mind. You also have to think about the Rangers game-plan going forward, which includes an attempt at a big offseason trade for a center.

The Rangers have several players that would make good rentals, and others that could be extremely valuable assets. Let’s take a look at the roster and point out two obvious trade candidates.

UFA’s Brendan Smith and Jack Johnson

If there are any takers, both UFA defensemen Brendan Smith and Jack Johnson would be great to move for additional picks. The Blueshirts are going to want to stock up on draft picks which are a hot commodity for many teams in the flat cap era.

The 32 year-old Smith is going to be very attractive for his ability to play both sides on defense and some 4th line grinder minutes. By the way, it would not surprise me if the Rangers look to sign him at a team friendly price when free agency begins this summer.

Jack Johnson has actually done a decent job in the last few weeks stepping in for injured blue-liners. The 34 year-old is a character guy and would be a contender’s insurance policy as a depth defenseman.

As of right now, no matter how their record is come the deadline – I believe these two are highly likely to be dealt.

Latest NHL Rumors

Evgeny Kuznetsov has entered the NHL Rumors Mill chat.

Jack Johnson is out tonight (day to day) with a groin strain.

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 28, 2021

David Quinn recently addressed Libor Hajek and mentioned he’s like to give him a look also. The coach will address the media and the lineup at 5:30 PM.

Update:

DQ says he thinks it'll be short term with Johnson. Brendan Smith steps in tonight. #NYR

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 28, 2021

Rangers vs Sabres

Tonight the Rangers will try and get on track when they take on the Sabres in Buffalo. They dropped another one goal contest (4 in row) with a 3-2 loss to these Sabres on Tuesday.

(7:00 p.m. ET – TV: MSG Network, Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM)

Rangers: 1-4-1 (3 pts)
Sabres: 3-3-1 (7 pts)

Pre Game Notes:

• All-Time: 77-79-25-5 (43-31-15-3 at home; 34-48-10-2 on the road)
• Mika Zibanejad – 25 GP, 3-14-17 – Zibanejad has registered a point in 12 of his last 19 games against Buffalo (three goals, 11 assists).
• Artemi Panarin – 13 GP, 5-8-13 – Panarin has tallied a point in eight of his last 10 games against the Sabres (five goals, seven assists over the span).
• The average age of a player on the Rangers’ active roster this season is 25.6 years old, which is the youngest in the NHL.
• The Blueshirts have outshot their opponent in each of the last five games, registering 172 shots on goal and allowing 122 shots on goal over the span. New York is tied for fifth in the NHL in shots on goal per game in 2020-21 (32.7) and has allowed the fifth-fewest shots on goal against per game in the NHL thus far this season (25.8).
• The Rangers have drawn 29 penalties and have taken 21 penalties through six games this season. New York’s plus-eight net penalty differential is tied for the third-best in the NHL in 2020-21.

Pre Game Notes courtesy of the NYR

NHL RUMORS

What if Tony DeAngelo can’t transition to the left-side? The experiment never got off the ground. Ok, signing Johnson seems wise so far.

What if Libor Hajek can’t earn a spot in the top six? He didn’t, so another plus in the signing Johnson column.

What if K’Andre Miller isn’t ready? He is, and getting better every shift. Ok, so Johnson is insurance and a 7th defenseman.

What if they trade Brendan Smith? He’s still here, and looked good in both games. Now the head scratching has begun.

The Rangers did say that they wanted to improve the PK from last season. That’s why they brought in Jacques Martin and he help lobby for Johnson. So how is that going? Let’s dive in.

Inside the numbers for Jack Johnson

In three games, Jack Johnson is a -2 in 16:49 of ice time. Now that isn’t a fair assessment. There’s many things that can happen on the ice that may have nothing to do with the 34 year-old rearguard.

How about those advanced statistics? You know, the ones that tell a story your eyes don’t always see. Johnson’s CF% (shot attempts for/against) is dead last on the Blueshirts defense at 46.4%. Not terrible, but certainly not helping the Rangers in the possession game.

Tony DeAngelo, who was scratched for “discipline reasons” has a CF% of 58.8%. And he played in the Rangers 4-0 loss to the Islanders in game one. Even rookie, K’Andre Miller has a CF% of 51.5%. Pretty impressive for the young man.

Ok, so Jack Johnson wasn’t brought in to drive possession 5v5, he was brought in to improve the PK. Well, after three games the Rangers are a hair below the league average on it.

The other NHL teams are killing at a rate of 78.83%, while the Rangers are at 78.57%. Last night, the Rangers gave the Devils only two PP’s but they scored on one and it was Jack Johnson who was behind his check when it was tapped home. You can clearly see that Johnson left Miles Wood alone at the post for the easy goal. To add insult to injury, that turned out to be the game-winner.

No worries ya'll, Woody's goal is still good and the @NJDevils are still on top 🙌 #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/6PYwOVccDg

— Devils on MSG (@DevilsMSGN) January 20, 2021

On the season, New York has killed 11 of 14 opposition power play chances. Jack Johnson has been on the ice for two of the three goals against. Yes, it is early and he’s not the only player responsible for the goals scored. It’s just when you are brought in to help the PK, this isn’t a exactly going to quiet the detractors.

It’s only been three games, and the coaches see things we may not during the game. There is also the locker-room presence that none of us are privy too. However, if Johnson doesn’t help on the PK when he’s on the ice it’s going to be a problem. Johnson playing in favor of players like Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith, or Libor Hajek while the PK struggles is going to draw the ire of fans. And when it does they’ll be calling for more than just taking Jack out of the lineup.

READ NEXT: MIKA ZIBANEJAD EXPECTED TO PLAY FRIDAY AND MORE

At least to start this season, no member of the Blueshirts tripped coming out. Not falling over a camera wire was a plus, but the Rangers were tripped up by their own effort all night.

Rangers Lesson 1: Own zone coverage was a nightmare

The Rangers biggest issues were in their own zone. David Quinn didn’t hold back last night in his criticism either saying they were “behind their checks all night.”

If the Rangers are going to be successful they will need to play more like the Islanders who gave them almost nothing in the middle.

Steve Valiquette was on the last episode of the podcast on Wednesday and had some prophetic analysis. He was clear that if the Rangers were going to have any success they need to commit to their play in the D-Zone.

“The Rangers gave up more plays across the middle of the ice than anybody in the league last year,” he explained. “If they can understand that the line in the middle of the ice is the most important to defend, they can change their goaltending for the next 10 years. You don’t want your goalie multi-tasking.”

If it wasn’t obvious to everyone, the Rangers were not good with defending the middle and paid for it often. Igor Shesterkin was under siege and even run over at one point in the game. Fortunately, he escaped injury.

The number one lesson the Rangers learned will be to play better defense. If they didn’t learn that lesson, this is going to be a long season.

What’s the most important thing for the #NYR to have success this season and long term? Here’s some of that answer from @VallysView – listen to the entire show here https://t.co/Bm02o3FGUk pic.twitter.com/fXeFQ0Ns0H

— Forever Blueshirts (@4EverBlueshirts) January 14, 2021

Rangers Lesson 2: Jack Johnson doesn’t fit on this defense

Coming into this season, many questions as to why the Rangers signed Jack Johnson were asked. Many gave the veteran the benefit of the doubt, including President John Davidson, and coaches David Quinn and Jacques Martin.

It was painfully obvious that Johnson didn’t look like a fit with Tony DeAngelo last night. He was slow, and had difficulties making even the simplest of passes.

He was brought in for his play on the PK, but struggled there too. At one point, he was down on all fours trying to prevent cross ice passes to which the Islanders had no problem getting over his prone body.

It would behoove Quinn to scratch him in favor of the somewhat quicker Brendan Smith for Saturday’s rematch against the Islanders.

Rangers Lesson 3: The kids looked good and learned the most about what it takes to play in the NHL

The most painful lesson was for the two young men who are also close friends making their NHL debuts last night. K’Andre Miller’s and Alexis Lafreniere’s excitement was quelled by learning what it takes to play in this league.

With young players you always look for “teachable moments” and last night they both got one. Miller struggled from the onset, and made nervous mistakes but settled down nicely, a credit to his partner Jacob Trouba. Towards the end of the game, he looked more confident and asserted himself.

On the other hand, Alexis Lafreniere showed the skating, shooting and skills that made him the #1 overall pick. I believe he was one of the Rangers best players all night, but he recognized that even he will need to find another gear to be successful.

Listen, they say you learn more from your mistakes than you do your successes. Last night was a mistake from the opening face-off, let’s hope they all learned something.

Today’s NHL Rumors

Lots of drama in Columbus these days.

When the NHL opens its season on January 13th, the Blueshirts will be conducting their first full team practice. That will be the one and only time the finalized roster will skate before taking on the Islanders the next night.

New York Rangers defense becoming clearer

The Rangers may completely forego the whole left/right handedness on defense based on what we’ve seen so far. They’ve played righty Tony DeAngelo with Jacob Trouba on the top pair at left defense for most of camp.

DeAngelo played his OHL career on his off-side and has no issue doing it at the NHL level. Matter of fact, as an offensive defenseman he would prefer his stick be in the middle of the ice. Of course that causes a dilemma on the third pair.

Jack Johnson is very likely penciled in as the left-defenseman on the third pairing. There’s a possibility that Libor Hajek could still win that job and there is no guarantee that Tony DeAngelo won’t be the third pair right defenseman either.

Like I said, it’s becoming clearer not finalized.

That’s because K’Andre Miller has impressed so much in camp that he appears to have made the team. The question then becomes, is he ready to be paired with Jacob Trouba on the top pair? That’s certainly not a spot for Jack Johnson and there’s no reason to break up the Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox pairing. To date, Trouba and Miller have yet to be paired in camp.

Third pair right defense is an intriguing camp question yet resolved

Ultimately I think Brendan Smith is the third pair right defenseman, even though he’s a lefty. That is if David Quinn is done experimenting with DeAngelo on the left side. Miller making the team could also push out Johnson and move Smith back with Trouba, where he finished last season.

It should also be interesting to note that another lefty has been used in camp almost exclusively on the third pair right defense. Tarmo Reunanen has had a quiet camp, but when you are a defenseman that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Let’s look at what the opening night defense could like with camp close to concluding starting with option 1.

NYR Defense Option 1

• DeAngelo/Trouba
• Lindgren/Fox
• Miller/Smith

This option represents the most likely opening night scenario and would have either Jack Johnson or Libor Hajek as the 7th defenseman.

NYR Defense Option 2

• Smith/Trouba
• Lindgren/Fox
• Miller/DeAngelo

Option two would be just a solid in my estimation. Smith did a good job with Trouba late last season. A third pairing of Miller and DeAngelo could be incredible offensively, with a lot of risk in their own zone.

NYR Defense Option 3

• Smith/Trouba
• Lindgren/Fox
• Johnson/DeAngelo

This is the safest set up on defense for David Quinn. Minimal risk in the sense that he’s going into the season with lefty/right balance and veterans. Safe is also death in the NHL and this could be the grouping many fans eventually think will come to fruition. They just don’t want it.

A tough job for Quinn

This abbreviated camp was always going to be very difficult for all teams and coaches. While DQ has tried different combos during scrimmages similar to ones he conducted during RTP, none of them will be properly tested until put in front of an opposing team.

No matter what the finalize defense will be, it’s going to get questioned. Even if the Rangers went with option 3 and won their first 5 games of the season, someone with a chart will scream, “this is not sustainable”!

The only thing that seems apparent to me is that K’Andre Miller has made this team, which opens up a lot of options for Blueshirts.

NHL Rumors

Here’s your latest NHL Rumors at The Daily Goal Horn.