New Rangers coach Peter Laviolette will be in search of a right wing or two
Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, in Washington. The Predators won 3-2. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel) Credit: AP/Jess Rapfogel
By all accounts, Peter Laviolette, announced Tuesday as the 37th coach in Rangers history, should bring more structure to the team’s system of playing and likely will be better than his predecessor, Gerard Gallant, at making in-game adjustments when things aren’t going well.
But will he be able to get the Rangers to forecheck harder or play a more direct north-south game? You’d be advised to believe that when you see it.
Gallant talked about getting the puck in deep in the offensive zone and forechecking. Before him, David Quinn talked often about playing a more north-south game. Neither was able to get the Rangers to do that on a consistent basis.
Players such as Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider play how they play, and trying to change their games too much might handcuff them and take away what makes them great. So Laviolette isn’t going to be able to come in and change everything; he’s going to have to find a way to adapt the team’s style of play to what best suits the players.
One thing he’s going to have to figure out right away is who is going to play right wing. With Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane not returning, Kaapo Kakko is the only natural right wing on the current roster. Tyler Motte, who played the right side on the fourth line, is a natural left wing and a free agent, albeit one the team might like to re-sign. Kreider, Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere and Jimmy Vesey are all left wings.
Even the organization’s most NHL-ready prospects all seem to be left wings. Will Cuylle, who scored 25 goals as a rookie pro for Hartford this season, is a left wing. So is Brennan Othmann, the No. 1 pick in 2021, who finished his junior career this season. Adam Sykora, the second-round pick last summer from Slovakia? Left wing. Even Anton Blidh, who came over in a minor-league trade at the deadline, had a strong playoff for Hartford and just re-signed with the Rangers, is a left wing.
So barring a trade or a free-agent signing, someone is going to have to switch to the right side.
That doesn’t seem as if it should be such a big deal, but it apparently was in Lafreniere’s case. The No. 1 pick overall in 2020 played the first 13 games of last season at right wing after Vitali Kravtsov was injured on opening night. Lafreniere, playing with Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, had two goals and three assists and was minus-1 in those 13 games.
The analytics weren’t bad as far as shots for (95, vs. 80 against) and scoring chances for (99, vs. 81 against), according to Natural Stat Trick. But the trio was on ice for seven goals for and 10 against, and after about a month, Gallant moved Lafreniere back to left wing for the rest of the season.
Will Laviolette want to try Lafreniere (who, by the way, is a restricted free agent this summer) on the right again?
He’ll probably have to break up the Kid Line of Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kakko anyway because Kakko (a career-high 18 goals and 40 points in 2022-23) likely is going to need to play on the right of one of the top two lines. Lafreniere could go to the right on the other, but if he does, who will Chytil (a career-high 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games last season) play with?
Is there a chance Laviolette might want to try Chytil, a natural center, at right wing in order to get him on one of the top two lines?
The 58-year-old Laviolette is not here to develop young players, he’s here to win. He’ll play the players who can best help him do that.
Chytil, 23, Kakko, 22, and Lafreniere, 21, are all young, yes, but they’ve been in the league long enough. Chytil will be entering his sixth NHL season in the fall, Kakko his fifth and Lafreniere his fourth. They’re about to enter the prime of their careers.
At the same time, Kreider is 32, Panarin 31 and Zibanejad and Barclay Goodrow 30. They’re already in the prime of their careers.
But for how much longer?
The Stanley Cup window is open for this group, but Laviolette and general manager Chris Drury are going to have to figure some things out with this Rangers roster. And quickly.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.