The Patrick Kane-New York Rangers era begins on Wednesday. The Rangers are even more full of stars than before and there’s 22 games plus playoffs left to make it work. Will it work? Only time will tell. ✍️ StapeAthletic
Plus, there’s the power play. Tarasenko hasn’t jelled well there either but the Rangers have the fifth-best power play in the league since Jan. 1, converting at a 25 percent clip during their 15-5-3 run since the new year began. Whether Tarasenko departs the bumper spot on PP1 to allow Kane to enter — and Kane works best on the off-wing wall, where Panarin sets up — or someone else shifts around, there’s going to be an unhappy Ranger or two with Kane’s arrival.
And outside of Messier and maybe St. Louis, did any of those big-name additions really fit in so perfectly? Different eras and different supporting casts to be sure. The team Kane comes to is as skilled as any Ranger team of the last two or three decades. It’s not particularly deep, which could be a problem if there are injuries.
The names this year have certainly been bolder-faced. They are higher-end in terms of skill and pedigree. They are more like some of those names listed at the top here, big names that seduced Dolan and previous general managers into thinking they could all be as good here as they were elsewhere. Drury’s moves last season were pragmatic; the ones this season seem more like collecting rather than assembling the best roster to face a four-round playoff gauntlet.
We shall see. If it doesn’t work, Gallant might be the one who takes the blame. He was close to being a casualty of the Rangers’ 11-10-5 start this season and somehow doesn’t get much credit for 23-7-4 since. If Dolan is as eager for a bigger name behind the bench as he is for big names on the ice, well, Barry Trotz has a job now but Joel Quenneville — still on the NHL’s banned list for his role in the Kyle Beach assault with the Hawks — could be cleared this summer.
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