Having played seven playoff series in the past two years, the New York Rangers have been knocking on the door. They’re close. Can they take that next step?

There ought to be some sense of urgency with the Rangers right now, because one of their advantages lies in goal, where 33-year-old Henrik Lundqvist remains one of the best, posting a save percentage of .920 or better for six straight seasons, but as he heads towards his mid-thirties, that advantage is likely to diminish.

In front of Lundqvist, the Rangers have invested heavily in their blueline, and are spending quite a bit there even though they are only paying half of Keith Yandle’s ticket. It’s hard to justify the cost, but Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Dan Boyle and Kevin Klein are a decent group of defencemen, though analytics aren’t particularly favourable for Girardi and McDonagh.

Where the Rangers need to notably improve is in their forward group. Rick Nash is coming off a terrific season and Derick Brassard’s resurrection gives the Rangers a good 1-2 punch (with Derek Stepan) down the middle. Mats Zuccarello is proving to be an adept scorer too, but because the Rangers are invested so heavily in their defence, they need their young American forwards - Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller - to improve and handle bigger roles if the Rangers are going to take this all the way.

 

OFF-SEASON HEADLINES

June 27: Rangers trade forward Carl Hagelin to Ducks for Emerson Etem

July 1: Glen Sather steps down as Rangers general manager, Jeff Gorton takes over

July 27: Rangers, Derek Stepan agree to six-year contract extension

 

2015-16 NEW YORK RANGERS

* Off-season Addition

 

Projected Lines

LW C RW
Rick Nash Derick Brassard Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider Derek Stepan Kevin Hayes
Viktor Stalberg* Jarret Stoll* J.T. Miller
Emerson Etem* Dominic Moore Jesper Fast
Tanner Glass Jayson Megna*  

Fighting For Jobs: C Brian Gibbons, C Oscar Lindberg

 

Projected Pairs

LD RD
Ryan McDonagh Dan Girardi
Marc Staal Keith Yandle
Dan Boyle Kevin Klein
  Raphael Diaz*

Fighting For Jobs: RD Brett Bellemore (PTO), RD Dyan McIlrath, LD Chris Summers

 

Projected Goalies

No. 1 No. 2 No. 3
Henrik Lundqvist Antti Raanta Magnus Hellberg

Off-season Departures: LW Carl Hagelin, RW Martin St-Louis, G Cam Talbot, D Matt Hunwick, C Chris Mueller

Projected Lineup: Steve Zipay/Newsday

 

SERAVALLI'S THREE QUESTIONS

1. How will the Rangers replace the 52 points lost from Martin St. Louis?

2. Does waiver-susceptible forward Oscar Lindberg earn a spot?

3. Will both Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller remain on the wing?

 

 

BUTTON'S TOP PROSPECTS

Top 2015-16 Prospect

C Oscar Lindberg (Hartford, AHL): Tenacious and smart. Adds depth and can contribute in multiple ways. Valuable because of versatility.

Long-Term Prospect

LW Pavel Buchnevich (Cherepovets, KHL): Very good skill, very smart and he competes hard and finds ways to be at his best in critical moments.

* Listed with 2014-15 teams

 

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Three-Year Breakdown (League Rank)

  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Points 96 (16th)* 96 (12th) 113 (1st)
Goals For 2.6 (T-15th) 2.6 (T-18th) 3.0 (3rd)
Goals Against 2.3 (4th) 2.3 (4th) 2.3 (3rd)
Power Play 16% (23rd) 18% (15th) 17% (T-21st)
Penalty Killing 81% (T-15th) 85% (3rd) 84% (6th)
SAT% Possession 52% (9th) 52.4% (7th) 49.5% (20th)

* 2012-13 points: Pro-rated lockout-shortened total

 

ESTIMATED PAYROLL vs. CAP - $71.2M/$71.4M

That’s a pretty tight squeeze for the Rangers if they operate with a 23-man roster, and there are a few culprits, but spending more than $26-million on seven defencemen, $8.5-million for a starting goaltender and $7.8-million on a top-line winger makes for tough decisions elsewhere. It prompted the Rangers to deal Carl Hagelin in exchange for Emerson Etem and the Blueshirts are still in a precarious position.

 

PARTING SHOT