The New York Rangers have transitioned from a veteran team that had vestiges of their run to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final to a young group of high-end talent, including the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft Alexis Lafreniere. And oh yeah, there's also 2020 Hart Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin in the mix, too.
So is the rebuild over? And should Rangers fans expect a return to the postseason? Here's everything you need to know about the Rangers for the 2020-21 NHL season:
Big question: Is the rebuild over?
The arrival of Panarin in 2019 free agency expedited the process. New York got another boost when it won the 2020 draft lottery and the right to select Lafreniere at No. 1 overall. The page has officially turned from the Rangers' last legitimate contender (Chris Kreider is the only roster player remaining from 2014), but are we ready to anoint this group of Blueshirts as the real deal or do they still have too many holes and players to develop?
Did realignment hurt or help?
Nobody is too excited about welcoming Boston to the division. What's more, David Quinn (152 games of NHL head-coaching experience) has to go up against seasoned NHL coaching veterans on a nightly basis, including Bruce Cassidy, Peter Laviolette, Barry Trotz and Alain Vigneault.
Offseason comings and goings, plus the cap situation
The Rangers have $4,829,367 in projected cap space, per Cap Friendly. This offseason, they parted with three veteran stalwarts: goalie Henrik Lundqvist, defensive-minded forward Jesper Fast and defenseman Marc Staal. They spent their efforts re-signing restricted free agents, such as Ryan Strome to a two-year, $9 million deal. New York also signed Jack Johnson to help on defense.
Bold prediction
Igor Shesterkin wins the Calder Trophy, and finishes top 5 in Vezina Trophy voting. Bold? It just might be. But the Rangers aren't shaping up to have a very impressive blue line, which could lead to a high volume of shots. Shesterkin, a longtime star for Russian national teams, is poised to build off his strong debut in limited work last season. Let's remember, management views Shesterkin, 25, so highly, they forced Lundqvist out of town.
Breakout candidate: Kaapo Kakko
Just because the Rangers drafted at No. 1 in 2020 doesn't mean you should forget about their No. 2 overall pick of the 2019 draft, Kakko. He'll still be just 19 years old when this season opens, but the Finnish sniper has a full year of experience adjusting to the North American pro game. With a promotion to the second line, Kakko could be due for 20-plus goals.
Biggest strength: Top-end talent
Last season proved that Mika Zibanejad (41 goals in 57 games) demands your respect. Add in Panarin and the Rangers have one of the most potent one-two punches in the league. Should Shesterkin, Lafreniere, Adam Fox and Kakko all develop as expected, New York has a scary-talented core for the foreseeable future.
Biggest weakness: Defense
I've heard people mock the Rangers' defense as an AHL-level group. While that's probably an exaggeration, there's no skirting that this is the team's weakness. The Rangers allowed 34 shots per game last season, second-most only to the Blackhawks, and their only fix was adding Johnson, who had been a liability in Pittsburgh.
Rangers in NHL Rank
No. 6: Artemi Panarin (LW)
No. 29: Mika Zibanejad (C)
No. 81: Jacob Trouba (D)
No. 92: Igor Shesterkin (G)
Prospect perspective
Prospects in the top 100: No. 1 Alexis Lafreniere (LW), No. 10 Igor Shesterkin (G), No. 30 Nils Lundkvist (D), No. 40 Vitaly Kravtsov (LW), No. 62 K'Andre Miller (D), No. 65 Braden Schneider (D)
Fantasy facts to know
There's always some hesitation when the top prospect isn't quite hyped at the Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby or Auston Matthews level. But just because fewer folks described Lafreniere as "generational," doesn't mean he can't have a big fantasy impact from Day 1. That is especially true when he is coming into the league to fill out an already-successful lineup rather than to be the centerpiece of a rebuild.
The new ESPN standard scoring system takes a lot of the shine off Tony DeAngelo and makes Jacob Trouba the fantasy star for the Rangers -- despite the former pulling more weight on the power play.
You should have no qualms about buying into the Shesterkin hype for your fantasy team. -- Sean Allen