With the NHL Draft (June 27 & 28) and Free Agency (July 1) approaching, SRNY is running the “New York Rangers Retool Series” to examine major issues facing the franchise.
MARCHAND ISN’T SLOWING DOWN
Brad Marchand must be loving life in Florida. A few months back he was a Boston Bruins folk-hero. A lifer, their captain and their leader on and off the ice. That was until the Bruins gave him a three-year contract offer but refused to negotiate the AAV (average annual value). When Marchand asked to compromise, next thing he knew, he was playing on the 3rd line with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Less pressure, warmer temperatures, and NO state taxes.
Now, he’s playing in his third Stanley Cup finals, not looking anything like a 37-year-old or a third liner. Last night he helped lead the Panthers to a 5-2 win in Game 5, putting the Panthers on the brink of their second (and Marchand’s personal second) Stanley Cup championship.
Marchand is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. For all I know, his agent already has a DocuSign ready to go with a contract that will enable him to play out the rest of his career in Sunrise, Florida. If he does make it to July 1st , then I strongly advise the New York Rangers to show up on his doorstep with their own three-year contract offer and a #63 jersey with a giant “C” on the chest.
RANGERS’ LEADERSHIP VACUUM
Since the Panthers eliminated the Rangers in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, GM Chris Drury has banished official leaders (Barclay Goodrow, Chris Kreider & Jacob Trouba) and veteran voices (Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey). Artemi Panarin has just one-year left on his contract, and Mika Zibanejad’s voice in the locker room was muted by the most inconsistent season of his 9-year Rangers’ career.
The three most talked about internal candidates all have their supporters:
Adam Fox is a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, a Long Island native, life-long Rangers’ fan, and still only 27-years-old. Speculation is that Fox’s struggles last season were due to the knee he reinjured last spring in the playoffs. The good news is, after justifiably seeing his role reduced over the course of the “4 Nations Face Off”, he did start to flash his old form down the stretch.
The moment Vincent Trocheck arrived as a free agent three summers ago he assumed a leadership role. His efforts to step up after Trouba’s departure did not go unnoticed by his teammates or the media. However, his simultaneous struggles to regain the previous season’s magic with linemates Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere held the team back. The good news is, with the arrival of JT Miller, Trocheck will probably be used by new head coach Mike Sullivan in a more comfortable second- or third-line center role.
Speaking of Miller, Drury brought him back to the Rangers’ organization because of his intensity, his passion and the fact that he became a legitimate #1 center during his time with the Vancouver Canucks. Of course, while we trust Drury’s due diligence, the truth is the Canucks were a soap opera last season and almost as big of a disappointment as the Rangers, due in large part to his feud with Elias Pettersson.
RANGERS NEED A CULTURE CHANGER
Fox, Miller and Trocheck are proven leaders, but their presence did not help the Rangers down the stretch this past March and April. Despite a horrendous season, the Rangers still had a chance to make the playoffs but were unable to provide a consistent effort on a nightly basis. For a team famous for resilience while winning the President’s Trophy in 2023-24, their lack of intensity and resolve in 2024-25 was disheartening. That’s why the answer likely lies outside the room.
In a perfect world, they would import their next captain. Someone who would walk into the locker room on day one of training camp and not have to say a word to have the instant respect of all of his teammates.
In a perfect world, this individual would have already won a Stanley Cup and made it to the finals multiple times. How great would it be if he understood the demands that go with playing for an Original Six team in a large media market? Not to get greedy but imagine if the person they imported started his career as an undersized, pesky fourth line player, who went on to become a first-line All-Star – and despite his newfound fame and fortune, never lost his work ethic.
WHY MARCHAND FITS
Marchand scored twice in game 5, giving him six goals in the Stanley Cup finals and 10 in the playoffs. In total, he has scored 20 points in 22 games playing on the Panthers third line. The last time a third line got this much attention was the “HBK Line” when Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel helped Sullivan’s Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2016.
Marchand can’t sustain this pace forever, and the Rangers are reportedly – and smartly – eying younger players like 23-year-old JJ Peterka of the Buffalo Sabres and 25-year-old Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars. The difference is those players need to be acquired via trade, and the Rangers are short on draft picks. Yes, I know Peterka is an RFA, but despite speculation, the likelihood of someone of Peterka’s caliber leaving via offer-sheet is miniscule.
If Marchand were to sign, a three-year run as captain would take the pressure off the team’s other veterans. He’s not Sidney Crosby but would be Crosby-like in helping Sullivan establish the grittier, north-south, playoff-style game that the Rangers’ three previous head coaches were unable to get the Rangers to adapt to.
The primary reason for the move will be to win now, but Marchand’s leadership can only help a bevy of young players who have elements of his game in their tool kit. Will Cuylle, Brennan Othmann, Matt Rempe, Adam Edstrom are all players who try to be hard to play against. When Brett Berard was playing for the USA Hockey NTDP U18 team, he decided with his coach to pattern his game after Marchand. Former second round pick, 20-year-old Adam Sykora said after being drafted by the Rangers in 2022, “I really like Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins. He’s like a rat and he isn’t scared of (taller) players. I try to play that way.”
MAKING THE CAP WORK
I suggest the Rangers can open the necessary cap space by trading Lafreniere for a package that includes a young defensemen and draft choices. As an example, someone like Jordan Spence, 24, rumored to be available from the Los Angeles Kings.
That would enable the Rangers to either load up on their top two lines like this:
Artemi Panarin-JT Miller-Mika Zibanejad
Will Cuylle- Vincent Trocheck-Brad Marchand
Or they could spread things out like Sullivan’s 2015-16 Penguins:
Artemi Panarin-JT Miller-Brennan Othmann
Will Cuylle-Mika Zibanejad-Gabe Perreault
Brett Berard-Vincent Trocheck-Brad Marchand
Adam Edstrom-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe
FINAL WORD ON A FUTURE HALL OF FAMER
I don’t recall who said this during the Rangers putrid streak of securing only 8 points in 19 games from November 21 through December 30, but it’s a quote that stuck with me. “The Rangers don’t need a retool, they need an exorcism”.
We’re not sure Brad Marchand owns a white collar, yet we are confident that he’s the right man for the job.
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