New York Rangers: If youth can produce now, the narrative will change

For what most New York Rangers fans and media thought would be a dumpster fire of a season, it has evolved itself into a new story line – one where rookies are contributing and wins are being earned through resilience.

The New York Rangers are not by any means a perfect hockey team. But, credit must be given where it is due. What they are doing right now is quite impressive given their expectations.

People seem so fixated on “tanking” this season to improve the Rangers’ draft spot and stick to the narrative of being a top contender in three years.

I hate to break it to everybody – but the Rangers are just simply not bad enough.

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I agree with all who say building through the draft is the correct way of approaching a rebuild, but as the former New York Jets coach Herm Edwards famously put it in 2002: “You play to win the game.”

And that my friends, is something these Rangers kids understand – whether you like it, or not.

If talents are emerging right now, and it is showing in the win column, I don’t foresee a mudslide season this year. Potential is naturally being shown.

Now yes, it is still only midway through November. There is a lot of season left. The NHL is more competitive now than it has ever been. The playoff spots will be rotating like a game of musical chairs from here through April. Everything is always temporary and nothing is certain.

I’m not saying the Rangers are legitimate contenders, but I am saying they have displayed the character, grit and resilience that could push them the extra mile.

This team composed of all kinds of miscellaneous fabrics has started to stitch themselves into an evenly patterned colonial quilt.

In other words, they are coming together as a unit – no matter how much skill they have on the lineup card, and that is why David Quinn was hired to coach this team.

Quinn is known to have good personable relationships with his players, especially with millennials, which is the majority of this Rangers team.

He is mixing and matching the lines every night, and it seems as though everyone is starting to play more comfortably with one another.

Through the rough 3-7-1 start to the season, Quinn scratched a handful of important players to send messages and evoke motivation and it seems as though it paid off.

Neal Pionk, Pavel Buchnevich and Kevin Shattenkirk all returned from their reality checks to contribute at higher levels.

In the last seven games, the Rangers have had at least one point in each, sporting a 6-0-1 record and climbing from dead last in the Metropolitan Division to a playoff spot.

As I said before, they are not perfect. But they are finding ways to escape their mistakes, as opposed to the growing pains they suffered through in October.

Five of their nine wins have come from overtime or a shootout, which conveys the fact they have been winning by grinding until the end of regulation every night rather than winning dominantly.

This streak of success does put management in a difficult position because there are decisions they may have had to make by the trade deadline, but if they are staying relevant, trading somebody may be counterproductive.

There is also the argument that if the Rangers make the playoffs, this year was a waste as far as the rebuild goes and it sets the team back another year.

People think that the Rangers would be no match for a real contender come playoff time, which may or may not be true, but I am saying just let the chips fall where they may.

The rebuild already has begun. Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden, Tony DeAngelo, Neal Pionk Alexandar Georgiev and Vinni Lettieri are all contributing on their own levels.

Three-year NHLers Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey and Buchnevich (despite injury) are coming into their own as core players.

26-year-old center Kevin Hayes, not old but yet not young, is arguably the most important player on this team right now.

He is forcing turnovers, generating scoring opportunities and killing penalties. His defensive contributions and physicality have stepped up drastically all while producing points. He wants to be a Ranger for life? Let him keep proving it.

Heck, Pionk and Howden have been two of the best Rangers this season. Development can only move forward from here.

There are copious positive developments right now and as I said here back in July:

"“The Rangers have enough talent to compete and yet focus on the rebuild with this roster. Hockey is an unpredictable game and although the Rangers are clearly no favorite heading into the season, I think they are going to fare better with this team than at least what everyone anticipates.”"

Next. 3 stars of the Islanders' first 15 games of the season. dark

It’s not like the Rangers are in all-in mode and are blatantly opposing their rebuild plan to win now. They are still a rebuilding team, but just happen to be finding ways to win. There’s a difference.

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