Many factors played a role in the New York Rangers’ disappointing season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy and making a run to the Eastern Conference Final last season. There were multiple frustrating decisions from now-former head coach Peter Laviolette and general manager (GM) Chris Drury as they frequently opted to bench players who were reliable defensively rather than benching struggling veterans with larger contracts. Those decisions sent the wrong message to the team and played a role in their failure to make the playoffs.
The Rangers’ Defensive Struggles
The Rangers allowed 198 high-danger chances this season at five on five, the fourth most in the NHL and up from 165 high-danger chances allowed last season. Many of those chances happened because of mental mistakes which they never corrected.
The three players who repeatedly made poor decisions with and without the puck in the first half of the season were Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, and K’Andre Miller. All three made numerous giveaways leading to odd-man rushes, Miller frequently got beat because he stick-checked rather than taking the body, and Lafreniere often took the wrong man in the defensive zone and did not always backcheck.
Zibanejad was in the third season of an eight-season, $68 million contract, and Lafreniere had just signed a seven-season, $52.15 million contract extension. Miller has not signed a long-term extension but all three were established players who played big roles in the team’s success last season. However, all three could have been benched for a game for their mistakes.
