Coming into the season, the New York Rangers had major issues down the middle at the center position.
Things only got worse when Joe Veleno, who was signed as a free agent to anchor the fourth line, went down with an injury. Since he got hurt, they cycled through a few options, such as Cole Beaudoin and Justin Dowling, but head coach Mike Sullivan was essentially using only three centers.
The team signed veteran Luke Glendening to help stabilize the bottom line, but the team went 0-3-0 with him in the lineup. Of course, that wasn't solely his fault, but Sullivan was seeking a spark, so he decided to make a major line change.
Will Cuylle, who has played only forward in his professional career, was moved to center for the team's game against the St. Louis Blues. It is certainly an unorthodox move, but one that paid dividends right away in a 3-1 win .
Nov 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (28) celebrates his goal against the St. Louis Blues with defenseman Alberts Smits (12) and left wing Will Cuylle (50) and right wing Eeli Tolvanen (17) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Cuylle had the best individual expected goal share, per Hockey Stats , of any player in the game, at 79.3%. His expected goals for were 0.78, and his expected goals against were 0.2 during his 9:15 time on the ice during five-on-five play.
He shared a line with wingers Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand, and all three games performed at a high level. In 5:15 of five-on-five play, that trio produced an expected goals share of 61.1%, with 0.32 expected goals for and 0.20 expected goals against.
The only line that performed better by those metrics was the trio of Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Dorofeyev, who have produced some impressive numbers since being put together by Sullivan.
Cuylle, Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand got the job done with raw production as well. In the third period, the Rangers' second goal of the game was scored by Bjorkstrand with an assist from Tolvanen and Cuylle.
Tolvanen put the finishing touches on the game, scoring an empty net goal with an assist from J.T. Miller and Adam Fox, for his first multi-point game of the campaign. He finished the game with a +2, while Cuylle was +1.
It was certainly a bold decision from Sullivan to deploy Cuylle at center, a position he has never played, but the results are hard to argue against. This is a trio that New York should stick with for the time being given how much uncertainty that they have down the middle.
There are certainly some questions as to whether success can be sustained, with Cuylle averaging 0.21 assists per game in his career. So far, so good, as he got an assist in his first game down the middle.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nhl/rangers/onsi as Will Cuylle Responds Positively to New Role With NY Rangers .
