If you watched even just a bit of the Florida Panthers run to a second straight Stanley Cup title , much less the entirety of all 23 games they played this postseason, you know full well that the New York Rangers are not built like the champs. And no amount of retooling by general manager Chris Drury this offseason will change that.
But that's not to say the Rangers can't replicate some areas of what makes the Panthers who they are, though, admittedly, it takes years for that relentless ferocity and commitment to sink into a team's DNA.
Acquiring J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks last January was a good start. Like the Panthers best forwards, Miller is a straight-ahead, no-nonsense, skilled and hard-working player. He's at the forefront of changing the Rangers culture off the ice and transition to a North-South team on it.
Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann are other potential top-six forwards in this mold, as is Miller's buddy, Vincent Trocheck . And we don't know yet whom the Rangers might pick up this offseason.
Two of the Rangers most important offensive stars are not exact fits for this new look. Though that doesn't mean you can't win with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad playing with their East-West mindset and surrounding them with more straight-line forwards. It's just different from Florida's winning formula.
Also different is how the Panthers regularly activate their defensemen to play big roles in the transition and offensive aspects of the attack. The Rangers defense corps is far less active and physical, and much more prone to mistakes.
But one area where the Rangers might match-up with the champs is with their fourth line, especially if Matt Rempe , Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom — with a dose of Brett Berard , perhaps — continue to build on what they started this past season and eventually develop into a true identity line.
Related: Rempe Mania returns for Broadway run after Rangers re-sign towering forward to 2-year deal
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In a best-case scenario, Rempe (who turns 23 on June 29) and Edstrom (24) provide the Rangers with a Twin Towers effect — massive wings to flank Carrick in the middle — for years to come. They bring an edge, are physical and can skate.
Both Rempe and Edstrom surprised this season with how quickly they can get into the transition game and in on the forecheck. Once below the circles in the offensive zone, Rempe and Edstrom are a handful for opposing forwards and defensemen.
Edstrom had an outstanding training camp and then scored five goals and totaled nine points in 51 games before he sustained a season-ending lower-body injury Feb. 1. Rempe had a slow start, spent more than a month in the minors with Hartford of the American Hockey League, and then was suspended eight games for elbowing and boarding Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars in late December. But the popular 6-foot-9 forward figured it out in the second half of the season with the Rangers and finished with eight points (three goals, five assists) in 42 games, staying out of the penalty box and remaining on the ice.
Carrick (33) is a gritty veteran, perfectly-suited for the fourth-line role. He's responsible defensively, keeps opponents honest with his offensive game (20 points; six goals, 14 assists this season), and is a pain in the ass to play against.
This threesome combines tenacity and skill, grit and speed, and best of all, likely is just scratching the surface of what they can be considering Rempe and Edstrom were rookies this past season. In theory, this line should only get better moving forward.
In 74:01 TOI 5v5 together this past season, the Edstrom – Carrick – Rempe line outscored opponents 4-0, outshot them 31-24, had a 16-14 advantage in high-dangers scoring chances, and a respectable 49.31 percent expected goals share, per Natural Stat Trick . So, they did more than simply pass the eye test, which they most definitely did.
The Rangers may just have something most teams don't: a fourth line that's able to change the tenor of a game, with a big hit or fight or extended shift cycling the puck in the offensive zone or by finding the back of the net.
The Islanders had that for years with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck flanking Casey Cizikas . The Panthers certainly had that this spring with A.J. Greer , Tomas Nosek and Jonah Gadjovich .
What the Panthers also had were other options. Jesper Boqvist and Nico Sturm had their moments this season and in the playoffs on the fourth line, as well.
The Rangers very well could insert the energetic Berard for more speed and a bit more flash and skill on the fourth line, when needed. Jonny Brodzinski is a nice fit in the middle or on the wing there, too.
And here's another plus, especially for a Rangers team that has — right now — a shade under $14 million in salary-cap space after trading Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks and re-signing Rempe: they could have an effective game-altering bottom-six line for approximately $3 million annually.
Carrick is signed for two more years with just a $1 million cap hit ; Rempe has two years at $975,00; and Edstrom, a restricted free agent, shouldn't cost much more than Rempe, likely also on a two-year deal.
Don't expect a complete transformation for the Rangers this offseason. But they already have the makings of one key component — a trusted, reliable identity line with Rempe, Carrick and Edstrom — in place.
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