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Why bounce back from Rangers top line key to playoff hopes next season
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- Why bounce back from Rangers top line key to playoff hopes next season
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By nearly all accounts, New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury did an outstanding job on the first day of free agency, landing the team's top target and one of the best available players on the market.
Though big-ticket signing and top-pair defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov seems sure to be a huge part of any Rangers resurgence, a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season likely hinges on the three holdovers finding their magic together again.
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The Rangers were largely powered to the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24 by Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere, who formed one of the most productive forward-line combinations in the NHL. Panarin's career-best 120-point season was the linchpin for a group that piled up 254 points, the dynamic partnership covering up for a conspicuous lack of scoring depth throughout the rest of the lineup.
The Blueshirts set franchise records with 114 points and 55 wins, mostly on the strength of that production, and typically stellar goaltending from Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick.
It was then no coincidence that the Rangers fortunes nosedived in 2024-25, when that line failed to come close to their production from the previous season. Panarin, Trocheck and Lafreniere were hardly the only Rangers to trend downward in a nightmarish season that saw them miss the playoffs after reaching the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. Their slide, however, was perhaps the most noticeable, given the heights they achieved the previous season.
Related: Rangers GM addresses flurry of roster changes: 'big piece of it was salary cap'
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Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere, Vincent Trocheck have much to prove with Rangers
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The most alarming falloff came from Lafreniere, who after what seemed like a breakout 57-point effort in 2023-24, started fast last season and received a seven-year, $52 million contract extension in late October. For the time being at least, that looks like an iffy decision for the Rangers. Old questions about fitness, commitment and attention to detail resurfaced for much of the rest of the season after Lafreniere signed the deal.
Though his underlying metrics were far from terrible, Lafreniere was often invisible in the offensive zone and far too noticeable defensively for the wrong reasons, appearing either unable or unwilling to backcheck and defend over and over again. He finished last season with 17 goals and 45 points, a significant step backward for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has much to prove next season.
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No one expected Panarin to duplicate his career performance of 2023-24, and he managed to maintain his career pace of better than point-per-game production, with 89 in 80 contests. Yet like so many of his teammates, Panarin's impact seemed muted when compared to the previous season, and his defensive deficiencies were also difficult to miss. The 33-year-old was a minus-9 for the season – the first time in his brilliant 10-year career that he wasn't a plus player, no matter how flawed that statistic is.
Adding to Panarin's woes was a late-season report that he was accused of sexual assault by a team employee, with the NHL confirming its investigation of the matter. Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports made settlement payments to the woman. It was another unseemly note to an overall sour season for the Rangers.
Trocheck was still a demon in the face-off circle, winning 59.3 percent of his draws, but dropped from a career-best 77 points in 2023-24 to 59 last season.
It's likely that for the Rangers to get back to the postseason, each must more closely resemble the 2023-24 versions of themselves. Lafreniere is at a crossroads after he seemed to have put a halting start to his career behind him in 2023-24. Panarin, the best free-agent signing in team history, was already under scrutiny from the fan base due to his so-so playoff performances. There has been no buzz from the organization so far about an extension for Panarin, who became eligible for one July 1 and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer when his mammoth seven-year, $81.5 deal expires.
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Trocheck must show that the final four seasons of his seven-year, $39 million contract aren't going to age poorly, and that he can still be the edgy, effective top-six center he's been in prior years. Like so many of his teammates, the 32-year-old will try to show that last season was an anomaly which can be put in the past with a return to 2023-24 form.
Related: Rangers transformation continues with K'Andre Miller trade to Hurricanes: 3 key takeaways
Mike Sullivan must decide whether to keep top Rangers line intact
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New Rangers coach Mike Sullivan has an interesting decision to make. The easy option is to keep Panarin, Trocheck and Lafreniere together, and count on them to drive production offensively, assuming a return to form by each.
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Of course, he could shake things up, especially if he's got an inkling to fill the void at 3C with Trocheck and leave Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller to center the top two lines.
No matter the line combinations, Lafreniere, Panarin and Trocheck should be plenty motivated to rebound this season. Lafreniere's dip in production after he signed a lucrative contract was a bad look, and he's sure to draw the ire of fans and the front office if results next season resembles those of 2024-25.
With his Rangers future in doubt, Panarin will be looking to put himself in position to earn another big contract – be it from his current team or on the open market.
Trocheck wants to reestablish his standing as one of the top producers on the Rangers, especially in light of his growing role as one of the leaders of the team and possibly its next captain .
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Knowing how motivated this trio is, and factoring in what they've accomplished together in rthe recent past, it makes all the sense for Sullivan to keep this line together and at least start the season with them as the go-to top unit.
If Sullivan gives them another go at it, he could be handsomely rewarded with a playoff berth – just as his predecessor Peter Laviolette was when he leaned on that line two years ago.
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