2021 Rangers Season Prediction

[bobbop]

OK boys and girls...56 games, 115 days (give or take a few)...and the youngest (by far) team in the league. What say you Ranger fans?

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[bobbop]

OK, I’ll go first. I think the Rangers will have a good start (6-3-1 ish) finish with 67 points and end up fourth in the East. Mika and Bread aren’t quite as productive as last year but Lafreniere and Gauthier pick up some of the slack. Igor wins the Calder and one of Smith or Johnson end up in the AHL.

 

[Fvital92]

Lafreniere-Chytil-Gauthier line will produce 70 points this season.

 

[Leetch3]

Lafreniere-Chytil-Gauthier line will produce 70 points this season.

70 points or 70 goals?

 

[IDvsEGO]

70 points or 70 goals?

If that’s total points I think that’s low.
I have laf with about 35-40 points on own, and then chytil with similar numbers if not more, with gautier trailing the three but still putting up 25ish points.

 

[Barnaby]

70 points or 70 goals?

Goals might be an overshot... points sounds low.

 

[Barnaby]

I think it goes down to the wire, but the Rangers narrowly miss the playoffs.

Strome comes back to earth a bit but still produces.

Lafreniere is on the top line by the mid point.

Mika spends time out injured.

Shesterkin wins the Calder and nearly pulls them into the playoffs.

People complain all year, but ultimately JJ is not that bad and a clear improvement over Staal.

Rangers PP is a top 5-7 unit in the league, but the PK struggles again and I likely why they miss the playoffs.

Howden continues to be a whipping boy.

Fans lose interest in Lemieux.

 

[JCProdigy]

 

[EdJovanovski]

Buchnevich leads the league in scoring

 

[broadwayblue]

I placed my bet on NYR to win the Cup at 30:1 today.

 

[Elliman]

We miss the playoffs by a single point.

that’s followed up by winning the lottery.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

We start out slow, but by the second half of the season we are one of the better teams in the division, miss the playoffs by 3 points.

Igor wins the Calder.

 

[Row I Goon]

I frankly don’t give a tinkers as long as they play exciting hockey.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

Rollercoaster ride. We will beat top teams cleanly, but will also get kicked in the ass by bottom teams. Panarin will continue where he left last season, Mika won’t score as much but the KZB line will be very good either way.
Kakko will produce better than strome, bur won’t get the spotlight cause Laf will be great from the first puck drop.
4th line will be a mess.

 

[RangerBoy]

The Rangers win their division. Many of the other teams in the division are on their last legs. Boston. Washington. Pittsburgh. The Flyers will be the Rangers main competition. The Islanders are a system team. The sum of the parts is better than parts. Buffalo should be better. The Devils are not there yet.

The Rangers will end up losing in the first or second round. They will use their season as a springboard to 2021-22.

The Rangers can go either way. I be positive for once.

 

[leetch99]

The Rangers win their division. Many of the other teams in the division are on their last legs. Boston. Washington. Pittsburgh. The Flyers will be the Rangers main competition. The Islanders are a system team. The sum of the parts is better than parts. Buffalo should be better. The Devils are not there yet.

The Rangers will end up losing in the first or second round. They will use their season as a springboard to 2021-22.

The Rangers can go either way. I be positive for once.

Damn...he beat me to it ! Pretty much everything he said . Great offense...great goalie....some trouble in the PK and back end defensively . Tony scores at a PPG pace and Shesty wins ROY . They add an enforcer type along the way . !st place ...semifinal appearance . I'm pumped for the season . But...hey...it is a game and anything can happen .

 

[IronBloodedLion]

Kakko becomes the player we all know he’s capable of being.

 

[mas0764]

Playoffs are a coin flip. Yes they play in a hard conference but their projections of finishing just outside, using advanced stat projections, are based on not having enough data to truly project the improvements from the kids. They are also helped by a schedule that will favor top-heavy teams - less games means you can put more on your horses to carry you. Which means the Rangers weaknesses - their glaring roster holes lower on the depth chart - won’t be as exposed.

 

[bernmeister]

OK boys and girls...56 games, 115 days (give or take a few)...and the youngest (by far) team in the league. What say you Ranger fans?

before next season, likely sooner than later, NYR will heed bern's advice and:

deal
Deangelo - likely to Vegas for futures

Smith + JJ to FL for Stralman and a 2nd
{Stralman has 2 yrs; BS + JJ = exact match his 1st yr (this season), the pick is for the expiring year (next season). We can flip Stralman [optional retain] while using until Nils L gets here.}

Buch likely to VAN for LD Nate Schmidt
{VAN wants W needs scoring help and has zero cap. Schmidt at 5.95 is 2.7 more than Buch's 3.25 exiting rfa. While that is a hit to their D, it is a good fit for 'nucks otherwise. K'AM is keeper for Rangers but depending on who emerges, Schmidt can be kept or dealt if Reunanen/Hajek/Robertson/Jones emerges.
I could see Schmidt + to Kraken for SEA 1st + Kraken take a scrub of our choice in the exp drf.}

Strome - highest bidder, prob BOS

Geo may be involved as well, incl possibly to facilitate the Vegas deal.

-------------

Directly answering OP we will get younger ... and w/arrival of Nils L, Kravtsov, Barron and eventually others, get better as well as better able to manage cap.

As to performance:
LaF-Chytil-Gauthier will dominate other 3rd lines

Kakko - Kravtsov at C - righty shot Panarin at RW will overwhelm most top lines.

2nd line
Kreider - Zib - will pick up w/chemistry. Remains to be seen who would replace Buch. Possible Barron Morgan at W or even C w/righty shot Zib to RW.

4th line
Lemieux - Howden - Gettinger maybe til Berard is ready

 

[NYSPORTS]

Buchnevich will be a hot scorer and hot topic.
- “We have to sign him . . . Pay the man . . . forget the cap” vs
- “We have to trade him . . . Can’t pay him . . . the cap”

By the deadline the site will crash but he will get moved

Strome assists will rise and goals will fall. Stats will appear better than his play

Laf’s physical play inspires Kakko to use his large frame more and both shows signs of stardom

Shesterkin is a rock and his puck skills not only help the offense but he scores two empty net goals to lead Howden’ goal total at some point.

Panarin floods the net, Zibby is a bit down and Kreider is often MIA

ADA - does something in social media which causes a stir and the trade rumors swirl as the team as a whole struggles with defense.

Miller shows signs of stardom yet goes through growing pains

Chytil hits 20 goals before he has 4 assists

Rangers battle and youth makes mistakes through growing pains. They lose ground in the playoff race only to discover young legs recover faster than the aging teams and squeak in at #4.

 

[Ghost of jas]

The Rangers will finish 3rd behind Philly and Boston. Washington will beat out the Isles for the last playoff spot. Laf will win the Calder.

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

Buchnevich leads the league in scoring

Let's add MVP since we don't have a most improved award.

 

[Inferno]

Rangers will start red hot and then face some adversity with injuries or a covid outbreak..the kids will be up and down. Rangers miss the playoffs by less than 5 points.

Win the lottery again.

 

[True Blue]

The Rangers will finish 3rd behind Philly and Boston. Washington will beat out the Isles for the last playoff spot. Laf will win the Calder.

One certainly hopes.

Rangers are a bubble team so they will be in a fight for the 4th spot. Calder is a two man race between two Rangers.

Bad blood spills over into the following season.

 

[JimmyG89]

I'm projecting them to make the playoffs, maybe even as high as the 2 seed in the East. It will depend on defensive improvement for the team. They will be explosive offensively. They might have the most talented forward group in the division overall, just that all the pieces are not as polished as others.

Shesterkin and Georgiev are the 2nd best tandem in the division (Rask and Halak are better).

Keys to success comes from the lower lines. I expect the top 6 to produce and the PP to be very good. If that young 3rd line can put it together and the 4th line becomes average, while providing penalty killing options, they have the things in place to excel.

I'm not sure they want to be in the business of getting rentals just yet, but they could realistically get themselves a LHD that improves JJ/Smith and it could really push things forward.