The team overall will look more like, well, a team. Much better idea of what every player's role is on the team, especially up the middle. It just might take up until the 2nd half of the year to happen.
I expect struggling in November and December. A decent to good October after the initial shot in the arm that Fox and Panarin will bring. A .500 performance the 2nd half of the year falling just short of the playoffs. Drafting between 8th and 12th overall barring another lottery win.
Barring injury, I expect the following from individual players:
Panarin: 30 goals and 75-80 points. As advertised, but for some of the hooligans in MSG he'll start to be booed by March.
Zibanejad: 30 goals and 75-80 points. Solidifies himself as a leader moving forward.
Buchnevich: 25 goals and 50 points. Hot and cold periods, as has been the case for him his entire career.
Kreider: Hot out of the gate but slows down towards the end of the year. Goes at the deadline for a 1st and a prospect.
Strome: 15 goals, 30-35 ish points. Eye test looks better than the advanced stats.
Kakko: Starts slow as he gets acclimated to the grind of an NHL schedule and gets better as conditioning improves. 15 goals, 30 assists or so.
Andersson: Solidifies an NHL spot this year instead of being yo-yo'ed between the big club and Hartford. Points don't come yet, but overall play improves drastically.
Chytil: Shows flashes but remains wildly inconsistent. I like
@Mikos87 's idea of getting him a mentor. Can Jaromir Jagr go back on the Rangers' pay roll as a "special consultant"?
Howden: Numbers improve but overall play does not. Finds himself centering the 4th line often.
Namestnikov: Continues to do very little and remains mostly unnoticed, for better or worse. Is dealt with retention at the deadline for a 3rd and conditional late round pick.
Fast: Nothing flashy. Just comes in and does his job. Dealt at deadline for a 3rd.
Lemieux: Numbers stagnate a bit but overall play improves. Takes lots of stupid penalties but goads others into taking them with him. Perfect prototypical modern day bottom six forward.
Skjei: Has his good and bad nights, but overall is worth is contract. People still complain he's in over his head as the top pairing LHD.
Trouba: Starts off slow but gets better as time goes on and he gets settled in. Won't get 50 points, but will play well in all situations and be a 25 minute/night work horse.
Staal: Is "just there" some nights but others makes 1-2 egregious errors that lead to penalties or goals against. Status quo.
DeAngelo: Numbers wise doesn't take much of a step forward but overall play improves. Earns himself another bridge deal at a higher AAV or gets traded in the summer in a package for a center.
Fox: Biggest pleasant surprise of the year. Is playing 2nd pairing minutes by the end of the year. Calder candidate. 5 goals, 30-35 assists right off the bat.
Hajek: Don't get hurt. Is a passable bottom 4 defenseman that can play on the 2nd pairing in spot duty, but is overmatched over long stretches there.
Smith: Is horrible. Spot duty on 4th line wing against cheap shot artist teams. Should be in the press box or Hartford, but gets 30-40 games in because of injuries.
Lundqvist: Is reinvigorated by the new blood in the organization and has a bounce back year and re-establishes himself as a top 10 goalie in the game with less starts. Plays about 50 games.
Georgiev: Gets 20 games in or so. Consistency improves and solidifies himself as a competent NHL back up.
Shesterkin: Impresses in the 10 or so games he gets, but because of the numbers game spends most of the year in Hartford. Shows flashes that he is a worthy heir to King Henrik's throne.
Overall record: 38-38-6
ROW: 30
Points: 82
6th place in the Metro, draft between 8-12 overall barring more lotto luck, and the Rangers take.....
From the QMJHL in the 1st round for the first time since the 1970's: Henrix Lapierre.
