NEW YORK — Any visions the New York Rangers have of executing a quick retool are pure fantasy until they find a way to acquire high-end talent. That will require a couple of years of loading up — and hitting — on draft picks, starting with a selection that’s likely to land in the top five this June, and some savvy maneuvering via trade and other avenues.
Smaller developmental wins may feel hollow in that context, but that doesn’t mean they should be dismissed. And if there are any silver linings to glean from the final weeks of this lost season, it’s that the Rangers may have uncovered a few worthwhile depth pieces.
That was on display again in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers, which marked New York’s 11th victory in 36 tries at Madison Square Garden. They’ll need three more in their final five games at MSG to surpass the 2003-04 Rangers’ total of 13 home-ice wins and avoid setting a new franchise low for the modern era. (That includes any full season since 1974-75, which is when the NHL expanded to an 80-game schedule.)
Adam Sýkora aided that effort by netting the go-ahead goal with 14:50 left in regulation. He charged the slot and redirected a pass from Adam Fox to break a scoreless tie, then raced with the same vigor to embrace his teammates.
“It’s hard not to like that guy,” coach Mike Sullivan said with a grin. “The energy that he exudes — I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day in his life.”
The 21-year-old rookie has been a spark plug through his first three NHL games, but he isn’t alone. Sýkora is one of a handful of young players who are making an impression down the stretch and vying for roles in future seasons.
Matthew Robertson and newly signed prospect Drew Fortescue have bolstered an otherwise thin left-handed defensemen corps, while 23-year-old goalie Dylan Garand is playing well enough to garner consideration as Igor Shesterkin’s backup moving forward.
But it’s the forwards where multiple options are emerging. None outside of Gabe Perreault addresses the need for top-of-the-lineup upside, but a handful of youngsters are looking like viable bottom-six candidates.
Tye Kartye has led the charge lately, with the Seattle Kraken’s decision to put the hard-working winger on waivers last month turning into New York’s gain, while Sýkora and Jaroslav Chmelař have both opened eyes since being recalled from AHL Hartford. Add in center Noah Laba, who returned Sunday after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury, as well as Adam Edström and injured wingers Brett Berard and Matt Rempe — the latter of whom is unlikely to play again this season due to complications with his injured left thumb — and you have the makings of healthy competition.
Most will be best-served in fourth-line roles, which could leave only two or three long-term spots. But for an organization that’s seen its depth disintegrate, an influx of usable prospects at any position is a welcome change.
“They’re all great kids, too,” Fox said. “I mean, I’m not that old — yet — but you remember when you were coming in. They’ve been helping us win games, too, which is obviously the most important thing. But they’re bringing a great energy, too. It brings a spark to the locker room. I think it’s given us a little push, a little jolt, and you want to play well for them.”
The Rangers (30-35-9) dressed a total of seven rookies for Sunday’s game — Chmelař, Laba, Perreault, Sýkora, Fortescue, Robertson and Garand — which was the most since May 8, 2021. Three, in particular, stood out in the win over the two-time defending champion Panthers.
Adam Sýkora
Sýkora spun off a hit from Luke Kunin late in the first period, then shoved the Florida veteran from behind. Next thing he knew, the jovial Slovak was in the middle of his first fight — not just in the NHL, but at any level.
“I don’t want to drop the gloves,” said Sýkora, smiling wide. “I’ve still got to watch it. I don’t know what happened there, but I just try to bring everything every day. Sometimes these things happen, too.”
Sýkora comes across as the type who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but with his relentless playstyle, “you’re probably going to draw the ire of your opponent every now and then,” as Sullivan put it.
His first fighting major meant he served the opening 4:25 of the second period in the penalty box, where the 2022 second-round pick stood fidgeting the entire time. That energy remained bottled up for most of a period in which he received only two shifts, but he didn’t sulk over the diminished ice time. Instead, Sýkora seized his opportunity when his TOI ticked up in the third.
“I just try (not) to overthink things,” he said. “I know I was sitting in the penalty box, and I was kind of sitting a little bit on the bench. It was like penalty kills, power play, so I’m just trying to be engaged, help those guys, be alive on the bench still, and just don’t think too much. Just enjoy every moment with these guys, with this team, and that’s what’s going in my head through the time when I’m sitting there.”
Adam Sýkora became the second Rangers rookie after Noah Laba to score in consecutive games this season. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Sýkora’s second goal in as many games served as further evidence of his improving offensive skill set, but he knows as well as any that his path to NHL sustainability will hinge on maintaining what Sullivan described as “his enthusiasm.” The 5-foot-11, 193-pounder’s motor is always revved to the max, giving him the look of an effective checking winger who will win puck battles and make hustle plays all over the ice.
It’s quickly making him a fan favorite — and a popular teammate.
“I don’t know if you guys can see it, but his energy is unmatched,” veteran Conor Sheary said. “He is constantly up on his feet, he’s banging his stick. With all these young guys — but especially him — he just brings an energy that’s contagious. He’s fun to be around, fun to play with.”
Jaroslav Chmelař
Sýkora, Sheary and Fox accounted for the Rangers’ goals, while Shesterkin was excellent with 26 saves on 27 shots faced, 15 of which came in the first period. But one of the first players Sullivan wanted to talk about after the win was Chmelař.
“I thought Jaro was one of our better forwards tonight, with his skating and how he was on pucks — and his execution with the puck,” Sullivan said.
The coach pointed to a couple of plays that caught his eye. One came early in the game, when Chmelař used his long reach to disrupt an attempted pass from Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling and tipped it to himself for a prime scoring chance from the slot. Another came off the rush when the 22-year-old spun around a defender and had the wherewithal to set up Laba at the far post.
The 2021 fifth-round pick leads all of New York’s regular skaters with a 57.05 percent expected goals-for rate through 14 games played this month, according to Natural Stat Trick, and is clearly earning more trust.
“I think Jaro’s getting better with every game he plays,” Sullivan said. “He’s a big man, as you guys know, but his foot speed is getting better. How quickly he’s processing the game is getting better, so he anticipates better. Things of that nature. I just think the speed of the game at which he’s playing is so much better than it was at training camp, for example.”
The 6-4, 226-pounder appears to be passing Edström, who was a healthy scratch for the second straight game, and Rempe in the big winger pecking order and setting himself up with a good chance to make the team out of camp next fall.
Jaroslav Chmelař is quickly earning more trust and might be the leading big winger candidate for ice time next season. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Noah Laba
After centering the third line for most of the season, Laba re-entered in the 4C spot that’s been a revolving door since veteran Sam Carrick was traded to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this month. His trio with Chmelař and veteran Jonny Brodzinski was New York’s best on Sunday, earning four of the team’s five high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five while producing an 88.91 percent xGF rate.
“I thought that line was excellent all night long,” Sullivan said. “We tried to play four lines consistently throughout the course of the game. It gives you a chance to get some of the minutes down of some of our core guys that sometimes those minutes, they mount and they add up. And I think if we’re able to do that, we get a better version of those guys, as well.”
Laba was in the middle of that effort, finishing with an assist and a team-high four shots in 13:20 TOI. The 2022 fourth-round pick said he “felt good” coming off the injury and immediately popped with his speed down the middle. He attacked the net and got into dangerous scoring positions on a few noticeable occasions, adding to the overall effectiveness of his line.
The 22-year-old’s ceiling could be limited, particularly on the offensive side of the puck with 22 points through 66 games, but he’s shown attributes that should give him staying power — most notably a max skating speed that ranks in the 87th percentile league-wide, according to NHL Edge. He’d bring plenty of value as a long-term 4C and penalty-killer, but the Rangers believe 3C remains a plausible outcome.
“The biggest thing that he adds to our lineup is his size and speed,” Sullivan said. “He’s pretty good in the faceoff circle. He can kill penalties, but he can skate. His north-south game, I think, is good.”
