This offseason was a peculiar one for the Rangers.
One that was capable of inducing some whiplash following a prolific Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign, another conference final loss and then a brief flood of indications that major changes would be made.
While most never materialized, the Blueshirts made it clear they are at a crossroads.
Three straight seasons of finishing among the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division and two shots at a Stanley Cup Final berth is nothing to scoff at. When it comes with the context of a championship drought spanning more than three decades, however, it’s diminished.
Peter Laviolette’s playoff mentality will be a different kind of challenge this season.
This is the core the Rangers want to win with.
It is also the core that hasn’t gotten it done.
How many “close, but no cigar” seasons is too many?
How do you tear down what’s gotten you so close in the past?
Questions about the Rangers’ legitimacy as a Stanley Cup contender will have to be firmly answered this year.
This is no longer about dealing with immense expectations, which is a word that has come up at the start of seasons a lot in recent years.
The club needs a whole new word for what they’re facing — and it won’t go away until Lord Stanley is paraded through the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan.
These are the top storylines, in no particular order, to follow as training camp unfolds:
Can the Rangers answer head coach Peter Laviolette’s demanding work ethic challenge once again?
The Rangers vowed to start practicing and playing playoff hockey in September last year, so that when the time came there was no switch to flip.
Laviolette was impressed with the way the players bought into his day-to-day grind and the Rangers benefited greatly from this revamped approach.
It’s one thing to answer the challenge when it’s all shiny and new, but it’s another to consistently deliver on those habits.
To keep the BFFs together or not to keep the BFFs together … that is the question.
There’s no way to know what Laviolette is thinking regarding his starting point for the lineup, whether that includes Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad together or not.
Last season, Kreider and Zibanejad skated on a line together in 81 of 82 regular-season games and all 16 playoff games.
The one game they weren’t together Zibanejad was scratched due to illness.
Laviolette said when he first took over the Rangers job that he’s not married to any of the previous alignments.
It’ll be interesting to see if he keeps things as they were or tries something different to start this season.
Will Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad stay together?
Alexis Lafreniere’s next step
The expectation is that Lafreniere will resume his post on the right wing of the Rangers’ most consistent and dynamic line last season, alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
It would be silly not to, just like it would be even sillier not to figure out how to get more out of Lafreniere.
It’s a complicated debate when considering how long the Rangers first power-play unit has been together and how effective they’ve been in the past.
But Lafreniere was one of the Rangers most consistent forwards all last season.
It would be a disservice to not only the Blueshirts as a whole, but to Lafreniere and his ascension if the 2020 first-overall pick is not utilized more.
Alexis Lafreniere was one of the Rangers’ most consistent forwards last season.
Is Matt Rempe ready for a full-time NHL role?
Rempe’s offseason was befitting of a NHL regular: Training with longtime enforcer Georges Laraque, signing autographs and getting interviewed alongside Rangers greats Henrik Lundqvist and Mike Richter at a Fanatics event in New York City and representing the Blueshirts at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase.
All of that is great, but only training camp can decide Rempe’s fate.
The 6-foot-8 ½ forward needs to show off all that he’s worked on in the offseason to secure a spot in the lineup.
Decisions aren’t going to be made based on popularity or novelty.
This will be a chance for Rempe to prove last season wasn’t a fluke and that he’s here to stay.
All of Matt Rempe’s offseason work will be on display at Rangers camp.
Can Zac Jones finally seize the sixth defenseman role?
The competition for the sixth defenseman role has been a recurring storyline for Rangers training camps in recent years, but it should be a little different this time around.
The 6D spot is Jones’ to lose.
The only defenseman who was signed to legitimately compete with Jones was trade-deadline acquisition Chad Ruhwedel, who the UMass product finished ahead of on the depth chart last season.
Laviolette showed loyalty to Jones when injuries arose and the 23-year-old defenseman rewarded him with some strong performances.
That will need to be the case once again.
