Give me a 5 min write up..
I'll tail for shits n giggles if deemed worthy.
The dope of a GM Drury traded the second best forward on the team Pavel Buchnevich for a second round pick and 4th line scrub. Buchnevich carried the first line and in particular his center Zibanejad who while being a legitimate sniper is also a center who needs his wings to set him up versus the traditional first line center who sets up his linemates. Without Buchnevich the underlying stats will show that the Rangers first line is going to be destroyed in matchups vs other teams top lines.
After Tom Wilson singlehandedly destroyed this team physically the Rangers answer was trading for renowned goon Ryan Reaves who is a huge minus as a player. The team believes that by outhitting the opponents they will win on the scorebaord which is complete nonsense.
The Rangers are very weak up the middle with Zibanejad who does not drive play as well as a similar player in Ryan Strome as the second center who like Zibanejad puts up points but allows more chances from the other team than his line creates. The third line center may or may not be Filip Chytil who is the teams best center but who the team does not believe in and may prefer on the wing despite being the best player they have at the center position.
The upside for this team is the two potential stars that they drafted first and second overall in consecutive drafts with Kakko and Lafreniere but both players are probably a year or two away from stardom although both may be ready to shine this season.
Adam Fox leads the defense and he is a great player. Unfortunately he is the only big time player on the defense with albatross Jacob Trouba and his contract holding down a spot on the second pair.
The team has a very solid goalie in Shesterkin so no problems there.
The team also replaces a terrible coach in Quinn with a mediocre one in Gallant so that was an upgrade but probably not a difference making one.
This is probably the lineup opening night with a few small comments:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere Kreider is great one week then disappears for a month, Zibanejad is a sniper but a center that does not drive play and will greatly miss Buchnevich who carried him, Lafreniere is an obvious talent but probably a year or two from reaching his potential and probably a guy that will be droppd in the lineup when the team is struggling in favor of a veteran with far lesser talent.
Panarin-Strome-Kakko Panarin is a top 5 player in the league who makes anyone on his line look good, Strome is a third liner who puts up stats due to playing with Panarin, Kakko is a power forward who is great with the puck and a guy who will be a star. Panarin and Kakko make this an excellent line with Strome being a passenger lucky to be surrounded by superior talent.
Goodrow-Chytil-Kravtsov Goodrow was the typical free agent overpay who is labeled as a winner because he was playing with Tampa. This guy takes way too many penalties and is fine as a fourth liner making little money but as a third liner being paid big money is a minus, Chytil is a great young player but the team does not believe in him and he may struggle with these linemates, Kravtsov is a former first rounder with ability but another guy the team does not believe in and he may or may not crack the lineup.
Blais-Rooney-Reaves Blais is a typical try hard fourth liner which is fine but him as the return for Buchnevich was a joke, Rooney is a borderline NHL player who you can accept on the fourth line but he adds little, Reaves is as advertised being a great fighter who is a minus at every other aspect of the game.
Lindgren-Fox Adam Fox is one of the best defenseman in the league and he carries Lindgren who probably belongs on a third pair
Miller-Trouba Miller is a talent who struggles at times positionally while Trouba is one of the most overpaid players in the league.
Nemeth-Lundkvist Nemeth is a stiff that they signed from Colorado who was happy to see him leave and Lundkvist is a rookie with big upside
Shesterkin-Georgiev Shesterkin is a very good young goalie and Georgiev is an adequate backup
This team downgraded in talent by shipping off Buchnevich and upgraded at coach but not enough to make up for the loss of Buchnevich. This team wasn't close to playoff contention last season and I see no reason why they would come anywhere close to 95.5 points. I expect 80-85 points tops and if someone like Panarin goes down they may wind up with far less.