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For a young Rangers team that is at the end of a rebuilding process and looking to establish itself as an ever-competitive organization, assess expectations as one of the most freakish seasons in history approaches. of NHL can be more complex than usual.
“Waiting is a funny word,” Chris Kreider said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “You ask every guy from any team in the league and their expectations are going to be higher for themselves and their squad than anyone outside the squad could possibly impose on them.
“I think that’s our goal [to make the playoffs] as opposed to an expectation. You are not entitled to anything or anything given in this league. You have to win it every night, there are no bad hockey teams in this league, every team has depth and talent – there’s a reason it’s the best league in the world. [Playoffs are] the goal. To achieve that goal, we have to play it one game at a time and keep building and continuing to improve because it will be hard work. It’s going to be a long season in a way, and also short, I guess.
With management, head coach David Quinn and the players all maintaining throughout training camp that earning a playoff berth in May is a realistic goal, the Rangers will have to adjust to the loss of staples, integrate new faces and improve as a cohesive team to get There.
While competing in a busy and realigned East Division on a condensed 56-game schedule featuring intradivisional play amid an endemic pandemic.
“We don’t have 82 games to figure it out,” said Kreider, entering his ninth season on Broadway. “One of the main goals of our training camp was to recognize that we don’t have so much time to prepare during training camp, that we don’t have so many games to get our ticket. The most important thing is to take over and get off to a good start. “
The Rangers open the 2020-21 season Thursday at Madison Square Garden against the Islanders. Henrik Lundqvist will not be in the net for the first time since 2005, Marc Staal will not be on the blue line for the first time since 2007 and Jesper Fast will not be on the wing for the first time since 2014.
Rangers will have a much-vaunted goalie in Igor Shesterkin, a tall young defenseman in K’Andre Miller and talent unique in a generation to Alexis Lafreniere. Shesterkin and Miller matured in the organization’s system and were ultimately harvested for the opening list. And the Rangers won the right to draft Lafrenière in the first row when their logo came out of a lottery machine in August.
The future is here and all three rookies have been given major roles for this coming season.
“We definitely have a lot of young guys, I think we’re probably going to be some of the younger teams in the league,” Kreider said. “The older guys that we have, the guys who have experience, have really helped the young guys and have fitted in pretty well, getting to know the young people. As young as our group is, I’ve seen guys who were maybe 18, 19, 20 last year and some guys in their first year look a lot more comfortable on the ice, in the room. I think the band’s been together long enough for there to be this [comfort] with everyone. The newcomers were well received and I think they fit in right away.
“I think what is exciting about having such a young group is the potential of this group, the potential for growth of each individual, day in and day out. It’s a very exciting time to be a Rangers and Rangers fan.
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