The easiest decision among the reserve Rangers forwards is with Parssinen. Chris Drury may not even have to make a decision if he is claimed. There are already rumors that both Vancouver and San Jose could be interested, which would certainly save both Drury and Mike Sullivan from themselves if they ever get the urge to recall him.
The remaining reserve Rangers forwards need to step up
With Parssinen gone, the remaining reserve Rangers forwards – Raddysh and Sheary – need to contribute a bit more to show that they should still be at Rangers if and when kids like Gabe Perreault stick around. As it stands, the answer is quite clear, although it may require a little more than a surface-level analysis.
It’s easy to pick on Conor Sheary, and while I agree with the premise of Brandon’s post about trust, I think the focus should have been elsewhere. Sheary has been a fine foot soldier. He gives every service 100% and does many of the little things well. He drives the play in attack, although missing some quality chances, and has been solid defensively in limiting the quality against. That’s his role. If Rangers actually scored goals, no one would complain about nepotism or Sheary.
That big red bar for actual goals is part Sheary, but part Rangers as a team. They can’t score. Even Raddysh’s once leading the team in goals are in the red on that metric. The Rangers simply can’t score, and that problem lies with JT Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle. If the top half of the lineup can’t score, the bottom half suffers too.
On Raddysh his stats are by far the worst of the remaining reserve Rangers strikers. He is backed by a 22.7% shooting percentage, more than double his career average of 10.7%. But Raddysh has not scored in November and has only scored in three games. His hot start cools off quickly, and he does nothing off the puck to separate himself from Sheary. They’re both equal in suppressing recording quality, but Sheary has the clear edge everywhere else.
The decision is clear: League-minimum salary Sheary offers more at this point, especially as Raddysh — with a cap hit of $1.5 million and an additional year left on his contract — is cooling off faster than a polar vortex. That could change, but if a decision has to be made in the coming days, Sheary should be the one to stay. If only because of the difference in the cap hit.
The Rangers are bad because of the top six
It’s easy to blame guys like Sheary, Parssinen and Raddysh for Rangers’ struggles. But that’s pretty unfair. This trio of reserve Rangers forwards isn’t supposed to carry the team. The reserve Rangers forwards should complement the top six and provide tertiary scores. At no point should Raddysh have led the team in scoring.
As the Rangers continue to struggle, it’s clear they need more youth, skill and speed in the lineup. Brett Berard should stay and Perreault will be back soon. Their roster spots will come at the expense of these reserve Rangers forwards, but they are no saviors either. Calling up two kids won’t change anything if the top six don’t score. That is the current problem.
#reserve #Rangers #strikers #stay