NHL Preview 2019-20: New York Rangers

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's New York Rangers superstar goalie Henrik Lundqvist).

GM: Jeff Gorton (since 2015). 7.5/10
Coach: David Quinn (since 2018). 7/10

2016-17 record: 48-28-6, 102 points, 9th overall, Wild Card, lost in second round.

Departures: Kevin Hayes (C), Neal Pinok (D), Jimmy Vesey (F), Mats Zuccarello (RW), Ryan Spooner (F), Kevin Shattenkirk (D), Fredrik Claesson (D), Connor Brickley (LW).

Arrivals: Artemi Panarin (D), Jacob Trouba (D), Kaapo Kakko (RW), Adam Fox (D), Greg McKegg (C).

Top forwards: Artemi Panarin (75-85 points), J.T. Miller (40-50 points), Mika Zibanejad (45-60 points), Chris Kreider (45-55 points, although with his attributes, we've long expected close to point-per-game seasons from him), Kaapo Kakko (40-55 points), Vladislav Namestnikov (35-50 points), Pavel Buchnevich (40-55 points), Ryan Strome (30-35 points), Desharnais (30-35 points), Jesper Fast (20-30 points).

Must-improve forward: It's time for Buchnevich to give a complete effort in all three zones; if he does, you'll be looking at a 30-goal, 60-point man on the verge of signing a huge deal instead of a perennial middle-six guy who is constantly in trade rumours.

Top defensemen: Brady Skeij (40-45 points), Anthony DeAngelo (35-45 points), Jacob Trouba (35-45 points), Brendan Smith (20 points), Marc Staal (10 points).

Goalies: Henrik Lundqvist (85/100), Alexandar Georgiev (81/100).

Top rookies: Kakko (18, RW, 2nd overall pick in 2019), Adam Fox (21 years old, D), Libor Hajek (21, D), Filip Chytil (20, C/LW), Brett Howden (21, C), Lias Andersson (20, C, 2017 first-round draft pick), Brendan Lemieux (23, RW).

Analysis:
A case can be made that the Rangers "won" the summer: they landed the best forward on the free agent market (Panarin), the second-best defenseman on the trade market (Trouba) and the most NHL-ready rookie (Kakko) at the draft.

Add a season of experience to DeAngelo and Skeij, another very good young defender in Fox and Shattenkirk's buyout and that's a very good top-three on defense as well; it's too bad Smith and Staal are still there to eat too many minutes at too high a cap hit, but one of them can be bought out or traded next summer.

Lundqvist, who has been trending down for two straight seasons, is n ow 37. Does he have a final big splash in him before he retires? Possibly, but he won't when this roster is actually ready to contend with the likes of Tampa Bay, Florida and Philadelphia in two years, which is too bad, because the Hall Of Famer does deserve another shot at the Stanley Cup.

I'm still not sold on head coach Quinn, but he hasn't done anything to irk me either. He's earned a new beginning.
Prediction: 6th in the Metropolitan Division, 19th overall and oh-so-close to a playoff spot.