We are 12 games into the 2018-19 New York Rangers season, and 12 games into the David Quinn Era. It may feel longer than that with all the losing so far this season, but that’s all there has been.
12 games.
And yet, it already feels like the fan base is at a crossroads with their new head coach.
The roadblock was discovered early Tuesday afternoon, when Larry Brooks reported that Pavel Buchnevich was going to be a healthy scratch against the San Jose Sharks. Buchnevich has been and always will be a flash point in conversations about the Rangers, and will likely always be that as long as he’s in a Rangers jersey.
Whether you agree with benching Buchnevich (and I don’t, I feel like I’ve made my position as clear as possible that I would give Buchnevich as much run as he needs to work himself out of his funk) or not, it was surprising that people were saying it possibly wasn’t performance-based. Pavel Buchnevich has struggled this year, and whether you’re his biggest fan or not, that’s an indisputable fact. What has caused those struggles and what can get him out of his funk as quickly as possible are topics open for debate, and there isn’t a concrete answer for either option.
For starters, there are multiple ways to develop a player. Again, if I’m coaching someone like Buchnevich, I’m giving him top-six minutes on a nightly basis and seeing where he can run with it, even when he’s struggling. But that’s just me. That’s clearly not David Quinn. Quinn wants to see effort, and if you’re not accomplishing what he asks of you in games or in practice, he wants you to take a seat and try again tomorrow. Just ask Tony DeAngelo.
Again, that wouldn’t be my strategy, but I’m really fine with that philosophy. Quinn will be the first to tell you that Pavel Buchnevich is important to the Rangers long-term future, and this is his strategy. It could backfire in a big way on him, and I’ll be one of the first to point out if it doesn’t work. Everything Quinn is doing isn’t to “punish” Buchnevich, but to get more out of him. That’s the biggest difference between Quinn’s benchings and Alain Vigneault’s benchings. AV would move Buchnevich down the lineup regardless of performance, and bench him when his performance slips after an unexplained disciplinary assignment.
Pavel Buchnevich succeeded under Alain Vigneault. That’s what made his line assignments and benchings so frustrating. They weren’t warranted. Right now? Buchnevich isn’t playing well. It’s really that simple.
This isn’t to excuse David Quinn from criticism. In fact, I think there’s a topic getting completely lost in the shuffle because the focus is on the Buchnevich benching at the moment.
In a game that eventually went to a shootout, Filip Chytil saw less than nine minutes of time on ice. He played on the fourth line, surrounded by a Vinni Lettieri and the not exactly great at hockey but doing better this year than we all expected Cody McLeod.
In fact, McLeod eventually saw more ice time than Chytil during the game.
That’s absurd, and not just for the “yeah, no shit, Chytil is a more talented hockey player than Cody McLeod.
As you can see in the chart above, provided by friend of the podcast Sean Tierney of Charting Hockey and The Athletic, Filip Chytil has arguably been one of the Rangers best forwards throughout the team’s first 12 games. Yes, he hasn’t scored any goals, and yes, he only has two assists to his ledger, but pointing towards point production as an end-all, be-all is irresponsible. The only way to generate point production is by creating opportunities, and Chytil has created way more opportunities than have been capitalized on. Pavel Buchnevich, he of the five points in 10 games, is also highlighted on this chart to show how he’s struggled in terms of shot rates. If anything, it should be encouraging that Buchnevich has created as much offense as he has considering how poorly he’s played. Imagine what will happen to his point totals if he’s able to put it all together!
Here’s another chart that helps underline this point, this time from more friends of the podcast at Evolving Wild:
It’s frustrating to see Chytil take fourth line minutes, not just because he has the potential to be so much more, but because he has been so much more. He’s comfortably been one of the Rangers best six forwards this season, and that says as much about how poorly the Rangers forwards have played this year as it does about how well Chytil has quietly played.
He’s managed to do all that while being yo-yo’d between center and wing, seemingly playing with different linemates every night and seeing constant fluctuations in his TOI.
If David Quinn came out and said, “I’m trying not to gas out Chytil early in the season, so I’m watching his minutes closely”, I think we’d all understand that. But here’s what Quinn said not even two weeks ago.
For those who don’t want to watch all four minutes of that video, Quinn’s exact words were, “he’s a guy who’s very gifted, and I got to get him more ice time. That’s the first thing I think about when you mention his name, he needs to play more.”
These comments came on October 13th. It’s been just over two weeks. What has changed?
Chytil’s game hasn’t changed. He’s still doing everything you would want him to do sans appearing on the actual score sheet, but nearly every Ranger is struggling to put the puck in the net.
And we’re passed the point of no return now. HockeyStatMiner will be the first to point out to you that his entry-level contract can no longer slide because he’s appeared in more than 10 games this season. He’s officially on the books in that regard. Why hasn’t David Quinn been able to find consistent playing time for one of his most talented forwards who has, thus far, lived up to his lofty expectations?
Clearly the Rangers have been willing to put him on the wing, so why isn’t he seeing consistent, night-in and night-out top six minutes? If the Rangers are adamant about playing him at center, why allow Kevin Hayes, who is on the last year of his contract and has already been talked about as a significant trade chip this early in the season, prevent Chytil from seeing top six minutes at center? Why not move Hayes to a wing and show off his versatility to interested teams needing an infusion at forward?
This entire article isn’t to say that we should all be forgiving David Quinn for anything he’s done to start this season. It’s to say that our criticism is misplaced.
Pavel Buchnevich has played poorly this season.
Filip Chytil has played well this season, especially in context.
What’s going on with Chytil, coach?
Author: Greg Kaplan
Greg Kaplan is a man of mystery. Did he write this? No. Was he asked to write this? Yes. But did he write this article? Maybe, do you like it?