New York Rangers Find Hagelin's Replacement in Grabner

In recent years, the New York Rangers have found their most success when they established a team identity built around speed. For years, the keystone player in that identity was Carl Hagelin—but with Michael Grabner now in blue, there’s a new face of the speedy franchise.

In the summer of 2015, the New York Rangers found themselves in a serious cap crunch. With the recent extensions handed out to defensemen Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, and a full year of Keith Yandle’s cap hit coming up, they needed to make some moves. There were free agents to sign, contracts to extend, and sky-high expectations to meet after two straight years of playing in the Eastern Conference Final.

With the lightning-fast Carl Hagelin due a new contract, Rangers management opted to move him to Anaheim for Emerson Etem. Etem was a work-in-progress winger with size and skill, but hadn’t managed to put his game together yet. His potential was promising, especially his proven ability to score goals.

What followed was a 2015-2016 season that, while not a disaster, was one buoyed by false hope and an absolutely stellar Henrik Lundqvist, but saw a noticeable departure from the type of fast play that helped the Rangers perform at a high level the two previous years.

This lack of speed and aggressiveness was most apparent in the penalty kill. From 2011-12 through 2014-15, the Rangers finished in the top 6 of the league in penalty kill efficiency; in 2015-16, following Hagelin’s departure, they dropped all the way to 26th with a dismal 78.2% kill rate.

Carl Hagelin was a key contributor to the success of the PK, with his speed causing opposing point men fits and opening up shorthanded offensive opportunities for the Rangers. Without Hagelin, the Rangers were forced to rely upon players like Tanner Glass and Jesper Fast, with markedly worse results.

This past summer, with a professed desire to improve both team speed and the PK, Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton signed another speed demon: Austrian winger Michael Grabner.

Dec 3, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Michael Grabner (40) celebrates scoring a goal past Carolina Hurricanes goalie Michael Leighton (32) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

While Grabner broke into the NHL spotlight with a remarkable 34 goals and 52 points in 2010-2011, his offense dried up in subsequent years. The goal totals cratered, with Grabner only scoring 9 times in 80 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.

The expectation was that Grabner would come to Broadway as one of several players fighting for a 4th line spot. Now, over 30 games into the season, he has cemented himself as a rejuvenated player and is tied for the Rangers lead with 13 goals in only 33 games.

Not only has Grabner’s offensive production been impressive—he’s only 4 goals away from Hagelin’s single-season career high in 39 fewer games—but the Rangers’ penalty kill has seen a renaissance.

The Rangers sit fourth in the NHL in PK% at 86.8%. Only Boston (87.3), St. Louis (88.5) and Carolina (91.3) are better.

While Grabner has yet to score a shorthanded goal this season (he has just one shorthanded assist), the Rangers team penalty kill identity has changed dramatically. They are attacking more, pushing the pace up ice and have at times looked more dangerous shorthanded than they do on the power play.

Meanwhile, Carl Hagelin is struggling to find the magic of the HBK line from last season in Pittsburgh. The trio of Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel that led the Penguins to the 2016 Stanley Cup has been broken up, and Hagelin has only 3 goals and 8 assists in 32 games.

The Rangers gambled by trading away Hagelin two summers ago, but they found a more than adequate replacement in Grabner.