Tanner Glass is now the Ghost of New York Rangers' Past
For the two seasons prior to the current one, Tanner Glass haunted the New York Rangers’ fourth line. Alain Vigneault refused to bench the forward despite his ghastly performances, and the Rangers suffered as a whole. Now, Glass is buried in the AHL, with the Rangers constantly calling up his teammates from Hartford. The Tanner Glass era is over.
Until the opening night roster was officially announced, the common belief was Tanner Glass would be a New York Ranger this season. When the roster was announced and Glass was on it, the prediction was Glass would be the first forward promoted. Three forwards later and a third of the season gone, Glass has not yet been promoted to the NHL.
Though the Rangers have struggled through a plethora of injuries in the first third of the season, New York has used their depth to avoid calling up inferior players. Marek Hrivik and Nicklas Jensen do not dominate, but both are fine fourth liners on an average team. For Hrivik and Jensen to be promoted, Pavel Buchnevich, Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Matt Puempel, Jimmy Vesey, and/or Mika Zibanejad all had to have been dealing with injury troubles.
Even with those six forwards up in the air, the Rangers did not give the nod to Tanner Glass. Glass played in 123 games for the Rangers over the past two seasons, in addition to 23 playoff games. The Rangers’ second leading scorer, Kevin Hayes, was scratched in the postseason in favor of Glass for a game. Glass was a mainstay on the Rangers roster, but now he is buried in Hartford.
All of the signs point towards a shift in philosophy for the Rangers. Former Ranger Dylan McIlrath did not enter the lineup when the Rangers played rivalry games, a sign towards the team no longer believing in the concept of enforcing. Jeff Gorton provided the Rangers with a tremendous mix of talent at forward, burying Glass behind the alternate options.
More from Blue Line Station
After Cristoval Nieves was the first man up, the move could have been seen as an outlier. Mark Hrivik getting the call next was a positive sign, but not enough evidence for a trend. Nicklas Jensen receiving the third nod sealed the deal. The New York Rangers identified a weakness on their roster and fixed it.
The additional depth, in addition to using the depth wisely, has placed Glass far down the list on the depth chart. Josh Jooris made the opening night roster over Glass due to his superior game overall. Hrivik, Jensen, and Nieves were promoted due to their ability to add to a skilled fourth line. Glass’ enforcer niche is irrelevant, and his inability to produce has been identified.
Should the Rangers suffer any further injuries, look for Nieves or Justin Fontaine to receive the next calls. If the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign is any indication, Tanner Glass’ days in a New York Rangers uniform are over.