For the last 19 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Ryan Strome, Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Patrik Nemeth, Justin Braun, Alexandar Georgiev

Incoming – Vincent Trocheck, Ryan Carpenter, Jaroslav Halak, Louis Domingue

Impact of Changes – When the Rangers traded for Andrew Copp at the trade deadline last season, he seemed like an immediate great fit on the team. Unfortunately for Rangers fans, Copp opted to test the free agent market and signed a long-term deal with Detroit, so that's a tough loss. What's worse is Ryan Strome also decided to move on from New York, so there was work to be done.

The Rangers landed a very solid center in Vincent Trocheck who should slot into their second line center role very nicely. Trocheck plays a solid two-way game that should fit perfectly into the Rangers' system, a system that gave up the second-least number of goals last year. He also is coming from Carolina, who plays a pretty similar brand of hockey, so this should be a good addition by the Rangers front office. In goal the team will continue to heavily rely on Igor Shesterkin, but the team replaced Alexandar Georgiev with veteran netminder Jaroslav Halak. Halak has been a serviceable back-up for many years now, but last year in Vancouver wasn't particularly great for him. That being said though, he has a much stronger team in front of him now and if he can just stay steady, he should serve as a solid replacement to Georgiev.

Ready for Full Time – It's no surprise here, as Vitali Kravtsov is the star of the show in terms of upcoming prospects for the Rangers. For those of you not in the know, Kravtsov's messy relationship with the Rangers and team management has seen its fair share of drama over the past couple of seasons. He refused to report to Hartford (New York's AHL affiliate) after not making the team last season, and opted to go back to Russia and play in the KHL. Somewhat surprisingly, Kravtsov and the Rangers came to terms on a one-year deal for this upcoming season. The contract is a one-way contract as well, so it seems like Kravtsov is finely going to get his shot to play on Broadway this year. He has elite talent and he is still only 22 years of age. 

Aside from Kravtsov, there aren't any imminent prospects expected to win a roster spot out of training camp, and that shouldn't come as a surprise since New York is entering their window to be a powerhouse in the league for the next handful of seasons. There's always the chance that guys get called up due to injuries though, as the Rangers have some nice pieces should that situation arise. Specifically on defense, Nils Lundkvist and Zac Jones are two names worth keeping an eye on. On weaker teams, these guys would probably be vying for a spot on an NHL roster.

Fantasy Outlook – As previously stated, New York is entering their window where they should be a powerhouse for the next several seasons. They have elite players at all positions, but they are also a bit of an enigma. Offensively speaking, they were average at best last season. There should be room to improve, but it's pretty shocking to see how lopsided the scoring was on the team last year. Outside of Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox, there was not a lot of offense to speak of. The aforementioned players all put up 70 or more points. The next closest was Strome with 55 and he is now in Anaheim. 

It's so enticing to want to take a shot on guys like Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil, especially after the playoff run they had. Maybe with Kravtsov coming in, there will be a bit more offense injected into the middle six of the lineup. There is some hidden value for people who are in bangers leagues. Defenseman K'Andre Miller is a sneaky good option on the blueline if you need peripherals. And of course, it goes without saying, but Shesterkin should continue to be the premiere option as far as goaltending goes. Barring injury, he should be a Vezina-level goalie for the next handful of years.

Fantasy Grade: B+ (last year was A-)