The roster is pockmarked with deficiencies, the players are not buying whatever it is the head coach is attempting to sell, and the season is unfolding with all the joy associated with a toothache.
Yet, among the most serious issues GM Glen Sather and coach John Tortorella must confront is one that has pretty much snuck up on the club the last few weeks, and that’s the dramatic deterioration of 21-year-old rookie center Artem Anisimov’s game.
Understand, Anisimov is hardly the cause of the myriad problems the Rangers will tote into tonight’s Garden match against the Penguins. Rather, his steady drip-drip-drip of a decline is more an effect of the dysfunction surrounding him on this uptight collection of athletes.
The zip to Anisimov’s game has disappeared. He hasn’t been able to make plays. He hasn’t been able to get in on the forecheck or drive to the net. And while the likeable and earnest young man’s game was coming through the early months of the season, now it’s gone, with Anisimov pointless in 17 games dating to Dec. 19 in Philadelphia.
If the Rangers crash and burn, so be it. If Sather’s jigsaw puzzle of a team falls out of the playoff hunt — which it won’t in the weak Eastern Conference as long as Henrik Lundqvist remains at the top of his game — then personnel director Gordie Clark will be in better position at the Entry Draft.
But there will be serious repercussions if the promising Anisimov becomes a casualty of the infection spreading through the team. It is imperative that this year, this development year, be as constructive an experience as possible for the freshman. It is vital that Sather and Tortorella recognize this.
To that end, it is time for the Rangers to send Anisimov to the AHL Wolf Pack so that the kid can find his game, bring it to a consistently superior level against minor league opponents, and thus regain his confidence.
If Anisimov were to go to Hartford now, he’d have a solid five weeks until the end of the Olympic break to re-establish himself and put himself in position for a meaningful recall when the Rangers’ season resumes on March 2, following the 15-day break that commences Feb. 15.
The Rangers could fill the hole in the middle by either moving Chris Drury back into the pivot or by recalling 25-year-old Corey Locke, third in AHL scoring with 49 points (17-32) through Saturday.
Tortorella said repeatedly during training camp and early in the year that the organization had an obligation to develop Anisimov for the long-term, and if that meant having him play in Hartford, then that’s what the Rangers would do.
It’s time to keep that pledge. Anisimov is better off in Hartford, at least for a short-term assignment that will pay dividends in the long run.
* Donald Brashear is all but certain to return to the lineup following five consecutive healthy scratches. Ales Kotalik, also scratched for five straight, is likely to be reinstated.