Rangers or Vitali Kravtsov? Who is to blame for latest fallout of former 1st rounder?
For the second time in over a year, Vitali Kravtsov has applied for a trade with the New York Rangers.
According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Kravtsov’s camp is looking until March 3 for a change of scenery if he’s not part of the club’s immediate plans.
Kravtsov was a healthy scratch in New York’s 6-2 win over Carolina over the weekend, just a day after playing just under 11 minutes in Rangers’ 6-3 win over Seattle. This also comes after the former first-round pick has had a healthy scrape in each of the last four games.
If there was any doubt that Kravtsov could possibly have been in the team’s immediate plans, head coach Gerard Gallant squashed it on Monday.
“He’s a top nine player. He’s not in our top 9 right now, and he won’t be a fourth-row player. We like him, I like him. Kravy has come a long way this year. I put my top 9 strikers out there. He’s not one of them at the moment.” Gallant added courtesy of SNY on Monday.
For a first-round pick with a multitude of talents, questions will arise such as goals for the disgruntled prospect and whether Rangers have done enough to maximize the talent of a player like Kravtsov. In the end, both sides are to blame for the recent clashes.
It’s fair to say Kravtsov didn’t make a fair try like other youngsters currently owning Rangers. The Russian forward has played 28 games this year and scored six points in total. A 17-game streak was broken in January, but the rapid line changes and abrupt bench presses aren’t exactly beneficial to young players in any sport, let alone Kravtsov.
But that doesn’t mean that Kravtsov is also blameless. Returning to Russia after the team sent him to Hartford last season, the Rangers were pleased with his work ethic and improvements during the offseason. The belief was that he could pair well with players like Artemi Panarin and take the team to a place where they wouldn’t have to separate the kids.
Except the production never came. He’s struggling to make a name for himself and show he belongs in a top line. In a sport that relies on production, six points in 28 games played and an inability to stand out are alarming for a player as talented as Kravtsov. For a team fighting for the championship like Rangers, they really can’t afford to wait for Kravtsov as long as it takes.
While Rangers haven’t exactly helped themselves in developing young talent like Kravtsov, the player needs to show he belongs.
Kravtsov and New York are in this bed together, and it seems that unless Chris Drury finds a trading partner, Rangers will have a disgruntled player on their roster for the most important part of the season.