Freaky Friday: The New York Mets as New York Rangers
From Alonso to Soto, it’s a full lineup swap! See how the Mets would stack up if they hit the ice instead of the diamond.
In case you missed it last week, we're having some fun in these dog days of summer and pretending that the New York Mets and New York Rangers are the co-stars of this rendition of Freaky Friday. This week, we're examining what the Mets-turned-Rangers would look like.
Forward Lines
Line 1: Francisco Lindor - Pete Alonso - Juan Soto
There's no doubt that this would be the Mets-turned-Rangers top line and likely the best top line in the baseball-turned-hockey world.
Francisco Lindor and Artemi Panarin are one-in-the-same in terms of the superstars Mets and Rangers fans root for, largely because they came to their teams within a year or two of each other. Lindor would undoubtedly be the Rangers top line left wing that’s good for flirting with 100-points year in and year out. He’s going to drive play, score goals, and be the guy the team counts on to put one in the back of the net when they need it. Unlike Panarin, Lindor would absolutely where the "C" on his jersey, filling the captaincy void left by Jacob Trouba.
Take the type of player Chris Kreider was and then pretend he was a center, and that’s exactly what Pete Alonso would be for the New York Rangers: a clear cut, top line left handed center that can skate with the big dogs in Lindor and Soto. He has the J.T. Miller type of aggression to his game, but he’s got the hand-eye that Kreider has and is an all around menace as a net front presence. He’s also like Kreider in the sense that he’s typically going to be good for 20-30 goals a season consistently, but every once in a while he’ll surprise with a 40-50 goal season.
Juan Soto is the top line right winger the Rangers have never been able to find—along the lines of a David Pastrnak or William Nylander. Soto’s the highest paid player in baseball and one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Therefore he would undoubtedly be the highest paid player on this Mets-Rangers team and, as a result, would drive fans crazy if he didn’t play like the star he is night in and night out, especially throughout the playoffs.
