MTPS: What the Hell is Going On?

The New York Rangers first full team practice since the Olympic break happened today.

OK, on the one hand, it's one practice.

On the other hand, what the actual fuck are The New York Rangers doing? And are they on the verge of screwing things up in a spectacular fashion?

Let's start on defense.

Braden Schneider: LHD?

In preseason and early on in the regular season, there was a lot of conversation here, and in other spaces, that the New York Rangers would have been well served to move Braden Schneider to the left—a position he played last season when Ryan Lindgren was out—for two reasons:

• It would bump the ineffective Urho Vaakanainen to the bench
• It would create a spot on the right side for top prospect Scott Morrow

It didn't happen. Eric argued, vehemently, that some coaches just do not want to play defensemen on their off side. OK, that's fine. But what today's pairings show you is something very different. What today's pairings show you is that Mike Sullivan and David Quinn were unwilling to make that move to create an opportunity for Scott Morrow—the centerpiece of the K'Andre Miller trade—but are willing to do it to create space for Vincent Iorio, a waiver-wire pickup with his third organization this season. That is, at best, concerning.

Now, look, this isn't the case of a kid being buried for a veteran. Iorio and Morrow are the same age and were both taken in the second round of the 2021 draft. But you've had two organizations (Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks) who have waived Iorio this year, and yet the Rangers think so highly of him that they're bending over backwards to get him into the lineup, but wouldn't do the same thing for the player who they specifically targeted as part of a trade for one of their best assets this offseason?

Does that mean the Rangers are admitting (privately, if not publicly) that they screwed up the K'Andre Miller deal in targeting Morrow? Do they see Morrow as nothing more than a taller Zac Jones? I'm not sure, but it's not a good look for an organization that has—going back to the days of Sergei Zubov—struggled to understand that you can, in fact, have two offensively gifted defensemen in the lineup at the same time. Could this be nothing? Could this be the Rangers showing off Schneider's ability to play the left side to potential suitors? Sure, but are two games on the left really going to make a difference to how teams see Schneider? Probably not. What's more, even if that were the case, then if the Rangers valued Morrow over Iorio, Morrow would not be skating on the fourth pair with Urho Vaakanainen. Occam's Razor suggests the simplest explanation, requiring the fewest assumptions, is typically the most likely to be correct. The Rangers are doing things to create space for Vincent Iorio over Scott Morrow because they - right now - want Vincent Iorio in the lineup more than they want Scott Morrow.

To be fair, Morrow has struggled at times with his decision making in the NHL, and has not been a good defensive player, but that's not going to improve from the Adam Clendening Memorial Press Box and sure seems like a great way to disenfranchise another young player.