Just over an hour after the sun rises Thursday morning, the Rangers will hit the ice at MSG Training Center in Tarrytown.
That’s right, at 8 a.m. — bright and early — training camp will begin for a Rangers team that last competed 4 ¹/₂ months ago, when it was bounced from the first round of the playoffs by the Devils in seven games.
The players might have already done 15 gassers by the time you’ve you’re reading this on your morning commute to work.
New head coach Peter Laviolette is an early riser.
And now, so are the Rangers.
Laviolette is known to be a detail-oriented coach, and the 58-year-old appears to have combed through every aspect of this team in preparation for the first day of on-ice work.
Decisions have already been made.
Line combinations and defensive pairings have been on his mind.
His message to his players on Wednesday was to come in everyday and show him their greatness.
“Two days from now, lines are going to come out, and they won’t be the same the next day,” Laviolette said of his approach to camp. “I want to look at different parts and different pieces through training camp, see if there’s a connection with any of the players and give players opportunity to show what they can do in different situations. The same holds true for the exhibition games.
“We’re going to put players in spots to give them a chance to earn what they want to earn at training camp. They’ll get those opportunities in practice, they’ll get those opportunities in games, and we’re hoping that people push forward and really rise to the top and grab those opportunities and run with them. It’ll change through training camp.
“I really am a little wide open. I want to be wide open coming in here with what I see and evaluate it from that standpoint.”
Laviolette revealed that Alexis Lafreniere will begin camp on his offside on the right wing, which is where the club probably needs him the most with such a log-jammed left side.
The former first-overall pick has seen some time on the right since he was drafted three years ago, but he’s never quite fit, and it’s usually been short-lived.
Maybe Laviolette will see the same thing that each of his two predecessors have and revert Lafreniere to the left.
Maybe he’ll be the first Rangers coach of Lafreniere’s short NHL career to make it work.
He intends to evaluate both possibilities.
“I did have conversations with him,” Laviolette said. “It’s not like I did it blindly, I had conversations with him about playing the offside. He expressed to me that he’s comfortable with that and looks forward to that opportunity. I’m looking forward to giving it to him to see what he can do. Again, that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to see him on the left side in camp, either.”
As president and general manager Chris Drury encouraged, Laviolette is not married to what has previously worked for the Rangers — but he’s also not ignoring it.
For a pairing like Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, who have played alongside one another for a majority of their hockey careers, Laviolette said he recognizes that they’ve had success together, but also feels inclined to try something different.
Though he expects the lineup to change a lot, Laviolette said he doesn’t think he’ll make any alterations to the Rangers’ leadership group.
Laviolette has been in touch with the assistant captains and captain Jacob Trouba, who he and assistant coach Phil Housley briefly coached for Team USA during the 2014 World Championship.
The longtime NHL coach felt those conversations were important to have.
But just like everything else, nothing is set in stone.
Laviolette is just getting started.
“They’re an established group of veteran hockey players that have had some sort of success with this team,” he said. “Obviously, we’re striving for ultimate success. My eyes are open to see who else is proving themselves as a leader as well. Maybe there is no change with regard to that, or maybe there is. I’m not sure at this point because I haven’t been on the inside enough to answer that question.”