There can only be so many of one type of player on an NHL roster. With too many similar talents, there eventually becomes a dearth of another skillset. In some cases, it’s just a matter of not having enough roster spots and salary cap to go around even if both players are talented. The New York Rangers are overstocked at several positions, in this particular case, it’s defense.
However, before covering the present, there is a similar situation we can look back to in recent memory. Going into the 2017-2018 NHL season, there was an expectation that the Rangers front office would have to choose between one of Kevin Hayes or J.