Don't know that much about rangers, but who could be his potential linemates and what kind of players are they?
Zibanejad, Kreider, Buchnevich, Panarin, Chytil and Kravtsov are the players I think are potential line mates.
Unlike some good teams that have established lines, we don't have much of that because we are rebuilding and the parts on the team are constantly changing.
At the end of last season when we traded Hayes and Zuccarello, we only had three top six forwards, Zibanejad, Kreider and Buchnevich. Those three played on a line at the end of the season, and played very well. They've played on the same line many times before, and have largely done very well, but our last two coaches have often split up the line when its playing well. It usually revolves around the last two coaches giving Buchnevich a lesser role for strange reasons, but it does seem like that changed at the end of last season. If it did, I see no reason to split up that line. They play great together.
The other consideration with that line is that Kreider might be traded. He has one year left on his contract, and the team has to decide if they want to re-sign him. This one seems more 50/50 than re-signing Hayes or Zuccarello. I never got the sense that Hayes or Zuccarello were likely to be re-signed. Gorton likes to trade veterans for picks/prospects, so I think he would be more likely to trade Kreider than most GM's would, but I also think Kreider is a player the team wants to keep. But if he is traded, that opens up a spot on that line.
The current NHL team doesn't have much talent. Players such as Namestnikov, Vesey, Howden, Andersson, Strome are NHL players and some of the younger ones among them could maybe be 2nd liners eventually, but are bottom six players, at best, right now. Chytil is also a bottom six player, but should end up as a top six player within another season or two. I think the team will look to give him a top six role this upcoming season. Will he produce next season as a top six player? Its hard to tell. I think he could, but maybe he will need two seasons instead of one to produce as a top six NHL'er.
There's also the possibility we sign Panarin. Our team has long been considered a team that signs high priced UFA's, but we haven't been in on some of the recent ones like Stamkos and Tavares. Panarin seems to be the player that Gorton is going to try to sign. Most experts place us as the co-favorites to sign Panarin along with Florida. The other player who might get a top six role the upcoming season is Kravtsov. There are some people who think he's going to compete for rookie of the year, and immediately be an impact NHL'er. I don't see it as such. I think he might need to play another season in the KHL. That probably won't happen, as he's more likely to play in the AHL if he isn't NHL ready, but I'm not sure he is NHL ready. I'm not as convinced as some that he'll play in our top six this season, but its a possibility.
Who Kakko would play with also depends on if he's going to be played at center or wing. Thats also the consideration with Chytil. Is he a center or winger?
If I was to guess at what I think the lines will look like, I think something like this
Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Panarin-Chytil-Kakko
Andersson-Howden-Namestnikov
Vesey-Strome-Fast
Some of that is my own predictions. I think we'll keep Kreider, I think we'll sign Panarin and I don't think Kravtsov is going to start in the NHL, but our forward group isn't very established, so there's a lot of unknown with our forward lines for next season.
As for their styles of play, this is how I would describe each.
Zibanejad: He's turned into a two way right-handed center in the last season. He's the minutes leader among the forwards, and was the best player on the team last season. Offensively, he has good 1v1 skills and stick handling. He's more of a goal-scorer than most players. He possesses a very good shot, and the team often looks to set him up for that one-timer on the PP in the Ovechkin spot. He's also a capable playmaker, but he looks for his shot, and so sometimes he'll miss open passes. I think he has average hockey IQ. Its not great, but not a liability. He's also a pretty big center and skates very well. He does't have McDavid or MacKinnon type speed, but definitely at least an above average skater. His defense has never been bad, but last season he become much better and is now one of our better defensive forwards.
Kreider: Kreider is one of the biggest and strongest skill forwards in the league. He has elite acceleration. He doesn't have such great edges, so his speed comes mostly from straight line skating, but he gets a lot of breakaways due to his size and speed. He also is known as one of the strongest players in the league. Kreider plays a power forward style as a left-handed on the LW. He's a capable passer and stick handler, but he's not a fancy passer or stick handler. He keeps his passing simple, and knows his role on his line. He's definitely a goal scorer more than playmaker. He has a slightly above-average shot, but scores most of his goals near the net. He's one of the best net front players in the league, and is very good at scoring on tip-ins and screening the goalie. Some accuse him of having a below average hockey IQ. I don't think its that bad, but somewhere around average, maybe a little below that. Defensively, he sucks. He's a physical player and works very hard, but takes a lot of dumb penalties. He's cut down on some of his gritty play in recent years after he got a lot of flack for some high-profile incidents.
Buchnevich: I would say there are actually some similarities to how Kakko plays. Left-handed winger, but capable of playing on either side. He's a very good stickhandler, passer and has a very high hockey IQ. He's probably the best on the team in those last two categories. Like Kakko, his skating acceleration isn't more than average/slightly above average. He has good edges and like Kakko uses his stick handling and smarts instead of pure acceleration to create zone entries and beat players 1v1, so I think he's more of an above average skater than average, but I think a reasonable range is somewhere between average and above average. He has a very good release on his shot, but has always had a problem with not shooting enough.
As the last season went on, he started shooting more and passing less. He has good size and has started scoring more goals near the net as the coach has coached him to play less on the perimeter and more near the net. He does still struggle at times with getting knocked off the puck. He has good size, but doesn't have that much weight on his frame, although he's near 200 pounds now, so he's improved in that area. Defensively, he's pretty average. Some use the typical Russian tropes here and accuse him of being lazy and bad defensively because he doesn't deliver many big hits or block that many shots, but he's a smart positional defender and plays defense more in an understated way.
Chytil: Chytil's best skills are his size and speed. He's an excellent skater with great acceleration and edges. He also has a good level of skill, and is capable of making some very nice passes and executing some nice 1v1 stick handling plays, but his skill and playmaking is more inconsistent, and is really only shown in flashes right now. He's a pretty average goal-scorer. He shoots the puck a lot, but doesn't have a great shot or great finishing ability yet. His hockey IQ is a little questionable. Some of that might be that he's one of the youngest players in the NHL, but I would say his hockey IQ is probably average, at best. Its not terribly low, but somewhere around average or just under that. Defensively, he still struggles some, but he's a younger player learning the NHL game. I think there's at least average defensively capability once he learns the NHL game better. Chytil is a left-handed player who has played all the three forward positions. Some think he might end up a center, others say wing. I think he could probably play either.
Kravtsov: Kravtsov has a lot of different offensive skills. He's a tall and lanky left-handed winger capable of playing on either wing, and maybe even center, although I think its much more likely he'll be a winger. He has at least above-average goal scoring ability due to a good release and a willingness to shoot the puck. He also has very good stick-handling and playmaking ability. His stick handling is close to elite, while his playmaking is more in the very good category. He's also at least above average, maybe very good in skating and hockey IQ. Defensively, his game is pretty good for a player his age. He's not going to win any Selke's, but I don't see many noticeable defensive problems in how he plays. But like most young players, he still has things to work on. He needs to get stronger, he needs to get more efficient at converting score chances, the coach will want him to play less on the perimeter. I think he could probably produce third line production next season, but I would prefer that he plays another season in the KHL.