Of the two rookies who have been on the Rangers roster since Opening Night, Noah Laba has had the experience of a full-time NHLer.
Not only did he make his debut in Game 1 and project to hang on to the third-line center role he seized out of training camp, but the 22-year-old endured two injury stints. The jump from college hockey to the NHL can be a big one. For Laba, the transition appeared to be natural.
Upon Laba’s return from this most recent lower-body injury, however, his spot at 3C was not waiting for him. He centered the fourth line for a third straight game in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to the Canadiens.
Because usual fourth-line center Sam Carrick was traded to Buffalo, head coach Mike Sullivan had to move J.T. Miller back to the middle to make up for the loss of Laba. Miller believes he’s the “best version” of himself at center, so Sullivan reinserted Laba on the fourth line behind the captain, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck.
“It’s probably a fair assumption to say that when you play more, you have more of an opportunity to develop,” Sullivan said after practice Wednesday. “We’re moving [Laba] around. We’ve spotted him on the second power play, he’s been a big part of our penalty kill. We’ve had this running conversation all year long. Whether we play J.T. in the middle and we have Mika, J.T. and Troch up the middle or do we play them together to try to bolster the top six? That’s been the fundamental question that we’ve wrestled with all year.
“Now, the reality is because of the injuries, when you look at some of the decisions that we’ve made, there’s been a lot of that that’s gone into it that really didn’t leave us a lot of options, right? Because of the injuries and situations like that. When Labs got hurt and we constructed the lines the way we did, we’ve liked some of what we’ve seen. We’re trying to help J.T. capture his very best game and that’s an important element for us for a lot of reasons. We’re trying to help Labs continue to develop as a young player and that’s important to us also. I don’t think it’s as simple as asking one question, is it best for this individual? We’ve got multiple objectives in mind that we’re trying to accomplish.
“We’re trying to help Labs continue to grow and develop and we really like the progress he’s made this year, and we’re trying to help him continue on that path. We’re trying to help Gabe Pereault continue to grow and develop because we’ve really liked the progress he’s made this year, and we’re going to try to help him continue to grow. We’re trying to help J.T. capture his very best game because we think that’s going to give us the best chance to have success moving forward. I don’t think the question is as simple as, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ ”
Laba skated in the middle of the third line in 39 of his first 42 games of the season.
When Trocheck was sidelined with an upper-body injury in November, Laba moved around a bit. The Colorado College product spent one game on the fourth line before serving as the second-line center twice.
But of the 68 games he’s played this season, Laba has spent 62 on the third unit.
After failing to trade Trocheck ahead of the deadline this season, the Rangers will likely look to trade No. 16 again this summer. That would open up the third-line center role for Laba, but would still leave the team one adequate center short.
Juuso Parssinen didn’t do much with his 20 games this season, over which he mustered one goal and three assists.
The Adam Edstrom switch to the middle was short-lived, and now the Swede is watching games from the press box. Thursday’s game was his fifth straight healthy scratch.
Unless Trocheck sticks around, another fourth-line center will probably need to be acquired via free agency this offseason.
As for Laba, the foundation has been laid for an NHL career. He said part of this season is about learning to be a better pro and how to best take care of his body during recovery and rehab.
“Just continue to try to get better and improve, learn as much as I can, and again, do the best I can with the opportunity I’m given,” Laba said recently. “It’s been awesome [to have fellow rookies around]. They’ve been great. Brought a lot of energy into the locker room, and couldn’t be happier for them, but just great to have them around.”
