GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Rangers could make T-shirts emblazoned with the following slogans to fit their attitude and the vibe they're exuding in training camp.
Attention to detail.
Be serious.
Determination.
This one would work too:
"No [B.S.]," center Vincent Trocheck said.
The Rangers' mentality in their first training camp under coach Peter Laviolette is workmanlike and professional. They're dialed in, already working on learning systems, drilling down on details. There's a level of seriousness, of focus, that Laviolette wants, demands and has been pleased to see.
"This team has been looked at as a team that can take the next step in the future for a while now," Trocheck said. "That future is now. We don't have all this time to waste. It's put up or shut up at this point."
Two seasons ago, the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final and thought they were on the rise, ready to climb the next rung toward winning a Stanley Cup. They instead turned into first-round fodder against a local rival after making arguably the biggest splash before the trade deadline.
The Rangers acquired forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko in traded February, won Games 1 and 2 in the first round against the New Jersey Devils, each by a 5-1 score, but cooled off and scored seven goals the rest of the series, were shut out twice and eliminated in seven games.
"That one stung for a while over the summer, maybe more than past years," captain Jacob Trouba said. "They always sting, but that one was kind of a pit in everyone's stomach for a long time. You've got to turn the page. It's a new season."
Urgency is high for everyone, including younger players who aren't really all that young anymore.
Forward Alexis Lafrenière is 21, but he's entering his fourth NHL season. So is defenseman K'Andre Miller, 23. Forward Kaapo Kakko, 22, is entering his fifth season. Center Filip Chytil, 24, is going into his seventh season.
Lafreniere, Kakko and Chytil made up what was known as the "Kid Line" the past two seasons. The moniker doesn't apply anymore. They have played in a combined 782 regular season games and 86 more in the playoffs.
"There's no more of this kid stuff, 'Kid Line,' all that stuff," 25-year-old defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. "We're almost an older, veteran team now."
Said Laviolette, "They're in a position where they came off three of their best years to take that confidence and with a little bit of opportunity try to push that, try to push higher with regard to everything."
Laviolette has wasted no time seeing what he has, putting the players he currently expects to have available to him for opening night, Oct. 12 at the Buffalo Sabres, on the ice in the same group.
Instead of mixing veterans with young players or veteran minor leaguers, the 22 players in Group A on Friday and Saturday were all regulars, all back from last season or veteran players new to the team having signed as UFAs on July 1.
There were no players on entry level contracts. Defenseman Zac Jones, 22, was the rawest in the group with 38 games of NHL experience. Next was 28-year-old defenseman Ben Harpur with 198.
On Friday, they worked on drills built around learning how Laviolette wants them to play in the offensive zone. On Saturday, it was defensive zone work.
"There's a little direction that was good for us," Trouba said after practice Friday. "Early on, first practice and we're already going over offensive zone ideas and we've already gone through systems up and down the ice with video. Guys have it and can look at whenever they want. They're aware. We've got to implement it. It's up to the players but early on I think he's giving us the tools to be successful this year."
Some of the norms established the past two seasons under former coach Gerard Gallant are being challenged and potentially changed, which has created an even greater level of attention for the players.
Lafreniere is playing right wing early in camp to give him an opportunity to earn more even strength ice time he didn't get as a left wing the past three seasons. He was on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider on Friday, Chytil and Jimmy Vesey on Saturday.
Chytil, third on the Rangers' depth chart going back to when David Quinn was the coach in 2020-21, was the second line center on Friday with Artemi Panarin and newcomer Blake Wheeler. On Saturday, it was Trocheck, Kreider and Kakko, Zibanejad, Panarin and Wheeler.
The top two pairs on defense, seemingly always Lindgren with Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba with Miller under Gallant and Quinn previously, were rearranged Friday to Lindgren-Trouba and Miller-Fox. They went back to Lindgren-Fox and Miller-Trouba on Saturday.
"I want to look at different parts and different pieces through training camp and see if there is a connection," Laviolette said, "and give players an opportunity to show what they can do in different situations. I want to be wide open with what I see and evaluate it from that standpoint."
It's a different viewpoint and perspective for a team that has a different attitude and vibe after falling greatly short of its own expectations last season.
"We don't have that 'get to the playoffs and that's success' mentality," Trocheck said. "We know how awful it was losing in the first round last year so we're coming in here and we mean business. You get sick of losing. I've been in this league a long time and I haven't won [expletive]."
