This Rangers team spends money, but isn’t getting any results and the past two seasons have been wasted because of that. Two playoff appearances equaled two first round exits, and that should’ve spelt the end for General Manager Glen Slather. He spent big money on Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, and so far they have both been busts in New York. That was why one of them needed to go, and Gomez was the odd man out and was promptly traded to Montreal for Chris Higgins. One move that Sather has made, and has probably been the best of his career in New York, was hiring John Tortorella last season. There were signs of improvement to the Rangers, but half a season couldn’t accomplish what the Rangers were trying to do. This time Tortorella will get a full training camp in and a whole season.
There still is one problem; this Rangers team isn’t that good. If it weren’t for goaltending, one area where this team is well off, they wouldn’t have made the playoffs this season. Henrik Lundqvist is an All-Star goalie and has been nominated for a few Vezina Trophies in the past few seasons. There is no doubting that he will soon win one, because he continues to put up solid numbers each year. Since entering the NHL in 2006, Lundqvist has won more than 30 games, and he hit a career high last season with 38. Winning forty games this season will most likely happen.
The defense in front of him looks pretty good, and once Tortorella sculpts them to his liking they should be even better. The Rangers are led by Marc Staal, the future of this Rangers defense, and has impressed in his first two NHL seasons with the Rangers. Defensively he has gotten so much better and is one of the Rangers’ top two defensemen. His point total should also rise this season. Most likely to play alongside Staal will be Wade Redden, a smart mobile defensemen, that had a bit of an off year, but should be right back to his usual pace.
Matt Gilroy a highly touted free agent out of college was considered the best defenseman in the college ranks, and signed on with the Rangers. That wasn’t a bad move either, because he will make the Rangers defense much better, because of his physical style of play and strong leadership skills. He is a very smart player with the puck and doesn’t panic in certain situations.
Michal Rozsival has been a good defender for the Rangers the past few seasons, and he has been rewarded with ice time. He is prone on making a few mistakes, and needs to get that out of his game, or his role will diminish with the Rangers. The team won’t mind bringing up a few prospects in his place. Two players that have developed well with this team are Dan Girardi who is a lock to make this team and has played 164 games the past two seasons with the Rangers. Corey Potter should have an opportunity to crack the Rangers out of training camp.
Now offense, where the Rangers really sucked and had solid scorers that vastly underachieved, which led to New York finishing in the bottom third in team scoring. One player that has to get back on track is Chris Drury, because his salary does not justify his weak scoring. He should be a virtual lock to score 70 points, and overall, in his career, Drury has not reached his full potential, and probably won’t. What a waste of roster space.
With the money the Rangers saved after trading Scott Gomez, they used that money to sign Marian Gaborik to a long term deal. It was a risky signing because Gaborik has only played one full season out of the past four. When Gaborik is healthy he is an explosive player that can score eighty points easily, and can make a team better. The Rangers will need Gaborik to stay healthy and lead the team in scoring.
Chris Higgins, a player that has regressed since his rookie season needs this season to be a big one so he can re-prove himself to the NHL. Last season injuries hurt his progression towards another twenty plus goal season, and that basically ran him out of Montreal. If healthy, something that is no problem for Higgins, he can easily score twenty goals, and will help this Rangers team.
Brandon Dubinsky has been a constant on this team and a very good point producer. Ryan Callahan has shown a few flashes of what he can do, but he isn’t a consistent threat just yet. Corey Locke should have a good season for the Rangers if he makes the team. Aaron Vorros has been a pleasant surprise for this team who had a good developmental season. Two players the Rangers brought in but cannot play because they aren’t very good are Ales Kotalik and Patrick Rismiller. One rookie that could possibly crack the lineup is Evgeny Grachev, the Rangers first round pick from this year’s draft.
One of the problems the Rangers had last season was the lack of scoring from their second, third and fourth lines. Those lines were filled out with very inconsistent scorers. This Rangers team will need those players to step up. The amount of Russians on this team is unbelievable, and a lot of them cannot play at all.
OVERALL--> THE RANGERS HAVE EXCELLENT GOALTENDING, A GOOD DEFENSE THAT CAN REALLY WORK, BUT AN OFFENSE THAT LACKS SCORING PUNCH AFTER THE FIRST LINE.
POSITIVE--> HENRIK LUNDQVIST IS THE BEST PLAYER ON THIS TEAM, AND THE ADDITION OF MARIAN GABORIK SHOULD IMPROVE THE RANGERS’ DEFENSE.
NEGATIVE--> OFFENSE IS STILL WEAK AFTER LINE 1, AND BACK-UP GOALTENDING COULD HURT THE RANGERS AND THEIR QUEST TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
X-FACTOR--> THIS IS HENRIK LUNDQVIST’S TEAM AND IF HE WINS THE RANGERS WILL WIN. ALSO MARIAN GABORIK WILL BE A FORCE ON OFFENSE.
SLEEPER PICK--> MATT GILROY WILL SURPRISE A LOT OF PEOPLE THIS SEASON AND WILL HAVE AN EXCELLENT DEFENSIVE SEASON.
PREDICTION--> THE NEW YORK RANGERS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS CLINCHING ONE OF THE LOWER SEEDS (6-8).
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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