Rangers Nation

June 15, 2013

Will AV fix our offense? Most likely. Will he fix our powerplay? Most likely. Will he change the culture of the team? More than most likely. Will he keep his players on a tight enough leash to actually win? Less likely. From what I’ve read, he’s known to cater to players and have a long leash. I’m not saying he’s anything close to Boudreau or guys like Rex Ryan. But, there’s got to be a reason he couldn’t get the best out of his very solid Canucks team and get them out of the 2nd round except for one year.

In my debates about Vigneault vs. Ruff, people have brought up that Vigneault just had players underperform. “He would’ve done something if Luongo actually came to play.” some have said. But as I’ve seen, we’ve all agreed it’s the coaches job to get the best out of his players. Tortorella got fired because he couldn’t get the most out of Gaborik, Richards, and even Nash in the playoffs.

Will the Rangers now be more open? Yes. Will the Rangers now be more exciting? Most likely. Could he win? Yes. Do I personally think he will win with the Rangers? No. Do I hope I’m wrong? More than anything in the world. And all of this isn’t to say I hate Vigneault or am unwilling to even give him a chance. My skepticism about him is his playoff performances. So don’t expect to see me hating on him unless the Rangers are like 10 games under .500. But if the Rangers can’t get out of the 2nd round next year? You will definitely hear me say things like “this is what I was talking about”. I won’t be calling for his head after one year but if he can’t reach a Conference Final in his first 3 years, I’ll start calling for his job.

But with all this said, AV was one of two guys I believe gave the Rangers the best chance at going to a Stanley Cup Final that were available to be head coach. He was probably the best coach available. But New York is a different animal and I don’t know if he has the personality or mentality that it takes to win the big one in this town. Hopefully I’m wrong and good luck to you Alain.

12:14pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvnOvvO9

(Notes: 1)

June 14, 2013

Lindy Ruff is Right Fit

christopherkreider:

nyrangersnation:

Love him or hate him, Boomer Esiaspn brought up a TREMENDOUS point about coaching, in any sport, in New York City. You have to be tough on players and you have to keep then in line. Coughlin, Parcells, Keenan, Torre, all winners with a few having multiple titles. Ryan, Edwards, Fassel, Renney, Kotite, all couldn’t get it done.

With that being the case, Lindy Ruff is the perfect fit for the New York Rangers. He isn’t as abrash as Tortorella or as, for lack of a better word, dickish as Torts. Actually, no, dickish works. But he still has that, no BS, blue collar way about him. More importantly, he played with Messier, Richter, Leetch, and Graves in one of three of the organizations most successful seasons in the past 23 years. According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the job title of Head Coach of the New York Rangers has been a frequent thought in the mind of Lindy Ruff. This is the team he wants to coach and he is dying for a cup.

Lindy Ruff brought a team of forwards HEADED by Michael Peca and Miroslav Satan, (Michael Peca even came out and said Ruff would work well for New York. Coming from a guy that didn’t do much after leaving his tutelage, that carries some weight) to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance due in large part to Hasek and defense.

Maybe that’s where the “Lindy Rufff is just as defensive-minded as Tortorella” statements come from? But after the 2004-2005 lockout, with much more offense at his disposal, he coached a team that has 3 or 4 Top 5 finishes offensively with a season leading the league in goals for. But alas, despite having another workd class goalie in Ryan Miller, he had very little defensively to work with and help Miller out.

With the New York Rangers, he has young forwards with tons of potential at his disposal and a world class scorer in Rick Nash. He has one of the best defensive corps in the league, especially if Staal can regain full vision or we pull off a trade for the Canes 5th overall pick and draft his future replacement, and he has the best goalie in the league.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is the coach the New York Rangers both need and deserve right now. He knows how to win with unbalanced teams, he wants to win, he wants to coach here. To me there is no better fit than Lindy Ruff.

To make things a tad more interesting, Ruff last played for the New York Rangers in the 1991-92 season which is very comparable to our 2011-12 season. Then came our decline year followed by a Stanley Cup that Ruff missed out on.

Alain Vigneault is I’m sure, an excellent coach and will thrive somewhere that isn’t New York. But he won 6 Division titles in a weak division while Ruff was coaching in one of the more difficult divisions. Since their tenures post-lockout, 40% of Western Conference playoff teams were from Vigneault’s division while 57% of Eastern Conference playoff teams (the tougher conference in my opinion) came from Lindy Ruff’s division.

Numbers don’t lie folks and all the numbers point to one man, Lindy Ruff.

Ruff having played for the Rangers 2+ decades ago with guys like Leetch & Co. means absolutely nothing. There isn’t anything interesting there that should hold any weight when considering a new head coach. It’s a novel factoid, but that’s about it. He’s supposed to be looking at the head coaching job, not to meet up with some old buddies. And what does Peca know about who would be a good fit for the Rangers, or make what he says somehow credible? He has even less ties to the organization than Ruff.

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Okay, thank you for bringing actual numbers into that. I appreciate the research you did on this. My point on Vigneault and the division titles is that He had roughly 48 games a year against at best average teams. Ruff had 48 games a year against very tough teams. Ruff would miss the playoffs a few years by 4 points and 2 points but he would’ve easily made the playoffs had he been in the Western Conference.

My point on playing for the Rangers was just an interesting storyline tidbit. It has no swaying in my opinion on whether or not he has the ABILITY to coach the team. Just an interesting little factoid I thought was amusing.

As for you point on Peca and Satan, you say they had 5 productive seasons under Ruff. Look at what they did after that and he shows he get’s production out of his stars. We remember Peca and Satan being not that great for the Islanders but they were 30-40 goal scorers with Ruff coaching. And yes, he never had absolutely horrendous defense, but he never had the defense we have here while also having the offense we have here. Hasek never had a deep offense to bail him out and Miller never had defense to bail him out.

Ruff also turned Gerbe into an effective offensive prodcuer and gave Grigorenko every opportunity to thrive. I fully believe in his ability to coach young talent and how many coaches can we honestly say can handle injuries?

Now for Vigneault, he coached in a sub-par division in the weaker conference. He never had to deal with a Crosby-Malkin or Ovechkin or Chara and so on. Granted, there is some talent in the West especially with Detroit and now Chicago. However, it doesn’t match up to the depth and talent in the Eastern Conference. Ruff made 4 Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final in the tougher conference while Vigneault made just one Stanley Cup Final and that was the only year he was able to get a team out of the 2nd round.

Not to mention personalities. Vigneault is known to be more of a players coach and gives his players a long leash. That doesn’t work in New York. It never has, and it never will regardless of the sport. Ruff knows how to communicate with his players better than Tortorella does but he also knows how to push them. Was he fired? Yes. Is it most likely because he could no longer get through to his players? Yes. But he was there for almost a decade and a half with two different nuclei. Not to mention he’s been coaching in a tough division in a tough conference that happens to be our own. So he knows the Bruins more than Vigneault, he knows the Maple Leafs more than Vigneault, he knows the Canadiens more than Vigneault, and he knows the teams in our division more than Vigneault.

Either way, I appreciate you actually bringing something to the table.

8:40am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvnJfLop

(Notes: 3)

June 12, 2013

Lindy Ruff is Right Fit

Love him or hate him, Boomer Esiaspn brought up a TREMENDOUS point about coaching, in any sport, in New York City. You have to be tough on players and you have to keep then in line. Coughlin, Parcells, Keenan, Torre, all winners with a few having multiple titles. Ryan, Edwards, Fassel, Renney, Kotite, all couldn’t get it done.

With that being the case, Lindy Ruff is the perfect fit for the New York Rangers. He isn’t as abrash as Tortorella or as, for lack of a better word, dickish as Torts. Actually, no, dickish works. But he still has that, no BS, blue collar way about him. More importantly, he played with Messier, Richter, Leetch, and Graves in one of three of the organizations most successful seasons in the past 23 years. According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the job title of Head Coach of the New York Rangers has been a frequent thought in the mind of Lindy Ruff. This is the team he wants to coach and he is dying for a cup.

Lindy Ruff brought a team of forwards HEADED by Michael Peca and Miroslav Satan, (Michael Peca even came out and said Ruff would work well for New York. Coming from a guy that didn’t do much after leaving his tutelage, that carries some weight) to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance due in large part to Hasek and defense.

Maybe that’s where the “Lindy Rufff is just as defensive-minded as Tortorella” statements come from? But after the 2004-2005 lockout, with much more offense at his disposal, he coached a team that has 3 or 4 Top 5 finishes offensively with a season leading the league in goals for. But alas, despite having another workd class goalie in Ryan Miller, he had very little defensively to work with and help Miller out.

With the New York Rangers, he has young forwards with tons of potential at his disposal and a world class scorer in Rick Nash. He has one of the best defensive corps in the league, especially if Staal can regain full vision or we pull off a trade for the Canes 5th overall pick and draft his future replacement, and he has the best goalie in the league.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is the coach the New York Rangers both need and deserve right now. He knows how to win with unbalanced teams, he wants to win, he wants to coach here. To me there is no better fit than Lindy Ruff.

To make things a tad more interesting, Ruff last played for the New York Rangers in the 1991-92 season which is very comparable to our 2011-12 season. Then came our decline year followed by a Stanley Cup that Ruff missed out on.

Alain Vigneault is I’m sure, an excellent coach and will thrive somewhere that isn’t New York. But he won 6 Division titles in a weak division while Ruff was coaching in one of the more difficult divisions. Since their tenures post-lockout, 40% of Western Conference playoff teams were from Vigneault’s division while 57% of Eastern Conference playoff teams (the tougher conference in my opinion) came from Lindy Ruff’s division.

Numbers don’t lie folks and all the numbers point to one man, Lindy Ruff.

1:11pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvnB58yz

(Notes: 3)

Filed under: Lindy Ruff New York Rangers Alain Vigneault NHL

June 4, 2013

Rangers Nation: Henrik Lundqvist: Why it's Not Outrageous to Trade Him

kappykoivu:

nyrangersnation:

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies I’ve ever seen. Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best Rangers I’ve ever seen. But trading him might be the right move for the future of this New York Rangers team.

Henrik Lundqvist is 30 years old. He is playing a negotiating game with Sather. He could…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA GRANLUND. EVERYONE KNOWS FLETCHER WOULDN’T TRADE MIKKE YET.

For the best goalie in the league who’s only struggles has never having an offense in front of him? Minnesota has a good well of prospects. You get a world-class goalie like Hank and you’ve got at least a 5th seed. But you can’t get Hank without giving up a high-quality player or two.

10:24am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvmZpMmV

(Notes: 3)

June 3, 2013

Henrik Lundqvist: Why it’s Not Outrageous to Trade Him

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies I’ve ever seen. Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best Rangers I’ve ever seen. But trading him might be the right move for the future of this New York Rangers team.

Henrik Lundqvist is 30 years old. He is playing a negotiating game with Sather. He could potentially be moving on from New York.

Hank just had a kid. I’m sure it won’t be the last. We don’t know what goes on in his house and for all we know, his wife could want to move somewhere smaller, somewhere warmer, or somewhere else. The suburbs are nice! But what if Hank just likes a city more?

The point is that theres no guarantee Hank comes back and even if he does, do you really want to sign a 30 year old GOALIE to a 7 year deal? And a goalie that can’t carry a team through a post-season, and a goalie who spent most of his first 5 years or so, playing 70+ games a year. I see us having one, maybe two good chances at a Cup by signing Hank.

There’s 3 teams we could trade him too that could turn our franchise around. St. Louis, Minnesota, and Florida all need goaltending. We could probably get Huberdau, their 1st and Markstrom from Florida by giving up Hank, a future 1st, and a prospect like Fasth or Bourque. That means we’re getting a future stud winger, either MacKinnon or Drouin, and a future good goalie. We could take Tarasenko and a 1st and 2nd from St. Louis for just Lundqvist. We could take Granlund, a 1st, and Jared Spurgeon or Matthew Dumba from Minnesota. All of those trades put us in a position to probably have 3 great chances at a Cup and 2 good chances at a Cup in the next 7-10 years.

I am in no way saying the Rangers HAVE to do this. I’m saying they HAVE to look into it and gauge how feasible this is. It’s been about 7 years with Hank and we haven’t been able to close. Given what we have, I just don’t see it working unless he’s willing to take a lower cap hit and a 5 year deal. I LOVE Hank. But I’m a fan of the Rangers and I think this gives us a better and brighter future.

As always, feel free to disagree. My opinions no better than yours.

12:42pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvmVJQFx

(Notes: 3)

Filed under: Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers NHL Minnesota Wild St. Louis Blues Florida Panthers

June 1, 2013

My Thoughts on Alain Vigneault

According to Canucks Army, his pros are modern strategic thinking, gets the most out of his stars, matchups juggernaut, player development, racks up the wins despite adversity. His cons are tactically stubborn, handling the media, treatment of young talent, too conservative with the lead, dealing with injured players. I’m also going to throw playoff woes in there as well. You had one of the 3 best goalies in the league and one of the best all-around teams and were notorious for playoff chokes.

Let’s start by addressing the cons. Tactically stubborn, now it says he basically refused to change his style in playoff series due to his stubbornness. The example they use is last year’s VAN-LA series where he wouldn’t change his matchups. Next is his handling of the media. I don’t care how my team’s coach acts towards the media. If you want to call them bunch of meatheads, fine. Just…win…games. From what I’ve read most of his trouble with the media stems from his dealing of the French language which angers people in a French-Canadian area. He only responds in French when asked in French. The last time I checked, not too many French speaking hockey fans in the New York area. The treatment of young talent scares me and confuses me considering one of his pros is player development. I’m not really in for another year of watching Kreider be mishandled. The too conservative with the lead con is also a huge note in my book. It worked for the Rangers in 2011-12 because they had shot blockers and grit to wear down opponents. Dump and chase style worked once you got the lead. But the Rangers need a change and I don’t think that change can mean getting Hank a lead and then falling back on his talent. That’s pretty much what we do now and it isn’t working for us or Hank. Dealing with injured players is an average worry for me so I’m not worried enough to be scared off by that con.

In my own assessment, Vigneault is a good head coach and he fits this Rangers team. If he can get the most out of Staal, Nash, and any other big name free agents we sign or future stars we develop as well as develop guys like Stepan, Kreider, Miller, Hagelin, etc into all-stars or actual stars, then I’m not complaining or shying away from this guy. However, playoff record scares me a lot and his coaching style will need to be altered slightly.

I like Vigneault and think he can very well succeed here in New York. But I’m going to put him as the number 2 candidate on my list.

12:14pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvmKuC3t

(Notes: 1)

Filed under: Alain Vigneault New York Rangers NHL Hockey Stanley Cup

May 30, 2013

Hit the Road Jack Tortorella

John Tortorella had to be fired. I have no idea what was said in that locker room or between the players so I can’t definitely say whether or not he had lost the room. However, it was only a matter of time before his rhetoric became tiresome to the players. I will fully agree that a lot of it was due to the lockout shortened season and no training camp. But my theory on that matter is that the lockout shortened season and no training camp simply showed the players the real Tortorella. There were times when the players were tired and felt a day off was more beneficial and Tortorella, as he himself claimed, he would say they needed to practice and that he even got pissed off when the players would do this and it was very early on during the season.

It’s easily to get along and play for a guy like Tortorella when there’s 82 games, usually about 2 or 3 days and sometimes 4 days between games, you have a good group of guys, and you have breaks like the All-Star break. However, I think the lockout shortened season helped create a seed in the players that would grow into an annoyance with Tortorella to the extent that it would become very difficult to play a full season with him.

The moment I believe that seed turned into a full-blown Weeping Willow tree was the day they traded Marian Gaborik. Even though the trade was necessary and I’m all for it, especially considering the return so far, I still think it created a rift between the players and Tortorella. Most people I hear or talk to agree that Gabby and Torts just didn’t get along and were feuding. But, as we saw in the Twitter ribbing between Gabby, Zucc, Duby, Delzy, and Hank, the players still loved him and wanted him here. Losing a good friend created some animosity I believe.

There’s a number of reasons that Tortorella had to leave and moments that hammered the nail into his coffin. The power play was just as atrocious as it had been for the last 5 years, the handling of Chris Kreider was beyond atrocious, throwing players under the bus constantly, etc. I don’t hate Tortorella but he simply had to leave. He preaches accountability but throws his players under the bus and doesn’t hold himself accountable for a consistently horrendous power play. If I was a player I’d be more than pissed at him too.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the lockout absolutely killed the Rangers. It hurt them probably more than any other team. It killed their momentum (only 2 players played in Europe during the break with one of them being Rick Nash and the other being Ryan McDonagh who played maybe a month, Chris Kreider was the only other player playing in the minor leagues except for JT Miller), it made Tortorella even more of a hard ass, it lead to snap decisions that disrupted the chemistry.

However, the lockout gives the Rangers this incredible opportunity to refine themselves once more. Before the 04-05 Lockout, the Rangers were a free-spending team and they were horrendous for it. After the 04-05 Lockout, they became a team about developing their players and cultivating not just a talent but, a true identity. However, they still clung a bit to their free spending ways (Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, etc). This is their chance to go the full step of refining themselves and their operational identity. They have young offensive talent that could thrive under an offensive minded coach, they have defensive depth that can be here for years to come and one or two more to come along in the coming seasons, they have a goalie that should be here for another 5 years. They need to stop signing big name free agents and finally allow their young guns to step up into these big shoes. Stepan needs to become a 60-70 point player, Kreider needs to be given the opportunity to be that 30-goal scorer we believe he can be, Hagelin needs to develop more of a finishing touch to be a consistent 20 goal scorer and maybe a 25 goal scorer. The talent is here already. It’s up to Sather to see that and sign role players that can amplify their team and now hire a coach that can bring these guys along.

I will be posting coaching profiles of the top 3 Candidates (Ruff, Vigneault, and Tippett) in the next 3 days and then a write up on who I think needs to be signed and why.

10:49am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvmB7rAz

(Notes: 7)

Filed under: New York Rangers Coach John Tortorella NHL Hockey Chris Kreider Derick Brassard Ryan Callahan Derek Stepan Henrik Lunqdvist

May 27, 2013

New York Rangers Off-Season

The New York Rangers did not meet expectations. The New York Rangers were a disappointment this season. However, this whole year in hockey was a disappointment. We had 48-games, missed a few months, no Winter Classic, no All-Star weekend, bad injuries, and whole lot more.

Now that the Rangers season is over, I’m going to do what I do just about every day of the year and play Armchair-GM. Every year I do my homework and do some real research. So here are the moves I think the Rangers need to make.

The “Buh-bye Club”

1. Amnesty Brad Richards: This is not only because of his lack of production but it gives the Rangers a whole bunch of space. With the emergence of Derek Stepan and Derrick Brassard waking up, Brad Richards is simply just taking up space. If Brad Richards does emerge as a better player next season, we still have 3 center’s that struggle in the faceoff circle. That needs to change. I wish Brad the best and hope he can turn it around, but we simply don’t need him even when he’s at his best.

2. Trade Michael Del Zotto: I don’t care that he’s 22. I don’t care that this could’ve been just an off-year. His style of play simply just doesn’t fit this team. He is a defensive liability which is not really what you want out of a defenseman. He doesn’t have that great of a shot, his passing is at best good but it’s more like above average, and he has zero hockey sense. And stay tuned because I do have a trade in mind.

3. Fire either Tortorella or Mike Sullivan: If you want to give Tortorella a full camp and an 82-game season, fine. I have no problem with that. But then you HAVE to fire Sullivan and hire a guy who is more offensive-minded and can step into coach. I wouldn’t mind Brian Leetch but I don’t know if he really wants to coach. However, you have this at your fingertips, fire Tortorella and hire Lindy Ruff. Take away Tortorella’s Stanley Cup for just one second and his playoff history isn’t even in the same league as Lindy Ruff’s. Lindy Ruff is an offensive minded coach with a good power play but still gets pretty good defense out of his players. This is the formula you need with a goalie like Lundqvist. You have Staal and Girardi to cover for an offensive minded team and Hank to shut the door down.

Henrik Lunqdvist is the best goalie in the sport. However, while he can make those spectacular saves and put up tremendous numbers, he consistently gives up these soft goals that hurt us. But why do they hurt us? Because we don’t have the offense to cover for a guy that simply can’t be perfect all the time. Lundqvist is not Broduer, he’s not Patrick Roy, he’s not Dominik Hasek. He can’t be given a one goal lead and expect to shut the door down throughout an entire post-season year in and year out. He needs an offense to bail him out when he does make those mistakes.

The “Welcome To Broadway” Club

1. Sign Viktor Stalberg: Viktor Stalberg is 6’3” and fast. He is a great forechecker and can give you 20 goals. He can be penciled in for 70 games no problem every year. That covers a few needs for the Rangers. Scoring, forechecking, and lineup consistency. He isn’t expensive either. The Rangers could most likely get him for a cap hit no higher than $2M. He’s basically an offensive minded Zuccarello but about 7 or 8 inches taller and with a better scoring touch.

2. Sign Mark Streit: Also a must have for the Rangers as he brings not only power play experience, consistency both in production and appearances, but he also brings offense and experience. He plays at least 70 games just about every season and averages around a point every other game every year. Granted he was playing the last few season with John Tavares but that’s even better. That could help out guys like Stepan and Brassard.

3. Sign Jake Muzzin: He’s a RFA that will be tendered at about $650k. I would offer him around $1M-1.25M because even if he doesn’t pan out to be what I expect, he shouldn’t be much worse than Eminger. You could even get him for under 1M and trade Michael Del Zotto for him. But why do I want this guy? Why do I think he is the most important acquisition for the Rangers? Because he’s built and plays a similar brand of hockey to Michael Sauer while still being a good puck mover. He has a great one-timer and a quick release. He’s big and strong and can move guys off the puck. We need that instead of Del Zotto’s style. He’s only 24 and I think having Streit, Moore, Muzzin, and McDonagh as your power play defenseman drastically improves our power play. We need a crease clearer, a guy that can help Lundqvist fight off screens, but also be able to move the puck and shoot from the point. I think a trade of Michael Del Zotto for Jake Muzzin and Dwight King would be perfect.

4. Sign Matt Cullen: Granted he’s 36 but he’s played in New York and he’s always in the top 15 in faceoff leaders at the end of the year. He still has some game left and when put with guys like Hagelin and Zuccarello or Miller, you have yourself a ridiculously good energy 3rd line. Cullen wins the faceoff and you have Hags, Zucc/Miller fighting along the boards to keep it in and you have Muzzin and Streith firing away from the point while Cullen plants himself in front of the net.

The “Stay Right Here” Club

1. Re-sign Derek Stepan: 5 years at a cap hit of 4.5M. He has shown his importance to this team and he has gained a bunch of confidence. We need Stepan to come in and take over that first line center role and I think he’s ready. Show the support in the kid and give him a contract that doesn’t kill us but also gives him his first pay day. He’ll sign his real pay day deal at the end of this deal when he’s 26 or 27 and going into his prime.

2. Re-sign Ryan McDonagh: 5 years at a cap hit no higher than 5.5M. He is vital to this team and can’t stand to lose him. We need him there. This is a no brainer.

3. Re-sign Carl Hagelin: 2 years at a cap hit of 1.5M or less. He still hasn’t shown the scoring touch I need to see to consider him a good 2nd line player. He’s a perfect 3rd lien player and cut put in 15-20 goals with the right center. This creates some great depth and good offensive depth for us.

4. Re-sign Zuccarello: 2 years at a cap hit of 1M. He’s vital in the defensive department and can make plays offensively. He’s vital to creating a great 3rd line.

So let’s look at the lines.

Rick Nash/Derek Stepan/Chris Kreider: It’s big, fast, and creative. You got shooters in Nash and Kreider and a guy who can move the puck in Stepan. Kreider can learn how to use his hands and his body to get to the net instead of firing from the outside. I’d expect a 30 goal season from Nash, 20 goals from Stepan, and 25 from Kreider. That’s solid production from your first line especially with a defensive unit of Staal and John Moore playing with them.

Viktor Stalberg/Derrick Brassard/Ryan Callahan: Good shooters on the wings, playmaker in the middle, forechecking and good speed. Each of these guys should put up a 20 goal season and maybe even a close to 30 goal season from one of them. This a great 2nd line to have because it has good size and can generate good offense.

That’s already 145-155 goals from your top line.

Carl Hagelin/Matt Cullen/Mats Zuccarello or JT Miller: This is a great energy line that could generate scoring chances. I’d expect about 15 goals from Hagelin and Zucc and 5 from Miller as he plays throughout the year but also around 15 from Cullen just from being in front of the net. You get a 3rd liner that can win faceoffs and allow us to plant it in their zone for 1 minute and a half, well that’s something we desperately need consistently.

That’s around 200 goals from your top 2 lines.

Darrell Powe/Brian Boyle/Arron Asham: If Boyle can become a consistently good faceoff taker than this becomes a very good 4th line especially with guys like Dwight King, Derek Dorsett, Kris Newbury, or Miller and Zuccarello as scratches and able to come in for a game when needed. I’d expect about 20 goals from the 4th line.

That’s about 220 goals from your 4 lines.

Marc Staal/John Moore: If Staal can get back to top form for the first time in a long time, this is a perfect D-Pair. Moore could potentially grow into a mini version of Ryan McDonagh so with a puck mover and a guy that can carry the puck having Staal to pick up the slack defensively, it gives 3 and a half forwards on the 1st line. Moore could put 15 goals in the net and Staal could account for 5. That’s 20 goals from your top D pair. (around 240 in total so far)

Dan Girardi/Ryan McDonagh: While this is easily the best defensive pair for the Rangers, it fits better as a 2nd unit as it makes any line you put them on that much better. The first line doesn’t need that. The other lines would be that much better for having it. Girardi could net 10 goals and McDonagh 15. That’s 25 goals from your 2nd D pair (around 265 in total so far)

Mark Streit/Jake Muzzin: Finally, a 3rd D pair that can actually be put on the ice and not exhausting the top 4. Muzzin can shut down but still score. He has 7 goals and 9 assists and is a +16 in his first NHL season (48 game season). Imagine a full year for him. I could see him being 15-30-45 guy which is tremendous production from your bottom pair especially if he can also help keep the puck out of the net. And Mark Streit is down for similar numbers as well which means you could get 25-30 goals from your bottom pair and about 60 assists. The Rangers would have the best defense in the league by far.

Judging from my expectations, the Rangers would have anywhere from 265 goals to 300 goals. The top scoring teams in 2011-12 were Pittsburgh (289), Boston (269), and Philadelphia (264). Notice how two of those teams were notorious for having weak defense. The Rangers goal differential could easily lead the league and that’s a recipe for a Stanley Cup.

As always, feel free to disagree with me and LET’S GO RANGERS!!!!!

2:35pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvlz6QRU

(Notes: 3)

May 1, 2013

Playoffs

Okay, so let’s recap by looking at my pre-season predictions. First for the East; The Rangers and Penguins were my obvious contenders. Welp, thank Rangers. (1 for 2 ain’t bad- right?, right? No come on guys, seriously. Right?) Fine, maybe it’s not that great. Win some, lose some. The Not-So-Obvious for the East were the Capitals and Sabres. Mad props to Ovechkin for saving my ass and keeping my success rate at the 50% mark. Buffalo, go sit in the corner. The Risky Business is the Flyers, and although I said in that description I’d have them as a 7 or 8 seed, I chose them to not make the playoffs in my actual seeding prediction. Success rate moving up! The Wildcard was…the Islanders! Yeah, nailed that one! Seeding and everything. So for those I got 4 out of 6. I’ll take that. My actual picks for playoff teams (teams that would actually make the playoffs) I was 5 out of 8, not bad.

Now for the Western Conference. The No Big Secret section had a whopping 5 teams! If you switched out the Oilers for the Blackhawks I’ll nailed the top 5 seeds in the West. But the West isn’t THAT hard to predict so I won’t pat myself on the back. The Shock Doctors section featured the Red Wings and the Wild. I picked both of them to miss the playoffs. So out of those 7 predictions I was 4 for 7. My actual prediction on teams to make the playoffs in the west was 6 out of 8 for a total of 10 out of 16. 63% isn’t terrible in a lockout shortened season.

Now for the playoff predictions;

Eastern Conference: Round 1

1. Pittsburgh Penguins over 8. New York Islanders in 6 games

I think the Islanders give a good push to the Penguins but the talent is just too high for the Islanders to even push them to 7. I think they take both at the Coliseum but I could also see one of those going into Overtime (I actually guarantee one of those two games goes into OT) and the Penguins come out on top and take this in 5. (PIT-PIT-NYI-PIT-NYI-PIT)

2. Montreal Canadiens over 7. Ottawa Senators in 5 games

How about this Canadian hockey fans? A full on Canada vs. Canada series. It’s about damn time but man oh man did I want Montreal and Toronto to play in the first round. Okay, Karlsson hasn’t played in awhile and I think is rusty and Montreal is just quick and talented on all ends. I think they take all of the home games and steal Game 4 in Ottawa. (MON-MON-MON-OTT-MON)

6. New York Rangers over 3. Washington Capitals in 5 games

The Rangers are coming in hot with roster with better goaltending, better defense, and more forward depth and skill. Ovechkin has been his dominant old self but we’ve seen the Rangers control him in the past. The problem was that we focused on Ovechkin and let guys like Green, Ribeiro, and Semin take over. But Semin’s gone, I’m not high on Green anymore, and Ribeiro is another year older. Stepan has had a breakout season and if he keeps it up in the playoffs, I don’t see how the Capitals can counter the Rangers top two lines. The key for the Rangers is staying out of the box and allowing the Capitals offense a chance to catch stride. (NYR-NYR-WSH-NYR-NYR)

4. Boston Bruins over 5. Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 games.

Our first 7 game series and I couldn’t be happier if all of this played out. We’d have Rangers-Penguins and Bruins-Canadiens. Two tremendous rivalries that should both go 7 games. This is also our only first round series to go 7 games. Toronto has finally made the playoffs and plays a rival in Boston. The home-ice advantage and playoff experience of the Bruins takes over towards the end. (BOS-TOR-TOR-BOS-TOR-BOS-BOS)

Western Conference: Round 1

1. Chicago Blackhawks over 8. Minnesota Wild in 5 games

I think the Wild can find a way to make a push but this doesn’t go more than 5 games. The Blackhawks won’t allow with their stellar team. The Wild have talent, but I think this just isn’t their year. I said it in the pre-season and I’ll say it now, they need this young talent to grow around their stars and that won’t happen in one year especially in a strike shortened season. (CHI-CHI-MIN-CHI-CHI)

2. Anaheim Ducks over 7. Detroit Red Wings in 5 games

The Mighty Detroit Red Wings are done. Their time is up and it ends with the team formerly known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (Seriously people, that name is just way more awesome. And those jerseys? Yeah, you remember wishing you had one. I’m writing a script for Mighty Ducks where Bombay buys the Ducks after making a huge law firm and makes BANK and he brings them all back and turns them back into the Mighty Ducks. Who won’t sign that blank check?) (ANA-ANA-ANA-DET-ANA)

3. Vancouver Canucks over 6. San Jose Sharks in 5 games

Sweeps are hard, especially in the NHL Playoffs. San Jose has some talent to push it a game and I think they will. It’s tough to pick a sweep in the playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks however, still have a pretty loaded roster despite the age of it. They are not destined for a huge playoff run but they can make some noise in the 2nd round. (VAN-VAN-SJ-VAN-VAN)

5. Los Angeles Kings over 4. St. Louis Blues in 6 games

I find it difficult to pick against a team that won a Stanley Cup as an 8-seed and retained a large majority of that roster. That’s why I think, as a 5-seed, they’ll get pushed but they’ll be prepared for that push. I like this St. Louis team but the Kings and their coach have something about them that scares me. So here’s our only 1st Round upset (seed-wise) in the West. (LAK-STL-LAK-STL-LAK-LAK)

Okay, I won’t do this for every round right now. I’ll do this for the 2nd round when it starts and so on and so forth. But, just so I put in full playoff picks, here’s my predictions without analysis.

EC Round 2: NYR over PIT in 7 games, BOS over MON in 7 games

EC Round 3: NYR over BOS in 6 games

WC Round 2: CHI over LA in 7 games, ANA over VAN in 6 games

WC Round 3: CHI over ANA in 6 games

Stanley Cup: New York Rangers over Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games.

April 13, 2013

Kill The Goose…

I know this blog is supposed to be about Hockey, the NHL, and the Rangers. But, I need to talk about something and it does involve the NHL and the Rangers. Professional sports, I believe, has officially killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Who is the golden goose? The blue collar fans that populated the arenas and romanticized sports in general. Gone are the days where you can take your son to Opening Day of MLB and enjoy a ballpark hot dog and a nice coke. Gone are the summer days and nights where you can sit out in the bleachers and listen to the vulgarity and realness of grown men interacting with each other. Gone are the days of tailgating in the dead of winter while admiring how grown men talk, how grown men drink, and how grown men act.

The New York Rangers, upon the selling of the team to James Dolan (cough, scumbag, cough), began revoking season tickets from blue collar fans and raising ticket prices. After the 2004-05 lockout, they posted security during rivalry games to limit or monitor the types of chants coming from the “real fans”.

17 of the 121 professional sports franchises have Personal Seat Licenses. 25 of the 121 have some form of a seat license. That’s 20% of the professional sports franchises having some sort of system where you have to pay for the right to buy season tickets. What’s so horrible about this? It’s removing the blue collar fan from the game. You’re telling the guy who makes around $50,000 a year, if that, that he not only has to pay for the season tickets, but for the right to buy a season ticket? Let’s look at the numbers;

For this example, let’s say I build a stadium of 20,000 for hockey and basketball. I own both teams. I put a personal seat license for both teams. Now let’s say I set the cheapest PSL for about $2,000 (and that’s VERY cheap to start off with for a personal seat license). Now let’s say that the lowest ticket price in my arena is $50. You want either hockey or basketball so either way you want 41 tickets. That means you’re paying $2,051 for just the season tickets. Throw on top of that the $2,000 to have the RIGHT to BUY the seat and you’re looking at $4,051. Now throw in the price of travel, food, extra tickets if you want to bring your kids, if you have them. You’re looking at around about $6,000-$10,000. So for a guy that makes around $50,000 a year. He’s got rent, car payments, taxes, dates, and he simply just can’t afford that. Now if you take that personal seat license away, he’s looking at about $4,000-$8,000. It’s still pretty expensive but a dedicated fan can make that sacrifice.

The point is, the owners are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. The blue collar fans romanticized these sports because it was a treat. It wasn’t something to do to impress a client. It wasn’t something to do to feel like a big shot. Sports were something that brought fathers and sons together for decades. And gone are those days.

12:14pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZyLMXvibOzoY

(Notes: 3)

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