Rangers Final Report Card
Another Rangers season came to an end on Saturday night and the disappointment level has reached an all-time high for some of the players. Players like Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan Callahan could barely speak to the media after the game. The team wasted another valiant effort from Lundqvist by not being able to sustain a pressuring forecheck and allowed the Boston Bruins easy access into their defensive zone throughout the series. The Bruins ended up being everything the Rangers were not. They were tough to play against, they used their speed and smart hockey sense to break out of their own zone time and time again and they used their size to beat up the Rangers physically throughout the five games. They leaned on their depth (fourth line) and their youth (Torey Krug) to fill in the gaps in the roster because of injuries and ineffectiveness and in the end they beat the Rangers in every aspect you can beat an opponent.
But with that said the Rangers won another playoff series this year and the season was not a total failure. As Coach Tortorella reminded the media last night, this club has played 32 playoff games in the last two years and something can be learned from those experiences. The Rangers traded the often ineffective Marion Gaborik for three huge pieces of their future. They acquired their current and future second line center in Derick Brassard, some grit in Derek Dorsett and a smooth skating, puck moving defenseman in John Moore. Three big pieces for a player that was often in Coach John Tortorella’s dog house. The Rangers witnessed the continued growth of players such as Derek Stepan, who led the team in scoring in the regular season, Ryan McDonagh, Anton Stralman and Carl Hagelin, who regularly took a shift on one of the top two lines as a second year player.
Coach Tortorella often said in post-game press conferences that the team was unable to find its identity. But whose fault is that? Is it the players trying to play in a system that allows for very little creativity or is it the coach trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole? The lack of any originality on the power play caused the Rangers to reach out to Mats Zuccarello who was playing in the KHL in March. His addition to the lineup added a spark but the team still struggled mightily on the power play and at even strength to score goals. There is no question that Tortorella’s teams know how to be defensively responsible but at what cost? The Rangers do not have a Martin St. Louis or Vinny Lecavalier like Tortorella had in 2004 to lean on to score at will. The Rangers will have to decide on whether they can win with this coach with a candidate such as Lindy Ruff waiting in the wings. Grade: C-
Without a doubt the MVP of the Rangers during 2013 was Henrik Lundqvist. He time and time again kept the team in games and often stood on his head when the Rangers were lax in their defensive zone coverage. The King was at the top of his game for a good deal of the playoffs even after he strained a shoulder muscle in Game 3 vs. the Bruins. Entering the final year of his contract, Hank will be asked to carry the load again for a full season, one the Rangers hope will be a championship one in 2013-14. Grade: A
Martin Biron was inactive for the Rangers after March 30th but provides a decent backup for the Rangers that can win his share of games. In an 82 game season next year, he can expect to play in at least 20 and the Rangers hope he can continue to play at a high level for them and steal a few games in the second night of back to backs or third game in four nights. Biron is trusted within the organization and is a good, if not great, locker room guy. Grade: B-
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh could easily be named the team’s co-MVP. Throughout the regular season and into the playoffs McDonagh was the shutdown #1 defenseman that the Rangers needed especially in the absence of Marc Staal much of the last two seasons. McDonagh excelled in all areas and will expect to be paid handsomely as he is a restricted free agent this offseason. Grade: A
Dan Girardi had another great year as the second half of the Rangers top defensive pairing. His toughness and physical play was contagious and he helped bring out some of the best in his teammates. We saw softer players Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman step up their game after being pushed by Coach Tortorella and Assistant Coach Mike Sullivan to play more like Girardi. Armed with a new contract the Rangers can expect more of the same from Girardi for years to come. The only complaint, if any, is that Girardi is often too timid on the power play. He should use that howitzer of a shot a little more often from the point instead of trying to be too fancy taking wrist shots. Grade: A-
For a good portion of the season the Rangers were able to dress a second pairing of Marc Staal and Anton Stralman that was almost as good as their first. We started to see signs that Staal was becoming the #1 defenseman that he once was before he was hit in the face with a puck on March 5th vs. Philadelphia. Staal was skating, moving the puck and using his 6’4” frame to be a force on the blueline until the injury occurred. The Rangers will again take it slow with Staal as they hope the blurred vision that he has will disappear over time. Stralman has really blossomed in Tortorella’s system. He was smarter with the puck, took the body and often was in the right position in the defensive zone. The Rangers are encouraged to know that they have four defensemen in their lineup that can play big minutes every night . Grade(s): B+
While the coach seems to trust Michael Del Zotto enough to play him big minutes, critics and fans alike seem to think that Del Zotto makes too many mistakes for a fourth year pro. For a draft pick tabbed as a future power play point man and #1 defenseman, Del Zotto has not developed into either. Zero power play goals and only 8 assists in 46 games in the regular season and 12 more in the playoffs was very disappointing. The Rangers will question if they can continue to live with the growing pains or move Del Zotto for a player that better fits the system of the coach. With the current coach in his corner it seems to me that Del Zotto will be given another chance to develop his overall game in 2013-14. Grade: C
The addition of John Moore to the blueline gave the Rangers something that they had not had in a long time, a third pairing defensemen that completed the unit. Of course with the luck the Rangers have, Marc Staal was injured soon after Moore joined the club, forcing Moore to play more meaningful minutes and he excelled in all areas playing with a number of different partners. Some called Moore’s smooth skating, puck moving style as McDonagh-lite. If Moore can continue to develop, the Rangers will have gotten a steal from Columbus. Grade: B
Down the stretch, after Staal’s injury the Rangers had to play Steve Eminger, Matt Gilroy, Stu Bickel and Roman Hamrlik a bit more than they would have liked. Eminger (Grade: C+) was the best of the four playing meaningful minutes and playing well in a pairing with John Moore. Eminger was actually a + 1 in the playoffs playing 12:45 a night. Tortorella trusted him a lot more this year than in last year’s playoffs. Gilroy and Bickel did not get into a postseason game and did not do much in the regular season either combining for a -5 in 31 games during the shortened regular season. Lastly, Hamrlik showed why he was cut by Washington in his few games that he played in the playoffs. After an injury kept Stralman out of the lineup, Hamrlik was awful in Game 5 vs. the Bruins turning the puck over on consecutive touches in the neutral zone that led to the game winning goal. He will not return. Grade: D
For all the hype that the acquisition of Rick Nash brought to New York, Nash was not the same player when the playoffs began. He was well below par vs. a Washington team that did not have a shutdown defensive pairing that should be feared. Some have speculated that Nash was injured in the series and I have little explanation as to why Nash seems to have lost his acceleration, creativity and goal scoring touch all at once. He was the team’s leading goal scorer with 21 during the regular season but one goal in 12 games in the playoffs is something that really left the fan base with a bad taste in their mouth. Grade: C+
Captain Ryan Callahan continued to give his all throughout the playoffs and is an inspiration for the club. He works as hard as anyone in the NHL and the results are coming along. Not the most talented player or the biggest in stature, Callahan throws himself into the game each and every night that he is on the ice. There were times that Callahan’s ill-advised penalties or bad giveaways led to opposition goals and Ryan must work to correct those errors. Grade: B
Derek Stepan was the team’s leading scorer during the regular season and the team’s leading goal scorer in the playoffs. Stepan is developing into the top six forward that the Rangers envisioned when they drafted him 51st overall out of the University of Wisconsin in 2008. As a restricted free agent, Stepan will be looking to cash in on a very big breakout season. Grade: A-
Carl Hagelin continued his ascent into the top six forwards in 2013. His speed was a huge factor on the forecheck and he often found himself playing on the top line with Rick Nash on many nights. The Rangers hope that he will continue to find the net a bit more and continue to develop as an excellent two way forward, being as strong on the backcheck as he has been on the forecheck. Grade: B+
When Derick Brassard came over from Columbus in the trade for Marion Gaborik the Ranger fans did not know what to expect. We had heard from Columbus fans and fans of teams in the Western Conference that Brassard was soft, he was a bust, he would never be the top line center that he was targeted to be when he was drafted 6th overall in 2006 by the Blue Jackets. But Brassard was a lot more than the Rangers expected as he stepped up his game down the stretch and led the team in scoring in the playoffs. Brassard’s development allowed the Rangers to slide down their disappointing #1 centerman to the fourth line and eventually to the press box. The Rangers hope that Brassard will continue to make strides forward next year as one of the top two pivots in the system. Grade: B+
When Ryane Clowe was added to a team struggling in scoring some people laughed that the club was adding another player who was no better than a third liner expecting him to be a top line guy. The jury is still out on that but you have to feel like the Rangers gave up way too much (2nd and 3rd round pick in 2013 draft) for a player who seems to be on the down side of 30 and is way too injury prone. As an unrestricted free agent, with a reported asking price of $4.5m per season, I feel the Rangers would be crazy to bring him back and expect him to be a top six forward. They would be better off allowing some of their young stars (Chris Kreider, JT Miller) a chance to play 15-20 minutes a night on the wing. Grade: C
The most disappointing player on the roster was alternate captain Brad Richards. Coming off a season of promise, Richards demise was difficult to watch at times. Once a great power play player, Richards made horrible decisions with the man advantage and was a turnover machine. Questions will be out there whether or not Richards deserves to be on this roster for 2013-14. Do the Rangers give the former Conn Smythe trophy winner another chance to be a top six forward for this team? I’m not so sure. A buyout could be in his future within the next couple of weeks. Grade: D
The Rangers addition of Taylor Pyatt was to replace the likes of Ruslan Fedotenko. Pyatt was good along the boards and did some good things on the ice, but he brought very little scoring or offensive creativity to the ice. For him to make the club next year I think he needs to step up his game a bit because there are a lot of younger players with more speed (Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fasth) waiting in the wings for a chance. Grade: C-
Brian Boyle again found himself in Coach Tortorella’s dog house in 2013 for playing too soft. Boyle who stands at 6’7” and who can skate well should find himself being feared by opponents but very often he plays too soft which drives his coaches and fans crazy. A player of that size and ability should be mashing opponents along the wall whether he plays wing or center. I still feel there is a place on this team for one of the team’s best penalty killers. Boyle just needs to step up his nastiness. Grade: C
The book on Derek Dorsett when he arrived from Columbus was that he was abrasive to play against and a guy who goes all out on every shift. The down side was that he takes bad penalties. And as expected he was a little of both. The Rangers need to be more difficult to play against and Dorsett will be a big part of that in 2013-14. For this season, his postseason play left something to be desired after he returned from a broken clavicle injury. Grade: C-
When Mats Zuccarello joined the team in March after a full season in the KHL the Rangers were hoping he would provide a spark to the power play. He did for a short while but his lack of size seems to be a problem when he plays along the wall at even strength and with the man advantage. The Rangers like his ability to make plays but he lacks the ability to be strong on the puck which could stop the team from re-signing him again. Grade: C+
When the Rangers signed Arron Asham in the offseason it was to replace the toughness that left when Brandon Prust left as a free agent. Asham did add some toughness to the lineup but fell out of favor in the postseason when his lack of hustle and speed seemed to hurt the club. There are a few players on the bubble for next season (Pyatt, Zuccarello, Powe) and Asham is one of them. Grade: D+
When Darroll Powe was added at midseason the Rangers were looking for a defensive forward who could win faceoffs and kill penalties. They got exactly that out of Powe but little else. For what he was brought in to do, Powe did a nice job. But the club could not rely on him to provide ANY offense at all and his one dimensional play did not help a club struggling to score goals. Grade: C-
Chris Kreider and JT Miller are the organization’s future. Both showed ability to play amongst the team’s top six forwards and should be in the mix for next year’s club. Their size, speed and skill set is encouraging and the club hopes for more production as they grow up in the system. Kreider appeared to gain confidence in the postseason and the Rangers will hope that he will build on that and make the club coming out of camp in September. Grade: B-
Micheal Haley and Kris Newbury are fourth line players who are tough and difficult to play against. They are in the organization for that reason. They do not provide much offense but they do provide grit, something that the Rangers lacked through much of the season. Grade: C
There will be some interesting decisions to be made in the Rangers organization this offseason. The club cannot expect to play seven game series in each playoff round and be able to win a Stanley Cup. The team matches up well with almost everyone in the East but they must get more offense out of their top nine forwards. If that means changes need to be made again then so be it. The team must add more quality depth and must improve their team speed.
Currently the Rangers have nine free agents on their roster. Four UFAs (Clowe, Hamrlik, Eminger, & Gilroy) and five RFAs (Stepan, Hagelin, Zuccarello, McDonagh and Michael Sauer). Some will want the Rangers to bring back Clowe but I am not so sure. With players like Kreider and Miller in the system I would rather see their speed and size on the LW than watching Clowe labor up the ice. Teams that are successful in this league have size and speed and the Rangers need to implement more of both into this lineup.
There will be questions as to whether to bring back Coach Tortorella or not but I think you have to. The Rangers simply were not talented enough this year to match up against a team like the Bruins that could roll four lines or the Penguins that were averaging over four goals a game in the playoffs. The Rangers must get better and stay healthy and I believe with a full training camp and some new players will be poised to make another run at a Cup in 2014.
Rangers Mid-Season Report Card
It feels a little strange grading the Rangers on a midseason report card after only 24 games but since the greedy owners decided to cancel nearly half the season with their antics here we are reviewing our beloved team after only a couple of dozen games.
Without the benefit of a full training camp and preseason games, the Rangers did not expect to get off to a fast start and that is exactly what happened. A 1-3 start through the first four and 3-4 after the first seven games in the month of January showed that the Rangers were hampered by the shortened training period between the time the CBA was signed and the start of the season. The Rangers were better in February posting a 6-4-2 mark but not by much. They were affected by the loss of their leading scorer Rick Nash for four games late in the month going 0-3-1 in those games. However, to close out the first half the Rangers rolled off four wins in their last five games.
But no matter how you slice it, this Rangers team is still missing an element that made them the Eastern Conference’s best team last year. While the addition of Nash has made the Rangers a more dangerous team on the break, their forecheck, penalty killing and overall toughness has taken a step back from the level that it was at last season when Brandon Prust, Brandon Dubinsky, John Mitchell and Ruslan Fedotenko were playing for the Blueshirts.
Now with 15 of their last 24 games being played on the road the Rangers will really have to pick up their game to move into a better playoff position. As play resumed this evening, the Rangers sat at 13-9-2 good for eighth place in the conference. They only trail conference leaders Montreal by 10 points with two games in hand but they also are only two points away from sliding into ninth place and out of the playoffs.
When starting to grade the team on the first half I think the report has to start with the Head Coach John Tortorella. Torts rubbed more than a few the wrong way in last year’s postseason with the way he handled some of his players and spoke with the media. That abrasive style can only last so long in New York when the organization and its fans are waiting on only a second championship in the last 73 years. Tortorella seems to have no answers for the power play and has benched some of his stars at strange times this year. While most seem to think he has the organization’s full support I wonder if a change would not be made if the Rangers were to slide out of the playoffs after coming close to winning the President’s Trophy last year. Grade: C
Before the season Henrik Lundqvist warned that without the benefit of having played hockey for nearly eight full months that his start would not be as stellar as he would like it to be. I cannot think of a game that Henrik absolutely gave away through the first half but there were some goals I think he would like to have back. With that being said on most nights Hank has still been the Rangers best player on the ice. Grade: B+
Backing up Lundqvist is veteran Martin Biron. In the few games he has played he has definitely kept the Rangers in the hockey game. His achillies heel has been the shootout, where he was not good last year, and has continued his struggles in 2013. Grade: B
Last year Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi stepped up in the absence of number one defenseman Marc Staal. In 2013, they have kept up their terrific physical defensive play creating one of the best shutdown pairings in the NHL. Grade: A-
Speaking of Marc Staal, after missing nearly half the season last year with post-concussion syndrome, he returned to the lineup and regained his form by early March. He was an important part of the team down the stretch last year and has been again this year. A fluke eye injury off a deflected puck will keep him out the next 2-3 weeks but the Rangers hope to have him back by the end of March and ready to go for the push for the playoffs. Grade: B+
Lining up next to Staal on most nights is 26 year old Swede Anton Stralman. Stralman played some big minutes for the Rangers in the postseason last year and has been asked to do the same this year. Stralman has been a bargain find for the Rangers averaging over 17 minutes a night and playing in all game situations. He will be counted on to do more in Staal’s short absence. Grade: B
In the offseason there was some talk about moving 22 year old Michael Del Zotto for a more seasoned defenseman. But after much talk, MDZ has returned to the Rangers signing a multiyear deal and has become a stabilizing force in either the second pairing alongside Staal or in the third pairing playing with a number of different partners. The Rangers would like to see a little more offense out of him on the power play but overall he has played well at both ends of the ice. Grade: B
Rounding out the top six defensemen have been a trio of veterans that coach Tortorella does not seem to have a great deal of confidence in. Matt Gilroy (10:09 average time on ice), Steve Eminger (9:50) and Stu Bickel (5:31) have all seen time as the sixth defensemen. None of them have really taken control of the position and it forced the Rangers to sign 38 year old veteran Roman Hamrlik off of the waiver wire last week when the extent of the injury to Staal’s eye was unknown. Grade: D
When talking about the Rangers these days, you must begin by saying Rick Nash has become the 1A to Henrik Lundqvist. Since returning from injury on February 28th, Nash has six goals and five assists in his last six games. He has simply been on fire and has been the Rangers best player the last half of a dozen games by far. Overall on the season he ranks first on the club in goals, assists, points and is tied for the lead in power play points. He has been everything the Rangers expected and sometimes more. Grade: A
When Brad Richards signed his long term deal with the Rangers in July of 2011, the Rangers expected him to be their number one center and playmaker. Last season he was the Rangers best assist man and has continued to be one of the best this season. Hampered by some injuries throughout the first half, the Rangers will be counting on Richards to be a go to guy once the playoffs begin. Grade: B-
When it was diagnosed that Marion Gaborik had a torn labrum last year a lot of fans got the answer that they were looking for. Many of us could not understand why a 41 goal scorer during the regular season was so ordinary in 20 playoff games. Gaborik has made a full recovery from surgery and is again amongst the teams leaders in goals with eight. But what we have not seen from Gaborik is consistency. Three of those goals came in one game and he has been in Coach Tortorella’s dog house too often. He will need to improve if the Rangers are to make a long run into the playoffs. He has too much talent to be so ordinary. Grade: C+
When the Rangers were looking to make the trade for Rick Nash one of the players they considered untouchable was Derek Stepan. At age 22, Stepan is coming into his own as one of the more reliable offensive players on the team. Stepan plays in all situations and is a terrific playmaker. He has improved on his faceoff percentage and will be counted on to play tougher and better this postseason after a disappointing playoff last year. Grade: B+
Captain Ryan Callahan has not missed a beat since last year’s career year. Early in this shortened season Callahan suffered a shoulder injury which looked like it could cost him weeks if not months of the season. But Callahan missed only three games. It speaks to the type of leader and player that he is. He is tied for second on the club with eight goals and leads the team with five power play goals. Grade: B+
Another player that had been talked about in trade rumors for Nash was Carl Hagelin. After a great regular season last year Hagelin suffered a giant slump in the postseason that was also tainted with a three game suspension for boarding Daniel Alfredsson in the Ottawa series. Hagelin suffered through an early season slump this year as well but after he got his legs under him he has been one of the better Rangers players on the team. With seven goals he is amongst the team leaders and has played a lot on the top line with Richards and Nash. Like Stepan, the Rangers hope he carries this type play into the playoffs and beyond. Grade: A-
When Taylor Pyatt was signed as a free agent, the Rangers envisioned him playing wing on a third line capable of checking opponents best lines with size and speed. Pyatt has been a player capable of playing in all situations and has done a serviceable job. Grade: B
Center Brian Boyle has not been able to find the scoring touch that made him a 20 goal scorer back in 2010-11. He did score 12 goals last year but many of them came late in the second half. Boyle has struggled with consistency on the offensive and defensive end this year. With young centers such as JT Miller awaiting more playing time Boyle will need to improve. Grade: D
JT Miller was called up in midseason after injuries caused them to shake up their lineup and he has never given them a reason to send him back to Hartford. At 19 years of age Miller has shown strength and maturity beyond his years. The Rangers can only hope he is gaining valuable experience as he grows into a more regular role on the hockey club. Grade: B+
Phenom Chris Kreider could not find his way out of the coach’s dog house early this season and has found himself playing his hockey for the Connecticut Whale in Hartford, CT. In 11 games this year, Kreider only had a goal and an assist. Through 40 games in the AHL, he has nine goals and eight assists, but the Rangers are expecting more from the future power forward. They can afford to be patient with him as they have a solid top nine forwards to put out on the ice every night in New York. Grade: C-
Not much offense was expected from the fourth line and because Coach Tortorella does not play the line all that much it is hard to give them a grade. But players such as Arron Asham (6:12), Jeff Halpern (9:32), Benn Ferriero (9:37), Brandon Mashinter (5:55), Darroll Powe (9:42) and Micheal Haley (5:18) have been average at best. Grade: C-
So the first half was not what most expected out of the regular season Eastern Conference leaders last year but there is still another half of a season to be played. What the Rangers will need is more consistency scoring, especially on the power play. For a team that ranks 18th in the league in offense and 22nd on the power play will need to be better if they have any chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 2013.
2013 Rangers Season Preview
After a 113 day owner imposed lockout, the New York Rangers are itching to get back on the ice to prove last year’s surprise performance that netted them their first 50 win season and first division title in 18 years was not a fluke. Analysts predicted the 2011-12 Rangers to finish somewhere between the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference to outside of the top eight after a disappointing exit out of the 2011 playoffs at the hands of Alex Ovechkin and their hated rivals the Washington Capitals. But from day one of last season, Coach John Tortorella preached hard work and dedication to his defensive system and the results far exceeded anyone’s expectations. The Rangers shocked us all by not only winning the Atlantic Division but coming within one point of winning the President’s Trophy. And in the playoffs the club won two playoff rounds in the same postseason for the first time in 15 years.
Simply put, the 2012-13 Rangers will not be able to sneak up on anybody. They made headlines last April and May by winning two gritty seven game series against the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals before succumbing to their cross river rivals, the New Jersey Devils, in another hard fought six games. The Rangers seemed to run out of gas by the end of the Devils series but it was not in the Rangers nature to use fatigue as an excuse. Coach Tortorella refused to believe that the loss to the Devils was due to his players being beaten and sometimes broken over the 20 games that they played in the playoffs. But it was hard to believe that the Rangers were not affected by the fact that they had gone the max in the first two rounds in two very tough series. A playoff record of 10-10 left the entire organization wanting for more in 2013.
The Rangers continued to make headlines in the offseason as Henrik Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s best goaltender. He was the first Ranger to win the award since John Vanbiesbrouck won it in 1985-86. Lundqvist’s career best 39 wins were second most in Rangers history to Mike Richter’s 42. King Henrik was also nominated for the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award, two trophies that honor the league’s Most Valuable Player. However, to no one’s surprise those trophies went to Evgeny Malkin, who led the Penguins to the playoffs in Sidney Crosby’s absence last season.
In July, the Rangers said goodbye to key role players Ruslan Fedotenko, Brandon Prust and John Mitchell and welcomed Taylor Pyatt, Arron Asham and Jeff Halpern via free agency to New York. Then on July 24th, the Rangers pulled the trigger on their biggest trade since Glen Sather acquired Jaromir Jagr in February, 2004. After a six month flirtation with Columbus, the Rangers finally added former 40 goal scorer and All Star Rick Nash to the club in return for homegrown Ranger centers Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, top defense prospect Tim Erixon and a first round pick in 2013. The Rangers also received a conditional third round pick and minor league defenseman Steve Delisle in the deal.
The Rangers feel with the addition of Nash and the full recovery from shoulder labrum surgery by Marion Gaborik they possess two of the top five goal scorers in the league. There is hope that the goal scoring drought that plagued the Rangers throughout the postseason should now be solved. There is also hope that Chris Kreider will also contribute greatly to the Rangers offense as he will be with the Rangers in the regular season for the first time.
Coaching – Tortorella returns behind the Rangers bench to start his fourth full season at Madison Square Garden. He was originally hired to replace Tom Renney in February, 2008 and has won 145 of the 267 games he has coached for the Blueshirts. Those 145 wins are good for fifth all-time in Rangers history. Tortorella has won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2003-04 and has also coached an AHL team, the Rochester Americans, to the Calder Cup back in 1995-96. The coach is known as an abrasive coach but his style suits the Rangers at this time. They are a tough, blue collar group that blocks a lot of shots and forechecks opponents relentlessly. In fact, the forecheck and counterattack were the keys to the Rangers success in 2011-12. And opponents should expect more of the same from a more talented Rangers squad in 2013. Tortorella will again be assisted by bench coach Mike Sullivan and goaltending coach Benoit Allaire.
Forwards – The addition of Rick Nash will change the dynamic of the Eastern Conference’s best team for the upcoming season. Nash should immediately make the Rangers a more dangerous team on the power play as well as at even strength. Teams will no longer be able to throw a checking line out against a Gaborik line or a Callahan line when the Rangers could roll three lines with three different right wingers capable of scoring 30-plus goals. Chances are either Gaborik or Nash will move over to the left side but the Rangers now have more scoring depth than they have had in a very long time. Most seem to think that Nash will immediately be paired with Brad Richards to start the season. But with Gaborik having fully healed from shoulder surgery the Rangers have options on the wings for the top two lines. The top six forwards should be Nash, Richards, Gaborik, Kreider, center Derek Stepan and winger Ryan Callahan. Throw in winger Carl Hagelin and the Rangers have seven forwards capable of playing on the top two lines at any time. Any combination of those seven will be difficult to defend.
On the checking line, the Rangers hope that Hagelin continues to develop as a defensive forward and penalty killer as well as a scorer. There is also hope that center Brian Boyle will rediscover the scoring touch that netted him 20 goals in 2010-11. Last year’s offensive slump did not affect Boyle’s ability to make plays and check opponents’ best lines. Boyle did a great job all year long as the Rangers primary checking center. Boyle and Hagelin will most likely be joined by Taylor Pyatt, who arrives from Phoenix with a lot of size and ability.
On primarily what will be a fourth line, the Rangers expect more out of Mike Rupp, who was hampered by a knee injury that lingered throughout the season last year. They also added Halpern, a well respected faceoff specialist, as well as Asham for grit and toughness. Asham is the type of player that most fans of opposing teams hate but love when he is a member of their team. The Rangers are hoping he becomes a fan favorite as quickly as former Ranger Brandon Prust did when he first arrived on the scene.
Providing depth for the forwards are new additions Michael Haley and Brandon Segal, who have seen a lot of ice time down with the AHL’s Connecticut Whale, as well as rookies J.T. Miller, Christian Thomas and Marek Hrivik, who have yet to take the ice at the NHL level.
Defensemen – This unit became one of the NHL’s best in 2011-12 when Ryan McDonagh and All-Star selection Dan Girardi really stepped up to become one of the league’s best pairings. While former first round pick Marc Staal was recovering from post-concussion syndrome McDonagh and Girardi stepped up their game and became the Rangers their best pairing since Brian Leetch and Jeff Beukeboom patrolled the Garden ice in the mid-1990s. Staal returned in January to play in last year’s Winter Classic and regained his form within a couple of weeks. He was joined by Anton Stralman and formed a solid second pairing from early spring through the playoffs.
Another first round pick, Michael Del Zotto, rebounded from an underachieving sophomore season to find a new dimension to his game and really was one of the better players on the Rangers for long stretches of last season. Del Zotto’s skating and puck moving abilities were key assets for the Rangers as he limited turnovers in the defensive zone. His game has transitioned from more of an offensive minded defenseman to a very solid two-way blueliner. Armed with a new two year contract, the hope is that Del Zotto continues to grow both offensively and defensively.
Also returning to the Rangers are free agent defensemen Stu Bickel, Mike Eminger and Matt Gilroy. Both Bickel and Eminger played in over 40 games for the Rangers last year and performed well enough to crack the lineup as sixth defensemen. However, you have to question how much Coach Tortorella trusts either player as Bickel averaged only 5:10 per game in the postseason and Eminger only 6:49 of ice time. Gilroy rejoins the Rangers after a 2011-12 season split between Tampa Bay and Ottawa. He has been playing in Hartford and had six goals and nine assists but was a terrible -16 in 34 games for the Whale since October. The defense seemed to wear down as the playoffs went on because of the large amounts of ice time that the top four were getting each night. This may be an area that the Rangers want to look at to get better.
Unfortunately it has recently been announced that defenseman Mike Sauer will miss the entire 2012-13 season because he is still suffering from symptoms of post concussion syndrome. Sauer was injured in December, 2011 and missed the remainder of the 2011-12 season with those same symptoms. The Rangers will hold out hope that he will make a full recovery and be part of the club for the 2013-14 season.
Providing depth in Hartford are veterans Sean Collins and Mike Vernace as well as rookie defenseman Dylan McIlrath, who was a first round pick in 2010. A lot of is expected of McIlrath as he enters his first season as a pro. His presence has been immediately felt on the AHL level and he could join the big club by late April if his defensive game is as sound as the Rangers would like it to be by then.
Goaltenders – You can make the argument that the Rangers have not had a better goaltender tandem than they have now since the stretch of 1994-97 when Mike Richter and Glenn Healy patrolled the crease at MSG for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist was the team Most Valuable Player last season for the sixth consecutive season. It is the first time in Rangers history that the award, that is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, has been given to a player for six seasons in a row. Very few outside of Los Angeles would argue that King Henrik was the best goaltender in the regular season last year. His numbers were staggering. 39 wins, 8 shutouts, a 1.97 goals against average and a .930 save percentage were all among league leaders in 2011-12. Only LA’s Jonathan Quick could be talked about in the same breath as Lundqvist in 2011-12. And Quick was the one holding the Cup at end of the season last year.
Backing Hank up is the very capable Martin Biron, who re-signed with the Rangers in the offseason for two more years. His 20 wins over the last two years are the most by a Rangers backup since Healy posted 22 in 1995-97. Biron will again be relied up to play about 20-25% of the games this season to keep Henrik fresh for what the Rangers hope is a very deep run into the playoffs in 2013.
Intangibles – The Rangers special teams were both a help and a hindrance during the 2011-12 season. The fifth ranked penalty kill was very effective and helped the team rank third overall in goals against during the season. The strong penalty kill led by Captain Ryan Callahan also had 8 shorthanded goals which ranked sixth in the NHL. But for as good as the penalty kill was the power play was equally as bad. This area has been the club’s achillies heel the last few years. The Rangers have gotten progressively worse dropping from 13th in the league in 2009-10 to 18th in 2010-11 to 23rd last year. The decline was inexplicable really with the addition of Brad Richards, who has always excelled throughout his career with the man advantage, the finishing abilities of Gaborik and Callahan and the passing abilities of Stepan and Del Zotto.
In 2012-13, the expectation will be that the power play will be much better with the addition of Nash. Surprisingly, Nash has not been a superstar on the power play but he also has not been playing with the talented group of players that the Rangers have at their disposal. Nash has only had 10, 6 and 6 goals the last three years on the PP. The Rangers hope that the power play unit will gel quickly because they will need to score more goals with the man advantage in order to have success in 2013.
The fear in trading away Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov while allowing Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust to leave as free agents is that the penalty kill will take a step backwards. However, with Callahan, Stepan, Boyle, Pyatt and Hagelin to go along with Richards, Nash and Kreider who can all kill penalties, the Rangers should not lose much in the way of defense when they are a man down.
Expectations – It appears that the pieces are in place for the Rangers to make a long run into the playoffs and win their first Stanley Cup in 19 years. They have added scoring and grit at forward and more playoff experience to the lineup. They will have Rick Nash and Chris Kreider for the full 48 game schedule learning and playing in Coach Tortorella’s system. I believe the only question marks for the team will be: Will Nash be as good as advertised? Will Gaborik regain the form he had before shoulder surgery? Will the penalty kill hold up with new personnel? And can the Rangers stay healthy enough during this short sprint of a season to overcome their quality of depth issues at forward and defense?
The Rangers will have heavy competition for the division and conference titles from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. I also think Florida, Carolina and Buffalo will be improved as well. They will be tested by a road leaning schedule in March and April that has them playing 17 of their last 29 games on the road. On more than one occasion, the schedule has the Rangers travelling to play four games in four different cities in 8 days. Even though the travel in the East is typically shorter, that is a lot of travel in a short period of time for the hockey club.
I am not one to make predictions for fear of jinxing the team but I do believe this is the best Rangers team in a long while and I do believe they match up well with every team in the East. However, I still feel like they may be one defensive forward, one stabilizing defenseman away from making another long run into the playoffs. Something just feels missing from this set of forwards and defensemen, especially with the subtraction of Dubinsky, Anisimov and Prust. They also have not really answered the question of who to play with Del Zotto. If the Rangers can make a couple of additions or a couple of players emerge to fill those roles and the team feels comfortable rolling at least three, if not, all four lines and all six defensemen consistently, the sky is the limit for this hockey club in 2013.
Could this be the Rangers 2013 schedule?
Rumors on Twitter over the past 12 hours have the following as the Rangers 2013 schedule that is to be released later today or tomorrow. Have a look:
Sat Jan 19 at Boston
Sun Jan 20 Pittsburgh
Wed Jan 23 Boston
Thu Jan 24 at Philadelphia
Sat Jan 26 Toronto
Tue Jan 29 Philadelphia
Thu Jan 31 Pittsburgh
Sat Feb 2 at Tampa
Sun Feb 3 at Florida
Tue Feb 5 at New Jersey
Thu Feb 7 NY Islanders
Sun Feb 10 Tampa
Tue Feb 12 at Boston
Thu Feb 14 NY Islanders
Fri Feb 15 at Buffalo
Sun Feb 17 Washington
Wed Feb 20 Montreal
Thu Feb 21 at Ottawa
Sat Feb 23 at Montreal
Tue Feb 26 Winnipeg
Thu Feb 28 Tampa
Sun Mar 3 Buffalo
Tue Mar 5 Philadelphia
Thu Mar 7 at NY Islanders
Fri Mar 8 Ottawa
Sun Mar 10 at Washington
Thu Mar 14 at Winnipeg
Sat Mar 16 at Pittsburgh
Mon Mar 18 Carolina
Tue Mar 19 at New Jersey
Thu Mar 21 Florida
Sat Mar 24 Washington
Tue Mar 26 at Philadelphia
Thu Mar 28 at Ottawa
Sat Mar 30 at Montreal
Mon Apr 1 Winnipeg
Wed Apr 3 Pittsburgh
Fri Apr 5 at Pittsburgh
Sat Apr 6 at Carolina
Mon Apr 8 at Toronto
Wed Apr 10 Toronto
Sat Apr 13 at NY Islanders
Tue Apr 16 at Philadelphia
Thu Apr 18 Florida
Fri Apr 19 at Buffalo
Sun Apr 21 New Jersey
Thu Apr 25 at Carolina
Sat Apr 27 New Jersey
True Blue I Am a Ranger 