The future isn't now
by vixtrix on Feb 8, 2010 10:56 AM EST
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So for all the heartache we have suffered through this season so far, I've decided to discuss what I really haven't seen on here very much, if at all ... the future. And since we are now part of what has been a surprising start to the trade season amongst several teams, there's been a lot of talk, and back & forth banter, on how the Rangers should proceed with the current state of their roster. Who to trade, who to waive, who to keep, who to buy out, etc. So here is my view and opinion on how the Rangers should proceed.
We all know what the Rangers have in their system in various places. Sanguinetti, Heikkinen, Grachev, Stepan, Kreider, Bourque, McDonagh. But in all reality, most of these players are still 2 - 3 years away from being NHL ready. The current Rangers roster is for the most part a very young team with a few exceptions. Those few exceptions are players that for different reasons cannot be moved because of their contract status and/or value they currently have. All of us out there in Ranger nation loves to win and hates to lose and watching these losses mount up makes us all sick. Maybe we should have a few more wins with the players we have, but in all seriousness, can we really compete with Pittsburgh, Washington, New Jersey? So in the 2 - 3 years that I mentioned above, our current crop of young players gain that much more experience, and the players in the system come up to compliment them. Plus, I don't think that players such as Gaborik and Lundqvist will age that much and become too old to compete in 2 - 3 years. Both are the same age and are under 30.
Look around the league and notice which teams are at the top of the heap. Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Washington, Colorado. They all have a relatively young team whose core was developed from within. They all were bad teams for a couple of years until their players in their systems were ready for prime time. I hear it mentioned quite often that because we are the Rangers we must always put a competitive product on the ice. That we will not tolerate bad losing seasons. Well no one likes to lose but I am of the belief that us Ranger fans are different and we would rather somewhat sacrifice a season or two and not trade away assets for a player who is past his prime to appease the so called masses. I was a very proud Ranger fan as I watch Leetch and Richter grow into the players they became. And even though they were traded, players like Amonte, Weight and Vanbiesbrouck were proud moments for me. The recent trade of Kotalik and Higgins for Joikinen and Prust was a great move because we unloaded a bad contract in Kotalik, and unloaded a player who just wasn't productive for us in Higgins. The two players we got in return cannot hurt us long term because they UFA and RFA. If Joikinen plays well and we do decide to resign him, it should only be for a year or two at most and certainly not for ridiculous sums of money. Prust is almost a non factor because if he does resign, it will not be for much money at all or for many years. Then again, I'm not Glen Sather who is the X-Factor in all of this.
Of course looking ahead to the future is all fine and dandy and looks great in theory, but it all depends on the development of the young players (both current and in the system) and it's also dependent on things being equal, meaning no unforeseen injuries. This is also no guarantee that all of this comes together and makes up into a Cup contending team, but I would much rather take a chance in what could be, that what we already know doesn't work as it currently stands. Can we as Ranger fans go through the growing pains and bumps in the road until our minor league players are ready when some of the current players contracts expire?
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Tanking does not = long term success
Great post vixtrix!
I just wanted to add that Pittsburgh, the only recent bad team to turn it around and win a cup, only picked up Sidney Crosby because they won the special lottery that was held before the draft not because, as everyone seems to believe around here, they had the worst record in 2004-2005.
If that pre-draft lottery doesn’t go Pittsburgh’s way, they could have ended up 16th, like the Thrashers, and picked the immortal Alex Bourret. The following non-Sidney seasons would have likely seen the Penguins avg attendance plummet to 6 or 7k, move to KC or Oklahoma City and the NHL would be a much better place right now.
Yes that is true about Crosby. Every young team out there always has a player or two that came to them via trades, FA signings or luck of the draw, but they did develop a few of their stars from the draft … J. Staal and Fleury. My overall point, weather it came across or not, is patience, to let our current and future players develop and hopefully come together. I see this whole situation as a “we have no choice” but to be patient anyway because we can’t move Rozsival, Redden and Drury. So since we can’t move them for at minimum a year and most likely more, let’s just be patient and develop the young players we do have until we CAN move those players. I also didn’t mean to imply that the Rangers tank because I don’t believe in any team, in any sport for that matter, tanking to better their draft position. I’m more or less implying that the Rangers stay as they are and let nature take it’s course with the young players and NOT trading them away. Unless of course Sather can create more miracles by moving some of the older players.
The tanking comment wasn’t directed at you, there is a fairly large faction of Rangers fans here that think tanking is the easiest way to build a champion.
As one who supports this year's tank
I don’t want a Pittsburgh/Washington/Chicago tank where we’re terrible for 4 years, obviously this team has enough youth and talent now that they don’t need to go in that direction. And sure, they can make the playoffs, get the 20th or so pick, grab a productive player who will be 3-4 years away, and that would be a nice add to the future of the franchise with the prospects we already own.
However, getting into the top 5 picks (bottom 5 standings) with a lottery chance to move to #1 and no worse than #6 would allow the Rangers to add an immediate impact-type prospect to the group already on it’s way in 2 years.
I mean, only the most diehard, delusional fan would think this team is winning the cup. And as exciting as playoff games are and even the prospect of knocking off the Devs might be for the short term, long term another 1st-2nd round loss doesn’t really do anything for the franchise other than potentially allow Sather to keep his job and hold onto the dead weight the team desperately needs to shed.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 1:27 PM EST up reply actions
i think the rule in the lotto is u can only move up 3 spots, but that could be wrong.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 1:28 PM EST up reply actions
It's 4
“The club selected in the lottery may not move up more than four positions in the draft order. Thus the only clubs with the opportunity to receive the 1st overall selection are the five clubs with the lowest regular-season point totals (or clubs that acquired those clubs’ first-round drafting positions). No club can move down more than one position as a result of the lottery. Under the weighted lottery system, the club with the fewest regular-season points will have the greatest chance (25%) of winning the lottery and will pick no lower than second at the Entry Draft”
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
which puts them 2 pts out of 1st pick lotto territory.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 1:34 PM EST up reply actions
Right
Where they are now they have a 3.6% chance to move up to #4 via the lottery. Mostly they’ll pick 8th.
Here’s the odds:
http://www.nhlscap.com/draft.htm
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
That also means those 2 points more than double their chances of moving up, and they move up to 1 instead of 4.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
tanking for the lottery still wouldn’t help for at least five years down the road. it isn’t a solution at all. Sather has done a good job with picks and does have a hand at the table to bring in a third player to complement Gabby and Ollie. We can make a run for the trophy THIS YEAR and, in the likely event it doesn’t work, have ourselves settled down to be a cup contender in ‘11-’12.
all this wrangling for the bottom is disgusting! show some loyalty. Sather has made some great moves given the available market and he’s gotten zero credit for bringing in all the youth you guys are talking about building our future on. we are in a rebuilding process but this is new york and he can’t do that without putting a competitive team on the ice…Redden. Wish Orr were here. Ok, ok, ok. Every GM in the league is having to deal with the cap, not just the rangers. Lets see the Devils try to keep Kovi and re-sign their talent.
o ye of little faith…
lets go rangers!!!!
tanking for the lottery still wouldn’t help for at least five years down the road.
Actually, the whole point of doing so is to obtain a player who can make an immediate impact, possibly even the 2010-2011 season. 2011-12 tops.
We can make a run for the trophy THIS YEAR
God bless you if you truly believe this.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 5:45 PM EST up reply actions
really…is that like saying Matt Duchene isnt helping Colorado who was awful last year but is now a playoff team? how about hedman in tb; even tavares who was making the isles competitive early.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 6:31 PM EST up reply actions
tavares won’t take the islanders to the cup this year before the rangers…no way. and look how long its taken for ovechkin to go from draft pick to the cup. he was picked in 2004, right? crosby was picked in 2005. it will take at least five years to turn a top notch, #1 world class pick into a cup…if all goes perfectly according to plan. and knowing this crowd, you’d all cry baby him out of Manhattan if he didn’t bring home the silver in his second year!
i’m just tired of all the whining on this site. for me, the idea of tanking is pure quitter p**sy bulls**t. we rag on the players for quitting and you all quit on the team in the middle of battle. you want the players to have some pride? well you show some pride and loyalty! ollie hasn’t even been here a week and we’re already ragging him when he’s obviously helping stabilize the club.
if we can go on two seven game win streaks we can win two series. we played tough against Washington, we’ve played tough against the rink rats across the river. we have the best goalie in the game and a young team that needs us to have their back. yea, they’re learning on the job, but our youth does have character. as for the ones playing crappy…every year someone under performs and pays the price by getting splinters up their a**. drury has a lot of heart. avery has a lot of heart. calli has a lot of heart. duby has a lot of heart. Christiensen is looking more dependable all the time. prust has a lot of heart. AA is only 21 years old? MDZ is 19? c’mon, these kids are doing great and I LIKE OUR TEAM.
Yea, I said it, we can win the cup this year.
leave this talk about tanking to the fish sticks who keep finishing at the bottom year after year while we are clawing our way back into the game the hard and honest way.
you all need to grow up and
and if we want to go back a whole year…let’s see we had Stamkos who is carrying the lighting into the playoffs, doughty for the kings, bogosian and schenn for atl and tor and possible rookie of the year tyler myers buffalo. how about mdz right here?
this is not 10 years ago, lots of drafted players make impacts in the year they were drafted or the following year.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 6:43 PM EST up reply actions
+1
Nice to see that more fans are accepting the idea of tanking.
i think the only objection among some fans is the idea of loosing.
Every sane fan has to realize that getting a top 5 pick will do the team good.
Even if we dont get a Ovechkin nr 2 weäll have a good prospect (hopefully as good as Kopitar, Stamkos etc) who will hit their prime in 2-3 years. At the same time our current prospects (stepan, Grachev, Kreider) will be more than ready for the NHL.. And the best part. The worst contracts of the team will almost be over.
My hopes are: getting a top 5 pick. Getting a awesome prospect. send sather on a 3 year vacation or just send him to the moon for the rest of his life. then just wait for it… wait a little more.. BAM. Young solid team.
Well, you’re not getting a top 5 pick in the 2010 draft unless the Rangers trade up.
Do you really see this team finishing as the 8th worst team in the league? Unless Henrik decides to stay in Vancouver after the Olympics are over, the Rangers are finishing somewhere between 10th and 6th in the East, nowhere near where they would need to be to magically move up into a top 5 position via the Lottery.
BTW: Here are the percentages for moving up based on final position in the standings (from James Mirtles’ Blog)
1st 25.0%
2nd 18.8%
3rd 14.2%
4th 10.7%
5th 8.1%
6th 6.2%
7th 4.7%
8th 3.6%
9th 2.7%
10th 2.1%
11th 1.5%
12th 1.1%
13th 0.8%
14th 0.5%
So yeah, let’s tank for a 3.6% chance of moving into 5th in the draft order. I like the Rangers chances of getting to the second round more than their chances of actually moving up through the draft lottery.
Do you really see this team finishing as the 8th worst team in the league?
They’re currently the 8th worst team in the league.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
Yes, i know, that’s why I asked do you really see this team finishing as the 8th worst team in the league.
2 pts
Atlanta has 2 less GP, they win one more down the stretch they are ahead of us. Florida has 1 less GP, we have one more win so they need 3 extra points as of right now. Columbus we have a game at hand, so they also need 3. Everyone ahead of us has fewer GP, so if everyone played equal we stay right where we are.
So will this team finish 8th worst? As likely as anything. That’s not really the point though. Here’s the point:
a) Can they, by selling off some valuable assets like Prospal or Girardi, find themselves falling to 4th or 5th worst?
My answer: Yes.
b) Will they benefit more by a 1st round playoff loss and the 16th or so pick, or by missing the playoffs and grabbing the 5th-8th pick?
My answer: Miss the playoffs.
Obviously b) can be argued eight ways from Sunday, and that’s why multiple threads have developed over this issue.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 3:03 PM EST up reply actions
I agree that getting rid of Prospal, Girardi, and the Joker (if we doupt we can sign him to a REASONABLE contract) are the best moves.
But unless we do all 3, we are still likeley to finish strong. I would love for us to move the 3 for 3 second picks.
girardi wont get a 2nd, maybe a 3rd.
trading joker would probably require taking back a salary that isnt expiring unless the other team has a lot of cap space, probably not a 2nd either.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 4:01 PM EST up reply actions
Forget about Joker getting traded
No way that happens unless Sather really is an evil genius.
As for finishing strong:
We have 9 games in the division, where we are 4-9-3.
We also get Washington, Ottawa, Buffalo x2.
A brand new Toronto team that would be 3-0 if they didn’t cough up the 2nd Devs game.
That’s 15 of the 23 remaining games, and doesn’t include MTL who last we saw kicked our ass, or Hedberg and ATL who we never solve.
8-12-3 might be considered good with that schedule, and that alone should be enough to drop us.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 4:07 PM EST up reply actions
That’s more to my point that we only have a few moves to consider and should play the season out.
We looked good the last two games and I still believe we’ll finish strong. No matter who we put on the ice.
We’ll probably just miss the playoffs and pick 13th.
well that is partially impossible because the west is so much stronger than the east. right now if we were 9th in the East we would still pick 9/10 cause probably no less than 4 teams in the West would end up with more points.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
yes, the teams are important but so is where, though we play better at times on the road we have a six game road trip NJ, TOR, NYI, TB, FLA, Buf end of march/start april. overall 12 road, 8 home after the break.
this was done a week ago by the Nashville blog folks so it calculates the game we played last week in the numbers but according to this we had the 10th toughest schedule remaining, 2nd toughest in the East.
http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2010/2/1/1287143/strength-of-schedule-could-make-or
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 4:17 PM EST up reply actions
not to burst the bubble on how good they are but if they had lost just the nj game they would be 5th already, so no 8th is not near a stretch.
remember we close w NAS @Pitt TB which isnt awful but the first 5 after the break just happen to be the top 5 in the East @Ott, Pitt, @WAS, Buf, @NJ.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 3:45 PM EST up reply actions
Look at the top teams in the nhl this year
Was: Ovie 1, Backstrom 4
SJS: Marleau 2nd pick, trades for Thornton (number 1), Heatley (number 2)
Chi: Toews, Kane, Barker all top 3
Pitt: Malkin, Crosby, Staal, Fleury all 1st or 2nd in their draft.
As far as individual players there are only 2 of the top 15 players in points selected outside the top 5 in their draft (Richards (3rd round), Kopitar (11th)).
No one has suggested “tanking” as in “throwing” games on purpose, but selling what can be sold instead of buying to squeak in and lose in the 1st round while gaining a higher upside player to build with is better for this team long term. If they do nothing they wont make the playoffs…realize that other than the 7 game win streak and the stretch of 20 pts in 13 games this team has gotten a grand total of 25 points in 39 games including 4 points in the last 9 games. I mean a team that lost 10 straight games just passed us in the standings yesterday by winning a whole 1 game.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 1:27 PM EST up reply actions
The only player that “cannot” be moved without his consent, is Chris Drury. His contract includes a full “no movement” clause.
Redden, Rozsival and everyone else most certainly can be moved – it’s just that there are fewer options with some players than there are with others.
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I agree we can’t keep up with several teams…but NJ is not one of them, we seem to dominate them now, the way they owned us in the late 90’s
Check the standings...
We can’t keep up with the Devils. We got dominated by a team coming off an emotional come from behind win the night before. We found a 2 1/2 minute collapse by Brodeur and capitalized and then Henrik looked like Superman. Don’t let that win kid you, we are not nearly as good as the Devils.
I'm not sure how we tank?
I’d love to have a top 5 pick, but don’t see how besides luck? And I don’t want to get rid of the core of our team to take a shot at that. I know some people would like to see everyone go except Hank or Gabby . I don’t see the point in that. We still could end up with an 8 pick, even if we played the wolfpack and w /Johson the rest of the year.
I don’t have a problem loosing every game for the rest of the season. I don’t even mind packaging good players to move Drury, or Redden.
When we are talking selling, I’m not sure who we are selling and who is buying?
Prospal, Gerardi, and the joker make sense. I’m not sure we’ll get much more then a late 2nd round pick for any of them.
There are some ways to both “tank” and prepare for the next season.
Let Hank rest more games and let Johnson and Zaba get more nhl experience.
Try to move up Sanguenetti, Grachev and some of the best Hartford prospects.
Hell.. why not give Stepan a shift or two.
All experience is good experience. And it would certinly give them a boost.
trading prospal for a pick would also be a good move. sure he’s great. but if we’re building for the future then we dont need. him. And loosing him would make the rangers slightly worse.
Stepan’s in the NCAA w/o a contract. He can’t play this year.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
Ok, so you want to call up Sanguinetti, Grachev and a couple other prospects, who’s getting sent down? I’m sure you are dealing Prospal for a third or fourth round pick, that still leaves another two or three roster spots that need to be opened up.
What cap room is being made to make room for these rookies?
send down rozi for starters.
You get a spot from prospal (or one if you trade girardi)
Then you’ll just do what torts does best.. shuffle the lines
I’m all for trading Girardi, Prospal, or the Joker. I also don’t mind siging any of them to a decent short contract if we find the room.
And while getting rid of any of then makes us worse… I don’t see it increasing our odds of getting a top 5 pick.
I’ve been for playing youth all season, and still am, but that has as much of a chance of moving us up in the standings as it does down.
I’m more worried about Sather doing something stupid, then us just playing out the year with what we have and let the picks fall how they may.
Everyone is tradeable..
The only players that should be untouchable are Lundquist and possibly Gaborik. If your in favor of rebuilding(as opposed to tanking) than everyone else can be moved. If you think we should be trying to retro-fit a few pieces to make us a playoff team then the list gets shortened a little.
An 8-12-3 or 7-13-3 stretch should be plenty sufficient to get us down to the top 5, and god knows this team is capable of such an inconsistent stretch. As mleetch reminds, we’re only 2 points ahead of FLA/CBJ who sit tied for that spot.
No one is talking about selling the core here (well, some are but they’re on a different level of overreaction). Selling Prospal and Girardi are perfect examples of players that can fetch future value to help the franchise long term.
You don’t even necessarily have to worry about Drury or Rozsival’s contracts, which will expire by the time the vast majority of the kids are ready anyway. (Redden is another story). When you’re playing kids, cap room is easier to come by…but requires Sather to sit on the money freed up from Joker’s contract (other than to re-sign Staal)
Now, there’s no way in hell Sather sells and gives up on playoff hopes and perhaps also his job security, so it’s mostly moot to talk about other than in the hypothetical.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 2:46 PM EST up reply actions
Great post, but I don’t know how you can say we don’t talk about the future here, other than Jess at Prospect Park, we probably talk about it more than any other Rangers site out there.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Feb 8, 2010 2:23 PM EST reply actions
You’re right and I do apologize for that. I only realized after I posted this that there IS quite a bit of talk about the future of the Rangers. But I felt I needed to vent my own opinion and view of things. I love the passion my fellow Ranger fans give in their responses and don’t mind being corrected as you did.
I agree with Rangersmurf
It’s far easier to tank than to get our “hopes” up for an early playoff exit, however Sather won’t think like us fans.
and unfortunately, there are actually five other teams far worse than the Rangers are. Imagine that.
the chances of this team garnering a high pick is slim.
"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"
oops let me add
that there 5 teams worse than the Rangers in the Eastern Conference alone, ugh sorry for that.
"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"
Bottom 4 is reachable by the Olympic break if things broke perfect.
Then again “perfect” requires the Islanders to stop trotting DiPietFail out there every other game.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 3:29 PM EST up reply actions
yes, the good news in that respect is a lot of the teams tied or behind us play one another this week, so someone has to get points. lol.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 3:35 PM EST up reply actions
3 point games!!
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2010 4:14 PM EST up reply actions
i love how this word “tank” is being thrown around as if people here are suggesting we bench gaborik or something to make them lose. reality is they are TANKING all on their own. 4 pts in the last 9 games. other than the two hot stretches this year 25 pts in 39 games. lets not act like we are trying to destroy a playoff team here. it is called adding pieces to the system by trading away players who are not part of the teams future anyway. Prospal as good as he has been at times this year is 34 and a FA at the end of the year. To pass up a chance to net something like a 2nd round pick for him is a mistake that hurts down the road. Look at last year they took the shot and gave up a 2 for Antropov who played well here and they ALMOST won a series. Ok, but with the way we drafted the last two years, think we could have used another 2nd rounder last draft? If they love Prospal that much bring him back as a UFA.
This team as constituted is not a playoff team and even if it did squeak in they cant beat any of the top 4 in a series. They are falling all on their own, the real argument is against buying anything that mortgaged any part of the future (picks, prospects, cap space). Girardi and Prospal should have value. Maybe there is a small market for Rozi (clb, dal) as well. Get rid of as much of the “excess” parts as possible and let it play out.
I don't think the Rangers have to 'tank'....
they stink…that are what they are. The best way to ‘tank’ is for Sather to keep it in his pants and not go out and go crazy at the deadline. Kovy’s off the list…hopefully, Lecavalier doesn’t magically become available.
I’d only support tanking for the rest of this season…and maybe next season, as hopefully the top 5 pick we get, is just going through some growing pains and becomes a star in his second season kinda like Steve Stamkos.
But anyone not supporting tanking…………….what is the alternative? Keep signing middling FA CRAP and hoping it sticks to the wall?
The Rangers don’t need Mark Messier reincarnate…but the common theme among the team since Mess left…they’ve never had a #1 elite C. They’ve had plenty of elite wingers….they need their version of Niklas Backstrom (or maybe the man himself!)
Rectum? Damn near killed em!
not to play the role of ecklund but i have to think that gainey leaving if completely of his own accord will spark the vinny to montreal talk again as that franchise whether good for long term or not really want a french canadian star.
by Michael Gleich on Feb 8, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
My prescription
1. Other than the obvious core players of our future (Hank, Gabby, Staal, MDZ et al), sell off what dead weight you can ASAP to create room to sign a strong D-man this summer (Hamhuis or Volchenkov both free agents.)
2. Repeat this process in 2011 to create room to sign a strong center in the Summer of ’11.
3. By 2011-12 season we should have some of the prospects up and contributing with a strong core, ready to do battle with Hank and Gabby still young.
Tanking is an interesting concept, i dont know if you can tank because that means benching gabby or something wierd like mleetch stated. Now in my own opinion, we can really play the upset role because hello if we are eighth in the standings or seventh… we have a real shot. We have Lundvquist and that gives you a real good chance in the playoffs why not? We almost always give washington a hard time when we play them and the Devils dont seem to be owning us, only pittsburgh abuses us really and thats basically it. Imagine we draw Devs first round, Caps second, and hope for a win to get to the cup, then its anyones game. The western teams hardly play us so if we can play them hard you never know.
6 reasons this is possible…
1. the King
2. crazy Avery
3. Gabby
4. sex panther arrival
5. the budding play of Cally and MDZ.
6. Rozsival …woops howd you get here? lol
Call me team shoot for the stars, but i want us to compete like a pro team.
by louielounz1 on Feb 8, 2010 6:51 PM EST via mobile reply actions
we still won’t be a dominating force in 5 years unless we do. Look around the league at the elite teams.
1.Chicago- Tanked 3 seasons and got Kane, Towes, and Keith
2. Pittsburgh- Tanked 3 seasons and got Crosby, Malkin, Fleury
3. Washington- Countless years of being subpar and getting Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green.
4.Devils – Somehow never are bad but get really lucky thanks to Lou Lamerello’s brilliance.
Compared the those 4…. We have 2 mid-aging stars in Gaborik and Hank….27 is “prime” but older is NEVER better. We have a solid SUPPORTING cast of rookies but lack the real STAR 18 year old the elites all drafted. Hes right that now isn’t the future and thats because we don’t have that solid 1-2-3 team to build around.
PS- No drafts yield the talent last 7 years have…. We’re looking at a massive dry spell of talent and now prospects have the option of going to the KHL.
The BlueJackets have gotten a top 8 pick for the last how many years now and have only managed to nab Nash. If we can draft smart with players like Del Zotto, Cally, Dubi, Grachev, Lundqvist, Anisimov, we don’t necessarily need a high pick to make an impact, especially with Del Zotto contributing the way he has as a 19 year old Defenseman drafted 20th overall in 08.
Even if we have a retooled scouting staff, Lundmark, Malhotra, Brendl, Montoya, and Jessimen(if you count 12th as high) have done enough to scare me off from the idea of being a bad team for a higher pick.
BINGO
A smart GM and a good scouting staff are what you need to build a cup team. Not a top pick. There are alot of good arguments on both sides of this discusion but unfortunately management will never do what is best for the team. The bottom line is attendance and making the playoffs, period. As long as the team makes money, they’re happy. They don’t care about winning or bragging right’s or city pride. They care about money and nothing else. We could all talk till we’re blue in the face and this will not change.
As for what should be done…Trade anyone who you don’t want to keep for whatever you can get for them. Keep aquiring assets and trimming payroll. Play to win and let the chips fall where they may. With all the unknowns ahead of us there is one thing that is certain, a top 5 pick won’t turn Sather into a good GM.
In the “pre-cap” days – you’re argument made sense – but it doesn’t work the same way now.
See, pre-cap, the Rangers spent TONS of $$$ to put an ‘entertaining’ product on the ice – which usually meant one or two big-name, “flash”, “star power”, name players. The last was some guy named Jagr, I believe…. ;-)
Now, it didn’t work out all that well in the pre-cap days – because to make that bundle of dough dumped into player expenses pay off, you had to go deeper into the playoffs. No matter, MSG was pretty full night after night (sellout after “sellout”).
Now, in the cap days – everybody has a maximum amount you can spend. If you spend it and build your team wisely, you get the incremental benefit of going deeper into the playoffs. Every home game at MSG in the playoffs is a guaranteed SRO sellout. Plus the profits from the in-house concessions….etc. etc. And when you consider the increased merchandise sales – it’s all pure profit. Don’t forget the advertising income from pre-and post-game Rangers shows on MSG – even if the games are carried on some other ‘network’….
So, if what the MSG/Rangers owners really care about is money, it actually behooves them to put a better product on the ice that can win the Stanley Cup. They can’t spend any more than they’re spending now (Salary Cap) – but they can MAKE a whole lot more with a more competitive team.
BlueshirtBanter - beating up reporters at bus stops since 1994
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Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Rangers
|
53 | 35 | 13 | 5 | 75 |
|
Philadelphia
|
55 | 31 | 17 | 7 | 69 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
55 | 31 | 19 | 5 | 67 |
|
New Jersey
|
55 | 31 | 20 | 4 | 66 |
|
New York Islanders
|
54 | 23 | 23 | 8 | 54 |
(updated 2.12.2012 at 8:46 AM EST)
Rangers Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
@
Boston
|
Tue 02/14 | 7:00 PM EST |
|
Chicago
|
Thu 02/16 | 7:00 PM EST |
|
Columbus
|
Sun 02/19 | 8:00 PM EST |
|
@
Pittsburgh
|
Tue 02/21 | 7:00 PM EST |
|
@
New York Islanders
|
Fri 02/24 | 7:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
|
Washington
|
Sun 02/12 | W 3 - 2 |
|
@
Philadelphia
|
Sat 02/11 | W 5 - 2 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
Thu 02/09 | OT - W 4 - 3 |
|
New Jersey
|
Tue 02/07 | L 0 - 1 |
|
Philadelphia
|
Sun 02/05 | W 5 - 2 |
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