Rangers Analysis: Good Ol' 8th Seed

This team will never change. Will never get the top picks in the draft cause this idiot wants to just make the playoffs and if we do we wont be able to compete in them anyway .I rather hit bottom then 8th seed cause if we do make the plaoffs we will only get embarrassed . That is why this team will never get top pick in the drafts.becuse they settle for a medicore team.and dont kid yourself in thinking they can do what philly did even with hank in net cause the couldent

Nice read but i think its a bit too much doom and gloom.

Frolov is a nice addition. There’s no reason you cannot win and build at the same time (SJ, Detroit etc). While it is undoubtedly a variable you have not accounted for possible development in any of the current younger roster players. Whose to say Callahan, Dubinsky, Girardi, Gilroy, Prust etc don’t make strides? Even if just some of them do then it’s still progression. Then there are areas of improvement such as goaltending. The whole situation there is much more stable there than it was allowing for success.

Then there is roster turnover. Frolov’s addition is fine. He has motivation to earn a new deal and if he does then it is Prospal that goes in 12 months to be replaced by prospect X. The Rangers do have some flexibility going forward. Roszival, Christensen, Drury all have 2 years to run, some players have less. Most likely Kreider (for example) wont be an NHL (impact) player until 2 years down the road and so when he is ready the turnover continues….

So long as its done the right way, you can build and win together. This team has some very nice core pieces in place, some more potentially on the way. There is prospect depth to continue the turnover. It might not work but it also might.

I means its the Rangers and what they’ve done this offseason and the recent past, really can’t expect more then the 8th. While I’d be optimistic about Frolov bringing a lot to the team, the reality is it seems that players like him come to NY only to see their production drop, for whatever reason.

I hope not tho. I do think there’s potential to be better then the 8th seed, but that’s just me. Some nice young talent like Cally, Dubi, AA, Staal (hopefully) and MDZ. Why can’t they improve?

The Rangers only have 2 stars I guess, bunch of role players and who’s gonna bring the secondary scoring? How much is enough secondary scoring? Couldn’t Frolov open up the ice, if he plays up his potential, for others?

I appreciate their will always be pessimism while certain decision makers are in charge but the gras isnt always greener. There is considerable talent in this organisation to address all 3 layers that Nick makes mention of; Stars, secondary, role players.

I personally feel the Rangers are 1 solid piece – and some progression from within their own ranks – away from being a solid team in this conference. Im not saying map out the parade route by any stretch but they can be a 5th seed team while the kids grow, with one astute move. It doesnt have to be a big one either. Depth can trump top heavy teams.

My point is that there may be alot of variables in play to progress as i suggest but its just as possible as is mediocrity which is being discussed here.

…stay the course. I agree you can be competitive while re-tooling.

Oh, and sign me up for the 8th seed now. I’ll take some playoff hockey while the kids develop.

BTW – what seed did last year’s conference champion come out of??? Oh yeah 7th – and that team made the playoffs on the last day? in a shootout? against who again? Ahh memories……

While Sather has compounded the problem until lately, the Rangers drafting record from the mid-90s to the mid-00s, is rather unremarkable. Many of the top picks were wasted and when they did draft quality players, they were traded (Savard, Zidlicky). You can’t simply flip a switch and be good after so many years of drafting poorly. Gordie Clark has turned it around and the Rangers have been better since 2004 (although Montoya and Korpi in the 1st were bad). We are just starting to see the benefits with Staal, AA, Dubi,Cally, DZ and the group in Hartford this year. They are on the right path, but it takes time. So can we please stopping pushing for idiotic Richards, Spezza, [insert name here] trades that give up some of our best young players.

That is about the absolute highest possible point the Rangers will likely reach this season.

I’ll take that bet, sounds like I could get excellent odds. I’m all for pessimism, but this is hockey, and placing such a high degree of certainty on predicted standings is foolish. Where was Ottawa supposed to finish last year. Yea, maybe we are in for another long season, or maybe the Rangers surprise us, as a number of teams do each year.

I disagree with you. I’m currently writing a three part series as to how the Rangers will contend for home ice advantage!

Seriously it will be going up soon

I agree that that the make-up of a team needs to be something along the lines of your “pyramid.” This is required by the salary cap. But I think its also true that the there is not much difference between teams 3-10 in the East. [Also, given the performance in the playoffs, there’s something wrong in Washington beyond the excess of feminine hygyne products although I’m not smart enough to figure it out.] This means that if a couple of the middle-tier players have “career years”, the Rangers could finish better than 8.

If you don’t beleive that there is a chance that Dubinsky, Callihan, Del Zotto and Anisimov will improve after a few year(s) of experience, then I don’t know why you would have faith in the recent draft picks.

Nick,

“Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky are seconday scorers but can be streaky.” Every single secondary scorer in the NHL is streaky. That’s what happens when you score less than 30 goals. People look at scoring patterns and try to find streaks where they bunch together.

If you’re speaking only of the coming season. You’ve also left out Prospal as a secondary scorer. Last season, he was the Rangers best forward not named Marian.

And finally, you’re forgetting the parity that exists in the Eastern Conference. As bad as the Rangers were last year, they were only 4 points out of 6th place in the conference and 7 points away from 5th place. Surely the Devils and Flyers have improved, but there’s no reason to believe the entire conference has taken off without the Blueshirts quite yet. Barring something drastic, the Rangers should be mired right where they were last season: anywhere from 5th to 13th in the East.

Speaking of secondary players, Blake Wheeler has signed his one year deal.
Not sure that takes him off the market though.

Good article. Nice quote from Tom Robbins, too. He’s great.

Just to remind Nick and everyone else: the Eastern Conference final featured the Canadiens and Flyers….all the top seeds in the East were out after round 2. So to say that 8th place is meaningless is not accurate at all. Getting to the playoff tourney is all a team needs to do in this day and age to have a shot at the Cup.

Add in the fact that the Rangers have Lundqvist in nets, and this team can win more than one round in the East to be sure. The Devils are a joke in the postseason over the last few years, Fleury appears to have lost his game in Pittsburgh, the Caps have no defense and a crappy goaltending situation. There’s no reason to be this negative about the Rangers, and it’s laughable to suggest that the Ranger fanbase would put up with 3-4 awful seasons to stockpile draft picks….and draft picks are never a guarantee either. For every Sid Crysby there’s at least one flop the level of Alexandre Daigle….

i really dont agree with much of this.

were rebuilding, no doubt. stepan grachev kreider werek byers mcilrath johnson are all coming up.

mcd and mza are coming up this year.

mdz ansimov and gilroy came up last year.

staal girardi dubi and cally are still all young..

what else do you want? we were only 7 points away from 5th place last and what have we done this offseason?

replaced redden and erickson with mcd and eminger
replaced lisin with mza
replaced jokinen with frolov
replaced auld/vally with biron
replaced shelley with boogey

the team is no doubt better, and dont forget that staal girardi mza gilroy aa dubi and cally are still getting better.

this team could EASILY get a 5th-6th seed, and what i love is in the next 2 seasons we have like 5 players each year coming off, and there willl be plenty of spots open for youth.

The start and finish of last season were fantastic. They were something like 9-1 to start, and finished with a similar stretch as well. Pretty much the same team is coming back for this season, except swap out Kotalik or Jokenin for Frolov. That’s an upgrade. And add in a player who will actually defend the star players instead of just standing there. Added that too. Why so down on the future? Sure, they’re not winning the division. But the team that came within a game of making the playoffs last year just got a little bit better. And if they mesh like they did at the start and finish of last year, and avoid the mid-year mega-slump, they’ll be just fine.

This team is far better than last years team, Far better. This team has basically been together last year and had a full season under Torts and with each other. The moves we made have gotten us better. Increased chemistry plus knowing what to expect will prove to be a deciding factor in how well this team performs. I think were in for a surprise season this year.

This team is no doubt better than last year. Hank automatically puts us between the 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 seeds. Frolov is going to spark an already good powerplay. His size helps us in front. Staal & Girardi should atleast produce last years numbers. Del zottos defense will be better. Gilroy hopefully will get used to playing a full season. Cally and Dubi should show us what there reallly made of this year in terms of scoring 20-25goals is ok by me. drury and avery who knows? and anisimov will get better.

of negative and positve predictions. I’m going with the postive,our young guys will only get better,MDZ?,,you just know he’s gonna kick ass,AA too.Frolov will be motivated (contract) and prolly have more fun in NYC.Plus we’ve gotten rid of some dead weight,or IMO dead weight,higgins,jokinen hopefully redden(beleive it when i see it) and boyle.
I think its fun to speculate,but theres no way anyone knows how this season’s gonna turn out. I heard some guys saying we’re the same team just some different names,I disagree, i think this years team will be alot different,bigger.tougher,younger and more motivated,alot of what we were missing last year.
Then again thats just my opinion,and in my opinion,my opinion is always right.