Evaluation? The Rangers Are A Good Team
by rmc235 on Jul 30, 2010 3:12 PM EDT
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PrintThere is way too much negativity about this Rangers squad. Too much talk about what they don't have, when there should be talk about what they got - A goaltender that can win any game, a superstar forward, a young exciting defense, and a group of young players that can score and play with effort. But I'm not going to throw stats out there, because stats don't mean anything. Last year is over and done with. So should be all the comparisons to last year's squad.
This year is new. But what does that mean to you? You want a high draft pick? Then don't cheer for this team. You think this team is going to struggle and won't make the playoffs? Then don't watch them play.
Why do you watch them play? Because you think they can win, and above all else, you want to see them win.
If you expect a mediocre team, and a mediocre season, what enjoyment will you get out of watching the team this year?
Let me point out the 05-06 year. The Rangers were predicted to be a bottom tier team, finishing last in the conference, or finishing last in the NHL. And I am so positive you all thought the same thing. What happened? The team you thought would be mediocre finished with 100 points and was a team to reckoned with.
I'd much rather watch and cheer for the team than hope they do poorly for a "pick". Enough with the comparisons to other teams in the league. No more stats about what was. At the beginning of the season, everyone has the same record. Why can't the Rangers finish with 100 points again?
I'm not just an optimist. I'm a realist. It can happen. The Rangers are a good team. They don't need to be lucky to be good.
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word!
I’m tired of all the gloom and doom, “the sky is falling!!”. Lets see what these guys can do before we pass judgement on them.
Nothing says powerplay like strobe lights and video game music.
I honestly believe we found our rhythm too late last season. We felt the pressure to make the playoffs, and we performed well under it. Unfortunately, we had dug ourselves into too big of a hole.
We have a recent history of starting the season well. It’s that damn middle stretch where we start to see injuries and careless play. If we can find a way to keep our momentum throughout the season, we’ll make the playoffs no problem.
We could have been in the Flyers position if we had pushed ourselves a little harder when it counted: the middle stretch.
just because someone expects them to be mediocre doesn't men they are rooting for them to be mediocre
i’m not sure exactly what to expect from this team, but i wouldn’t be shocked if they finished anywhere from 7-10. above or below that would surprise me. it can still be fun to watch them even if you think they will be bad. as a matter of fact, some people like to temper their expectations so that they will be pleasantly surprised if the team exceeds their expectations rather than falling short of high expectations. there are very few if any fans rooting for them to tank it right from the start. however if they play poorly again and need to win say 10 of their last 12 to have a chance at the playoffs, the conversation will start up again.
by Rags to riches? on Jul 30, 2010 4:19 PM EDT reply actions
My expectation every year is playoffs. That should be every player’s expectation, and it should be the fans’ too. The point I was trying to make was that some people won’t get enjoyment from watching them play if they expect a mediocre performance. Rooting for them to play good should translate into expecting them to play good. It’s like going into a game expecting them to win. The team shouldn’t do anything less.
"Jaromir Jagr.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
- Sam Rosen
"Marian Gaborik.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
-Sam Rosen
i understood what you were saying and i countered your argument
“The point I was trying to make was that some people won’t get enjoyment from watching them play if they expect a mediocre performance.”
that is not true. i am just one example of your opinion being wrong on this topic, but even 1 example proves you wrong in this case. you are making a claim that might be true to you, but when projecting it on to everyone else it loses its validity. i know plenty of people who can watch and root for a team, and enjoy the games they are watching even when they expect them to suck. that directly disproves your statement.
by Rags to riches? on Aug 4, 2010 8:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Dude, calm down. I’m not projecting my views upon anyone. I said “some people”. I didn’t say “everyone”, because I can’t say “everyone”. If I did, then you’d be correct, I’d be wrong. However, that is not the case. Sorry.
"Jaromir Jagr.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
- Sam Rosen
"Marian Gaborik.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
-Sam Rosen
you are reading far too much into the comment...
there was no anger in it. i just read it again and i don’t see what would’ve given you that idea. either way, i stand by what i said and continue to think that what you said was a baseless opinion. with that being said it doesn’t bother me that you think that. i was just trying to explain to you that it was wrong so that you could see it from a different perspective in case you were interested.
the problem is with this statement: “If you expect a mediocre team, and a mediocre season, what enjoyment will you get out of watching the team this year?”
my point was that this statement makes as much sense as this statement: If you go to a club expecting to leave empty handed, but instead you go home with a super model, what enjoyment would you get out of being with her?
that may not be what you intended to say, but that is what you said. and as you stated it, it is demonstrably false. you made an illogical assumption that something great cannot be enjoyed unless it is expected, and i was just bringing it to your attention. as i stated before, you can hold that opinion if you’d like, it doesn’t bother me at all. but if you hold that opinion (i assume you don’t, however i don’t understand what else could’ve been your motivation for saying it) than you are wrong.
by Rags to riches? on Aug 9, 2010 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions
100% agree
I am not rooting for them to tank, but I am not getting ready for a ticker tape parade either. I do think that this team will be marginally better than last year. Adding Frolov on a 1 year deal was a good deal,Biron, ditto, Boogar……..not so much. But if you look at the teams that surround us in our own division, the have significantly improved, Pitts, Philly, NJ……Will sign Kovy to a deal I think. We were 1 point from the playoffs last year and 8 points from being the Islanders. I have been a Ranger fan for over 30 years, I have seen good teams, bad teams, mediocre teams. There is a ton of uncertainty surrounding this team today. No 1st line center,(or solid second line center for that matter) no set defense, a few players way overpaid and far unproductive . So while it may be frustrating for some to view mine or anyone else here views being negative, it is equally frustrating to see people setting up for a cup run. Does not mean we are less of a fan, just a more realistic view. And like Rags said above me…….if we are wrong, AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, I think we have a better team now than a year ago where we almost made the playoffs. The changes made so far have been mostly positive.
Brashear (cant fight or score) replaced with Boogard (cant score but at least he fights well and intimidates)
Voros, Kotalik and Higgins gone…
Hopefully Redden will be gone, too and Mcdonagh replaces him
Added Frolov and Emigner
Overall, I think we will be a better team, because of the players we added and the ones we got rid of. I also expect Del Zotto, Gilroy, Anisimov and Dubinsky to improve (should be a reasonable expectation) and that alone will help the team move forward.
I agree as well. No season should make people think that, that was the best the team can do. It is a reasonable expectation. Players develop and change all the time. If you don’t think they’ll do that, then they very well may surprise you.
"Jaromir Jagr.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
- Sam Rosen
"Marian Gaborik.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
-Sam Rosen
I agree, Ive never been one to wish for a horrible season to get a chacne to pick a top prospect who you dont know will succeed, years from now or immediately
Favre 4 Ever
I Believe In Chris Drury
I’m not all doom and gloom, despite any improvements we have made this offseason, the teams around us, that will be competing with us also got alot better. We got better but some of them really got much better. So I’m not sure if we actually kept up with the Jonses.
We’re gonna suprise the league, I think we’re a very different team,addressed some glaring weaknessess (minus star center) its gonna be a fun season to watch.and anyway,how many times have we seen teams adjust the roster,were on paper theyre cup contenders but on the ice confused and lacking direction?
BTW,the jones never mow their lawn and have drinking problems,so its best we not keep up with them ;)
Si Vis Pacum Parabellum
Look at the other teams that we are most likely to compete with for a playoff spot. Atlanta has gotten much better this year. Carolina was one of the hottest teams second half last year. If they continue that into this year they are a playoff team. Tampa looks to be alot better this year. The Isles, well, they’re the Isles so they suck balls, but they will probably improve with the addition of Nino and maturity of Tavares. Florida and Toronto are the only teams who I think haven’t improved much this up coming season.
So as far as the Rangers go, I don’t know if we improved that much. We are basically the same team as last year with the addition of Frolov and hopefully MZA and the subtraction of Kotalik and Higgins. We are still weak down the middle compared to the “elite” teams in the east. Matching Christensen against Crosby, Malkin, Backstrom, Richards, Carter equals failure.
Our only hope of improvement is that the younger guys on this team improve their game from last year. Another year of development for MDZ, AA, Dubi, Cally, Gilroy will hopefully make this team better and compete for the coveted 8th spot.
Lundqvist-Staal-MDZ-McDonagh-Krieder-Stepan-MZA-Cally-Dubi-Gabby-AA-Grachev-Prust
The core of the 2014 Stanley Cup winners!
by 76 Blueshirt on Jul 31, 2010 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Toronto should be better than last year too. They won’t be serious contenders, but they’ll win some games barring injury.
Last season they got a lot of new players. As soon as they start gelling, they’ll be a pretty good team.
"Mes que un club"
"You're a pro or you're a noob. That's life"
by Scratch and Snif on Jul 31, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I pretty much agree with most of your post, except for the very last statement. You said hopefully Gilroy makes this team better. Honestly, he shouldn’t even be on the team. He was terrible last year, he’s like 25 or 26 so doesn’t really have much potential, his talent compared to the rest of the NHL is pretty low, and I don’t think this guy should be on our team. He’s pretty useless, I really think Redden will be sent down and so will Gilroy. McDonagh and Eminger should take their spots, which is exactly what I would like to see.
We lost a lot of close games last year and aside from a couple of disastrous outings, from which we almost always recovered with a strong work ethic, I always remember making other clubs work. I also always remember other teams talking about how tricky we were to play against and how they couldn’t take us for granted. A lot of last years loses were hard nosed games. I like our team. I like our development strategy. Every team in the league has the same issue we do…budget cap. That means, they may look stronger because they picked up a great player or two, but I want to see their depth once the season starts. Burke is taking his time developing Toronto. The way to be successful in this league, as GM’s are starting to realize, is to develop depth not only through picks but through developing the talent that’s in the system. From what I can tell, we’ve got a good staff. That’s one thing I appreciated about Torts’ interview…he talked about development and cohesion. We made great progress with this last year and it took some time. But its waaaay too soon to be so skeptical.
I’m excited about next season. We need to take the long view but I still think we’ll be in the second season come spring.
Speaking for the people who this post attacks...
We’re trying to look at OUR team with an objective eye. Like a lot of the people who think we’ll be a middling team again, I notice a distinct difference between the way we play and the way “top” teams play. By way of example, the last 4 years, I have seen just as many Caps and Hawks games as Rangers games (because of moving from city to city), which is to say 60 or so games each team (counting TV and at the stadium). The main difference between how the Rangers have played in the last 4 years and how I’ve seen those teams play at their worst (the Caps pre-Boudreau and the Hawks pre-2 years ago) has NOTHING to do with talent. It has to do with EFFORT. I have not seen the Rangers put consistent effort into more than a few games in a row since the 2007-08 season under Renney. For all Tortorella’s b.s. he hasn’t put this team right in terms of effort. They don’t compete every night and THAT is why they will continued to be a middling team.
But, I take serious issue with your comment: “You think this team is going to struggle and won’t make the playoffs? Then don’t watch them play.” That’s absolute bullsh*t. We, the fans, are the team. Not a single player who plays for the Rangers today will still be on the ice in 20 years. We, however, will still be rooting for this team. The notion of having blind faith in your team is more suited to children than adult fans. These guys can have all the talent in the world, but I just don’t see them putting the effort into this team in the way that WE, the fans, put effort into this team. And there have been plenty of nights over the course of the past year it felt like we were working harder watching them than they were playing. When they do that, they insult our club (you know, that one that we spend time, effort, and money to support despite the seeming indifference of the management). But why do you think that therefore we shouldn’t watch the team? How does that effect our desire for them to win? Stating something fairly obvious (they didn’t show the effort last year to make up for their talent gap) doesn’t effect the desire to win. It just means we’re not delusional.
Luck is not what this team needs, nor is talent. What they need is effort and consistency.
This post wasn’t attacking anybody DC. So sorry you got offended by it. And Jesus man, you seemed to have just ignored the next few lines after the comment you “have serious issue” for. And the one thing I asked of people is to stop comparing this team to others and last year’s team, because that is where all the negativity starts. Because you compare this team to past years, of course you’ll be steamed.
It seems to me it’s not the “effort” you talked about that really bothers you. From my standpoint, you have “serious issue” with Torts.
When people complain about how their team plays, soon, they stop watching. It happens all the time. How does that effect your desire for them to win? Easily. Maybe it doesn’t affect you, and that is good. I love to watch and cheer no matter what as well. But I wasn’t talking to you, and I wasn’t referring to myself either. You can’t describe every fan as the type of fan you are. It’s those that have no optimism that I just wanted to address. Again, like I said sorry you got offended.
"Jaromir Jagr.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
- Sam Rosen
"Marian Gaborik.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
-Sam Rosen
“Why do you watch them play? Because you think they can win, and above all else, you want to see them win”
Refreshing to see someone point out that which is most important. I have been very skeptical in the Torts era so far, but one thing never changes: the sweater. I have been a Ranger fan before I even knew what it really meant to be one. I always hold optimism and pride in the team, I will have my frustrations during the year no doubt, but my faith will never waiver. Great post.
In Hank we trust.
This post isn’t “attacking” anyone,sounds like a proud fan who stands by their team to me.
Being defensive about bitching and complaining about your team is your own thing,I think its strange getting that fired up justifying your “right” as a fan to do so,the fans that hope for the best sure as hellhave the rights too,more so if you ask me.The overely “hard” and “skeptical” Ranger fan reputation gets old.
Si Vis Pacum Parabellum
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