So the Rangers finally won one. (WOW)

[Paparanger]

 

The season is like 11 games old for the Rangers and they have managed to win two games. Both against teams that are worse than them. And of course, the color people on MSG made a big deal out of it. What a joke.

 

This team has been mismanaged by the likes of Dave Checketts and most notably, Glen Sather. I suspect the real culprit is Jim Dolan son of the owner of Cablevision and the head of the sports division of MSG. They continued to trade away first round draft picks for other stars. Some at the end of their career and other that had an upside but were mismanaged.

 

The Rangers have many problems that have for many years manifested themselves on the ice. As much as I love the Rangers If I were a pro hockey player, that would be the last team I would want to play for if I were looking for a championship.

 

A couple of weeks ago, before the Pittsburgh game, Dave Maloney was on NHL radio talking about the Rangers woes. He reluctantly admitted that the Rangers are an organization that is more concerned about having big names on the roster to attract stars in the seats than trying to build a team through the draft. Besides, I am not too impressed with the scouting staff anyway. Even when the Rangers did draft in the first round they let a bunch of current NHL stars get away for the likes of Hugh Jessiman, Bobby Sanguinetti , Al Montoya and Dylan Mcillrath .

 

Just like in the movie Field of Dreams when Kevin Costner was told "If you build it, they will come" That is the mindset of the Rangers organization. "If you ice a team they will come." MSG is more concerned about the bottom line than they are about winning a championship & it shows every season .

 

When they fired John Tortorella did they go out and find the best coach for the team? The answer is NO! Instead they went out and found a coach that still had star power. Here is a guy that took Vancouver to the Finals and lost. Then to the conference finals and lost. Then to the first round and (Guess what) Lost. So what does he do, He takes the Rangers to the finals and lost. Then he takes them to the conference finals and lost and he takes them to the first round and ...LOST! 

 

BTW, last years playoffs; the Rangers didn't lose to the Sens, AV did. Every time it gets real, he falls through his ass. And that is a fact!

 

I have been told that the shelf life of an NHL coach is around four to five years. After that the team just tunes him out. I think it's about time the Rangers cut bait & get rid of AV. They finally have a normal thinking GM so maybe it's time to get a new voice in the locker room. One who knows how to coach a professional hockey team!

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

NY definitely has issues up n down the lineup......and the management and/or front office and scouting dept could probably use an overhaul (to what degree I am not sure) as well.

 

Starting with the head coach, I never really felt Alain Vignault was the bench boss for this team.

Basically, when they brought in Alain, the team was signaling the dismantling of everything former coach John Tortorella has built up.....and that is a process that does NOT get done overnight.

 

Torts, ultimately, may not have been the head coach to bring the Rangers a title (it appeared the players tuned HIM out after awhile), but there is no denying the pride, workmanlike attitude, aggressive play, and opportunity for up n coming players that he instilled and provided for the team.

Vignault and Tortorella could not be any more contrasting in coaching styles.....so stands to reason that when Torts went out and Alain was brought in, big, big changes not only in personnel, but in philosophy, needed to be made.

 

In that regard, the Rangers have tried to straddle the line between what they had with Torts and what they hoped to have with Vignault.

Needless to say, that has not worked out too well. Going from one extreme to the other, coachingwise, was going to be a tough act to pull off, and the Rangers did NOT pull it off.

 

Then, you get down to personnel.

Along with the aforementioned dismantling of Tortorella's Rangers, one expects big changes in who is actually on the ice and from the time when Alain took over till now, the Rangers DID let some very good talents exit the locker room, either via trade or free agency.....and never really replaced their value with others of similar ability or value to the team.

 

Talking about guys like Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman, Ryan Callahan, Cam Talbot, and most recently, Antii Raanta and Dan Girardi.

There are probably some more, but those are the ones that come to mind right away.

All those players weren't "superstars", but they were damned good players who provided some area of expertise that NY was negligent in really replacing.

 

A lot of grit and/or size was lost with Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan.

Sure, Marty St. Louis came in for Callahan, but those are two very different players, and Marty, while I always will love him as a player, was at the tail end of his career, and as good as he was, was deficient in areas that players like Boyle and Callahan excelled.

 

Underrated defense with a touch of offense was lost in Anton Stralman and of course, long time Ranger, Dan Girardi's solid lock down defense and nice shot from the point was never replaced either.

 

Goaltending-wise, the team still had Lundqvist, but where was his quality back ups when Cam Talbot left to become a starter in Edmonton and Raanta was swapped out? 

 

The team, as currently constructed, still really shouldn't be as bad as they are now......but they are FAR from an exciting product that can realistically make any kind of championship run.

 

The Rangers SHOULD be able to win some more games, and in fine fashion, this season, if the current players have any pride left in them. Still some good pieces on the team.

But serious attention needs to be paid to who the team keeps moving forward and a long, hard, honest look at the organization, top to bottom, is in order........... and management, scouting, etc, are NOT excluded from this re-evaluation.

 

If the powers that be determine the team really doesn't have deep problems and quick fixes will take care of things, well, then, Ranger fans can expect to see lots of more this streaky type team that will lose a bunch, win a bunch, but ultimately be in no condition to be a real contender for a title anytime soon.

 

[notfondajane]

On 10/27/2017 at 8:12 AM, Paparanger said:

 

The season is like 11 games old for the Rangers and they have managed to win two games. Both against teams that are worse than them. And of course, the color people on MSG made a big deal out of it. What a joke.

 

This team has been mismanaged by the likes of Dave Checketts and most notably, Glen Sather. I suspect the real culprit is Jim Dolan son of the owner of Cablevision and the head of the sports division of MSG. They continued to trade away first round draft picks for other stars. Some at the end of their career and other that had an upside but were mismanaged.

 

The Rangers have many problems that have for many years manifested themselves on the ice. As much as I love the Rangers If I were a pro hockey player, that would be the last team I would want to play for if I were looking for a championship.

 

A couple of weeks ago, before the Pittsburgh game, Dave Maloney was on NHL radio talking about the Rangers woes. He reluctantly admitted that the Rangers are an organization that is more concerned about having big names on the roster to attract stars in the seats than trying to build a team through the draft. Besides, I am not too impressed with the scouting staff anyway. Even when the Rangers did draft in the first round they let a bunch of current NHL stars get away for the likes of Hugh Jessiman, Bobby Sanguinetti , Al Montoya and Dylan Mcillrath .

 

Just like in the movie Field of Dreams when Kevin Costner was told "If you build it, they will come" That is the mindset of the Rangers organization. "If you ice a team they will come." MSG is more concerned about the bottom line than they are about winning a championship & it shows every season .

 

When they fired John Tortorella did they go out and find the best coach for the team? The answer is NO! Instead they went out and found a coach that still had star power. Here is a guy that took Vancouver to the Finals and lost. Then to the conference finals and lost. Then to the first round and (Guess what) Lost. So what does he do, He takes the Rangers to the finals and lost. Then he takes them to the conference finals and lost and he takes them to the first round and ...LOST! 

 

BTW, last years playoffs; the Rangers didn't lose to the Sens, AV did. Every time it gets real, he falls through his ass. And that is a fact!

 

I have been told that the shelf life of an NHL coach is around four to five years. After that the team just tunes him out. I think it's about time the Rangers cut bait & get rid of AV. They finally have a normal thinking GM so maybe it's time to get a new voice in the locker room. One who knows how to coach a professional hockey team!

 

 

This parallels the Pittsburgh Pirates!