I have been a Rangers fan for more then twenty six years now. I have seen this team go from a play-off team to one of the worst teams in the league. To turning it around and winning the Cup, to again being one of the worst teams in the NHL , to what we have now.

I witnessed some of the worst signings and trades in the history of the NHL. I have seen coaches take a good team and turn it into garbage and I also watched a great coach take the Rangers to the Stanley Cup and win it!

Some of the best players in hockey have passed through the Rangers organization and either made a difference or straight out flopped!

The one thing the Rangers have had in the past twelve years was a reliable goalie. Some would even argue that they were the best of their era in Hockey. But from the Mike Richter days to the Henrik Lundqvist days, the Rangers continue to have one major issue that continues to haunt them.

I watched Mike Richter from the day he made his debut in the NHL, and in my eyes he was one of the greatest goalies of all time. The saves he made was like no other and the year he had in the 1993/94 season will forever be remembered! But when you look at Mikes record, you might say well it really isn’t that good and you are correct. But in no way was it Richters fault or his lack of ability!

The New York Rangers had one of the best goalies in the NHL and for the most part of his career with the Rangers they also had one of the worst defenses in the league and this plagued them for years and still does! It also proved that it does not matter how good your players are or who they are, with out a good defense a team will not go far! The Rangers missed the payoffs seven years in a row and it was because of there defense!

Jeff Beukeboom was one of the best enforcers/defenders in the league and pair with Brian Leetch they were considered to be one of the great duos of all time. They were the heart of the Rangers defense and ever since the early retirement of Beukeboom the Rangers defense has never been the same.

No matter how great Richter was, how impressive the stops he made were. The Rangers defense were no-where to be found and Richter was practically playing alone. If there was ever a goalie that earned all of his wins it is Mike Richter!

But now the Ranger again have one of the best goalies in the NHL and again the Rangers fight and struggle for a win. They have stacked their lines with some great talent and big names. A trademark for this organization. From superstar Marion Gaborik to the rookie Artem Anisimov this is a team that can score the goals to win a game. But yet they struggle to do just that.

Well how can this be, that one of the best goalies in the league, gives up on average 3 goals a game in the last 10 games. Its simple and its called defense or lack of I should say!

To prove exactly what I mean all you have to do is look at last nights disaster. Last night the Rangers faced off against the Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers veteran defenseman, with over thirteen years in the league skates around his own net with the puck, has his head up and looking around and passes the puck right to a Vancouver player who in turn scores a goal. This is totally ridiculous as there was one Canucks player on the left against the boards and another all the way on the right , both player where close to the blue line and the Rangers where in the middle of a line change. Redden was not rushed nor did he need to make any kind of pass or move, he was in no immediate danger of losing the puck to a Canucks player but yet he passed it right to the guy. Not up the middle, not even a dump pass in an attempt to clear the puck, it was a line drive right to him. Back in the day he would have been accused of blowing a game deliberately! He is a perfect candidate for the loser of the week award!

I have said before several time, Redden will only hurt the team and he did again last night. But yet Tortorella will continue to play him. He will not be benched nor will he be replaced! Hmmm!

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?