WHOSE TO BLAME FOR TUNING THIS RANGER'S TEAM UPSIDE DOWN?

I have read a great article written by Frank Castaldi. “There’s always an excuse when you need one” here on bleacher. This article is based on a subject that I love to talk about. Who is really to blame for the Rangers upside down playing as of late or for the last few years? Frank managed to keep his article short and was able to get the points across. Where I tend to write very long articles and get into specifics. Franks’ article gave me the motivation to write this article that I have been postponing for a while now. I will try to keep this as short as I can, but unlike most of the talented writers on bleacher I am missing those writing skills that they poses but I will do my best! Hope you enjoy and please leave you thoughts on the subject or anything you wish to say!

WE CAN BLAME HIM FOR THE RANGERS DISASTER FOR THE LAST DECADE!

Inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1997. Glen Sather has a very impressive history before becoming General Manager of the New York Rangers.

He was appointed total control of the Edmonton Oilers during his time there in 1979-1990. From becoming the President , General Manager and being Head Coach of the Oilers, Sather built a dynasty and in SEVEN YEARS WON THE CUP FIVE TIMES from 1984- 1990.

Weather it was his scouts or Sather him self, either way Sather is responsible for signing some of the greatest players to have ever lace up a pair of skates. From Mark Messier, Glen Andersen, Grant Fuhr, one of the greatest defenders of all time Paul Coffey and the greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky.

Sather has had total control over the Rangers organization since 2000. He is the President and GM of the Rangers organization. However, since coming to New York, his strategy in building another dynasty has changed. in Edmonton he signed youthful draft picks that for the most part became great players. Where as in New York he turned to washed up, injury prone player from the free agency list. Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure, resigning Mark Messier , Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitis just to name a few. All who have come up short to coming close to achieving what was expected of them.

Sather also spent massive amounts of money on these players and he did not stop there. Sather signs Jaromir Jagr , who score 50 goals and was a great pick up. But Jagr’s heart was not into it come his second year and his performance dropped dramatically.

Sather spends Millions more signing Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to multi-year deals, Locking in the salary cap as he has done every year prior. Jagr walks and Sather signs washed up Wade Redden and again, a costly move for the Rangers, as Redden is not as good as his numbers makes him out to be.

Mistakes and poor decisions for almost a decade, that seems to have not been learned from. How many times will you get burned by sticking your hand in the fire before you realize not to do it again?

Was this off season any different? I would like to believe that something or someone whispered into Sathers’ ear this year, because he did a good job I believe this off season. Freed up some cap by trading Scott Gomez and signing guys that are in their prime. As well as picking up quality draft picks{the future}.

Sather made three very bad mistakes I believe though. He traded Scott Gomez instead of Chris Drury, but i do understand the reasoning behind it. He signed Ales Kotalik hoping the two players would find that chemistry they had in Buffalo. That failed but it was worth a try.

His second mistake was letting Nikolai Zherdev walk! His best player he had last year and one of the most explosive players in the league and he let him walk.

His third mistake was that there was many very good players Sather should have went after in the free agency this year. Phil Kessel, Danny Heately, David Krejci to name a few. Players that were most definitely needed were not pursued. For the last few years the Rangers have had small teams in terms of size. Defense has not been a physical presence on the ice since Jeff Beukeboom and that was nine years ago!

So is Sather to blame this year? Yes and no! His mistakes that he made prior to this year, the terrible contracts he has handed out, the release of certain players have now caught up with him and this Rangers team and there is probably nothing he can do about it. Except start buying out contracts, which he should start doing. However, he has brought in tons of talented players who are not getting the job done and in that category Sather is not to blame.

Sather also needs to start watching the Games and maybe interfere with John Tortorella’s choices on who he plays and does not play. As president/GM he can do that and he should.

CAN HE BE TO BLAME FOR THIS YEARS DISASTER?

Last year the New York Rangers team was filled with talent and their down fall was that they had a coach that did not know how to use that talent .

If you paid attention last year, Tom Renney was also clueless on who should be playing on what lines. He also was moving players all over and his most talented player was playing 3rd and 4th line.

Finally when he was able to get his act together he had formed 4 pretty good solid lines and the Rangers were winning. But all was not ok. As soon as the Rangers lost one game Renney broke up the first three lines and they started losing again. Instead of going with what worked, it took him two weeks to finally settle with Callahan on the first line.

Going even further back Tom Renney almost ruined the career of Petr Prucha. He was a rookie who scored 30 goals in 68 games, the following year he scores 22 goals . Come the third year Renney has him playing on the third line and by the forth year he isn’t even playing and is traded away. All do to favoritism!

The true leaders of this team at that time was Brendon Shanahan and Jagr with Renney as their assistant. When the Rangers fail to convince Jagr to stay , they let Shanahan go and they named Chris Drury as Captain. The Beginning of the end for this year was right in those few moves.

If Scotty Gomez is named Captian, which after all he was more of a captain then Drury was. Who gets traded Gomez or Drury? Probably Drury!

If Shanny is resigned, he would have been captain and he would have shown leader ship beyond anyone before him. The things he could have done with Zherdev would have turned that whole team around. Every team needs a good leader. A true leader! That was Shanahan.

Tom Renney destroyed this team last year because he simply did not know what to do with his most talented players. He had so much talented he was confused on what to do. there is no other explanation for any of the things he did.

Prucha in his last year not even playing, Zherdev their best player playing forth line. Naming Drury as captain and never once breaking up Gomez and Naslund who were not scoring any goals until Nikolai Zherdev was placed on the first line. Freddy Sjostrom never saw second and first line time and he had speed , accuracy, played very physical and for the most part was a complete package. Rozsival was booed for a week straight and instead of benching him, Renney gives him more ice time. Terrible coaching, plain and simple!

If Zherdev stays on the first line you add at least ten goals and ten plus assists to his points for the season. Easily! Now does Sather let Zee walk. Absolutely not! Right there is the Rangers answer to their scoring problem this year.

If Zee is playing on the lines he should have been playing on, does the Rangers go even further into the playoffs last year. The best player hardly seen any ice time in the play-offs because of Tortorellas’ personal preferences and His hard nose coaching style. Zherdev is allowed to walk.

TOUGH TALK AND TONS OF PROMISES, EQUALS LOSING SEASON WHEN YOU DO NOT STICK BY YOUR WORDS!

yes i talk tough and i mean what i say and say what i mean. i said " I will bench anyone who does not carry his own wieght on that ice. anyone who does not play 150% will not play" Am i the only person who heard these words come out of this mans mouth?

Here is another favorite. “this team is soft thinkers and soft physically. They were all dying in the 3rd period and they are not a physical team. We will work on conditioning in the off season and that will not be a problem this up coming season”. “we will also be working on the fore checking as well as back checking”.

Or how about this one. We will work on Brian Boyles physical play, either he will adjust or he will not play. A player his size needs to play physical and be a factor on the ice”.

So has anything coach Tortorella said come true? These are all coaching issues. If your team is dying in the third period, which this Ranger team seems to be doing, than coach Tort needs to change up his practice regiment to a more conditioning practice. If you say a player will not play for any reason, then you must stick by your words.

Does anyone have any idea who is on any of the four lines, or who will even be playing in the next game ?Even better question. Someone please ask John Tortorella if he even knows who will be playing next game.

This coach is clueless and I for one am shocked. I was so happy when John Tortorella was named head coach of the New York Rangers. You always think the grass is greener on the other side but this is not the case in this situation!

Here we are more then 1/3 of the way into this season and we have a coach that does not have a clue on who should be playing where. Does this sound familiar.

Every game there is a completely different set of lines and once the game starts all of those lines are dismantled after their first shift. By the time the game has come to an end, the only two players who actually started the game on the same line that actually ended the game on the same line is Gaborik and Prospal.

Has this worked for them yet? Has anyone in this Rangers organization ever heard of chemistry and if they have do they even know what it means?

Why is this such a major problem for Tortorella to figure out? Who has been your best three players? You can start from their and work your way down. Only Basic arithmetic is needed to solve this problem. These are coaching issues not player issues. This strategy of his has not proven anything, it has accomplished nothing and now the Rangers 29 games into the season are no better then they were last year.

In fact they are even worse off now do to the fact that they have absolutely no chemistry what so ever, no one knows who they will be lined up with in the next game or if they themselves will even be playing in the next game. Does all this sound crazy or what?

How many games will it take for Tortorella to see that what ever it is that he has been trying to do here is not working before he will try something else. Maybe when the season comes to an end he will admit it. But then who will even care then what he says? Better yet who will believe anything this clown says?

In the Detroit game Marion Gaborik did not have one shot on goal. Yet in a matter of 5 seconds, Enver Lisin managed to shot the puck three times and all three times he was on target. It took great goaltending to stop Lisin but yet Gabby played 20 plus minutes and Lisin played 3:15 for the whole game. Just more coaching issues. Having your most talented players riding the bench for what ever BS story he wants to give when you are losing like they are is totally ridiculous and plain stupid.

When you watch this team playing it is like watching a chaotic stampede. They were penalized for to many men on the ice more then once. It is obvious the coach nor the players have a clue what the hell is going on here. It is insane how Sather is sitting back and just watching this team be run into the ground by this clown who calls himself a head coach.

What he needs to do is set the lines and go wait in the dressing room and let the payers play. Then we will see who actually needs to go and who doesn’t.

This is a result of being a stubborn person. He came in with a game plan and I truly believe that everything he said is exactly what is needed to be done with this team. Maybe it is his approach or his personality. Something is wrong here that this team can not come together as a team. Not leaving the lines together for a few games to at least what works and what does not work is only the beginning of it.

He is also clueless when it comes to defense and hey I will agree with him to an extent that the best defense is a great offence. But defense is needed and he is coaching the worst defense in the league as of right now. At least he is at a point where he acknowledge that their defense has become a problem. Now the question is what is he going to do about it?

HE IS THE ANSWER TO THE RANGERS OFFENSIVE PROBLEMS!

During the 2008/09 season the NY Rangers road the coattails of Nikolai Zherdev! This was done with Zee playing on every line from the 1st to the 4th line. By far he was the best player the Rangers had and he was stuck working with a coach that did not have a clue on what to do with him.

It is no secret that I am a huge ZEE fan. But I would also be the first guy to jump on him if he did something wrong.

If you look at all the little things that has happen last year. You would understand how I can say that he was shafted by Renney and the Rangers GM.

For starters he was placed on the third line to start the season playing with Voros and Dubinsky. This line should have never been put together in the first place due to the conflict in playing styles of Dubs and ZEE. THEY BOTH NEED TO CONTROL THE PUCK. What this does is take away from the offense by eliminating a players strong points. Never mind Dubs is no where near the level that Zherdev is in terms of puck control.

However Zherdev made the best of it and was the cause of one of the biggest flukes in hockey. Voros scores 6 goals in 6 games off of passes from Zee or shots taken from Zee and Dubs. But that hot streak soon ended and that line was dismantled.

While this was going on Gomez and Naslund struggled on the first line to find the net. This went on for the first month of the season. Zherdev is being moved around from on every line except the first line. Scoring and winning the games for the Rangers.

The Rangers lose a few games and Renney finally wakes up and places Zee on the first line. Gomez and Naslund feed off of Zee’s energy and start scoring goals. All three forwards are scoring and again the Rangers are winning.

Then disaster strikes. They lose one game and Renney breaks up the line never to be seen again. In takes 2 more weeks before Renney settles on Callahan to play on the first line were he shines.

But Renney has Zee playing with a bunch of nobodies who can not find the net regardless of where Zee places the puck for them. Zee scores 2 goals and an assist and in the third period Renney benches him for the entire period for no dam reason. He did this several times.

The whole Ranger team was lazy with the exceptions of Cally and Dubs and Zee. But only Zee gets singled out wrongfully!

In every game last year Rozsival has made terrible mistakes and was literally booed for more then a week by the fans. Is Rosy ever benched? No he is not, he is rewarded more ice time and nothing in his play improves. But again Zee gets benched in a game where he had 2 assists and a goal. So for all those who complained about Zee, what you are saying is that last year everyone played great hockey and their was no other player that should have been benched? It’s the little things you need to look at.

Chris Drury went 11 games with out registering a point and he is never benched. Instead he is rewarded more ice time. While Zherdev who is still scoring is getting less and less ice time.

Fans say well where was he in the second half of the season. Well where was he? If you need to ask then you should not be commenting saying it is his fault because if you are asking then you are clueless. He was riding the bench playing 3rd and 4th line minutes. The Ranges best player playing less ice time then Blair Betts and the Rangers are losing every game. And just for the record, Zherdev scored 11 points in the last 18 games. More then any other Ranger. But people say where was he. Eleven points in 18 games is not great but it is far from invisible and taken into consideration on who he was lined up with. You would think he would be praised.

Renney is finally fired and Tortorella comes in expecting immediate changes. Zherdev again never sees the first line where he belongs and he is not even placed on the second line. Come the play-offs again he plays very little ice time and everyone is calling for his head when in fact when he was on the ice he made things happen. The only player that was scoring was Ryan Callahan but yet, noone called for Drury’s head on a platter or Gomez, Naslunds, Dubs, or Reddens. If there was ever an escape goat it was Zee.

Look at the little things that becomes major factors in a players stats and season. After all the mishaps by Renney Zee still ends the year with 23 goals and 35 assists. How many does he score if he place 1st and 2nd line minutes. I say at least ten more goals and at least 15 assist. Now you are looking at 33 goals and 50 assists. Is he worth the 3.1 million he asked for. Which is only $600.000 more then what he was making the previous year. Of course he is worth it. Would he be allowed to walk away. Hells no!

AFTER Zherdev wins an arbitration hearing and is awarded 3.9 million, Sather looks to sign him for the 3.1 million Zee asked for originally. Zee says no!

This is what happens when you pay bums like Redden 6 million a year, bums like Drury 7 MILLION A YEAR. You get a young, very good player who knows he is better then any of them and he wants to get paid as well now. Cally, Dubs, Zee! Sather built his own monster when it comes to players salary!

As of right now there is no news on Nikolai Zherdev. According to NHL.com he is still a free agent and he did not go sign with the KHL league. If this is true, Zherdev is the answer to the Rangers scoring problems.

Zherdev is the type of player that you need to leave alone and let him play his game. Do not knit pick on the small things and definitely do not hold him back or bench him for no reason. If left alone he scores and plays awesome. He has the talent of a Gabby with his accuracy, speed and quick shot. He is one of the best passes in the league and he would make a huge difference for this RANGERS TEAM. Just think of Zee and Gabby on the same line with prospal! Pretty awesome!

WHAT HAPPEN TO CALLY

Last year he scored 22 goals with 18 assists. This year he can not hit the goalie with the puck from 2 feet away. He has missed the net completely more than any other Ranger player this year. This is a player issue as well as a coaching issue. This is why you have practices. To work on accuracy!

I wonder if Tortorella has even watched a tape of last years games to see what worked and what didn’t.

Last year Cally played in the slot, up close and personal with the goalie. Now he is controlling the puck more and he is very seldom in front. This is not his game. He should not be behind the net controlling the puck. Last year lined up with Gomez and Naslund, it was their jobs to control the puck and move the puck on the outside. They found Cally in the slot where he knocked in 22 goals. This is Cally’s problem this year.

Weather it is the coaches strategy or just Cally trying to do more then he should. It is not working. Cally needs to plant his butt in front of the goalie and never leaving the slot area. This is where he is most affective. Why Tortorella does not know this is a mystery. This is part of his job to know this stuff.

Watch Sidney Crosby play. He has his own style of play. For the most part he will bring the puck into the offensive zone and pass it off. He lets his teammates control the puck while he moves around finding the open spots. That is where he is dangerous. One timers, rebounds, finding that open space in the slot. Not controlling the puck. If he is controlling the puck he is looking to pass it to Malkin or another player around the net.

Ovechkin loves to do it all. He is dangerous weather he controls the puck or weather he is moving around looking for that open spaces. He even hangs up high at the point.

All different players with different styles of play that works for them. This is no different with Cally. His game is in the slot and this is not where he has been. This is both a players issue and coaching issue.

ANISIMOV IS A PLAY MAKER!

Artem belongs on the first line. His speed, awareness and his gift to score goals , he is clearly one of the better players on this team. He sees around 11 minutes a game. But you need to look at the small things again. Who is he playing with.

The Avery, Lisin, and Anisimov line looked very good. Why would you change it up. Yet Tortorella did just that. So if that is the case, than Artem should be centering the first line.

I have not seen a flaw in this kids game yet. He plays physical, he uses his speed very well, he is creative and makes things happen when he is on the ice. He has 13 point in 29 games. Not great but not terrible either. Remember he is a rookie. Goals will definitely come for him.

Tort uses him on the pk but he does not see to much pp time. Why is that? He is explosive with everything he does. That is what you want and need. But yet Tort does not see this.

This is where chemistry comes in to play. Put him the first line and leave it alone. Give it at least 5 games and see what happens. Let the players build the chemistry they need in order to win games. He is better then Dubs and Drury. He is equal to Lisin but as a center, Prospal can play his natural position at left wing.

Tortorella has Artem playing with Boyle as a winger. So now you are placing a rookie where he should not be. Does this make sense?

From there you get an idea on setting your lines for the year. One less line you need to worry about as well. This is good coaching. Will we see it , I doubt it.

Kotalik needs chemistry to be a factor!

He is an average 20-25 goals score a year player. Brought in to help for two reasons. First reason was to give Chris Drury a playmate. The two players were teammates in Buffalo and they had great chemistry together. So Sather signs him in hopes to improve Drury’s play. That line was together for 2 games and then Tortorella breaks the line up. There went half the reasons for signing him.

The other reason was to help out on the point on the power play. I guess you can say he has been a difference but not that much of a difference. He only has 6 goals with 12 assists. Is this the case of line mates or just a player that can not get the job done.

As of late this team has struggle on the pp. why is that? Pay close attention and you will get your answer!

What has happen lately that changed the power play? Chris Drury happened. Kotalik was playing point with Gabby and Prospal on the pp. now it is Drury. Instead of having both Gabby and Kotalik to worry about on the pp, now teams only have to worry about Gabby. As of late teams have shut him down on the pp.

There is not a team in the league that is worried about Drury at the point. I don’t think he can even shoot the puck that far! So now teams double team Gabby even on the pp. place Kotalik back on the Gabby line for the pp and they will score goals.

What about 5 on 5. Where is Kotalik? What is the problem that he is invisible at full strength hockey. Playing with Drury doesn’t help and Tortorella has not even allowed any of them to stay on one line together to find out who he will be effective with. Ales was not a bum in Buffalo and he is not a bum now. This is couching error and Kotalik needs a home. What line that will be, we may never know. But he is a player that plays better once he forms that chemistry.

Higgins, A bum or just a player with no luck?

Mixed feeling on Higgins!

Last year he scores 12 goals and 11 assists in 57 games in Montreal. The year prior to that he totaled 27 goals and 25 assists in Montreal. Another average 20-25 goal a year player. It took coming to NY to turn this guy into a bum .

Higgins has hit the post more then any player in the league. Inches from scoring a goal at least 20 times. In Montreal he was someone teams had to keep an eye out for. Now he is just a player on the ice that they let skate right by them.

He has a very accurate shot. Almost every time he shoots the puck he either hit’s the post or the goalie. This is a matter of a guy that has no luck. What more can he really do. He plays hard he shoots the puck instead of looking to constantly pass it. This is what we have been asking for. A player that shoots the puck.

Of course we want goals with those shots, but this has not been the case with Higgins. It really has not mattered what line you put him on, he plays the same and always finds a way to get pucks on net. Can we complain about his play I don’t think so. He creates his own chances for the most part and its just a matter of that puck finding a way into the back of the net.

Is he a bum or just a player that has no luck?

GETTING A RAW DEAL!

Enver Lisin has been a player that has made a difference for this team. His speed has been something the Rangers have not been able to take advantage of and as of late he has been invisible.

This has nothing to do with Lisins playing ability. This is a matter of the Rangers head coach being either to stubborn or just to stupid. There is absolutely no reason for Lisin not to be playing. In a game where speed was a factor, the Detroit Red Wings skated over the Rangers using their speed. Enver Lisin played a total of 3:14 of that game.

He played very well while on the ice, he placed 3 shots on goal in a matter of 5 second. Created chances , collected his own rebounds and added excitement to the game.

He had problems with his defensive play early on in the season but has come a very long way in turning that problem around. His defensive play has improved to the point where he has been used on the pk and has been effective. You do not bench a player who learns so quickly and has played his heart out every game. You reward him. That is the player that has earned it. Not players like Rozsival who makes game costly mistakes over and over and who is now playing more minutes than almost everyone else on the team.

Tortorella has preached how ice time is a privilege but yet all his actions show just how much his is full of it.

No matter what line Lisin has played on, he has created scoring chances or has been involved ina goal scored. What could he have possibly done wrong that he deserved to be out of the line up for three games?

This is not a kids sport. This is about winning games. Winning the Stanley Cup and John Tortorella needs to wake the hell up.

Lisin is one of the better players on this team and he will only get better. Lisins problem is all coaching issues. He is not to blame.

THIS GUY IS A TOTAL BUM

For the last two seasons, Michal Rozsival has proven just how much of a bum he really is. For some ungodly reason, coach Tom Renney and coach John Tortorella has yet to be able to see this.

Rozsival has been the reason the Ranger lost at least 6 games this season so far. Weather it was a goal scored by the opposing team caused by a Rosy turn over , and terrible penalty or Rosy being out of position defensively that resulted in a goal being scored against the Rangers. This guy needs to go!

Again, like last year, he is rewarded with more ice time. He played 22 plus minutes in the Rangers last game against the Red Wings and again he took a terrible penalty with 54 second left in the game which may have cost them the game.

With ten years in the league, he is tied with Wade Redden for making the most costly mistakes this season. He has a contract that no team would want and he is a defender that no team will even consider taking on their team. THE RANGERS ARE STUCK WITH HIM! Unless Glen Sather wakes up and starts buying out contracts.

The Ranger can also place him on waivers to send him down. Why is this not being done is amazing. He is not good defensively and his offense has been nil for two years now. If he clears waiver we can either look for a defender in Hartford or look to sign a big defender. If he does not clear waivers then he will not be our problem any more. It is a no lose situation for the Rangers.

I Rather see a rookie get his chance then see Rosy continue to cost them games and getting paid for it. The circus is in town every time he is on the ice and to here Tortorella say he played a good game, lets us all know who the head clown is. Unfortunately it is not an entertaining show.

He is not a physical defender, he does not make good defensive plays, he destroys power plays and his puck controlling ability is probably the worst in the league now that Marik Malik is gone.

So can anyone tell me what Tortorella is thinking playing this bum on the power play and or the reason he is still on the roster?

He is the number one reason why this Ranger team will not be in the play offs this year. Definitely a player issue as well as a coaching issue for continuing to play him . He is a BUM!

A WAIST!

If you are 6’6 250lbs and you are not a goal scorer and you are not a physical player then what are you? You’re a waist and Brian Boyle is his own worst enemy!

John Tortorella has said he will work on Boyles toughness and physical play and this has not happen. He does not block shots, he does not check, and he is not a threat in the offensive zone!

If Boyle can not change his play then really he can be traded for someone that will be a PHYSCIAL presence on the ice. This is a major problem that the Rangers are missing. Weather it is defense that they desperately need or another center that they desperately need as well.

He does have talent, he has great size to be a huge factor when it comes to checking and physical play. But where is it. When you know what the problems are with your team, you as an individual need to step up and be a difference. In Boyles case he can be both. A threat in scoring and a physical presence at the same time. He needs to step up or be gone!

the circus is in town!

John Tortorella is running this show. It is his job to find the lines that work and find a solution to the problems the Rangers are facing.

He has said a whole lot, but has yet to come through on anything he has preached. He is all talk and he is not a man that sticks to his words.

He has not impressed anyone nor has he fooled anyone with his style of play, his mix matching the lines every other shift has done nothing but cost this team games.

As a coach it is his job to build chemistry and confidence in your team. He has done neither. This team has absolutely no chemistry and there is no way that they can be agreeing with anything Tortorella is doing. They might not admit it when interviewed but you can see it in their faces. The problem goes deeper then just players talent, ability, offense and defense. There is no way this team has any confidence in their coaches and there is major coaching issues here that has been the reason for this teams down fall.

He continues to play players that need to just be removed from this team and has not done anything to improve the defenses problems. They brought up a young player and he hardly seen the ice.

He is totally at fault for this teams failures. Conditioning is again a factor, chemistry as said is a factor, he is not playing the players that can put the puck in the net and you are losing constantly.

Chris Drury was knocked out , Lungqvist has been plowed over at least 4 times and not one player did any thing about it. missing Colton ORR right about now!

The only players that have been physical is Ryan Callahan and Sean Avery. Two players out of twelve will not cut it.

Their star goalie has given up 4 goals on average a game, and although he has not been playing great, the reasons are mostly defense.

He has interfered with the lines way to much and being this late into the season everything is still up in the air. He has 6 players that are 20 plus goal scorers and here they are not coming close to what they are capable of doing. Come up with your own reasoning on why that is. But I believe it is because Tortorella has refused to stay out of the way and he is doing way to much in terms of building chemistry with this team.

He has allowed Rozsival to cost them countless games and has rewarded him by playing him more then any other defenseman. there is something wrong with this picture and it is all Tortorella’s doing. He is a clown and quite frankly I would not be disappointed to see him go.

He is the reason this team has become a joke and the reason they will have a losing season!