It took me a few days to think and reflect on all the movement that's occurred in Manhattan in the past week.
Some things made sense, and others did not. However, what can't be denied is this—there is a lot of change, a lot of questions, and a lot to forward to.
I've read articles by people who were upset about the departures of Jaromir Jagr, Sean Avery, Marty Straka, and, in all likelihood, Brendan Shanahan.
I'm torn. I personally was done with Jagr and Straka. They both helped the Rangers change their culture. Were they a product of the NHL rule changes, or was it just their undeniable skill? I want to think the first.
However, things would have been different without them, for sure—and that credit cannot be denied.
Like most things, though, their time with the team was up, and Jagr was coming off his worst season as a pro. Time to move on. I feel similar about Shanny—he wasn't around as long, but I'm sure player development wouldn't have been what it was without his leadership abilities. He spent a solid two years on Broadway.
Like Jagr, however, when output dries up, so does your value. Sorry Brendan, but it's over.
Sean Avery, however, I would have liked to keep. When he was there, players gushed over having him in the locker room, with Henrik calling him the funniest of all teammates.
All of a sudden, upon his departure, there are rumblings of his conflicts with people like Chris Drury. If it's true and he's having problems with our soon to be named captain, then he had to go. However, if it's overblown, then he should have been kept.
The ten games or so he played at Dubinsky's wing I thought was the best the both of those players played all season. Chemistry like that can't be just found or created. Solid chemistry's worth $4 million a year—especially with the competitiveness that exists in the East.
On defense, I have always personally liked Michal Rozsival. People talked continuously about his inconsistencies—however, he's almost always been a plus player.
Except for this year (when he was at zero), his two years previous in a Ranger uni he was a combined +45! That's near the top of the league. He's also put up 108 points in three seasons. Not bad numbers whatsoever.
Inconsistent? I'd argue that he's been our best defender. If he wasn't taking that primary role, I highly doubt we'd be seeing the production we are out of the other young defenseman.
Now, keeping that in mind—was Wade Redden necessary? I'm not sure if I can justify adding Rozsival AND Redden. They both play a similar game, with Redden maybe having a bit more grit and a little better of a shot.
However, with Jagr not being there, I think we'll see a very solid offensive year out of Rozsival. If he would have shot at times instead of making the ridiculous impossible pass to his Czech friend, I guarantee his goal totals would have been higher.
Having him and Redden together seems like a glut to me—too much offense and finesse for a defense corps that needs more grit and strength.
Staying with defense, thank GOD both Marek Malik and Christian Backman are gone. How many giveaways in your own zone before you become unforgivable? If Dmitri Kalinin can come in and be nothing more than steady, we'll be just fine.
Kalinin is 6'4" and can throw the body at times. Aside from last year, he was a solid defender in Buffalo, averaging 20 points and +16. I'll take that from a second- or third-pair man anytime. He was injured throughout all of last season and couldn't find his form. Again, if he can only be STEADY, I'll be happy.
Kalinin should be paired with Paul Mara, whom I truly enjoy watching. He does a little bit of everything, and does it quietly. If Kalinin can follow that role, we'll be set.
We will miss Fedor Tyutin, but I'm assuming that the continued progression of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal will make that gap less obvious.
Looking back to offense, there are tons of question marks for the Rangers this year. I'm curious to what Nik Zherdev can do for us. I've looked at highlight reels, and the kid looks like Pavel Bure. Not in regard to his speed or explosiveness, but in regard to being in the right place at the right time.
If Scott Gomez can't find him the puck, probably no one can. That's the potential for an explosive combination.
It's also the potential for a huge bust (see Jagr, Jaromir). He is only 23, though, and you have to keep in mind that his entire career is in front of him. At that young an age, chemistry and skill sets can still be created, formed, and intertwined.
I've said in previous columns that Zherdev will be a bust in New York. Personally, I can't see him being a major success in his first year. I'm pencilling him in for 20 goals. A casual Ranger fan will probably look at him and assume 40 to 50 goals. Not happening. Maybe in a few years—but in 2008-09, he'll be pedestrian. It's going to take awhile to go from Columbus anonymity to Manhattan spotlight.
On the first day of free agency, the Rangers signed Aaron Voros and Patrick Rissmiller. Both of these guys are giants, and that can't ever hurt. As soon as I heard about them, I knew two things—Avery wouldn't be resigned, and Hollweg's going to be sitting in the press box. Orr will almost certainly join him.
Rissmiller—along with Dan Fritsche, who was acquired with Zherdev—is a very hard working center/winger, probably in the mold of Blair Betts, Jed Ortmeyer, and Dominic Moore. That type of player is always welcome.
Zherdev, Voros, and Rissmiller could truly make a sharp impact on our team. The Rangers are definitely tougher to play against with them in the lineup.
Now the real wild card is, of course, Markus Naslund. This is a guy who was a bona fide offensive superstar the last few years. As we all know, he's slowed. I'm curious if he slowed due to age, or Alain Vigneault's system. We'll soon find out.
Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan, Jaromir Jagr and Marty Straka combined for 77 Ranger goals last year. Can Zherdev, Fritsche, Naslund, Voros, and Rissmiller fill that void? Well, last year they scored 76 for their respective teams. They seem like reasonable replacements—if you don't take chemistry into mind, of course.
The Rangers' offense was horrible last year. They need to change that, while keeping a strong defensive mindset. It won't be easy to do, but if there is one thing that I have, it's confidence in Tom Renney.
Redden should help ignite some offensive rushes, and we all believe that Drury's going to have a bounce-back offensive year. Other young favorites of mine, like Dawes and Dubinsky are only going to get better. Speaking of future captains, how can you not look at Dubinsky for that role in a few years?
That's without discussing how Petr Prucha plays this year, and what Freddy Sjostrom can do in a full season here. A lot of question marks—but as I said before, a lot to look forward to.
As every other Ranger fan does, here are the lines to me that make sense:
Naslund - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Gomez - Zherdev
Prucha - Dubinsky - Sjostrom
Voros - Betts - Fritsche
Redden - Girardi
Rozsival - Staal
Kalinin - Mara
Last, but not least:
Where does Lauri Korpikoski fit? Or Dane Byers, or Artem Anisimov? Or Bobby Sanguinetti, Corey Potter, Pierre Parenteau, and Greg Moore?
Our team has been successful due to an infusion of youth. Players like Naslund and Kalinin, although they might help in terms of leadership, may make it impossible for new kids to crack the lineup.
As a Ranger fan—not for just this year, but for all years—I feel that some of these moves have impeded forward progress. There is no place for rookies to maje th team this year, and that can only hurt us in the long run. Sather made some wise and interesting moves no doubt—but he also stunted the growth of some of our potentially top prospects.
Will the gamble pay off? That's the part that'll have some of us diehards losing sleep until October.
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3 months ago
Rismiller will go right to Hartford...
3 months ago
I disagree with the lines, these are mine
Naslund - Gomez - Zherdev
Prucha - Drury - Callahan
Dawes - Dubinsky - Sjostrom
Voros/Korpikoski - Betts - Fritsche
The Defense looks fine
3 months ago
you have to take in the affect the penalty kill will have when making up the line up. Because without straka or shanahan, two of new york's penalty killers from last year are gone. who will fill those roles? because i dont believe that fritsche or voros killed penalties.
And refering to Greg's comment...Rissmiller to hartford, are you being serious?
from 3 months ago
I agree... no way Rissmiller, a freshly signed free agent is going to the AHL. Did he even sign a 2 way contract, allowing the Rangers to do that? In regards to the PK... Callahan and Gomez killed last year and did it well. I'm sure they'll try some of the new guys in that role... how about Blair Betts? He's been solid when asked to do that. I'm not worried too much about the PK, unless you talk about a defenseman to clear away rebounds. That's the part that scares me the most. There's size... but tenacity and dirtiness? You need a guy to clear the crease, and that's what the Rangers lack the most.
3 months ago
I agree with that Michael. Do you think that Rissmiller will be a good fit on the Penalty kill? because i know in san jose he was on i believe the second unit.
But how good of a chance does Rissmiller really have of cracking the Rangers' lineup as an everyday player, with all the new players (fritsche, zherdev, voros, the now european, etc?
3 months ago
wow , dude ,,, i don't think u thought this one through all the way ... lol brendan shanahan is far from over ... i mean wow ... u , r totally lost ... this guy was 3rd highhest scoring on the team , 4th in points ... shit , look at how much ice time he got compared to jagr ... lol switch roles ( the way it should have been from the start ) give shanny the ice time with drury and i bet you they score 35 goals each if not more .... shanny was in almost every scuffle there was .... the guy is a beast out there when need be ... him and drury lead the team in goals and points for the majority of the seaons . he hurt his knee was out for a bunch .... and the rangers didn't do as well ... lol i'll take shanny over jagr and starka any day of the week .. at leats u know what ur getting when he is on the ice ... the guy is 40 and can still do it better then anyone out there!!!!! now for redden ... you don't know why we got him ... lol try we were last in power play goals last year ... shit if i was the other team i would have put 4 forwards out there against the rangers pp and scored on them they sucked so bad ... this guy brings offense ... another thing , ( in case u forgot our great first half of the season ) we most def. need ... not only that this guy plays .. his ice time is huge in comparrison to other d- men ... u can't compare redden and Rozsival . they don't play the same ... rosy looks to past first , where redden don't even think about it , he just shoots ... don't get me wrong , i like rosy ... alot ... glad we resigned him ... but he wasn't the best dman last year ... i give that to mara .. he statred really opening up the shots and checking ....
as for zherdev ,,, rangers better find him the puck ,,, and build this team around him ... he is that good ... i always loved this guys playing ability ... your curiousity about him will be answered soon , with what i excpect and hope with great results ... lol 20 goals ... this kid is already a superstar in the league ... his problem is he is inconsistant .... so couches have to get him ready mentally ,,, other then that , he can score 50 with ease .... yes he is that good .... i watch many of his games ,, as i said i am a fan of his ....
and of course i must say u r nuts with ur lines ups ... lol i maybe nuts with my line ups ,,, lol but until we reallly ssee the speed of these rookies ,,, and strengths , it is hard to say .. but zherdev is def first line with drury or dubs ,,, do to the awesome faceoff % dubs had last yr.... and u are forgetting two very key players ... the rookie Korpikoski and hollweg who i would put in over the good for nothing betts anyday of the week .... u r right about one thing .... this is the seaon to look forward to ,,, just to see how it turns out for the blues shirts .... its gonna be awesome ...
3 months ago
as for the line ups ,, i will say this ... i don't know if u remember or saw the game ... prucha came back after sitting a while and it was him , hollweg and sjostrom ,,, this line turn up the ice ... the were quick ... hard hitting , gave there opponents first line real hard times and had good scoring chances ... would like to see that line up together again ... first line is gonna be drury or dubs , with zherdev and i would assume naslund ... unless one of these rookies really steps up and shows there stuff early ... would like to see a really fast first line .... gomez callahan and dawes second line ... daws and clly played together last year pretty gd , so i cant see them seperated ... nice speed on that line up as well , and they can score goals ... especially with gomez passing to them ... or even drury ... those three played plenty together last year .. probably more then the others ... third line the hollweg line 4th questionable lol
from 3 months ago
I was willing to listen to you, until you said that "good for nothing betts." Are you insane? 9 times out of 10 when Sam is saying "shot blocked..." he ends that sentence by saying "...by Betts." In terms of point production; you're right, good for nothing. In terms of grittiness, defensive ability, and doing all the little things necessary, you're 100% wrong. ALL teams would need a player like him, he's a perfect 3rd or 4th line forward, helps to shut down opponents, especially on a penalty kill.
In regards to Rozsival, I agree, he was always pass first. However, that pass was ALWAYS to Jagr. Now that there is no Jagr, I see his game opening up, and now Rozsival thinking shot more often. He was deadly at times last year when he thought shot first, and now he has that opportunity. I'm not too happy with both Redden and Rozsival because both are smooth skating, offensive defenseman with really no grit to their game. An occasional scuffle? Sure. But we need a Ed Jovanovski from 1996 type of player: a guy that you know is going to knock you out if you come near the net. In my opinion, Hal Gill changed the entire Pittsburgh defense corps last year from good to great. You think the Rangers would have made it in 1994 without guys like Beukeboom and Jay Wells? Someone's got to go after the opposing forwards in the defensive zone, and we have near $11 million invested in guys who won't.
And with Shanahan... I loved the guy! But the reality is that he is nearing 40! You talk about him like he's still in his days with St. Louis. The guy had his lowest goal and point totals since 1994! And in that season he only played 45 games. If you discount the 94 year due to injury, he hasn't scored this small since his days with the Devils 20 years ago. I would love to reminisce about his days as THE premier powerforward in this league, and his Mark Messier like ability to combine skill, grace, and dirty play. His numbers sadly are only going to go down, and we are obviously going in the direction of youth (aside from Naslund). Is there a place in this group for a 40 year old former power forward? I want to argue no. Sorry, and I know it hurts, but time to move on.
And sorry, I was cool with Hollweg... but that boarding penalty at the end of the Pittsburgh game? My God man... the kid's gotta know after near 3 years what's legal or not, or better yet, what's intelligent and what's not.
3 months ago
lol ok u had some major good points there ... 4th line isn't ment to score ,,,, and yes betts blocks shots , but so did drury and mare , and rosy and everyone else . i mean the guy don't check anyone ... i wouldn't have a problem with him if he got more agressive with the checks ... and you are right , he blocked alot of shots that might have caused a problem and maybe goals ... but we can find someone else to do the same job and more ... we got Voros and Rissmiller , these guys are big tough checkers that will go after players ... so who we put with them betts ... a guy afraid to hit ... i don't know , i maybe wrong , but i think there is better we can get then betts ... i mean dam score one goal at least in how many years , put some checks on a guy ....
as for hollweg , lol u r right , one of the stupidest penalties he could of taken ... but hey , adrenalline isd pumping , were losing , trying to sike up the team ,,, what ever it takes to turn it around ... guys get into fights ,, what ever ,,, can't justify it , but his over all play , i'd try to put him with some high speed guys , mix it up ... he has potential , they just aren't really given him the chance ... i'm not gonna down the guy for one really stupid penalty though , even the great ones make there mistakes sometimes ... some times deliberate , like stumping on a guys leg wiht there skates and gets away it with from the league lol
as for rosy ,, well now there is zherdev to pass to , as well as nuslund , renny is gonna have nas shot as much as possable to get him out of his drought ... i want to see or dmen shot more , with out hesitation ,, like u said rosy did in the begining ,,, you were right , but then all of a sudden , the shots stopped.... he is a good dman , and yes an offensive dman at that ,, so don't pass shot .. i agree with you , but i don;t care who is on the is , being jagr , shanny , zherdev , redden going shot the puck not pass. plus we got some new guys that can score , is rosy gonna think pass , or shot ... i mean his mind set changed half way threw the season or was it just bad coaching and hes being told to pass ... we don't know , but i say shot ... lol
our d def got boosted , Kalinin big rugger type player and i always like the way mara played , big guy hard checker , not afriad to rugh it up ... but u are right , we could def use a guy like gill ...
as for shanahan , i mean , look at it like this if you can ... the guy is gonna be 40 ,, sure but inthe beging of the season it was him and drury , the only ones scoring and there shots on goal combined was more then the whiole team . lol and rosy was scoring as well .. yes but shanny and drury led the team in those catagories... so who do we start and have play most of the ice time ... jagr and gomez and dubs .... i mean come on ... give the guys that r scoring the ice time , whose putting the puck on net 8 out of ten times shanny ... so in my oppinion , if he had more ice time his #s would have def been better ... and you forget , who did they have him playing with ... everybady .. he never had one set line ... they were movbing guys all over the place with him in the mddle ... never mind his leader ship and experience he bring , you don't want him on your team .. he clicked and helped lines click that shouldn't have ... and at 39 he was still in the mix looking to mix it up ... i can't think of another guy i want sitting at point in a powerplay ... his slap shots are still one of the best ... sorry dude , had to go against you on that one ... lol but hey we have a good team to look foward to , i hope ...
3 months ago
A lot of points there I agree with... I like Hollweg's work ethic... many writers have called him a dirty player, I just agree with you; he's not dirty, maybe just too intense at times. But, that's the difference between a pro and an amateur; one can control themselves, one can't. Let's be honest... not the first time he's made a stupid mistake. I really do like him... but DAMN.
With lol, only three players allowed to a line, is there room for Hollweg, Voros, Rissmiller, Betts, Orr, Fritsche... on the 4th line? Someone's gotta sit, and I believe it will be Orr and Hollweg for sure.
Now the player who I enjoyed watching the most last year, without question, is Brandon Dubinsky. In other columns, I made mention of the fact that I can see the C on him in a few years. The guy led all rookies in hits. That's not a stat I'd take lightly. Shanahan can go, because the player that he needed to influence probably the most, was Dubinsky. I feel he's done that... however we'll know more in April. If anyone can play in the same way Shanny did, Dubinsky's got that potential. Shanahan also had a HORRIBLE playoffs. I'm sorry, but if a guy wants to get paid, that guy has to perform... ESPECIALLY under pressure. He didn't.
And now Blair Betts. He's not a big hitter. He doesn't really score. What does he do? ALL THE LITTLE THINGS. Look at Jere Lehtinen in Dallas. When he first came into the league, he didn't light it up. But he prevented everyone else from doing scoring, just by making intelligent plays. Betts is a guy whose work ethic never needs to be questioned, and, unlike Ryan Hollweg, won't ever do something to the detriment of his team because his adrenaline peaked. He'll always do the little things you need... like a solid 5th or 6th defenseman... their name's never mentioned, and it's probably better that way. Blair Betts... Selke candidate!
3 months ago
you make a very valid point with betts ... i mean for the year that line didn't score but maybe 5 goals . lol but he was a - 2 on the seaon ... and looking at who he goes up against game after game , a - 2 is pretty dam good .... but i still have issues with him ... man i am sorry ... i guess i just don't care him to much ... i mean i look around the league , i watch every game i can ... i mean there are so many teams out there that there 4th line is pretty dam good at getting the puck in the net , blocking shots and checking ... and i see the rangers and betts , this guy is 28 yrs old , 6th year in ... and gets 2 goals last year , im mean really , he played for 6 yrs and got like 20 goals total ... and i get so sick to my stomach when i see the oppertunities he gets to check someone in the open ice and doesn't even go after the guy ... so now , instead of having a guy laying on the ice , they have another player in our zone controling the puck ... so , some times the little thing aren't good enough ... after 6 yrs playing , you know something , you know he isn't gonna get any better ... this is how he plays and that is gonna be where he stays ... 4th line maybe 2 goals if he is lucky ... what you see is what you get , nothing more ... i am sorry , i see you are a fan of his , or what ever ... but , i don't get excited when he on the ice ... i know that some guy with the puck is gonna skate right past him .... i say either he toughens up and starts checking hard , or get rid of him ... WE CAN GET SOME ONE BETTER.... what if we got rid of betts and orr and hell , even hollweg ok if it makes you happy lol ... with voros, rissmiller and fritsche we can get a better centermen then hollweg and betts ... and it frees up some cap .. maybe not to much , but maybe enough to pick up another guy . rangers are short stacked on centers ... i think we have 5 ... and if i remember correctly , we also have the sweede comeing this year .... jamtin or something like that ... hes a forward ... now we go after a better centerman , we add toughness , size , speed , and a lot more skill on our 4th , now the other teams don't have 3 lines to watch out for .... now they got all 4 ... buffulo detroit , dallas , ottowa , shoot , anahiem , montreal , sanjose , pitt and washington ... to many to list ,,, all there 4th lines done very well last year in getting the puck to the net ... i just believe we can do the same ...
ok back to shanny ... im not a big baseball fan anymore ,,, but the yankees got this guy , a rod right ,,, during the season he hits hrs , gets tons of rbi's he gets them to where they want to be ,, the playoffs ,,, then he does nothing ... lmao ,,, all the talk after the playoffs, arod to go ,,, oooooo get rid of arod... man he got you there ,,, where the hell is the rest of the team .... lmao one man show and we talking get rid of him .... well the same goes for shanny ... as i said before ,, the first half of the seaon last year who was scoring ... shanny and drury ... thats really it... they took off ,leaving everyone behind on the team in points , and , lol his ice time is like half of what jagrs is ... lol ... now the second half comes , he gets hurt if u remember ... gomez steps up , dubs steps up , callahan really stepped it up second half ... daws in the shoot outs , unbeleavable right ... what 7 for 7 or something like that ... straka had a little streak and so did avery ... but with out shanny goals in the first half , who with drury carried the team in the first half of the season in my opinion ,,,, they don't make the playoffs last year .... never mind as you siad the knowledge he passedon to all the younger guys not just dubs ... so here you are this year ... full of rookies and first and second year players ... who would you rather have leading .... naslund ,,, this guy done nothing for what 3 yrs now ... and that is how his team is gonna look at him .. i know i would ... think about that for minute... jagr is gone ,, thats that ... who kows that team better then shanny ... who knows renny's ways ,,, shanny ,,, there is alot of things you aren't taken into account ... for starters ,,, the first line doesn't score in like ten games .. but who got all the ice time ... the first line .... to me bad coaching ... the guys whose scoring is the guys you play the most ... if u can look up how many shots shanny and drury had on net compared to jagrs line that first half of the season ... lol they like more then tripled them .. but it was always jagr .. i use to call my cousine up yelling ,, what the hell they doing ,,, put in the dam shanny line ... lol but theyw didn't . iw ould bet you anything if we can redo that season and they played shanny more , he gets 30 plus goals ... 40 assists .. easy ...
lol last but not least dubs ... lol this guy reminded me of a younger jagr .. the way he skaed int the oppersitions zone.... using his hands to block dmens sticks , using speed and his strenght to fight them off.... hanging on to the puck not passing , trying to make something happen... he is gonna be a very good player , if he stays focused and don't it get to his head ....
3 months ago
FIRST OFF...
I hate ARod, and you did too before the past few REGULAR SEASONS he's had. He's NEVER there in the clutch!! Ever!! You're going to tell me you'd rather that kind of guy, then someone who "turns it up" when the season truly matters and is on the brink? Come on man, I know you'd take Esa Tikkanen on your team, anyday... even if his regular season stats sucked.
Again with Betts. Dude, if you have a sister, she's going to marry him. That's your fate. Do me a favor and watch how he plays the game intently. Why do you think teams carry players like him? In Jersey they had Sergei Brylin for 15 years. They guy barely scored and got beaten worse the Petr Prucha on a nightly basis. However, he MADE INTELLIGENT PLAYS throughout the course of the season. Very underrated man. I miss Dominic Moore. He was the same kind of player, just a smart kid on the ice. I'm telling you, watch him purposely next year. And in regards to his output... he was on the ice with COLTON ORR AND RYAN HOLLWEG. Do you think he'd put up numbers? My God man, what are you asking of him? Those are 2 offensively challenged players to say the least. Did you want Betts to skate through 5 guys and then deke out the goalie... all by himself? Now this year, he MIGHT have potentially more offensively talented linemates. I have always thought that 8 - 12 goals would be a good fit for Betts. Might he get revitalized around players that can MOVE THE PUCK? We'll see. Again, he's not a player that needs to score, he's a player that needs to neutralize the oppositional scorers.
On a hockey team, sometimes their are limitations. For example, you can't have two goalies on the ice. You know this. You also know that 4 centers is the limit. Why then are you complaining that we have 5 NHL ready centers? That's... 1 more than we need. Petr Prucha and Ryan Hollweg have also played in their career. That's 7. Oh, and this kid from Hartford, Artem Anisimov, very good 2 way center. That's 8. If there is one position we definitely don't need to worry about, it is center. We have three top centers in Dubinsky, Captain Drury and Gomez. Betts... as you might know, i like. Fritsche is supposedly very hard working (if they sign him as a RFA and he officially joins the team), and could easily slide into that 4th line spot. My guess though, is that they'll try him as a winger. Come on, you can't complain about the one position we have the most depth in. Complain about the lack of toughness on defense!
Now, I will agree that I wan't too happy when I first heard about the Markus Naslund signing. I feel having him takes away that first line position that I'd love to have Dawes. in. However... wasn't Jagr's career "over" when we got him from Washington? Hadn't Marty Straka and Michael Nylander not done too much for a few seasons, before they came to Broadway? All 3 either rose their stock, or their careers from the dead after playing for Renney. I'm happy to see Jagr go and his time was over in New York; but you can't take away what he has done for this organization during his tenure. Now, knowing how Renney was able to get the most out of them... I have a feeling there might be similar results with Naslund. I say that, because Renney's not just a great coach... sorry, he is... but he and Naslund were together in Vancouver for a few years. It's not just that he's this big name from the Northwest... he's a former player of Renney's. I also look at Vancouver the last few years, and see Naslund's dropoff of course... but he has been playing under a different coach, and the line he was on which dominated the league, was broken up. He NEEDS that gritty player next to him, and a guy like Drury or Callahan might fit the bill. Saying that Naslund is done is like saying that Jagr was done when he was in Washington. It seemed that way... but boy would you have been wrong. Renney's a smart guy... he'll get it done. Naslund's also 10 times LESS tempermental and moody. That'll be a breath of fresh air. Hell, maybe he will even allow himself to play during the shootout.
And sorry, at 40, 9 times out of 10, your career is through. I like Shanny, he played well for us, but it was over. You can argue all you want; he wasn't hurt during the playoffs, and was a COMPLETE NON-FACTOR. That's undeniable. I'm just curious; if he's in the lineup... who do you take out? Dawes? Prucha? Callahan? Sjostrom? These are talented kids. You are really that comfortable taking ice time away from them... to give to a 40 year old? I'm sorry man, but that won't fly in the new NHL. If you don't believe me... look at the bomb of a team they're putting together in Tampa Bay.
3 months ago
i forgot pracha played center and the other 3 i counted for holweg though ... i thought we had 5... i still would like to see them add some scoring to that line ... but i will watch how betts plays , just someone tell him to hit somebody .... pls !!!! lol
as for naslund , i want the guy to turn it around ,,, i just think renny went with his heart rather the smarts .... and a 2 /3 drought isn't something you can just snapp out of , it def does something mentlly to a guy ... but as i said in other article on here ... maybe this is his time to turn it around ... i for one hopes , but iam not holdong my breathe on it .. lol
i never said anything about jagr ,,, to me he was gone before last season started mentally... and i am kool with that ... we didn't know what we would have gotten from him anyway this year ... i am a huge zherdev fan , and glad we got him ,,, i muyst say i am confindent this team will make a mark this year ...
as for shanny , maybe it is me thinking with my heart instead of smarts... i always been a fan of his and loved what this guy has brought to a team .... and i just don't like the fact that yeah , it just maybe his time to retire . as all great players must do at some point ...
i know this , there d got bigger , tougher and faster , we are deep with our wingers , which is full of talent and i am very happy with , with the exception of one , naslund is an iffy , lol as of right now ... but he def has the taleant and abillity to turn his carreer around , so lets give him his time and see what he does .. this is not only his biggest chanllenge , but it is also rennys , if they have a bad season , who you gonna put the blame on ... for get last year , renny has what he need , now we have to see if he can get them to click ....
as for prucha , i like the kid , glad we kept him ,,, but he played no roll last year what so ever ... when sjostrom came in , prucha became invisable ... i just hope renny has some plan for this kid , cause if he don't sather will trade him ... and that would be a shame cause the kid has tons of potential ... and as deep as we are , this is gonna be very interesting on who renny plays ... we also have the sweede coming and chepisov cant spell his name , coming from russia , and this kid is suposed to be the creme of the creme ,, lol i am siked , but i must say , this season has me more excited on whose gonna play , and whose gonna sit then anything ...lol i know they gonna be good ... lol anticapation , like crazy ....
3 months ago
A lot of good points. Shanny I agree... I love the guy. Or, I loved the guy. Zherdev... not so sure about. The guy's work ethic has been questioned since he joined the league. How many lazy players really make it in Manhattan? That's the guy I'm holding my breath on. If he scores more than 20, I'll be content, and so will the Garden; if he struggles, the fan's won't let Sather forget he traded Tyutin, the longest tenured Ranger, for a Russian who skates in circles and is moody. Prucha too looked great 2 and 3 years ago, but did nothing recently. Maybe he couldn't find chemistry with Dubinsky? I don't remember him getting that much ice time with either Drury or Gomez. He has a great shot... if Gomez can find him in the slot, Prucha's lethal. We'll see... if he has a season like last year (which by the way he was scratched what... 15 times?), you won't see him in Ranger blue by April, that I can guarantee you. Personally, I had hoped that the Rangers made a play for a guy like Jason Pominville in Buffalo; great two way forward, intelligent, solid work effort... and definite chemistry with Drury. Just a thought.
3 months ago
i like that thought ,,, pominville is def a two way player and he has lots of speed ... he played on all 4 lines for buffalo when needed and always came through ... tell i always wondered why they didn't go after brier instead of gomez ... was it money ... which would you rather seen us get ... i kow they might have been think of jagr and gomez connecting , gomez really know for being an assist man ... but i think brier did it all just as well if not better ... just something i thought i'd ask u ...
well as for prucha , i don't know if u remember when he came back from his injury after they signed sjostrom , he played with holweg & sjostrom , sjostrom ended up scoring .... the thing thAt i liked about that line was the were flying , making tons of scoring chances , they really looked like the were clicking ... they got a goal yes , put the other thing is , when u get a line like that going , it has to ware out the other team . cause now the have to switch up on who they put out there against them ... the thing i hate is the next game renny didn't have that line together ... which really i couldn't understand... but if he does get online like that again this year , chemistry is good , i hope he will do his thing ,,, he tough kid ,, good shot ,,, trys hard , and very rarely tacks a shift off ... and , the part i really like is he is a small guy but goes after everyone .. lol
ok on to my fav pick up .... zherdev .... i watched alot of his games since he first came in the nhl ... this guy is good , i mean really good .. but you are right about his work ethic ... that is a problem... BUT he is young 23 ... i said this alot in other article , if renny and the coaches can keep this kid focused and mentally in the game , he will produce goals and alot of them ... he hasn't scored under 25 goals yet ,,, i think he will score more with this team and the guys we have ... i look at guys like hollweg , drury , gomez , yes betts , and many others on the rangers team there work ethics , and i hope zherdev will see that and maybe catch on , and follow suit ... why score 25 when he can 50 ... and trust me he can .... he is that good ...
3 months ago
Again, Zherdev I'll wait to see how he does. If I could have had my choice between Drury and Briere, I'd have definitely picked Drury. The only real upside of Briere is his speed and maybe a little bit more scoring. Drury though is MUCH more well rounded. I'd rather a solid 2 way player like Drury (who has scored 40 in a season by the way), than a one dimensional, scoring only Briere. Just my opinion.
I do remember that line, Prucha, Hollweg and Sjostrom, and I can't answer why Renney didn't keep them together. Maybe my boy, Blair Betts came back from injury then? Either way, I can't see them together this year, due to all the new additions.
I believe that Nik Zherdev is our biggest question mark. There's no doubt Naslund's going to score 25 - 35 goals. That's a given. Zherdev however, isn't a lock. He scored 27 goals last year. A career high. That's slightly above average or a strictly offensive player. You talk about him scoring 50 goals... that'd be incredible! However, I won't even pencil him in for 30. He's my biggest question mark, with Wade Redden second.
3 months ago
hey i asked u who you would rather have , brier or gomez ... i like drury ,,, def like you said def more rounded player ... as for nas or zherdev ,, time will tell lol
3 months ago
That's a tough decision... but at the end of the day, I'd probably choose Gomez. Two reasons: Gomez is younger and has 2 Stanley Cups. Both are similar playmakers, aside from Briere being able to score much more. Briere's got maybe 3 more years left in him, while Gomez has another 6 or 7.
3 months ago
brieres like 30 isnt he ... i thought he was just really entering his time ,,,,, been really doing his thing the last few years ... well if that is the case yeah me too for gomez ..
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