Eight Predictions for the New York Rangers' 2008-09 Season

During the past week, there's been a ton of talk, but not much movement in the Ranger camp.  Everything from the invite of Petr Nedved to the possibility of a gigantic three-way deal to eventually bring in Mats Sundin has been discussed. 

It seems that the majority of Glen Sather's work has been done, and unless something ridiculous occurs, I'm going to assume the Rangers are going to stand relatively pat for the next two months until the beginning of training camp. Taking that into consideration, here are eight quick predictions for the upcoming Ranger season:

1. Captain Chris Drury

Yes, I do believe that Connecticut's own Chris Drury will be given the captaincy of the New York Rangers. 

There are multiple reasons why this makes sense.

First, he's been a captain.  On his last team, Buffalo, he co-captained with Danny Briere, and was widely considered, as Stan Fischler once said, the "straw that stirs the drink."  Not sure what that exactly means, but I'll agree. 

Drury also has a Stanley Cup on his resume from his time in Colorado, and is known as one of the best clutch goal scorers in the game today.  That's the guy you want as captain—one who comes through in the clutch. 

On top of that, many people consider his 25 goals last year to be an "off year," but if you look at his numbers, that's basically on par with his career average.  I think he will improve this year, probably around the 30-goal range, but I see his assist total going way up. 

That's where he really had his decline.  If he can get back to the 40-assist range, that'll help to create more offense for the team in general.  He does a lot of little things on the ice, and one of them this year will be to wear the C.

2. No Mats Sundin

I'm not going to talk about this too much, but unless the Rangers do something drastic, like trade Scott Gomez, I'm not sure where he can fit. 

Plus, we don't need him!  Let him linger in Vancouver or Toronto. 

I'm sorry, he won't fit in Ranger blue, and there's no need to destroy any chemistry we might be building.  Forget him and move on.

3. The Career Plateau of Brandon Dubinsky

I'll start by saying I love this kid.  In my opinion, he was our best player last year. 

However, when you play with two of the best players to ever come out of Europe, I'm going to say that you won't get a lot of attention from checkers or the opponents' defense.  This year he'll have neither on his wing, and almost certainly will suffer for it. 

I was as surprised as any to see how well he played with Jagr last year, but who are they going to put on his wing now?  Sjostrom?  I like him a lot, but you can't compare him with his linemates last year. 

Dubinsky will continue to play hard, but will he match the 40 points he got last year?  Big maybe on that. 

I hope I'm wrong though.  I also hope Tom Renney just lets him work through it, and doesn't send him back to Hartford. 

So, a sophomore slump for the kid.  I like him a lot though, and Ranger fans will give him a break.

4. The Disappointment of Nik Zherdev

I've been saying this since they acquired him.  Good-looking Russian who continually makes defensive lapses and has his work ethic questioned.  Let's see...

Sergei Zubov: booed out of town.  Alex Kovalev: booed out of town twice.  Valeri Kamenski: I once heard a Ranger fan scream out, "I hope you get AIDS!" at him—at a road game no less. 

The track record talks for itself.  You are dreaming if you think Zherdev will be loved at the end of the season.  Fans will be calling for his head. 

His career average is about 20 goals a year.  I believe people are expecting him to double that and be a first-line winger. 

He has yet to prove he can do that.  True, he was in Columbus—but in the current Ranger system, no one scored 30 goals last year.  I'm not of the opinion that Zherdev can either. 

Big expectations here, and there is no way this kid will live up to them. 

5. The Pedestrian Season of Wade Redden

If you think a 31-year-old defenseman coming of an offseason is your team's savior, you have a lot to learn. 

If anything, Redden has just finished his career peak.  He just had his lowest goal total since his rookie year, and came close to matching his lowest point total as well. 

I remember seeing him play when he first broke in with the Islanders, and watching Jeff Beukeboom pummel him in a fight until he was in the Claude Lemieux cowering-for-mercy position.  I have had trouble respecting him since. 

Redden played the last few years next to Andrej Meszaros, Chris Phillips, and Anton Volchenkov, three of the toughest defensemen in the league.  His best seasons were next to Zdeno Chara. 

Who's going to protect him this year?  Rozsival?  He'll do alright as a Ranger—just don't expect miracles.  Buyer beware.

6. The Re-emergence of Petr Prucha

Boy, what a sad season Prucha had last year.  The guy went from scoring, on average, 45 points his first two seasons to 17 last season.  A whole 17 points! 

Horrendous.  However, he has a chance to redeem himself. 

This past offseason, the Rangers lost their top four wingers in free agency—Jagr, Straka, Avery, and Shanny (most likely).  They acquired only Naslund and Zherdev. 

I believe that players like Nigel Dawes, Ryan Callahan, Fredrik Sjostrom and Prucha will be called on to replace what was lost.  Out of those four, aside from Dawes, I have to believe Prucha has the most offensive upside. 

Maybe he'll get a full year next to Chris Drury.  What a tandem they would make rushing to the front of the net. 

Maybe Nigel Dawes can set him up with some of those fabulous passes he can make. Either way, I see Prucha getting a big opportunity, at least towards the early part of the season. 

One of two things will occur—he'll be given a shot and will become a big contributor once again, or he'll be traded by March.  Gotta wait to find out.

7.  The Surprising Year of Markus Naslund

I was as shocked as anyone to see the Rangers picked him up.  It seems that he's on the downside of his career, and that turned everyone off. 

However, wasn't Jagr the same when we traded for him?  Wasn't Straka?  I remember reading the Hockey News when they were both acquired a few years back, and they laughed at Glen Sather. 

Man, were they proven wrong.  The team was turning towards Czech players, and those two helped rebuild the Rangers.  Maybe now we're looking at Swedes.  Naslund, Sjostrom, and Lundqvist are three fine Swedish players who all bring a lot to the table. 

I will admit a mistake was made on Backman, though. 

Looking at Naslund—what if he assumes the role that Jagr had?  I don't think he's a potential 50-goal scorer anymore... but is 30 out of the question?  Imagine how he could teach Nigel Dawes. 

If anyone is a potential breakout star on this team, it might be Dawes.  Let Naslund, one of the best snipers in the game, teach one of the up-and-coming snipers the Rangers have. 

I know that Naslund's career suddenly bottomed out around the same time Alain Vigneault was hired.  Coincedence?  We'll see. 

However I don't think he's such as waste as others feel.  He'll give us two, maybe three solid seasons, and will be looked at as a quality elder statesman, similar to Marty Straka.  In fact, look for an "A" to be on his chest by the end of the preseason.

8. The Forgotten Scott Gomez

I haven't heard him discussed once all summer.  I do believe people expected him to be a 30-goal scorer, and were disappointed. 

He's not a goal scorer people! 

I was shocked to see the money he got from Sather, and all last summer I tried to figure out why.  I think I figured it out during this year when I saw him play game in and game out—he's electric. 

He's not the biggest scorer in the world, but he can do something few others can—make his linemates better. 

The guy averages about 50 assists a year, and that's not easy.  Last year he struggled to find chemistry, especially with Jagr, but this year I have a gut feeling that'll all change.

Gomez does well with north-south type players.  Dawes I liked on his wing.  They'll try Zherdev, and if that works, we might see a big payoff. 

However, I could see him really being successful with a guy like Sjostrom—a rugged player who goes to the net and collects the garbage.  That's what Gomez needs!  Speedy, rough and tumble wingers—he did great with Brian Gionta on his wing, sitting in front of the net—are perfect for the guy. 

I think Gomez will continue his underrated play, and if he can amass numbers like 20-50-70, all of a sudden you'll start seeing number 19 jerseys.  He hasn't been discussed whatsoever all offseason, but I see him finally getting comfortable on Broadway.