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.
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