Do the NY Rangers Have What It Takes?

As the trade deadline quickly approaches, the question is: “Do the Rangers have the team they need to bring Lord Stanley to New York in 2008?” 

It’s not what players need to be added or subtracted from this equation; it’s about what they are up against and if they can beat the other teams with what they have now.  I have heard numerous experts and NHLers outside of the Rangers organization say that this team that Glen Sather has constructed in the off season will fail, because a high contingency of superstars on the team has failed in the past and will continue to fail. 

The Rangers this season wanted to embrace the same idea that Buffalo had last season: four scoring lines.  When I first heard that, I laughed.  The reason why: first, this team does not have the talent to have four scoring lines, despite the superstar contingency; and second, the method has been attempted before and Buffalo did not win the Cup last year.  The four scoring lines method FAILED.

I once read in Fortune magazine that if you are jumping on the bandwagon because people have found success in those things, you’re already too late.  You have to focus on what the future holds.  You have to be the innovator, not the follower.  You have to move towards more unconventional methods in order to be at the top of the game.  You profit more when you’ve created your own worthwhile formula.

Currently, the roster that Sather has created is perfect.  Fans talk about lack of depth on the blueline.  Fans are constantly bashing the Czech attack, Marek Malik and Michal Rozsival.  Only an uneducated hockey fan would bash the Rangers’ top two defensemen.  Rozsival is currently the top scoring defenseman on the team, fourth on the team in goals.  Earlier this season, he was tied with the top goal scoring forward, Brendan Shanahan, with the most goals.  Malik and Rozsival combined have the best plus/minus on the team post-lockout.  Their style may not be rough and hard hitting, but they have been able to produce at the highest possible level for the team.  They are the winning combo for the top line.  They’ve earned their right to be there.  The numbers speak for themselves.

Learning from his past mistakes, Renney’s style this season is not about finding a winning combination to center the first line with Jagr and Straka, like most would assume.  That is not his strategy.  His strategy is to keep the other team guessing what lines he will put out on the ice.  He is looking to see what the best combinations are to use in the playoffs.  The regular season games are the testing grounds. 

You're currently logged into Facebook

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