The New York Rangers Are Upside Down and Dropping Out of the Playoff Race

Well, you probably thought it wouldn’t happen. Probably thought it could never happen. But you witnessed it, and it happened!

The NY Rangers lost to the second worst team in the NHL. The Atlanta Thrashers also have one of the worst defenses in the league, ranking second in the NHL in goals against. Scoreless for the most part of the game, trailing by one in the third, in the final minutes they tied it up, only to lose it in OT.

Then to top it all off, they get destroyed by a mediocre team in Dallas 10-2, in the embarrassment of the century! THEN they followed it up with a shutout loss to New Jersey. It is obvious that the blue shirts can’t get anything right.

In the last five games they have come away with one point and lost all five. At this rate, they will bounce their way out of a playoff spot in no time.

With a healthy team, that was over-ranked throughout the season at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, it is crunch time, and their true ranking is showing. Game after game they choke their way out of the No. 1 spot and eventually out of the playoff race.

With half the team being a total waste of space and money, how many of these players are the Rangers stuck with, and who can they get rid of?

Scott Gomez has had a so-so year, but definitely not up to par or what was expected of him this year. At $7-plus million a year, the Rangers might find someone to take him. With the right team or coach, he can be right back to playing to his abilities.

Chris Drury at this point is having a bad year and is definitely not playing or scoring as expected. With his $7-plus million a year, will someone want to take him? I mean, after all, except for the last two years with Buffalo, Chris Drury has been an average player, scoring 25 or more goals three times in his 10-year career. Overpaid and overrated. Are we gonna be stuck with him? Probably.

Maybe in his case it is not his playing, but who they have him playing with. After all, Buffalo was dominating the Eastern Conference those two years, and that was with just average players. Hmmm, sounds like maybe this can be a coaching issue!

Wade Redden. Oh my god, are we really stuck with this guy? Overrated and again way over paid. $8 million a year. Bottom line, he has done nothing to help out the Rangers and in my opinion is washed up! Who is gonna want him and his salary? No one! If that happens I will be shocked.  Wade, please retire!

Dmitri Kalinin gets $2 million a year but has done nothing but take up space and money. There were so many other D-men out there we could have gone after. But at $2 million, it is not overly bad. He can be traded.

Michal Rozsival is getting $5 million a year. This year I watch him play, and I keep yelling at Marik Malik. Oh wait. Marik was traded. Need I say more? He has to go. Just think of the players we could have gone after for $5 million a year. Now I bet we are stuck with him. This guy is no Mike Green or Dan Boyle, Dion Phaneuf, or Chara. $5 million a year–are you kidding me? For what, 38 points on the year last season. Give me a break.

Aaron Voros, fluke of a start in the beginning of the season. Has done nothing. Thank god his salary is nothing special; he should be easy to trade.

Markus Naslund—well, did we really expect much from him? He has been in a downward spiral for the last three years, and this year will turn out no different. But at $5 million a year, becoming a 20 goal scorer a season, is he worth $5 million? I don’t think so. We are stuck with him. Maybe!

At 35 years old, his numbers have been going down every year. Who will pick up his tab? He is first in scoring and third in points. Well, that may sound good, but being on a team that cannot score if the net was empty, that is not saying much for him.

Really, we can keep going. Everyone with the exceptions of Zherdev, and King Hank, Mara, Staal, and Girardi, Callahan, the rookie Korpikoski, and Orr can go. I guess eight out of 23 is not that bad, huh. The way I am feeling right now about this team, get rid of them all—including the coach—and start over.

Now Sean Avery if cleared on waivers, he might be coming back. Although he had a good time and year with the Rangers last season, I personally do think that he is the answer. I do, however, believe he will help out. But he is not a major goal scorer, and that is what the Rangers need. We don't need an enforcer or an instigator. They need goal scorers.

So now let's look at the aftermath. We have Avery; he is ready to play. Who sits and who doesn't?

I mean, everyone is talking about and hoping Avery saves the New York Rangers. Nine years in the league, never have scored more than 15 goals a season or more than 39 points a season. That is a lot of hoping for an average hockey player.

Seems everyone has forgotten he is not a superstar because he is this great player. He is a big name because of the way he plays. He is not a superstar. So if you think his aggravating the other team will help the Rangers score goals, enough to win—well, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. I hope I am wrong. But I doubt it.

Sean will most likely take Voros’ place. Looking at the lineup, who else can he replace? With no line really posing a major scoring threat other then any line Zherdev is on, we might see Drury, Avery, and Zherdev. I guess we will have to wait and see.

In all honesty, I cannot see the Rangers doing too much better than they have been, as long as they keep overpaid, overrated, average players. This is what we will get year after year. High expectations and high hopes, just to be disappointed.

This is nothing new to me, as I have been a Rangers fan for over 25 years now. I don’t think there is a washed-up, injury prone player we haven’t had on the team. If there is anyone left, I am sure they will be joining the Rangers soon.

From Rick Nash to Crosby, Malkin or Ovechkin, Gaborik or Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk, Dany Heatley—the list goes on and on. But the Rangers have failed to get a guy of their scoring ability. Zherdev is awesome, yes; he is the best player on this team. But he needs help from top quality players that can actually score goals. If changes don’t happen and soon, this season will be over for them sooner then we think.

I, for once, wish Sather would listen to the fans. They would probably win a few games.