New York Rangers: First Place Is All a Mirage

Hating to Say I Told You So

I hate for this to come across as an "I told you so" article, but I think you could end up calling it that. For the first three months of the season, the Rangers have been winning games and have coasted into first place in the eastenr conference. For the non-Ranger fan who glances at the standings he or she probably would think, "then why is he complaining?". Well, I will tell you why very shortly.

If you look at the way the Rangers have played since they returned from Prague, you'll realize that for the most part, it has been completely uninspired hockey. When they lose, they are embarrassed by a sub par team who holds the measly offense to a single goal or because they failed to capitalize on many power plays. When the Rangers win, it's most often not because they played well, but actually because their opponent happened to have a worse game then they did.

I can't remember the last time the Rangers put together a solid and complete sixty minute effort and cared to show up for all three periods. When I say "show up", I don't mean score goals in every period, but rather just play hard and be aggressive.

All to often the Rangers find themselves not playing the first period, being kept alive only by Henrik Lundqvist, one of the very few current Rangers actually earning his paycheck. The Rangers then play an even period, usually when they fall behind only to make a dramatic third period comeback and win the game in a shootout.

But now it seems the Rangers aren't playing a second period either, counting entirely on the last twenty minutes of play to win their game.

Well my friends, a team may have success with that for a short stretch of games like the Rangers did earlier, but when playoff time rolls around it could get to be quite deadly.

I also must mention that six of the team's seventeen wins have come in a shootout and it's safe to say that when the game is nearing the end of regulation and overtime, that is exactly what the team plays for. Are there shootouts come playoff time, I wonder?

Another huge facet of the game that this team lacks is what I will call "Killer Instinct" and that what you use to put away an opponent and not allow them to come back. In Florida on Friday in the Rangers 3-2 shootout victory over the Panthers, the Rangers took an early 2-0 lead in the first period.

They then played a very relaxed two periods where they saw the Panthers tie the game up early in the third. The Rangers then all of a sudden turned it on and took the lead again but rather then try to expand the lead, they sat back once again, allowing the Panthers to tie it late. Only during the last minute of regulation did the team bring back it's forecheck, yet if they had a killer instinct it wouldn't have been necessary.

When overtime came around the Rangers had a golden oppurtunity to seal the deal with a power play late but rather then fire the puck on all cylinders, the Rangers chose a very lax way of playing and passed the puck around for two minutes, not recording a single scoring chance.

With a lack of killer instinct comes a lack of offense, and that is the part of this team's game that has frustrated me the most. $49 million center Scott Gomez has a measly 4 goals and 10 assists while his $35 million center-turned-winger Chris Drury has only 8 goals and 4 assists. All that money going down the drain as the two players continue to struggle for the second straight season.

Career third liner Ryan Callahan has the spot on the first line with Gomez and Drury as Gomez still lacks that speedy, skilled winger to fit his style of play. Two seasons now and probably eight different wingers later there has yet to be a player to mesh with Scott Gomez. Anyone still want to rip me for calling for him to be traded before the season started?

Now let's move on to defense. Wade Redden who had a self proclaimed worst season of his career was given a lovely $39 million contract and if that doesn't irk you enough, throw in the fact that he has a full no trade clause in there as well. The slick but sleepy defenseman who played his entire last season in Ottawa in a coma has seemed to have brought that over here.

He has yet to quarterback this power play, the sole reason of his signing and has even had his defensive play slip of late, falling down and turning the puck over in very inconvenient situations. I remember saying before the season started that he could be a Brian Leetch-type figure for this team, but with 2 goals and 8 assists through 27 games, I'm just praying he doesn't turn into a Sandis Ozolinsh.

After Redden comes the worst defenseman in the history of the New York Rangers. I said it all of last season but fans were too busy ripping Marek Malik to shreds to pay any attention to me. Well now, who's right and who's wrong?

Rozsival has become the team's new whipping boy by the fans and deservedly so. But after being absolutely brutal down the stretch he was awarded a 4 year contract worth $20 million. He currently has 2 goals and 12 assists and is a -6. All that money for a defenseman that has never scored more then 40 points in a single season.

I can see it now, my new book on the New York Times best seller list; "Over Pay, Under Achieve: An Extensive Look at the History of the New York Rangers".

What Was the Final Straw

This past Sunday I attended the Rangers/Panthers matinee at Madison Square Garden and for the third straight time and five out of my last six visits, I have yet to see the Rangers score a goal.

If the tickets were free I could live with it but when you look at the money I spent on this outing, I will never be able to forget this, what was possibly the worst Ranger game in the last two seasons.

A combined $120 on tickets, plus $20 for parking and another $20+ if you want to count food and drinks for two people. The Garden never ceases to amaze on how much they screw the fans and get away with it, but I won't go into that now, I'll save it for it's own article.

But as I sat there in my seat and watched the Panthers come out of their zone under absolutely no forecheck pressure by the Rangers I cringed. The when Marc Staal tripped over the blue line in the second period leading to a Panthers' goal, I knew it was all over. The team just can't score with me in the building and I was furious.

I thought maybe the comeback kids of just a month ago could salvage the game, but they played worse as it went on. Rozsival was booed as normal but so was Wade Redden who was also long overdue. The boos rained down at the end of the second period and when the Rangers were down by four with two and a half minutes to go, they had a 5-on-3 opportunity for almost two minutes.

Most of the fans had gone but I wanted to stay, hoping to see one goal out of it. You would think that down by four with the game out of reach the players would just shoot the puck. I was wrong again.

The passed away the two man advantage which made the fans boo even louder. The loudest boos I had ever heard in my life at MSG and they were well deserved.

As I left the building I told my dad not to buy any more tickets for me and if he had any already bought for me for Christmas to sell them without me knowing. I have tickets to one game between the Rangers and Devils in New Jersey and I may go to that, but as for games at Madison Square Garden, I could care less if I ever go to one again.

I hate the feeling of being screwed over by an arena who's owners have done their share of screwing in the last few years and when the team wins, I could forgive them. But when they play an uninspired, listless 60 minutes without one ounce of dignity on display, that was the final straw. I will not pay for tickets that's prices have skyrocketed just to pay for Wade Redden's ridiculous salary and for Jim Dolan's lawyers.

What Has to be Done

When I look at this team, I don't see a first line, second, third, and fourth. I see a second line and three third lines because that is what they are playing like.

The offense is pitiful and almost non-existent and the Rangers sorely lack a sniper who can score more then forty goals in a season. There have been rumors swirling about Marian Gaborik to the Rangers and as much as I would love him, I'll tell you why it can never happen.

First, the salary cap would not allow for a straight up acquisition with us giving up a bunch of nobodies. The player traded would have to be Scott Gomez. But, if Gomez is dealt for Gaborik, who will be the high flying center that Gaborik will need? We'd be back to square one on that.

The Rangers would have to trade Chris Drury for Gaborik and pray that he can stay healthy and be that lethal winger Gomez has needed for two seasons now. But would the Rangers really trade their captain? Their leader? Their second highest paid player with a full no trade clause? Probably not.

When you look at it from Minnessota's standpoint, it's actually a fair trade if they really want to get rid of Gaborik that badly. Drury is a defensive minded center with decent speed, good leadership, experience and lots of intangibles. It would work out well but I don't see it happening.

What the Rangers have to do is sign Mats Sundin and/or Brendan Shanahan. The longer they wait, the cheaper they become and Sundin's prorated contract would be under $ 3 million, something the Rangers could easily clear by trading Prucha, Dawes, and Rissmiller; three players all watching from the press box for the majority of this season.

They should get Shanahan while they're at it as well. The argument that Shanny could no longer keep up with the high flying Rangers is old and dumb. I would suggest putting him with Brandon Dubinsky, the Rangers up and coming homegrown center who played with Jagr all of last season.

The Rangers average age is one of the youngest in the league, quite the contrary from year's past which is why bringing in Shanahan and Sundin makes sense. The Rangers need some veterans in the locker room because other then Gomez and Drury, who on the Rangers have won anything? The answer is none.

Redden made the playoffs every season with Ottawa and never won a cup. The same goes for Markus Naslund. The Rangers' points leader Nikolai Zherdev hasn't even appeared in a playoff game while Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal, Dmitri Kalinin, and Paul Mara are yet to get passed the third round of the playoffs.

What Lies Ahead

I hate to keep being grim but when you take a look at the next two games, it doesn't look good for the Rangers. The Penguins will come into the Garden tomorrow night and will most likely beat up on the shaken Rangers.

After that game they can then pick up the pieces and fly to Montreal, an always hostile and difficult arena to play in.

I am a die-hard fan of this team and would never root for them to lose, but if they keep winning by playing bad hockey, will the numerous problems this team has ever be corrected? Most likely no, they will just be swept under the rug like in year's past. If the Rangers lose tomorrow night maybe it will be the call that something has to be done.

It starts with the coaching staff who for the third straight season have allowed this team to produce numbers below what is expected. Tom Renney's system which is like a Frankenstein creation of a weak trap, shallow forecheck, dump and chase, and God knows what else is complete garbage.

The Rangers need a coach with some backbone so I would be all for bringing in Bob Hartley or even John Tortorella for a second stint. The Rangers need a shakeup desperately.

Something needs to be done to change this mirage into a successful season.

Greg Caggiano is the community leader for the New York Rangers on Bleacher Report. He has an online hockey radio show called Rinkside that airs weekly on Youcastr.