By looking at the free agency mayhem so far, and taking notes on the other eastern teams. Will we keep our position the coming season? With our new guys in (so far), are we a better team than last year? I'm somehow slightly concerned to be honest. Just a gut feeling :/
Pitt got worse by losing Staal.
Devils are potentially going to be worse if Parise leaves.
Flyers stayed the same.
Islanders stayed the same.
I think getting to the ECF gave alot of our younger players experience which is only going to make us better next year. The only concerns I have are:
1. Gaborik's injury.
2. If all the talk of Nash/Suter/Parise going to Pitt of Philly comes true.
Pitt got worse by losing Staal.
Devils are potentially going to be worse if Parise leaves.
Flyers stayed the same.
Islanders stayed the same.
I think getting to the ECF gave alot of our younger players experience which is only going to make us better next year. The only concerns I have are:
1. Gaborik's injury.
2. If all the talk of Nash/Suter/Parise going to Pitt of Philly comes true.
If Nash goes to Pitt/Philly but we could snag Ryan AND Doan, smirk smirk
IMO biggest threat will be the Bruins. Rask will have a fire under his ass, as will the rest of the team after going out in the first round.
Flyers will be better. Devils will be about the same, regardless of Parise (lot of young guys only getting better for them), but I doubt they make it to the ECF, let alone Cup. Not worried about the Penguins.
Dark horse? Ottawa. Think they could give more than a scare to teams in the playoffs next year.
All in all I expect us to finish 4th-5th, as Gabby being out will hurt... a lot. But, I expect us to be in roaring form come playoff time. I'm expecting at least another trip to the ECF. Especially if we add a Nash/Doan/etc.
I don'r expect to win the division again, especially with Gabby missing for a few months.
- Pens have lost Staal, which hurts their depth (assuming no Parise), but they should get a full season out of Crosby
- Flyers have strengthened their goaltending by adding Vokun
- Devils could be in a bit of strife if they lose Parise and can't replace him. Although we say it every year... how much longer can Marty go on for?
Obviously still plenty of FAs and trades to come. A big part of the Ranger plan seems to be expecting (hoping) the young guys such as Stepan, Hags and Kreider to continue to develop. If they can do that and our D can achieve like they did last season, top 6 in the conference and hard-fought 2nd round should be achievable
Last edited by mike14: 07-04-2012 at 03:30 AM.
Reason: damn spelling
Pitt got worse by losing Staal.
Devils are potentially going to be worse if Parise leaves.
Flyers stayed the same.
Islanders stayed the same.
I think getting to the ECF gave alot of our younger players experience which is only going to make us better next year. The only concerns I have are:
1. Gaborik's injury.
2. If all the talk of Nash/Suter/Parise going to Pitt of Philly comes true.
Great point, it seems like 3-4 teams around this league will be really improved this off-season. But of the 29 teams we play, the competition itself of course won't be harder and while potentially two teams in our division might improve alot, others of course will get worse.
I don'r expect to win the division again, especially with Gabby missing for a few months.
- Pens have lost Staal, which hurts their depth (assuming no Parise), but they should get a full season out of Crosby
- Flyers have strengthened their goaltending by adding Vokun
- Devils could be in a bit of strife if they lose Parise and can't replace him. Although we say it every year... how much longer can Marty go on for?
Obviously still plenty of FAs and trades to come. A big part of the Ranger plan seems to be expecting (hoping) the young guys such as Stepan, Hags and Kreider to continue to develop. If they can do that and our D can achieve like they did last season, top 6 in the conference and hard-fought 2nd round should be achievable
The main thing is to make the playoffs and without a big scramble at the end.
I like the additions of Asham, Haley and Pyatt. They are more physical players. IMO the Rangers got into three grind it out playoff series and the physicality of those series eventually wore us down. New Jersey's 3rd and 4th lines were particularly effective against us. Wingers like Zubrus, Ponikarovsky, Carter, Clarkson, Bernier kept the puck deep in our end and kept on grinding. This was the forecheck Devils fans were talking about and they were right--it was used effectively against us.
People are rightly concerned about more offense and finding a second pairing right side defenseman. The options right now aren't that good. Sather and Gorton are fixing what they can--keeping in mind that every team no matter how good have weaknesses they are trying to fix as well.
Gaborik will be back. I also expect improvement from a number of younger Rangers and a bounce back season from Dubinsky if he's still around. A better year from Artie would be nice though I'm not sure he's peaked already. And there's Kreider--who still is kind of an unknown factor.
Rangers found ways to win last year. 20 games of playoff experience is a really good thing for our younger guys. The team made a good run and this is something that gives guys like Stepan, Kreider, MDZ, McD, Hagelin etc. a real idea of what it takes and should make them all hungrier. These are all guys who should or will soon be able to carry their own load without any help.
A lot of it depends upon injuries .
Expecting the 6 goalie defense to stay as healthy as it did every year is a stretch .
Also Either Mcdonagh is really Robo Cop or he is bound to eventually miss a few more as he took a ton of head shots and close calls last season .
I think we all learned that you don't need to finish first to make a run in the playoffs. The best team in the regular season is no lock to make the Cup final or win it. It's the team that's playing best going into the playoffs.
With Hank, the Rangers are going to have a chance against anyone. They need to improve their power play.
This team also went 21-20 from March until the end of Game 6. I'm curious as to what people make of that, since it doesn't really seem to factor into the predictions. Were they just a tired team, or is it an unsettling trend that could find its way into the upcoming season?
This team also went 21-20 from March until the end of Game 6. I'm curious as to what people make of that, since it doesn't really seem to factor into the predictions. Were they just a tired team, or is it an unsettling trend that could find its way into the upcoming season?
I think it was pretty obvious that they were tired.
Depends on what is meant by maintaining status. Will we win the division and/or finish first in the East? Unlikely. Will we still be contenders? Yes.
This team also went 21-20 from March until the end of Game 6. I'm curious as to what people make of that, since it doesn't really seem to factor into the predictions. Were they just a tired team, or is it an unsettling trend that could find its way into the upcoming season?
They were tired but I think it's more mathematical than that. Their record almost doesn't make sense — especially when you consider the drop in production for guys like Boyle, Dubinsky, Anisimov. Missing Sauer and Staal for extended periods of time also didn't help. Look at their record in 1-goal games — it was extraordinary. And almost inexplicable. Maybe the playoffs was just the odds evening themselves out and a mathematical correction.
This team also went 21-20 from March until the end of Game 6. I'm curious as to what people make of that, since it doesn't really seem to factor into the predictions. Were they just a tired team, or is it an unsettling trend that could find its way into the upcoming season?
My guess is tired. They had a brutal stretch in March, something like 18 games in 30 days.
We have to worry about the Sens, Jets, and Bruins imo. I say these teams because the first two teams are extremely young and have gotten better this offseason and could progress into contending teams in a few years. As Boston goes, I know we were 3-1 against them but we still made them close games and could have swung either way.
