This season was a rollercoaster, from Igor becoming God to Dryden "where offense goes to die" Hunt as our 2nd line RW to leading the league in comeback wins and wins when outshot and finally to one of our best forwards and ⅓ of our best line throughout the playoffs being scratched in the last game of the season for a corpse who couldn't even play 9 minutes when we couldn't generate any 5v5 offense for the last 4 games of the season
Lets start with the turning points of the offseason
Patrik Nemeth signing: he was nothing special all season, much more harmful than helpful and didn't help fix our Dcore's biggest problem (breakouts) he was also signed to be a mentor for Nils Lundkvist who was sent down after half a season anyway and from someone who watches every game he (Nils) did nothing to really justify being sent down, I guess they were just hoping for a different look in Schneider who turned out ok, absolute disaster of a signing and will probably be traded for cap space
Barclay Goodrow signing: really good signing, was everything that was advertised, great leadership presence, very useful on the PK and at the faceoff dot, the term and cap hit haven't really sunk in yet but it will soon and when that happens it might be hard to lose such a good player as overpaid as he is
Buchnevich trade: I'm sure it was well intentioned, but it blew up in Drurys face, maybe it was always Drury's plan to move him and the market just wasn't there, maybe Buch was scapegoated as part of the front office/ownerships toughness crusade or maybe Drury just expected that much from the kids this season and skipped a few steps. Whatever the reason for the trade was, it was an indefensible return for our 2nd best winger who had a breakout season both analytically and eye test wise, he became a mainstay in our top 10 PK unit and had a near PPG season while not even being a part of our 1st PP unit and even carried our 1st line at even strength for good parts of the season and was also one of our most physical players and best forcheckers, its not just that he became one of very few forwards the rangers have drafted and developed into bonafide top 6 players in decades, it sent the message that the rangers as a whole don't take forward development seriously (as evidenced by most of their recent top forward picks getting inconsistent opportunities and showing underwhelming results early
To the beginning of the season
Speaking of underwhelming forwards Vitali Kravtsov: the situation was mishandled by both sides but the rangers were really the guilty party, Kravtsov started presason on the 3rd line which went fine until he got injured, he came back in the final game of preseason and even scored a goal, overall had a solid preseason, next thing you know hes sent down (call it conditioning, call it he wasn't better than 23 guys, call it we didn't like him, call it he would've been called back up after a game or 2 anyway, doesn't matter) and was asked to take AHL checks (70K for a whole season as opposed to 832.5K in the NHL) while plugs and offensively inept players like Hajek, Tinordi and Hunt stayed and all 3 proved to not help the rangers this season in any way which again was an indefensible move by Drury to likely ruin and already strained relationship with Kravtsov going back to their time together in Hartford AFTER trading a top line right winger
The team was ROUGH to start, they were exactly what we thought we were to start, a PP and a goalie, the team struggled to find lines that worked and therefore create offense for long stretches of games, the main victims of that were the Kids, they didn't have consistent linemates or ice time for the first half of the season, and 2 of the 3 had some issues that forced some stagnation/regression
2nd half of the season
MUCH different team, Igor cooled off from Legendary to just great and it didn't matter because Drury had a home run of a deadline, we filled huge gaps in our depth chart and started to figure out how to generate some offense consistently and even competed for the division title until the last few games of the regular season, also got close to the franchise record for standings points, something very few saw coming after the start of the season
The playoffs were an absolute success, rangers faced adversity, beat it, faced it again, beat it again and then won/made close all but 1 game from the 2 time cup champions, we turned what very well could have been 1 playoff win into 10 and the kids gained tons of playoff experience while raising their level of play, couldn't ask for more out of them
Season reviews
Incredible season
Shesterkin: vezina lock, hart candidate, short sample size but hes 26 and already looks like one of the best goalies to ever play the game and is an absolute psychopath, he'll give us a chance every season hes healthy
Fox: looked like he was playing at a different speed than everyone else on the ice at all times this season, processes the game an an incredible level and even after a drop off from last season was one of the best players in the world
Kreider: 52 goals, 2nd most ever in a season by a ranger, lived in front of the net and also became a legit 2way player and started killing penalties, also became a serious candidate for Captain, came up clutch for us all season from game 1 at WSH to game 102 at TBL
Really good season
Panarin: looked off to start the season like the entire team and never had a consistent RW to play with, but once he did he was back to Hart candidate Panarin, looked like he was playing through something in the playoffs, which obviously affected his play, but we wouldn't be here without him
Zibanejad: looked lost to start the season but got much better as it went on, had a career year offensively and even accepted the challenge of becoming better defensively and at faceoffs, was a top 3 player for us in the playoffs and solidified himself as our 2nd real candidate for captain
Lafreniere: did really well while being dealt a bad hand, he went from playing 10 minutes a game to playing on the top line on his off wing every few games and with no real PP time scored 19 goals all at ES which was 3rd most on the team, got even better in the playoffs and showed flashes of an all around superstar, expecting a breakout
Miller: he took a huge leap, much more confident skating and with the puck on his stick and should have been QBing the 2nd PP unit as soon as Nils was sent down, hes much less mistake prone than he was a rookie and recovers a lot more than he used to, became our 2nd best Dman and a legit top shutdown Dman, could be a guy we say could have won a Norris years from now if he was on a team where he was the #1 Dman, loved the season he had
Good season
Trouba: bounced back defensively and his physicality rubbed off on the whole team, overpaid and mistake prone but does what we ask of him and eats minutes pretty well
Lindgren: looked even more solid defensively this season, a bit more involved and engaged offensively than usual, but a warrior as usual
Goodrow: gave us everything we needed and wanted, even had a career season offensively even if its just cosmetic, it was mostly because he was miscast at times as a top 6 C/RW, once he was put back in a normal bottom 6 role he was great, and he should be again next season
You are what we thought you are
Strome: overachieved as a ranger and yet wasn't a difference maker when we needed it, he was hurt at the end, but he was just as invisible when healthy, didn't rely on Panarin as much as people say, but he obviously helped, he wasn't used on the 1st unit PP at all other than to be a spare center even though he didn't win face offs and could be replaceable on the ice, probably won't be back and shouldn't
Georgiev: looked awful to start the season, was a lock a lose as often as Shesty was a lock to win, he looked out of rhythm but as Igor cooled off and got some rest down the stretch Georgie went on a bit of a roll and gained some value, I liked his tenure but I expect us to move on from him for cap space
Kakko: the numbers aren't there yet but he looked elite defensively, drove play whenever he got the opportunity and looked even more confident in the playoffs with the puck on his stick, and absolute travesty and malpractice that his season ended how it did and I hope he wants to come back and comes back even better
Chytil: was injured and his shooting luck was worse than ever before, but like Lafreniere and Kakko he stepped up in the playoffs, and they showed their value to this team for certain
Gallant: he did a lot of what the rest of the league saw of him, he was loyal to his guys and played his money (Strome, Goodrow, Reaves and Trouba), gave the kids inconsistent opportunities and didn't really help us improve structurally, at his lowest he played Lafreniere 7 minutes in a game and chewed out a reporter for asking about it and then scratched Kakko in the last game of the season, at his highs we made the ECF, lost all my faith in him after yesterday after he panicked and choked, but 2 games from the finals in year 1 makes his job 99% safe next season
The rest
Rooney: solid 13th forward, PK and faceoffs, not much else, would like him back on a minimum
Blais: TBD, no idea if the rangers give it another shot, but after seeing Hajek still here, I doubt the rangers want to cut their losses and come to terms with another L
Hunt: low event plug, should have never been anywhere but the 4th line but Drury had a rough offseason
Reaves: great for the locker room, hits everything that moves but takes bad penalties and like Hunt is useless with the puck and can't skate so hes constantly getting trapped in the Dzone, I would trade him for cap space because you can't win with him being a regular but its not happening
Gauthier: great skater, always gets the puck our of the Dzone but has no finish, perfect 4th liner
Lundkvist/Schneider: both were pretty good, neither were great as far as rookies go, but you didn't hear much about them which is all you ask of a 3rd pair Dman
The deadline acquisitions
Copp: great pickup, has tons of utility in all situations and plays well with Panarin because hes actually shoots, would love him back for the right price
Motte: elite penalty killer, one of the best stick users I've ever seen defensively, doesn't do much but plays hard every shift, would love him back
Vatrano: great shot and pretty fast when he gets a head start but doesn't create much no reason for him to be higher in the lineup/on the PP than Lafreniere, Chytil or Kakko, he also doesn't play C like Copp so he probably won't be back
Braun: he was great for Schneider, had his moments but overall was calm and shutting teams down, would love him back as a depth Dman
Offseason to do list:
Keep Copp and Motte
Figure out Panarin's C/RW (Copp would play the other)
Trade Nemeth and give Jones a shot
Find a reliable backup for Shesty
Figure out what do with with Trouba, Schneider and Nils: its not fair to ask Nils to have to wait 3 years after he comes over to get a real shot if Trouba won't waive his NMC, he deserves to play here or elsewhere would like see to him and Jones rotating between 6 and 7 if possible
Come to a decision on Kravtsov: we need the offense he provides, if the front office is done with him just get offense back in return
Overall we overachived this season, got much farther than we deserved to according to our play this season we have some questions to answer and some moves to make but the team is still very young, we have Igor, we have Fox, we have 3 elite forwards AND the kids are getting better, we have more kids looking to come up soon (Jones, Othmann, Cuylle and Berard)
Now its time to look forward to the offseason
Overall you pretty much hit the nail on the head. How last night would’ve gone if kakko replaced Strome to begin with. I’d take a 50% kakko over the 10% Strome we had last night.
Panarin looked lost come playoffs, gotta wonder if he will develop that it factor that stamkos has. when’s the last time you saw a perimeter playing team win the cup? Rangers need another identity change. Buch would’ve helped but wasn’t the long term answer. Rangers have no answer when a team shuts down their blue line. If you notice, they dump and chase way more than the other team does. The main difference between games 1-2 and 3-6 was that rangers held possession going through the zone. They didn’t dump it as much. Kills all momentum when you don’t pressure enough to get the puck.
Totally agree with your offseason to do list. I do think Drury and Kravtsov put the past behind them though and he comes in to be the Buchnevich replacement he was meant to be.
Overall you pretty much hit the nail on the head. How last night would’ve gone if kakko replaced Strome to begin with. I’d take a 50% kakko over the 10% Strome we had last night.
Panarin looked lost come playoffs, gotta wonder if he will develop that it factor that stamkos has. when’s the last time you saw a perimeter playing team win the cup? Rangers need another identity change. Buch would’ve helped but wasn’t the long term answer. Rangers have no answer when a team shuts down their blue line. If you notice, they dump and chase way more than the other team does. The main difference between games 1-2 and 3-6 was that rangers held possession going through the zone. They didn’t dump it as much. Kills all momentum when you don’t pressure enough to get the puck.
They don't have the personnel to dump and chase nearly as much as they do they look much more like a rush team at their best but Gallant gets in his own way
Totally agree with your offseason to do list. I do think Drury and Kravtsov put the past behind them though and he comes in to be the Buchnevich replacement he was meant to be.
FWIW, a little harsh regarding Hunt. Due to his salary he does have a little value as a 13F or injury call up...but overall, excellent analysis top to bottom. Although it suddenly has become interesting to see which way they go with Kakko- for me the interesting thing this off season will be how things pan out with Nils and Krav. This team is "stuck" with Trouba at least another 2 years and does seem committed to Schneider. I wouldn't mind seeing if Nils is effective on the left side.
As far as Krav: his situation has been handled poorly on both sides....but I put more blame on him. I don't love how the NYR org has treated certain prospects...but can not side with a prospect who took the org to task in his exit interview regarding off season training- then gets hurt in the ensuing camp with an injury most likely linked to conditioning! And then takes his ball and goes home- a 2nd time! But the thing is: NYR need him and he needs NYR. Unless his opportunity to fill one of the gaping holes on NYR RW would cause a problem within the team -esp from players who've paid their dues- Drury and him have to bury the hatchet and move on...both could benefit in a BIG way.
If you find a reliable back up then it’s likely a top 15 starter in the league as NYR are maybe the worst team defensively giving up more high danger chances than anyone else. Geo is good but not with our roster in front of him. So why is Shesty so good behind them you might ask? Because he is literally the best goalie in the world and it’s not close.
Blais has been everything we expected except we didn’t expect a 6-8 month injury.
Motte I expect to return but Copp we can’t afford unless we want to lose some of the young talent but great player. Maybe he’s willing to take a big discount
Gallant and Drury have both done a good job. Buch we would have needed to unload regardless and in a cap squeeze it would have returned less. People need to realize how little every other team values Buch, a 2nd(which we used to get Copp) and Blais who fits the roster and filled a need better. Less also remember he was pushing MYR to sign him at 1M+ more than he did so that contract would have been a big mistake when we needed to move a 7M Buch to keep young studs.
Flipping a 4th round pick into a 2nd and Blais instead of over paying and then paying to move a bad contract. That’s actually not bad asset management no matter how nice it would have been to have him for the 1 season and playoff run
FWIW, a little harsh regarding Hunt. Due to his salary he does have a little value as a 13F or injury call up...but overall, excellent analysis top to bottom. Although it suddenly has become interesting to see which way they go with Kakko- for me the interesting thing this off season will be how things pan out with Nils and Krav. This team is "stuck" with Trouba at least another 2 years and does seem committed to Schneider. I wouldn't mind seeing if Nils is effective on the left side.
As far as Krav: his situation has been handled poorly on both sides....but I put more blame on him. I don't love how the NYR org has treated certain prospects...but can not side with a prospect who took the org to task in his exit interview regarding off season training- then gets hurt in the ensuing camp with an injury most likely linked to conditioning! And then takes his ball and goes home- a 2nd time! But the thing is: NYR need him and he needs NYR. Unless his opportunity to fill one of the gaping holes on NYR RW would cause a problem within the team -esp from players who've paid their dues- Drury and him have to bury the hatchet and move on...both could benefit in a BIG way.
He could have conditioned as a scratch upstairs or playing low leverage minutes in the beginning of the season where the games don't mean as much, its absolutely insulting if I'm Kravtsov that I'm being asked to take AHL checks while Hajek, Tinordi, Hunt, Reaves and even Gauthier were doing jack ****
If you find a reliable back up then it’s likely a top 15 starter in the league as NYR are maybe the worst team defensively giving up more high danger chances than anyone else. Geo is good but not with our roster in front of him. So why is Shesty so good behind them you might ask? Because he is literally the best goalie in the world and it’s not close.
Blais has been everything we expected except we didn’t expect a 6-8 month injury.
Motte I expect to return but Copp we can’t afford unless we want to lose some of the young talent but great player. Maybe he’s willing to take a big discount
Gallant and Drury have both done a good job. Buch we would have needed to unload regardless and in a cap squeeze it would have returned less. People need to realize how little every other team values Buch, a 2nd(which we used to get Copp) and Blais who fits the roster and filled a need better. Less also remember he was pushing MYR to sign him at 1M+ more than he did so that contract would have been a big mistake when we needed to move a 7M Buch to keep young studs.
Flipping a 4th round pick into a 2nd and Blais instead of over paying and then paying to move a bad contract. That’s actually not bad asset management no matter how nice it would have been to have him for the 1 season and playoff run
Buch is a 1st line winger making under 6 million, we had tons more cap space then we knew what to do with for all of this season and could have signed Buch for term with the intention of trading him anyway, at least that way we get value for his team control, also those same young studs Gallant didn't trust to do ****, you can't help but think how much Buch could have helped a team 2 games away from the finals
Buch is a 1st line winger making under 6 million, we had cap space for all of this season and could have signed Buch for term with the intention of trading him anyway, at least that way we get value for his team control
You are really missing the point… Buch wanted 7M to stay.. no teams wanted him… he joined a Stanley Cup contender who just won it 2 years earlier. Didnt help them win it again. Buch is not a true 1st line guy. Imagine paying Buch more than Kreider lol. Kreider, Zibby and Panarin are 1st liners. Buch doesn’t cut it, he’s stuck with Strome as a 2nd line guy at best
You are really missing the point… Buch wanted 7M to stay.. no teams wanted him… he joined a Stanley Cup contender who just won it 2 years earlier. Didnt help them win it again. Buch is not a true 1st line guy. Imagine paying Buch more than Kreider lol. Kreider, Zibby and Panarin are 1st liners. Buch doesn’t cut it, he’s stuck with Strome as a 2nd line guy at best
Buch was better than Kreider last season and absolutely deserved to be paid on par with him
He could have conditioned as a scratch upstairs or playing low leverage minutes in the beginning of the season where the games don't mean as much, its absolutely insulting if I'm Kravtsov that I'm being asked to take AHL checks while Hajek, Tinordi, Hunt, Reaves and even Gauthier were doing jack ****
Agreed...Krav was sent down because he wouldn't have to pass through waivers- like Hajek. Additionally, though, I think his demotion was intended as a kick in the pants for his challenging of off season conditioning requests (in exit interview). Not the best way for NYR org to handle their frustration with him for sure- but also keep in mind at the time the team had no idea they would lose Blais for the year, and that Kakko would miss so much time. One more thing of interest on this matter though: Krav was excluded from the "team bonding trip" which occurred before he was cut. Was this really due with interfering with his rehab or did the team see him as a cancer they wanted separate from everyone else? The answer to this might actually dictate the way they proceed with him this year.
Agreed...Krav was sent down because he wouldn't have to pass through waivers- like Hajek. Additionally, though, I think his demotion was intended as a kick in the pants for his challenging of off season conditioning requests (in exit interview). Not the best way for NYR org to handle their frustration with him for sure- but also keep in mind at the time the team had no idea they would lose Blais for the year, and that Kakko would miss so much time. One more thing of interest on this matter though: Krav was excluded from the "team bonding trip" which occurred before he was cut. Was this really due with interfering with his rehab or did the team see him as a cancer they wanted separate from everyone else? The answer to this might actually dictate the way they proceed with him this year.
They also purposely held him out of their summer prospect tournament in Traverse City which should mean they thought he was too good for it
You are really missing the point… Buch wanted 7M to stay.. no teams wanted him… he joined a Stanley Cup contender who just won it 2 years earlier. Didnt help them win it again. Buch is not a true 1st line guy. Imagine paying Buch more than Kreider lol. Kreider, Zibby and Panarin are 1st liners. Buch doesn’t cut it, he’s stuck with Strome as a 2nd line guy at best
Don't know if I agree here...that KZB line was pretty effective as a 1st line- and usually it was Buch driving the offense. And if it was 7M to stay, why would he sign a 4 year deal elsewhere at more than 1M per less? I think there was more to Buch than we are led on to believe- and will never find out. Bad influence on his Russian friends?? Close with ADA?? I have no evidence of either- but do know that for whatever reason he was given a noticeably meager "return video" when he played at MSG.
Don't know if I agree here...that KZB line was pretty effective as a 1st line- and usually it was Buch driving the offense. And if it was 7M to stay, why would he sign a 4 year deal elsewhere at more than 1M per less? I think there was more to Buch than we are led on to believe- and will never find out. Bad influence on his Russian friends?? Close with ADA?? I have no evidence of either- but do know that for whatever reason he was given a noticeably meager "return video" when he played at MSG.
If a player only worth the return we got and the contract he signed was hard nosed to get 7M here or walk as UFA.. how would you great him back? Was that line decent? Ya. Was our 2nd line centred by Strome decent? Ya. Now Strome wants 7M and he isn’t being signed. But he’s a UFA regardless, Buch wasn’t, so may as well get the return we did. Or pay his the 7M which people want to say he deserves and now this summer rolls around and who is trading for him when they can just sign the UFAs available. Now we are stuck paying to move him or losing better youth
If a player only worth the return we got and the contract he signed was hard nosed to get 7M here or walk as UFA.. how would you great him back? Was that line decent? Ya. Was our 2nd line centred by Strome decent? Ya. Now Strome wants 7M and he isn’t being signed. But he’s a UFA regardless, Buch wasn’t, so may as well get the return we did. Or pay his the 7M which people want to say he deserves and now this summer rolls around and who is trading for him when they can just sign the UFAs available. Now we are stuck paying to move him or losing better youth
If you're saying he didn't deserve a warm welcome back because he negotiated hard and used the leverage which he rightfully earned...I don't buy it. I mean- why should he play so nice with the org which at times dragged him through the mud during his development? Especially while others- like Howden could do no wrong? Yet through all his mistreatment he developed into a heck of a hockey player...maybe if they did play him on PP1 (where he belonged) he would have had the #'s to bring back the return he really should have! Before this all went down- I mentioned in a thread: if they're gonna move him- make sure it's for a legit top 6 C prospect...otherwise pay the man to stay.
If you're saying he didn't deserve a warm welcome back because he negotiated hard and used the leverage which he rightfully earned...I don't buy it. I mean- why should he play so nice with the org which at times dragged him through the mud during his development? Especially while others- like Howden could do no wrong? Yet through all his mistreatment he developed into a heck of a hockey player...maybe if they did play him on PP1 (where he belonged) he would have had the #'s to bring back the return he really should have! Before this all went down- I mentioned in a thread: if they're gonna move him- make sure it's for a legit top 6 C prospect...otherwise pay the man to stay.
Oh I’m not saying that why he got a lesser welcome. He played what 4 seasons? Does he even deserve a welcome? I think anything is already more than needed. Imagine trading Chytil today and throwing a coming home party for him. Not needed. The leafs trading Sandin and sending him a welcome home party. Now if he was here and was a big part of winning a cup then sure but he didn’t do so, so really, anything is already above and beyond. Can’t wait to see the Vatrano and Braun welcome back clips
Oh I’m not saying that why he got a lesser welcome. He played what 4 seasons? Does he even deserve a welcome? I think anything is already more than needed. Imagine trading Chytil today and throwing a coming home party for him. Not needed. The leafs trading Sandin and sending him a welcome home party. Now if he was here and was a big part of winning a cup then sure but he didn’t do so, so really, anything is already above and beyond. Can’t wait to see the Vatrano and Braun welcome back clips
LOL. My bad…didn’t realize that was the way you were looking at the video tribute. Don’t think a “video tribute argument” is a necessary discussion….but for an org that does recognize most of its former players and coaches, I just thought his was a little icier than most. That said, I really hope to see Reaves’ and Nemeth’s this year!
dlt_hfu2847whsba liked this.
Reply
CapFriendly
CapFriendly