Blog Archives
Unlike last season, Rangers depth and bottom six is a reason for their success
Bobby Bevilacqua
Dominic Moore and Viktor Stalberg both help provide a lot of depth on this Rangers squad. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
What a difference a year can make.
Last season, the biggest issue discussed and written about by bloggers, reporters, analysts and fans was the lack of depth in the Rangers lineup. Tanner Glass was an everyday player on the fourth line, while Lee Stempniak, Jesper Fast and JT Miller all competed for ice time.
Once the Rangers traded away Stempniak, they really didn’t have a spare forward that could step in and produce. That came into play during the playoffs when Mats Zuccarello went down with an injury, and James Sheppard had to step into the lineup. He didn’t have much of an impact, totaling two points (1-1-2) in 13 playoff games.
More importantly, the fourth line was terrible. Tanner Glass and James Sheppard did nothing to help out Dominic Moore, they struggled against the Lightning’s top players, and spent minimal time on attack. They didn’t do what a fourth line is supposed to do. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Rumors: Carl Klingberg set to sign with KHL
Bobby Bevilacqua
Carl Klingberg, a prospect that the Rangers traded for at this past trade deadline, looks to be heading to the KHL. Photo courtesy of the Hartford Wolf Pack.
At the trade deadline, Glen Sather and the Rangers made three moves, one of them being a trade that sent Lee Stempniak to the Winnipeg Jets for Carl Klingberg, a prospect playing for the Jets’ AHL team, the St. John’s IceCaps.
At first, the trade seemed a bit odd. Stempniak was effective, boasting solid possession numbers and contributing on the fourth line. He had enough talent to step up the third or second line when someone was injured, and on top of all of that, he was cheap, with a salary of just $900,000.
Klingberg came to the Rangers organization in return, and went to play with the Hartford Wolf Pack. In 13 regular season games with the Pack, he totaled 11 points (2-9-11), following that up with seven points (4-3-7) in 13 playoff games during a run to the Conference Finals.
And now, it looks like the Swedish native is on his way out, prepared to sign with the Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers rematch Predators at the Garden with their newest acquisitions
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers are back at the Garden, looking to take down the Nashville Predators before heading out on a tough road trip. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Following a hectic trade deadline, the Rangers (38-17-6) are back at Madison Square Garden for one game, where they will take on the Nashville Predators (41-15-7), currently the best team in the NHL when it comes to points.
Both teams have re-tooled their lineup since the last time that they met, a 3-2 Nashville win on February 7th. In that game, Rick Nash (PP Goal) and Ryan McDonagh found the back of the net, and Derick Brassard assisted on both goals. Nashville got goals from Shea Weber, Roman Josi, and Mike Ribeiro, as well as 30 saves from Pekka Rinne.
Rinne has been one of the best goalies in the league this season, and he has some impressive numbers to back that up. Rinne has 35 wins, a 2.07 GAA, and a .928 save percentage, second to Montreal’s Carey Price in all of those categories. The Rangers will need to work hard to get pucks past Rinne. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers re-sign Zuccarello, trade Lee Stempniak, and acquire James Sheppard
Bobby Bevilacqua
Mats Zuccarello will be a Ranger for the next four years, with the Rangers locking up one of their key playmaking wingers. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers extremely bust trade deadline day seems to have come to an end, with Glen Sather locking down Mats Zuccarello for the next four years, and making some minor adjustments to the rest of the lineup.
The biggest news, outside of the Keith Yandle trade earlier, was the extension of Mats Zuccarello to a four year, $18 million deal, paying him an average of $4.5 million a year.
Although Zuccarello, is not producing like he was last season, he has been playing very well lately, bringing his point total to 35 (12-23-35) this season. Zuccarello has built tremendous chemistry with Derick Brassard, and is one of the best playmakers on the team, with great vision and a knack for finding the open man. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers acquire Keith Yandle from Arizona for John Moore, Anthony Duclair, picks
The Rangers bolstered their defense with the acquisition of Keith Yandle, an offensive juggernaut from the blue line. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Coyotes.
Bobby Bevilacqua
Glen Sather and the New York Rangers were at it again at this year’s trade deadline, picking up Keith Yandle, Chris Summers, and a fourth round pick in 2016 from the Arizona Coyotes, and sending John Moore, Anthony Duclair, a 2016 first round pick, and a 2015 second round pick to the desert. Sather also managed to pick up Yandle at half of his salary, making his cap hit just $2.625 million through next season.
This is not purely a rental, as Yandle is under contract for the next season as well. The Rangers will only pay half salary for that season as well. Read the rest of this entry
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