Blog Archives
Will Martin St. Louis be a Ranger next season?
Bobby Bevilacqua
Martin St. Louis’ contract is up, and he likely wants to stay a Ranger. Will Glen Sather Give him a deal? Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
As soon as the playoffs ended for the New York Rangers, hockey writers and Rangers blogs began sharing their opinion on Martin St. Louis and his future with the Rangers and the NHL. It seems as if fans, and St. Louis himself, have no idea where this situation is going.
“For me right now, of course I want to play,” said St. Louis during the Rangers exit interviews. “But I’m not sure which direction this team is going to go either, so it’s tough to comment. But I’ve been blessed to play parts of two years here for a great organization. We’ll see where that takes me.”
The soon-to-be 40 year old is coming off the worst postseason of his professional career, scoring just one goal and adding six assists in nine games. He saw his role diminish from a top six forward, to playing 13 or 14 minutes a night in sheltered minutes on the fourth line. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Player Grades: Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi
Bobby Bevilacqua
Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh have been the two top defensemen in New York for a few years now. It was another solid year for the duo, both dealing with adversity throughout the season. Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennet/Getty Images North America.
Even with the hiring of Alain Vigneault, who brings a more up-tempo style of play to New York, he did not forget about defense. Instead, the Rangers now have a system where they create offense off of their defense, stopping plays first and then countering on the rush.
That defensive focus came through at the trade deadline as well, when Glen Sather made a move to acquire Keith Yandle, an elite puck moving, offensive defenseman from the Arizona Coyotes, forfeiting top prospect Anthony Duclair, John Moore and two picks. That gave the Rangers one of the best defenses on paper, and that was their strength heading into the playoffs.
Despite dealing with injuries and change throughout the season, the Rangers were pretty strong throughout the season at the blue line. There’s a nice mix of defensive players and guys with a bit of offensive flare, and if they all stay healthy next year, Alain Vigneault should have himself another year of shutdown defensive play. Read the rest of this entry
Rangers Player Grades: The Goalies
Bobby Bevilacqua
Cam Talbot and Henrik Lundqvist combined to form one of the best goaltending duos in the entire league, with each goalie reaching the 20 win plateau and playing a major part in the Rangers’ success. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Throughout the offseason, I’m going to be writing articles, giving my opinion on a player’s performance throughout the regular season and the playoffs. I’ll be starting from the back end out, which means goalies first, then defensemen, and finally the forwards.
To avoid super long posts, I’m going to split up the defensemen and forward groups. For defensemen I’ll probably do the plays who are paired with each other, and I’ll try and separate the forward lines. This will allow me to talk more in depth about each person, and talk about how they played together.
Without further ado, let’s get going on the 2014-15 player grades. Read the rest of this entry
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