Blog Archives
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
Rumor Mill: McKenzie – Rangers may think about moving Rick Nash
Bobby Bevilacqua
TSN/s Bob McKenzie reports that the Rangers could be considering trading their All Star winger Rick Nash, mainly due to cap space concerns. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
With the Rangers eliminated from the playoffs, the time has come for crazy trade rumors. Already, fans are claiming that a Talbot trade would bring in the first overall pick, or Taylor Hall (hint: never going to happen), and there is clickbait galore claiming knowledge from “insiders” about some crazy trade that could happen.
The Rangers have the luxury of being a big market team, as well as one of the more wide-spread fan bases in the league, with Rangers fans all over the country. Because of this, they’re usually more susceptible to heavy criticism, lofty expectations, and yes, crazy trade rumors.
A few days ago, the Rick Nash trade rumors seemed to be grouped in with the rest of those crazy trade scenarios. But as time passes, the talks of this being a possibility haven’t slowed down, and may actually have some truth behind it. Read the rest of this entry
Chris Kreider preparing himself to take the next step
Bobby Bevilacqua
Chris Kreider is an extremely talented, and young winger who is ready to take strides to step up his game for next season. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
It feels as if Chris Kreider has been a Ranger for a very long time. After making his debut in Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators in the 2012 playoffs, he has since been grouped in with the rest of the “core” group of the New York Rangers organization.
But it’s hard to realize that this was only Kreider’s second full year in the NHL. Despite playing in the 2012 playoffs and through the lockout-shortened 2013-14 season, he was still considered a rookie, and was getting some attention for the Calder trophy award, presented to the league’s best rookie.
A lot was expected of Kreider this year. After playing in parts of three seasons, fans and hockey analysts expected to him to continue his development into one of the premier power forwards in the league. And for the most part, he delivered, growing as a player and teammate throughout this season. 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
6 Things the Rangers needed to do better in the playoffs
The Rangers fell short of their lofty expectations in the playoffs. These are a few things that they needed to do better. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Bobby Bevilacqua
A promising season led to postseason disappointment for the Rangers, falling short of their Stanley Cup goals, and losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They came just 20 minutes shy of a second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals berth.
After acquiring Keith Yandle at the trade deadline, many believed that this put the Rangers in a “win-now” mode. The players had these same expectations, which is why they too seemed disgruntled during their exit interviews yesterday.
A lot of people thought that this was the year that the Rangers would finally recapture the Stanley Cup after 21 long seasons. But there were injuries, failed game plans, as well as a strong Tampa Bay team standing in their way.
Hindsight is 20/20, so here is what the Rangers needed to do differently or better in order to win. Read the rest of this entry
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