Thank You New York Rangers
As a die-hard Rangers fan, watching them lose on Friday night just six wins away from a Stanley Cup broke my heart. In fact, for many of us fans, it brought tears to our eyes seeing our team give everything they had just to come up a little bit short. The fans, players, and coaching staff, as well as the whole organization,was very upset to see it end like that. It even took me a few days to write this article because of the emotion this year brought upon me. However, through everything I saw as I watched the hand shake and post game conferences, one thing popped out. It was the coach himself and by far one of the best in the league, John Tortorella, showing a quiet confidence in his team as the future is bright. At that point, a short, small smile came across my face.
This was the farthest I've ever seen the Rangers go in my 22 year life. Yes, I was four when Mark Messier raised Lord Stanley's Cup, but way to young to remember and be a part of. Losing that game in overtime, knowing the season was over, was the hardest thing I've probably ever had to watch. There is a feeling, even still two days later, that I've never had after a Rangers season. The feeling that this team isn't done just yet. The feeling that they will be just as good if not better next year. The feeling that, within the next few years, I will see the Rangers get through the Eastern Conference Final and battle for the Cup.
Looking at the team, there is nothing the Rangers are really losing. There are three core players the Rangers need to get back under contract. Those players are unrestricted free agents Brandon Prust and Martin Biron, alongside restricted free agent Michael Del Zotto. Prust will get a considerable hike in money as he was making only $800,000 this past season. His deal could even be more than fellow Ranger Brian Boyle who was recently re-upped. Biron, a great backup goaltender and guy to have around the locker room, will bring in about the same he was these past two seasons, a million bucks. Michael Del Zotto will be an interesting RFA as he had a much better season after a dreadful sophomore year. He was part of the Rangers core four defensemen and provided some great offense this year.
Otherwise, the Rangers will have a few names that could be considered to be brought back. Those include Ruslan Fedetenko, John Mitchell, and Anton Stralman among a few others. One thing the Rangers could really use is another scoring winger. They tried to get Rick Nash at the trade deadline but the price was way to high. Look for them to possibly revisit that when the draft nears in June. The other player on the Rangers radar will be Zach Parise. He will be a free agent come July 1 and will probably test the market as he will get more money away from New Jersey. Other fill in players will be looked at to replace any lost players coming into the next season.
Also, one last player I would love to see back in the lineup is Michael Sauer. He received a nasty concussion late in 2011 and not much has been heard since. The hope is that he will come back and play a big role as he has been solid in his first two years.
I am really pumped for the next few years. The Rangers have a great core of players and will surely battle for the Cup once again. It doesn't help sporting a top two goaltender in the league with Henrik Lundqvist either. It's only been two days and summer is my favorite season, yet I can't lie I find myself drooling over October when the puck drops for new Rangers season. Mark my words, these next few years will be epic!
Hey Eric,
ReplyDeleteGreat article. The feeling you described is one that I have felt for the better portion of my life as a Flyers fan. While it hurts, the potential for the future is...soothing for a lack of a better word.
In reality, when one looks at the NHL and winning the cup, only one team gets to do it a year. The closer your team gets the more you realize exactly how hard it is to win. Think about 1 in 30 odds in your regular life - unreal when you really think about it. As for the Rangers this season was a step in the right direction - but a step that several teams took (Flyers, Panthers, Blues - even the Kings and Devils)
As for changes next year for the Rangers - expect some, but not too dramatic. A GM once told me, if you don't win the cup - changes have to be made because the mix wasn't right, no matter how close you are. I expect the Rangers to go after some scoring and that may mean trading some of the players in the Rangers "core". The trick is doing it without ripping the heart out of the team. Flyers took a huge risk last year trading away Richards and Carter but in my opinion it was the right move. It allowed our youth the chance to come up and I believe that the Flyers are very much on the track to a possible final - just like the Rangers. Flyers fans are taking a lot of flack about the Kings in the final with the two aforementioned players - but the truth is that those two players are not in a leadership role on the Kings like they were on the Flyers. Their ROLE on that team is different - something not spoken about enough.
As for Parise, when looking at recent events I would look for him to stay in NJ....for a while.
When it comes to the Rangers, I can only hope that team ownership (who are often more preoccupied with the Knicks or Cablevision) don't get in the teams way. Tortorella is a great coach (in spite what people say) and the goaltender is top 5 in the league. Sather said 3-4 years ago that the team was going to turn to it's youth - it worked. Let's hope they don't panic or get cocky and go back to the style of the Rangers at the turn of the century which was Yankes-esk in terms of "buy the best players" and we will win.
It will be fun to watch them moving forward.
I agree with everything there. I'd like to hope Parise tests free agency just to see how much he can get because he will get more outside of NJ. I think the only core person you could possibly see traded is Dubinsky or Del Zotto and it would have something to do in a major deal, like for Rick Nash, which will again be going wild again in a few weeks at the draft table.
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