What's Next for the Rangers?

The New York Rangers--who loves 'em? Some fans definitely hate 'em, and even their own fans have what seems like a tempestuous relationship with their own team. Ayyy, fuggiddabouddit!

Like all Original Six teams, the story of the Rangers is filled with hockey lore. Looking at the Rangers up close reveals the team is a mirror of the city: obsessed with their image, brash, up and down, always in the middle of some controversy...what more fitting team could Sean Avery play for, and John Tortorella coach, after all?

But, despite the crowing of their critics--and a seven season drought that lasted from 1998 to the lockout in '04--they've returned to being a playoff team for the last four years, and are in fact one of the most valuable franchises in the NHL.

This look at the Rangers today--and tomorrow--from Yahoo Sports 'Inside Shots' team report:

It didn’t take long for fired Rangers coach Tom Renney to find work.

Renney, who was axed Feb. 19 by the Blueshirts and replaced by John Tortorella, was hired May 26 by Edmonton as an associate coach under Pat Quinn with a reported understanding that Renney will have an opportunity to take over as head man if/when Quinn retires.

“This will work out very well long-term,” Renney said. “This is a no-brainer, this is a slam dunk. I want to do everything I can within Pat’s framework to put a winning product on the ice.”

Renney led the Rangers to a 10-2-1 start last season, but a lack of scoring consistency resulted in a fall to eighth place in the Eastern Conference and ultimately to Renney’s dismissal after parts of five seasons—and three playoff appearances—in New York.

The hirings reunite Quinn and Renney with Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini from their days working in unison with the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990s. Renney coached the Canucks to a 35-40-7 record in 1996-97 but was fired just 19 games (4-13-2) into the following season.

Season Highlight: Czech your highlights at the door. The Rangers opened the season with back-to-back 2-1 wins over Tampa Bay in Prague (Czech Republic) and carried their European start to a 10-2-1 October record. That quick burst out of the blocks sustained them in the playoff race for months, although coach Tom Renney was axed on Feb. 23 after they played .500 hockey (21-21-6) for 48 games.

Turning Point: John Tortorella’s hiring to replace Tom Renney behind the bench on Feb. 23 ignited the Rangers to a 12-7-2 finish, propelling them to the seventh playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They also took 3-1 series lead against Washington in the first round before Alex Ovechkin and the second-seeded Capitals overpowered the Rangers over the final three games to advance.

Notes, Quotes

• May 27 marked the 15th anniversary of Stephane Matteau’s game-winning goal against New Jersey in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals, propelling the Rangers toward their lone Stanley Cup title since 1940. Former radio announcer Howie Rose’s call of “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau” remains among the most memorable play-by-play calls in New York sports history.

“When I heard it, I thought I’d blown it—not from a technical standpoint, but because I thought I’d lost it. I’d never heard myself like that,” Rose, now an announcer for the New York Mets and the New York Islanders, told the New York Daily News. “When I listened to it again for the first time, my heart sunk, because I heard myself out of control. I was very uncomfortable with it and when I left the building, I was not at all in a good mood about the call. But when I drove home, that’s all I heard was the call. And people oddly were talking about the call as much as they were the game. … And I thought, ‘Geez, I guess they like it.’”

• Hall of Famer Clint Smith, the last living member of the Rangers’ 1940 Stanley Cup winning team, died at age 95 May 20. Smith, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, was a smallish center for the Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks between 1936 and 1947. A two-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy, Smith had only 24 penalty minutes in 483 career games, including an amazing four-year stretch in which he was not called for a penalty.

Quote To Note: “We need scoring, we need that one guy. We’re going to need that go-to guy. That was the difference, obviously, in the first round, no question.”—Winger Sean Avery, when asked in a May radio interview for the Rangers’ most glaring offseason need.

Roster Report

Most Valuable Player: The Rangers probably can rename this award, at least for the foreseeable future, for star goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The first-time All-Star might have done his best work on Broadway this season behind a flawed team despite not being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the first time in his four-year NHL career. Lundqvist became the first goalie in NHL history to win at least 30 games in each of his first four NHL seasons—he won a career-best 38 before almost single-handedly extending the Rangers’ first-round playoff series against Washington to seven games.

Most Disappointing Player: Fans at Madison Square Garden had about 39 million reasons to boo defenseman Wade Redden, and not all of them had to do with the dollar figures attached to the absurd six-year contract he was given as a free agent last summer. Redden provided no production on the power play and fittingly was defending against Washington veteran Sergei Fedorov on the series-winning goal late in Game 7 of the first round.

Free Agent Focus: GM Glen Sather somehow needed to free up some cap space just to re-sign notable restricted free agent forwards Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinksy, both of whom were leaned on heavily by coach John Tortorella in the playoffs. “Somehow” arrived early in the offseason, when veteran winger Markus Naslund retired to clear $3 million from the books.

Regular-season scoring leader Nik Zherdev also is an RFA, although the Rangers must seriously ponder re-signing a winger who made $3.25 million this season but disappeared in the playoffs (no points in seven games). Winger Nik Antropov, who provided a nice offensive boost following a trade-deadline deal with Toronto, is the most notable of the Rangers’ unrestricted free agents, along with veteran defensemen Paul Mara and Derek Morris and penalty-killing forward Blair Betts.

Player News:

• D Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers’ first pick (20th overall) in the 2008 entry draft, agreed to a three-year entry-level contract on May 26. The puck-rushing defenseman is still 19 and eligible to return to his junior team in London, Ontario, next season, but he told the New York Daily News “my mindset going into (training) camp is I’m going to make the team. I want to show (the Rangers) that I can be counted on in any situation and compete at that level. That’s where I want to be.”

• RW Andres Ambuhl, a free agent forward who had 41 points in 50 games for HC Davos in the Swiss league last season, agreed to terms with the Rangers. The 25-year-old winger is expected to attend the Rangers’ in training camp in September.

• D Ilkka Heikkinen, a 24-year-old defenseman who had eight goals and 34 points with HIFK Helsinki (Finland) last season, agreed to terms with the Rangers and will compete for a roster spot in training camp.

Medical Watch:

• C Blair Betts missed the final game against Washington with an apparent head injury after a blindside shoulder hit in Game 6 by Capitals enforcer Donald Brashear, who was suspended six games by the NHL.

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So what's next for the Rangers? Will they be back in the playoffs again next year? And will they make more moves guaranteed to raise the hackles of hockey fans?i

Any thoughts from our members on the Rangers looking forward?

screwed with Redden on the blue line at 6.5 million, Naslund retiring helps the cap situation a bit though, maybe not enough to be competitive.

Given the evident anti-Ranger sentiment on these forums, the perspective from New York City offers a contrasting viewpoint. Having reported on the Rangers since 1954, the esteemed Stan 'The Maven' Fischler serves up this smorgasbord:

BLUESHIRTS LOOK TOWARDS NEXT YEAR
Stan Fischler, GameOn!/MSG.com, June 15, 2008

Now that the Stanley Cup Finals are over, it's time to reflect on the Rangers and particular personalities.

The Maven, speaking both personally and professionally, offers the following thoughts.

Bear in mind that I have absolutely no idea what Glen Sather has in mind.

Rest assured that he's telling no one in the media, a la Lou Lamoriello and Garth Snow. So, without further ado, here are my opinions.

• SCOTT GOMEZ: Unlike others in the media, I remain one of the foremost fans of The Gomer. His forays up the ice are uniquely artistic. We know his limitations, but I contend that his assets overweigh his debits. Plus, I disagree with those who say he is not a first-line player. Just get him a winger who can convert his passes and you'll see what a first-liner he can be. My advice to Scott: Listen up hard to John Tortorella and all will be well between center and coach.
  
• WADE REDDEN: No, he's not Nick Lidstrom nor Zdeno Chara. But Redden's play improved under Tortorella, and there's potential for him to re-up another notch next season. I expect him back and I anticipate Wade being among the top four defensemen.
  
• CHRIS DRURY: It will be interesting to see whether the coach keeps him as captain (Remember how Brent Sutter removed the "C" from Patrik Elias). It appears that Chris is in the coach's good graces, and he might be even better in 2009-2010. Don't expect him to be traded.
  
• NIK ZHERDEV: The gifted-but-not-always-productive-Russian faded badly in the homestretch under Tortorella. Even though Zherdev wants to return as a Ranger, I suspect that Torts leans heavily towards keeping Nik Antropov.
  
• PAUL MARA: I liked his gritty play in 2008-2009, and I love his attitude toward New York. If it comes down to a choice between Mara and Derek Morris, I'd keep Mara. However, knowing Tortorella's past tepid attitude toward Paul, I can see Mara going bye-bye.
  
• COLTON ORR: This is a tough one — in more ways than one. Every club needs an enforcer, and CO is the master of the KO. But, he lost significant ice time under Tortorella and, as one writer recently noted, Brodie Dupont could be a better replacement. Me? I'd keep the slugger.
  
• BLAIR BETTS AND FRED SJOSTROM: How do you lose two of the best penalty-killers in the NHL? And where does Lauri Korpikoski slide back on to the roster? This is a vexing question for Sather.
  
• MICHAL ROSZIVAL: He's trade bait, and does more things well than a lot of fans would like to believe. There could be a general manager out there who covets the veteran defenseman.
  
• NO BRAINERS: There should be little to no discussion about retaining the following, all in the young and not-so-old category: Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, and Dan Girardi.
  
  
• HARTFORD (in the AHL pipeline--Ed.): A lot will depend on training camp, but my two favorites at the moment are Artem Anisimov and Corey Potter. We shall see!
  

Anisimov should be a lock to make the team with all their bloated salaries and lack of depth. I've always liked the kid, too bad he has to join that clusterf#@%

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Anisimov should be a lock to make the team with all their bloated salaries and lack of depth. I've always liked the kid, too bad he has to join that clusterf#@%

TGTWF, there are a number of such 'clusters', as you so delicately put it, around the NHL.

Your awareness of Anisimov, BTW is impressive. Kudos.

One of the problems with playing in New York City--and one of the reasons it costs so much to attract Free Agents--is that Manhattan is one of the most costly cities to live in the world.

And if you think media scrutiny is harsh in Montreal, the heat lamps from the media in the Greater New York Metro Area and its audience of close to 30 million people are scorching to say the least.

The nightlife distractions? Suffice to say from first hand experience that New York tops 'em all on this continent.

Tortorella actually did pretty well, considering how dysfunctional the Boys In Blue were when he took over. If Torts can get them to buy in to his system from training camp, and management makes some of the moves Fischler suggests, I wouldn't count the Rangers out of it next year.

Wow, that's one of the rosier views in recent memory. When he said "Redden is no Nick Lidstrom" he should have stopped right there. He improved under Torts and he thinks he may continue to improve? We're not talking about peach-fuzz Brian Lee here, but an NHL veteran with more than a dozen years in the league. He is done improving.

Being a fan of Gomer should not stop anyone from realizing that he is not earning that salary. Neither is Drury, and there is no mistaking it.

Those three (Redden, Gomez, Drury) are three boat anchors in terms of their cap hit. It means the Blueshirts will soon start losing legitimate blue-chip prospects as other teams start poaching them. They *must* move one of those three, preferably two of them. Just think, with Redden and Drury off the roster they can afford that sniper winger for Gomez -- Heatley, anyone? But, of course, that's not likely to happen.

Everyone needs an enforcer? Really? The fact that he lost ice time under Torts indicates that the coach does not share that assessment.

wprager wrote:Wow, that's one of the rosier views in recent memory. When he said "Redden is no Nick Lidstrom" he should have stopped right there. He improved under Torts and he thinks he may continue to improve? We're not talking about peach-fuzz Brian Lee here, but an NHL veteran with more than a dozen years in the league. He is done improving.

Being a fan of Gomer should not stop anyone from realizing that he is not earning that salary. Neither is Drury, and there is no mistaking it.

Those three (Redden, Gomez, Drury) are three boat anchors in terms of their cap hit. It means the Blueshirts will soon start losing legitimate blue-chip prospects as other teams start poaching them. They *must* move one of those three, preferably two of them. Just think, with Redden and Drury off the roster they can afford that sniper winger for Gomez -- Heatley, anyone? But, of course, that's not likely to happen.

Everyone needs an enforcer? Really? The fact that he lost ice time under Torts indicates that the coach does not share that assessment.

You neglected to mention Fischler's comment about Roszival being moved and/or Mara not being re-signed.

Those potential savings of over 6.25MM, bringing the Rangers' cap committment down to under 37MM...plenty of room to sign Heatley or other high ticket winger...say Gaborik or Hossa.

You're right that I didn't mention those. Frankly, I have very little idea (or did, until reading your post) what those guys made. All I know is that between Redden, Drury and Gomez there is a boatload of cap space that's bringing very little of value (relatively speaking, of course). Add Heatley and you've now got 4 players averaging $7.1M. none of whom play goal or defense. And it's even worse than having 4 high-end forwards, because Redden's position is D; he just can't play it any longer. You cannot have $28.4M of cap space tied up in 4 forwards, and if it's 3 forwards and a D-man who is a defensive liability, that's not any better.

Removing Mara and Roszival would be a band-aid solution, at best. They'd still be hard-pressed to complete a roster.

Currently if you remove Roszival, somehow, they sit at $33M with 4 forwards, 3D and no backup. Add in Heatley and you have roughly $12M to spend on 8 forwards, 3D, a spare and a backup. You surely don't want to lose Dubinsky, who is due for a nice raise, certainly more tha what Kelly is getting, so $2.5M or more. Antropov will want even more than that, and you want to keep Big Nik. So now you've got around $6.5M left to spend on 6 forwards, 3 defensemen, a spare and a backup. Assuming you still want to keep $1.5-2M for injuries and deadline deals, that leaves you pretty much the league minimum on the remaining 10 players.

EJ Hradek and Timo Seppa give us their take on what the Blueshirts should do to light it up on Broadway.

RANGERS NEED TO SCORE IN THE OFF-SEASON
New blood needed for woeful offense
EJ Hradek, Timo Seppa, ESPN.com, June 16, 2009

Plugging Holes - New York Rangers



The Hole: A goal-scoring forward

The Rangers' even-strength offense was poor (-18.2 GVT, just 25th in NHL) and their power-play offense was even worse (-17.6 GVT, 13.9 percent efficiency, 29th in NHL). No Rangers forward scored 30 goals or posted a GVT of +10.0. Left wing Markus Naslund has retired, and disappointing LW Nikolai Zherdev might not be re-signed, opening welcome vacancies in an offense that needs a major overhaul.

The Fix: Sign LW David Booth (RFA, Panthers)

The 24-year-old Booth is a blossoming finisher, scoring 31 goals with 29 assists in 72 games in 2008-09. He is strong on the man advantage (+3.0 PP GVT), with 11 PPG. Booth will also help create those power-play opportunities; at even strength, he drew 1.6 penalties per 60 minutes while taking only 0.8 penalties per 60 minutes.

Signing a restricted free agent might be easier than you would think. If the large-market Rangers offer Booth a contract around $2.5 million per year, Florida might have more incentive, in these tough economic times, to pocket the second-round pick instead of upping the ante. Other teams are unlikely to offer a bigger contract either, as that would require forfeiting first- and third-round picks. Spending $2.5 million annually would also make sense, as Booth (60 points, +12.3 GVT) slots between the talent levels of C David Krejci (73 points, +18.3 GVT), who recently re-signed for $3.75 million per annum with Boston, and LW Alexandre Burrows (51 points, +11.7 GVT), who re-signed for $2 million per year with Vancouver.

E.J.'s Take: There's no question the Rangers need scoring help. They were among the least productive offensive teams in the league, scoring just 210 goals. In that regard, Panthers restricted free agent David Booth would be an excellent addition. In just his second full season, the Detroit native is definitely a player on the rise.
That's exactly why it would be very difficult to get him. Yes, the Panthers are vulnerable because their management group is currently unsettled, with former GM Jacques Martin leaving to coach the Montreal Canadiens. Still, I don't see any way they wouldn't match a reasonable offer sheet, and the Rangers aren't in any salary-cap position to offer anything more than a reasonable deal. They'd have to unload some significant contracts (not likely) before they'd be able to make a big pitch for Booth. Plus, the Panthers might be able to lock him before July 1.

While I'm sure the Rangers would love to add Booth, it doesn't seem like a realistic possibility.

Penalties per 60 minutes statistics provided by behindthenet.ca.


Timo Seppa is a writer for Puck Prospectus. E.J. Hradek is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Note: A mainstay of Puck Prospectus's metrics is "Goals Versus Threshold" (GVT). The stat blends an array of offensive and defensive figures to measure the value, in terms of goals, a player contributes above what the marginal player would over the course of the season. A marginal player is one that could be replaced with a player of equivalent skill, e.g. from the minors. For instance, Evgeni Malkin had an offensive GVT of +18.9, a defensive GVT of +4.5 and a total GVT of +23.4 for the 2008-9 regular season, meaning that Malkin was worth 23.4 goals more than a marginal player over the course of the season, or worth about 0.3 additional goals per game. In the team context, GVT refers to performance above an NHL average team. For the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings had a +30.8 offensive GVT, a +15.1 defensive GVT, a -21.5 goaltending GVT, for a +24.4 total GVT. Therefore, at even strength, Detroit was 24.4 goals better than the average team.

Kreider is one big center..6'2" 220...a player who can score. A young man from Massachusetts...sounds like a solid choice.

Amazing pick - and then amazing play by Lou to move up and get a similar player.

Torts sets the tone...

Prospect camp setting tone for September
Tortorella makes conditioning a No. 1 priority at all levels of organization
Jim Cerny, newyorkrangers.com/June 29, 2009

John Tortorella was not on the ice when the Rangers opened up their five-day camp for prospects on Monday at the MSG Training Center, but his presence was clearly felt by the young players who were put through intense conditioning workouts and tests by Hartford Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander and his assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller.

Tortorella -- who was seated alongside Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather and the club’s Assistant G.M. Jim Schoenfeld in a special area overlooking the rink -- designed the prospects camp to mirror the first few days of what his initial training camp with the team will look like in September. A grueling battery of on-ice and off-ice conditioning tests began on Monday and will continue throughout the week, with a sprinkling of on-ice hockey drills mixed in.


“These are young men that have played in all different programs, have been pretty good players in those programs or they wouldn’t be at this camp, and this is a good situation to let them know what is expected,” said Tortorella. “It’s going to be tough, but at least they’ll know if they get invited to the big camp what is expected of them. And they might have a leg up on the other guys.”

Five of the players selected by the Rangers this past weekend in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft -- including top pick Chris Kreider -- are taking part in this week’s camp. In addition, two of the organization’s top prospects from the 2008 draft -- defenseman Michael Del Zotto and winger Evgeny Grachev -- are also participating, along with recently-signed defenseman Matt Gilroy, who won the 2009 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player, and Finnish import Ilkka Heikkinen.

In all, 26 players were on ice on Monday, though only a handful will take part in the Rangers training camp come September.

“I’ll be honest, there are guys here we will not see for another three or four years,” said Tortorella. “But there are also guys here that are knocking on the door. And if you are a player coming into Rangers camp this year and you’re knocking on the door, it’s a pretty good thing because I think we need to change the look of our club. It’s wide open. And that’s a good thing for a young player.”

At the draft in Montreal on Saturday, Sather mentioned five young defenseman from within the organization who will be in the mix to battle for legitimate shots at making the NHL roster. Two of those defensemen -- Del Zotto and Gilroy -- are at this camp, while Bobby Sanguinetti, Mike Sauer, and Corey Potter played full seasons in the AHL at Hartford in 2008-09 and have moved beyond the realm of this particular, introductory camp.

In addition, the 19-year-old Grachev -- perhaps the most explosive offensive talent within the organization coming off a 40-goal season with Brampton in the OHL -- is getting a very close look this week, and will be a threat to capture a slot with the Rangers in the fall, as well.

“I’m not afraid of youth as far as jumping in there and adding something in key situations and key positions,” Tortorella noted. “It’s going to be done on merit. So for young guys, I think it’s a great situation for them.”

The Rangers head coach went on to explain that no one on the roster is guaranteed a certain status or playing time except Henrik Lundqvist, whom Tortorella clearly stated is the team’s No. 1 goaltender. Each and every player will be forced to earn his way right from the first day of training camp in September, and Tortorella believes that good, young, hungry players pushing for roster spots is a great way to achieve the desired goal.

With a full summer to learn more about the prospects in the system, and a chance to conduct his own training camp, Tortorella expects much to change from last season. Tortorella joined the club more than halfway through the 2008-09 campaign, and it was all he could manage just to try and steer his club into the playoffs.

Now Tortorella will have the chance to lay out his blueprint, make the changes he wants to make, and create the type of team he believes will have success both in the present and in the future.

“I think we are soft thinkers,” Tortorella said of his Rangers. “That’s where it all starts. I think we need to grow in what we feel we have to do in preparation, our practice habits, and that leads us to the games as far as being a tougher team to play against. That isn’t being soft physically, that’s being soft thinkers. That’s a huge part of winning, your mental toughness. And that’s something we’re going to try and improve on.”

Tortorella added that the players are treated so well by the Rangers organization, that now it is time for some payback.

“Instead of asking for more and putting your hand out, take it away and start getting things done,” said Tortorella emphatically.

That message was delivered to the players after the Rangers were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Washington Capitals, and it is being shared with the prospects this week.

The other main message shared in the spring and being emphasized to the youngsters at the prospects camp is that all players within the organization must be at an elite level physically in order to compete the way Tortorella demands. And certainly that point was made loud and clear on Monday as one-by-one the young players expressed some wide-eyed surprise at how hard they were being pushed and how much of an emphasis was being placed on their conditioning.

“It’s definitely the first time I’ve ever gone through something like this, but it’s a new philosophy they’ve got going here and they want to see how hard we work so it’s going to be a good test,” said Del Zotto. “Looking ahead to training camp, obviously it’s going to be tough. This will make us work that much harder in the off-season to try and get ready for that.”

With Gomez to Montreal for Higgins, as reported by TSN and RDS today, the Rangers move a massive contract out...and get back a strong two-way forward in Chris Higgins.

Should be interesting to see the New York media take on this one...

DTR, I have watched alot of Chris Higgins play, a two way player is a bit of an overstatement in my opinion.