Defense and Top Line Questions Key To Rangers' Offseason

April 30, 2011
Alex Silverberg


The New York Rangers defied the expectations of many hockey analysts finishing in eight place in the Eastern Conference with 93 points despite their top sniper only netting 22 goals and the team losing 294 man-games to injury. Although making the playoffs was a great relief, the Rangers lack of talent and experience really cost them their first-round series with the Washington Capitals. As the months grow warmer, here are the top questions that the team needs to address.

Is Brad Richards really the cure-all for this offense?

Brad Richards is no doubt an exciting player and a game-breaker, netting 77 points in 72 games but the Rangers really need to consider if he is the one player they need to go from first-round losers to Stanley Cup contenders.

The Rangers are banking that he will be the same, effective player after having concussion issues this season. As we all know from the case of Sidney Crosby, there is nothing guaranteed once head injuries are involved. The Blueshirts are also assuming that Richards' playmaking ability will set Marion Gaborik on fire again. I for one think Gaborik will have a bounce back season whether or not the team signs Richards but even if they do, what does that mean for the rest of the lines?

The top line would probably look like Gaborik-Richards-Dubinsky. After that line, if our current roster doesn't improve through miraculous trades, you have a group of guys who mostly grind and battle their ways to the net. Granted, the team does have a bunch of could-be skill guys in Zuccarello, Wolski and Christensen but the consistency has not been there for us to expect big years.

So what you have is one dangerous line and three grinding lines. Stanley Cup champions aren't built like that. Successful teams have 2-3 lines that can score at any given moment. The Rangers will not have that even if they do sign Richards, so if the price isn't right, perhaps they should go back to the draft board and invest in their scoring future.

Who makes the third defense pairing?

One of the true bright spots of the season was the blossoming of Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer as a legitimate second defense pair, posting a plus-16 and a plus-20 respectively. For years the Rangers have had to worry about defense but now there seems to be a glut of it.

With Marc Staal and Dan Girardi established firmly as the first-pair and McDonagh and Sauer looking like a legitimate coupling, the Blueshirts have to make a lot of tough decisions when it comes to filling those final spots.

Steve Eminger, while not the flashiest defenseman, provided a physical edge that was effective against skill teams like the Capitals. Bryan McCabe was counted on to be the mid-season power play savior with his big shot from the point and while he did have his moments, his stay in Manhattan was largely marginal. Matt Gilroy showed some of the offensive prowess in the playoffs that made the Rangers draft him but it may have been too little, too late. Michael Del Zotto floundered in the early part of the season and was sent down to Hartford where he broke his hand and did not return to the team.

All these players are battling for those two spots. I say that they have to give one spot to Del Zotto as he has the best potential out of any mentioned and will undoubtedly use his minor league demotion as motivation to make it back to the big club. The other spot could be used on McCabe as he still has a big shot and is not that big of a liability in the regular minutes he plays. Gilroy may have earned himself a contract with his playoff performance but if he does make the team I can easily see him as the expected healthy scratch on most game days. However, these spots could be made even more crowded if Pavel Valentenko, a nasty d-man with a big shot, performs well in training camp or if a miracle happens and the Rangers' top prospect, "The Undertaker" Dylan McIlrath, is ahead of schedule in his development as the crease-clearing juggernaut that the Rangers have sorely needed for years.

These questions are at the forefront this summer and GM Glen Sather will have some tough decisions to make before the Rangers face-off against the Los Angeles Kings in Sweden on October 7th.

Brad Richards' Price Too Hefty

2/27/11
Alex Silverberg

On the eve of the trade deadline, all eyes are on Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk as he decides whether to hold on to or ship away star center Brad Richards. But all Ranger fans are paying more attention to their own GM, Glen Sather, to see if he is willing to mortgage the future in order for a slim chance at the Cup.

Although past reports have indicated that Sather is on the same page with head coach John Tortorella in keeping the young and talented "core" of the team in tact, the NY Daily News states that Sather is "determined" to land Richards by the 3 p.m. deadline tomorrow. If the GM is truly determined that means that at least a part of the core is going to have to pack their bags for Texas.

As of last week the rumored cost of Richards was Marc Staal, Brandon Dubinsky and Derek Stepan. Make no mistake, Richards is a world-class talent who can certainly bring Marion Gaborik back to his high-scoring ways, but to ask for the team's top D-man, it's points leader and a Calder Trophy candidate is absolutely ridiculous. Even a straight up trade involving any of these guys for the 30-year-old Richards would cause chaos among the Blueshirt faithful.

However, if Sather is so "determined" to acquire Richards instead of waiting for the summer when the Rangers can throw the most money at this year's biggest free agent (as they've done in the past), he is going to have to give up some good, young talent. My prediction is that if the trade does go down, Dallas will receive one of our forwards and one defenseman plus cash and picks. Artem Anisimov has been mentioned in trade rumors as has 21-year-old Evgeny Grachev. One of these Russians plus either the surprising Michael Sauer or the disappointing yet immensely talented Michael Del Zotto would be the main players in a deal.

The player I can live without the most is Grachev, a potential dominating power forward. Grachev has yet to put it all together but has the raw tools and the time to live up to everyone's expectations. And although Del Zotto has taken a step back this year, most people forget that he is only 20 years old and has the puck-moving skills of no other defenseman in the Rangers system. Anisimov, meanwhile, is becoming one of the best two-way players on the team while Sauer has become a above-average defenseman with a good amount of grit. These players are part of the core that Tortorella and the rest of the league highly covets.

Glen Sather has truly worked some magic this season in acquiring streaky scorer Wojtek Wolski for MSG scapegoat Michal Rozsival as well as PP QB Bryan McCabe for basically a third-round pick. I don't think it's possible to cast a spell on Nieuwendyk the same way. If this deal goes down the Rangers will have to give up part of their future. I can only hope that Sather realizes that if he stands pat the team will be a perennial playoff contender with top young talent instead of the big name, no chemistry clunkers of his much maligned past.

Blueshirts Extend Season High Losing Streak

Alex Silverberg
February 2, 2011

It seems that the Rangers have had plenty of bad luck on their now six-game losing steak, even when they play the game to the best of their abilities.

Tonight in Atlanta we saw the Rangers successfully execute all the things that they needed to get going for them to win yet the team still came up short. They needed Henrik Lundqvist to play like an All-Star. He did. They needed Marion Gaborik to skate to his abilities and create chances. He had two assists and five shots on goal. They needed a deficient power play to wake up. It scored one of the two Blueshirt goals. They did everything they set out to do but they couldn't get Lady Luck on their side.

She did help the Thrashers, however, with Matt Gilroy losing an edge to allow the breakaway and first goal of the game. It was also pretty lucky for Atlanta to have Marc Staal tip the puck in the perfect position for the second goal of the game by Evander Kane. However, that third goal (and Kane's second) was pure momentum from an overpowering man advantage as a result of an all too common Michael Del Zotto mistake.

There are no moral victories in hockey, especially this late in the season, but the Rangers can take solace in the fact that they executed their game-plan and luck was just not on their side. Then again, they could have said the same for the past several games as they have all been one-goal affairs, a weird statistic if I've ever seen one.

As fans we can only hope that the Rangers can play themselves into some lucky bounces and, eventually, the playoffs. Until then, we need to appreciate the effort and realize the team isn't getting blown out or outplayed but maybe, just maybe, the losing streak would be easier to explain if they were.