The New York Rangers made the biggest splash in free agency, by signing premier free agents Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to a combined whopping $86.75 million. The problem is the Rangers have won only 2 out of their 8 games and only scored 13 goals in the process.There is a complete lack of chemistry on this team and the constant line shuffling isn't helping the situation either. How can a team that was predicted to win the Atlantic and challenge for the Stanley Cup have such a horrible start?
Well, I'm here to speculate as to why the Rangers are so bad and who is to blame...
The simplest answer is the top two lines are just not gelling and the constant line juggling, is being counter productive to building any chemistry between the players. There is the suggestion that line shuffling is done to jump start the players, but I don't buy into that theory. I believe players who haven't played together before, need to be given more than one game together to try and build chemistry.
The sub-par performance of Jaromir Jagr is a huge part of the Rangers' dismal start. If Jagr isn't firing on all cylinders then the Rangers' offense is greatly weakened.
There was much heated debate whether the Rangers were wrong to let Michael Nylander leave via free agency and now it is looking like it might have been the wrong decision.
Jaromir Jagr is a prima donna and he openly criticized the decision to not re-sign Nylander. There is a reason teams have always catered to Jagr's demands, to have his friends like Kip Miller signed. The reason teams have given into Jagr's demands is, an unhappy Jagr can be a cancer in the locker room, but a happy Jagr can be one of the best players in the NHL.
Glen Sather's career, seems to have followed a very troubling pattern. Sather has had his greatest success while working with a limited budget, but when he has money to burn, he just cannot put a winning team together.
While with the Edmonton Oilers he couldn't put a foot wrong, because he didn't have the spending power to sign anyone he wanted. But when he first took over the Rangers he signed big name free agents and shelled out big contract and it blew up in his face.
Then came Sather's saving grace, the lockout which produced the salary cap. The first two years post lockout, Sather had a tight budget and had to work his magic to put together a winning team and did so successfully. However, this year he had money to burn and boy did he spend it and spend it big. The troubling thing for Rangers' fans is yet again it's looking like big names and big money can't bring the Rangers a winning team.
The Rangers' defense was pinpointed as their main weakness going into the season. They were called soft and lacking in top 4 talent. However, their defense has been very good this year, having only given up 17 goals, which is good enough for sixth in the NHL.
The play of Henrik Lundqvist has been stellar and he truly is one of the best goalies in the league. The Rangers' forwards, should be embarrassed that they are wasting the efforts of such a talented goalie.
So the question is, is this just a blip on a long season or are they going to continue this play and miss the playoffs altogether?
The Rangers have far too much talent and their defense is playing too well with Lundqvist standing on his head, for them to not to right the boat and make the playoffs.
The one thing I don't see happening anymore, is the Rangers winning the Atlantic. The Pittsburgh Penguins started slow but look to be the cream of the crop in the Atlantic and the Flyers are off to a hot start also. The Rangers are going to have a tough time beating out both these teams to win the division.
3 comments:
glenn sather like his predecessor did nothing but jack the slaary scale up by handing out outlandish deals to players who didnt deserve them and never lived up to the deals or the hype regardless of who they were.
jagr
1. the most skilled and talented crybaby in the league and soon im sure the im dying alive routine will start again
2. pouted like a 2 year old after mario came back which is probably what led to the dying comments because he wasn't the "guy" anymore
3. part of his problem is that they let nylander go and brought in 2 young players with a ton of hype. and for big money. now he is no longer the big star he is being overshadowed like he was in pittsburgh let the whining and pouting begin
4. he will always be a lousy captain because he is a self centered ass. shannahan or drury should have been captain not jagr but of course they didnt take the "c" because you can hurt poor widdle jagrs feelwings now can we.
rangers fans are now getting an up close and personal look at why the caps were willing to eat so much of his salary to be rid of his overpaid underachieving ass. its actually sad to call him underachieving after the way he played early in his career and the amount of skill he has.
one things for sure if the blueshirts are out of contention by the trade deadline jagr will be dealt to who ever will take him and his bullshit.
The hate for Jagr crosses all fan lines and it's only a surprise to his die hard fans and to Jagr himself.
You people don't know what you are talking about. Jagr has been your best forward by far, and its gomez and his missed shots thats killing the team. How many times does jagr have to set up guys like drury and shanahan and gomez, before they finish it off?
Jagr is doing more then the rest of the bums on your team. I don't like the guy, but his talent is top rate, and he is doing more out there then the rest of the forwards you got.
This coming from a caps fan, who knows what a loser jagr is. But its obvious in watching the ranger games this year, the problem is gomez first, then drury then shanahan.
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