Another Mountain To Climb
Posted 3:33 PM ET | Comments 1
A successful season feels like a long and slow build, like climbing a mountain. It starts with a training camp and a preseason, allowing the team to become acclimated to the new conditions that accompany each new year. The arduous trek of the regular season begins, with 82 games over the course of twice as many days. Teams and players slip up along the way, losing games, getting hurt, and suffering a wide variety of setbacks in their climb. Eventually, the strongest 16 groups survive. And that is only base camp.
The playoffs is the most challenging part of the journey. The best teams and the biggest obstacles stand in the way. If you manage to reach the top of one steep climb and win a series, an even harder task lays before you: an even stronger team that has the skill and ability to make it this far. One game at the time, one series at a time, the team exerts all of its effort with laser-like focus, putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again.
And then it is over.
The entire journey comes to an end, a few steps from the top, with the summit within reach. Yes, there were lessons learned and experience gained, but with the new season, the New York Rangers are starting from square one.
So, with a long journey ahead of us, it is hard to look ahead to the mountain's summit so early on. But the relative success of last year's climb has given us the confidence to do so. The first step is identifying the challenges that face this team, and what must be done to overcome. The Rangers have many strengths, but it will be defined by their weaknesses, and more accurately, how well they overcome them. Everybody knows what the Rangers are good at, and that is unlikely to suddenly change this season. But if they can overcome their four biggest challenges, they will contend for their first Stanley Cup in 21 years.
Center Depth
For all of his faults, Brad Richards would make a great third line center for any team, and the same was true for the Rangers last season. He scored 20 goals and added 31 assists, not to mention an additional 12 points in 25 playoff games. The leadership intangible he brought was crucial as well, and his absence will be strongly felt. Despite being maligned by many (ignorant) fans for much of the season, Brian Boyle embodied perfection in his checking line role by playing excellent defense, killing penalties, and being an all-around team player. His game always improves in the playoffs, and he was another big reason the Rangers made is as far as they did.
While the club will return Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, and Dominic Moore, they need someone to fill the empty roles left by Richards and Boyle, especially with Stepan out for the first few games of the season. In this case, the spotlight is on JT Miller, the only realistic hope to somewhat replace the production of Richards. While his maturity level has caused him problems in the past, he seems to have come to camp with a new attitude, which should help him improve. However, questions about his decision making, defensive play, and carelessness with the puck still remain in his on-ice development.
Another key factor is for the pivots to remain healthy all season long. with Stepan out for over a month, the depth chart is already in shambles. Beyond the aforementioned players, the pickings are slim. Chris Mueller, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes, and Matthew Lombardi can probably fill in as bottom six forwards, if needed, but the drop-off, especially offensively, is significant. If the Rangers can stay healthy down the middle, and if Miller can develop into a solid 3rd line forward, the team will have overcome one of its biggest challenges to its Stanley Cup run.
New Bottom Six
Benoit Pouliot and Derek Dorsett join the aforementioned Richards and Boyle as key losses on the bottom half of the forward lines. The Rangers depth was one of their biggest strengths last season, and even then it was overshadowed by that of the Stanley Cup Champion Kings in their five game series loss. For the team to make it through the regular season, let alone go deep in the playoffs, it must replace that talent, on both sides of the puck.
While the Rangers do have depth on the wings, most of the players have never played a game for the club, and thereby bring an unknown into the equation. The more exciting possibilities involve youth. Anthony Duclair has had a great camp and preseason, raising hopes that he could be a future star. Kevin Hayes and Ryan Haggerty have also shown well so far, although playing in college rather than major-junior may hurt their ability to have an immediate and lasting impact. And more defensive-minded rookies Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg also have the potential to thrive in a checking line role. While not all of these players will be ready for the pros this year, if even a couple of them can be successful, it would be a huge boon to the team's chances.
The less sexy group of contestants for the bottom six forward spots include some grizzled veterans coming off low points of their respective careers. Ryan Malone had a well-documented substance abuse problem. Lee Stempniak has not played a full season since 2010-2011. Chris Mueller has bounced around the minors. And the aforementioned Lombardi is returning to the NHL after a year abroad. The Rangers are looking for this year's Pouliot: a player who can come in, develop chemistry with his linemates, and be productive while eating a solid number of minutes. Again, not all of these players will stick, and they don't all need to. But if the club can rely on a couple of kids and a couple of new vets to round out the roster and be ready to fill in when needed, it will be a huge help during the long season ahead.
Power Play
Another much-maligned aspect of the Rangers' game is their ability to score with the opponent a man down. The numbers show that the club finished 15th in the league in this category, scoring at a respectable 18.2% clip. However, that number dropped to 12.6% in the playoffs, which is not surprising given how streaky the unit was. There were times when the units looked good, but when they did not, they looked very very bad. Besides for the lack of scoring, the power play was often changed the momentum of the game for the worse. In fact, the shorthanded team often had the better chances over the course of the two minutes.
Richards was brought in to quarterback the power play, but as a result, it only managed to mirror his slow, lethargic style of play. Enter Dan Boyle, this year's proclaimed savior for the man advantage problem. His years of experience with one of the best power plays in the league, in San Jose, should have a positive impact. Additionally, Malone could add a new dimension by provided a big body in front, with the ability to score from in tight.
But, as with any team endeavor, the addition of two players may not be enough. The Rangers need their five man units to work together and create a quick-moving, unpredictable, and consistent power play. We probably won't know how good or bad it will be until we see it, but the pieces are certainly in place for a positive shift. If that happens, another potential weakness will be overcome, and the chances for success will rise dramatically.
Size
The Rangers were one of the smallest teams last season, and that was even more apparent in their match-up against the highly physical Los Angeles Kings. They recorded the 14th most hits in the league, significantly down from previous seasons under John Tortorella, which was to be expected. The club is clearly making a philosophical shift from size and grit to speed and skill, which so far has seemed as positive change. However, there is still something to be said for playing a physical game, especially when matched against a team with the ability to push smaller players around.
The Rangers lost more size and physicality this offseason, with Boyle, Pouliot and Stralman all leaving town, not to mention the midseason swap of hard hitting Ryan Callahan for mini Martin St. Louis. While Tanner Glass and Malone may add to this aspect, and Miller is a big boy, the club will need the ability to play big throughout the lineup.
Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, and Brassard all clock in at over 6 feet and 200 pounds. While Kreider has grown into the physical aspect of the game, the two others are not particularly known for their grinding game. If they can add just a bit of edge to their game, it would be a major help to their fellow top six forwards, particularly Mats Zuccarello and St. Louis. The season wears down every team, and if the Rangers can become a team that is painful to play against, without sacrificing their fast and skillful style of play, they will be able to beat teams that otherwise would have had the edge.
Conclusion
The Rangers are an excellent team with many strengths, but the best teams are not only have better strengths than their opposition, but also have fewer weaknesses. If the Rangers can overcome their four major challenges, the positive aspects of their game will shine even brighter, as bright as the gleam of a silver chalice they will be holding come June.
The playoffs is the most challenging part of the journey. The best teams and the biggest obstacles stand in the way. If you manage to reach the top of one steep climb and win a series, an even harder task lays before you: an even stronger team that has the skill and ability to make it this far. One game at the time, one series at a time, the team exerts all of its effort with laser-like focus, putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again.
And then it is over.
The entire journey comes to an end, a few steps from the top, with the summit within reach. Yes, there were lessons learned and experience gained, but with the new season, the New York Rangers are starting from square one.
So, with a long journey ahead of us, it is hard to look ahead to the mountain's summit so early on. But the relative success of last year's climb has given us the confidence to do so. The first step is identifying the challenges that face this team, and what must be done to overcome. The Rangers have many strengths, but it will be defined by their weaknesses, and more accurately, how well they overcome them. Everybody knows what the Rangers are good at, and that is unlikely to suddenly change this season. But if they can overcome their four biggest challenges, they will contend for their first Stanley Cup in 21 years.
Center Depth
For all of his faults, Brad Richards would make a great third line center for any team, and the same was true for the Rangers last season. He scored 20 goals and added 31 assists, not to mention an additional 12 points in 25 playoff games. The leadership intangible he brought was crucial as well, and his absence will be strongly felt. Despite being maligned by many (ignorant) fans for much of the season, Brian Boyle embodied perfection in his checking line role by playing excellent defense, killing penalties, and being an all-around team player. His game always improves in the playoffs, and he was another big reason the Rangers made is as far as they did.
While the club will return Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, and Dominic Moore, they need someone to fill the empty roles left by Richards and Boyle, especially with Stepan out for the first few games of the season. In this case, the spotlight is on JT Miller, the only realistic hope to somewhat replace the production of Richards. While his maturity level has caused him problems in the past, he seems to have come to camp with a new attitude, which should help him improve. However, questions about his decision making, defensive play, and carelessness with the puck still remain in his on-ice development.
Another key factor is for the pivots to remain healthy all season long. with Stepan out for over a month, the depth chart is already in shambles. Beyond the aforementioned players, the pickings are slim. Chris Mueller, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes, and Matthew Lombardi can probably fill in as bottom six forwards, if needed, but the drop-off, especially offensively, is significant. If the Rangers can stay healthy down the middle, and if Miller can develop into a solid 3rd line forward, the team will have overcome one of its biggest challenges to its Stanley Cup run.
New Bottom Six
Benoit Pouliot and Derek Dorsett join the aforementioned Richards and Boyle as key losses on the bottom half of the forward lines. The Rangers depth was one of their biggest strengths last season, and even then it was overshadowed by that of the Stanley Cup Champion Kings in their five game series loss. For the team to make it through the regular season, let alone go deep in the playoffs, it must replace that talent, on both sides of the puck.
While the Rangers do have depth on the wings, most of the players have never played a game for the club, and thereby bring an unknown into the equation. The more exciting possibilities involve youth. Anthony Duclair has had a great camp and preseason, raising hopes that he could be a future star. Kevin Hayes and Ryan Haggerty have also shown well so far, although playing in college rather than major-junior may hurt their ability to have an immediate and lasting impact. And more defensive-minded rookies Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg also have the potential to thrive in a checking line role. While not all of these players will be ready for the pros this year, if even a couple of them can be successful, it would be a huge boon to the team's chances.
The less sexy group of contestants for the bottom six forward spots include some grizzled veterans coming off low points of their respective careers. Ryan Malone had a well-documented substance abuse problem. Lee Stempniak has not played a full season since 2010-2011. Chris Mueller has bounced around the minors. And the aforementioned Lombardi is returning to the NHL after a year abroad. The Rangers are looking for this year's Pouliot: a player who can come in, develop chemistry with his linemates, and be productive while eating a solid number of minutes. Again, not all of these players will stick, and they don't all need to. But if the club can rely on a couple of kids and a couple of new vets to round out the roster and be ready to fill in when needed, it will be a huge help during the long season ahead.
Power Play
Another much-maligned aspect of the Rangers' game is their ability to score with the opponent a man down. The numbers show that the club finished 15th in the league in this category, scoring at a respectable 18.2% clip. However, that number dropped to 12.6% in the playoffs, which is not surprising given how streaky the unit was. There were times when the units looked good, but when they did not, they looked very very bad. Besides for the lack of scoring, the power play was often changed the momentum of the game for the worse. In fact, the shorthanded team often had the better chances over the course of the two minutes.
Richards was brought in to quarterback the power play, but as a result, it only managed to mirror his slow, lethargic style of play. Enter Dan Boyle, this year's proclaimed savior for the man advantage problem. His years of experience with one of the best power plays in the league, in San Jose, should have a positive impact. Additionally, Malone could add a new dimension by provided a big body in front, with the ability to score from in tight.
But, as with any team endeavor, the addition of two players may not be enough. The Rangers need their five man units to work together and create a quick-moving, unpredictable, and consistent power play. We probably won't know how good or bad it will be until we see it, but the pieces are certainly in place for a positive shift. If that happens, another potential weakness will be overcome, and the chances for success will rise dramatically.
Size
The Rangers were one of the smallest teams last season, and that was even more apparent in their match-up against the highly physical Los Angeles Kings. They recorded the 14th most hits in the league, significantly down from previous seasons under John Tortorella, which was to be expected. The club is clearly making a philosophical shift from size and grit to speed and skill, which so far has seemed as positive change. However, there is still something to be said for playing a physical game, especially when matched against a team with the ability to push smaller players around.
The Rangers lost more size and physicality this offseason, with Boyle, Pouliot and Stralman all leaving town, not to mention the midseason swap of hard hitting Ryan Callahan for mini Martin St. Louis. While Tanner Glass and Malone may add to this aspect, and Miller is a big boy, the club will need the ability to play big throughout the lineup.
Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, and Brassard all clock in at over 6 feet and 200 pounds. While Kreider has grown into the physical aspect of the game, the two others are not particularly known for their grinding game. If they can add just a bit of edge to their game, it would be a major help to their fellow top six forwards, particularly Mats Zuccarello and St. Louis. The season wears down every team, and if the Rangers can become a team that is painful to play against, without sacrificing their fast and skillful style of play, they will be able to beat teams that otherwise would have had the edge.
Conclusion
The Rangers are an excellent team with many strengths, but the best teams are not only have better strengths than their opposition, but also have fewer weaknesses. If the Rangers can overcome their four major challenges, the positive aspects of their game will shine even brighter, as bright as the gleam of a silver chalice they will be holding come June.
I seems like a nice safari as i can able to be gaze at each of them here and i wish this can be more even better when driven in a good way. I have been planning for the same when Ifinish my pay me to do my homework review works, and here above and amazed to go over there.