Rangers Season End Rambling - Part 1:

Even though I said it'd be delayed, here is the first of what we can assume will be many rambling thoughts on the NYRs and their now over 2009-2010 season:

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

A handful of home games ago, I stopped and took note of who I wanted on the team next season, even before all of the late season push had gotten underway. I viewed at it "in an ideal world" of no contracts, no ties, just who I 100% wanted:

Staal
Del Zotto
Gilroy
Lundqvist
Auld
Prust
Shelley
Anisimov
Callahan
Avery
Prospal
Gaborik
Christensen

Not a bad team, really. Short 3 defensemen (gosh help us) and a line. But still...

(And please no one take offense that Dubinsky is absent from the above. I'm going on what I felt at the moment so in fairness I will not change now. Stones down, please ;) )



Voros and Boyle were borderline players to me as in I like what you did (Voros does deserve praise for being such a good teammate and stepping in during the 11th hour when needed. No hard feelings) and I'd keep you, but I'd rather fill those places with younger players, if we are being honest.

Eriksson was a nice complement.

And Jokinen, well, he was as useless as everyone in Florida, Phoenix, and Calgary could have told us.


However, if we step out of fantasy land and into the land of realistically speaking, the NYRs most likely are stuck with Drury, Redden, and Rozsival. So that changes the whole landscape.


And takes the fun out of my little game...

__________________________________

The season that passed and the way it ended. Want some initial thoughts? Sure. Okay.

The New York Rangers were only half a team when it counted. Only less than
half a team all year.

I want to reward the guys that did show up for this team. The ones that got
it. The ones you felt contributed.

Staal
Hank
Prust
Shelley
Anisimov
Christensen
Gaborik

Keep those that made strides or got it done before. Cally, Dubinsky, Del Zotto.

And try to not blow up the rest. Maybe they don't need a full rehaul. Maybe
they just need to retool one or two things.

But can they?

Age old question. Drury is going into year 4 of 5. Redden, year 3 of 6.
Rozsi year 3 of 5.

And still, I don't know how you combat that. And as much as you can never blame
them for accepting Fisher Price Glen's contracts and as much as you can't
forgive them for not performing anywhere half of what those contracts are
worth, where exactly is the middle ground? When do you cut the ties?

And I ask that more of R&R than Captain Mumbles, because let's face it.
Although Drury is worth one third of his contract, he's the most non-pc for
Torts to part with and the quickest to go away contract wise. I can live with one of
three and its his that they can best do the same.


But two years ago the hockey experts and I said R&R's contracts would
cripple the NYRs for years to come.

How is that any less true two years later?


I'm not saying two moves would make this team a contendor. I'm saying two
more moves would better prove just how far away they really are or aren't.

A real defensemen besides Staal. A real secondary or support scoring player
behind Gaborik.

These are no less important than they were two years ago. In fact, they are
drastically more important.

The teams around the NYRs are getting better, not worse. The Rangers saw
relative mediocrity get them into the playoffs in the past and within one
shootout win of it this year.

That won't be the case next year. We can lie to ourselves. They can lie to
themselves, but really now... Even if they did, how far would they go?

________________________________


I liked this team better, surely. I loved that they didn't trade the farm
on draft day. I love that shedding Kotalik and Higgins got us Prust! I
really do.

And as much as it sucked to go out when they did, I wasn't torn up.
Dissapointed yes. As much as they play for the chance, we root for the same
chance.

And it didn't happen.

But to say it wasn't something we were legitimately expecting would be ludicrous.

Meanwhile. It may be a good thing. Too easy to sneak in at game 82 and
ignore games 10 through 70. Its not my job to analyze what went wrong,
thankfully, but I hope to goodness someone uses this time off to do so.

Players. Coaches. Management.

As much as I would have liked those 4 extra games to cheer for, I would
like this even more.

I will be fine, watching other hockey. Teams like the Coyotes who jumped
from 25th to 4th (and 4th in pts) in the league.

Say it can't be done? They are proof that if you build a team of the right players who buy into the right system of the right coach - yes you can.

Seriously, you can.

I guess as much as we would all have liked to think so, the NYRs were just
not that close.

And won't be.

Not yet.

I do hope that someday - someday soon - the NYRs will give us the promise that
is possible for them too.

Because, it feels damn good to be a Rangers fan sometimes. Friday night was an example of that.

I hope next year we get to feel more of THAT!

2009-2010 Analysis of Predictions. . .

**Like every single thing I planned to do this year on the blog, this is one more thing that I'd have liked to get to spend more time on, or do better on, in general. Alas, this is what you get. Cause playoffs start tomorrow!**

Okay, here comes one of my favorite times of the hockey calendar. Not just the start of playoffs - yay! - but a time to reflect on just how horribly wrong - or surprisingly accurate - my predictions were from the start of the season. Without further ado we bring you first the Western Conference:

Predictions:
1) San Jose
2) Detroit
3) Vancouver
4) Anaheim
5) Chicago
6) Calgary
7) St. Louis
8) Edmonton

How It Rolled:
1 San Jose
2 Chicago
3 Vancouver
4 Phoenix
5 Nashville
6 Detroit
7 Los Angeles
8 Colorado

Overall 4/8

What Made Me Look Good:

- Picked Vancouver to win their division, and they did. Probably one of the only things I can brag about in the West. Or period this year. And, yes, it's the twins team now. Injury to Daniel or not, Henrik has made leaps and bounds and now is getting much more full on league recognition for being one of the best, period.

- "I may be alone in this, but I do not see how Bouwmeester makes this team THAT much better. He improves the defense, but even though he was lauded as the best thing out there, he's never proven to me that he's anything beyond the most boring intermission interview next to "Captain Mumbles" (Chris Drury)"

I can't take pride in much, so I'll take pride in this. In this season, Bouwmeester has 3 goals. Damn, even Wade Redden has 2 goals! Wade's also - how, we do not know - a +8. Jay-Bo ended the season a -4. So for $100,000 less, Redden is...a steal. (Kidding, kidding).

Anyway...

- San Jose - "Who's to say what will happen after, but I expect them to be one of the best in the West in the regular season;" My other correct position pick here. Of course the question is always, but where to go from here?

Why I Suck At This -

- I not only thought Edmonton would be better, I thought they'd be a playoff team. Wrong. Wrong. Embarrassingly wrong.

- Colorado "In fact, my only thought, as previously mentioned, is that I feel strongly that Colorado will end up last in the conference for a second year in a row.But anything can happen, right?"

How wrong I was about Colorado. I picked them to finish 30th of 30 teams. They have secured themselves a playoff berth. Congrats to them. Very impressive group of young players there.

- Ducks - "This team is stacked. I see no reason why they won't be at the top of the conference." haha, haha. Ha. Yeah, sadly I'm happy (minus Hiller, and Koivu, and Selanne) this team gets a break. Time for the other southern cali team to get some playoff love.

-PHX - "But I am just not sure that they are able to overcome all the emotional and on-ice difficulties." Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And never so happy to be wrong.! ;)

- Nashville - "but if I had to guess, this is not a year they make the playoffs or come as close as they had been." - Pekke Rinne solved all doubts. They can win on defense.

And now, the Eastern Conference:

Predictions:
1) Boston
2) Washington
3) Philadelphia
4) Pittsburgh
5) Carolina
6) New Jersey
7) Rangers
8) Florida

How it Rolled:
1) Washington
2) New Jersey
3) Buffalo
4) Pittsburgh
5) Ottawa
6) Boston
7) Philadelphia
8) Montreal

Okay, I think based on the general suckiness of this, I will do one more year (2010-2011) and if I suck this badly again...I give up the prediction game. (maybe...) Horrific. Disgusting. And this is the conference I predicted 6-8 in last year. Now I'm down to 5 of 8, which sounds better than it really is, if I'm being honest with myself.


What Made Me Look Good:

"Until someone can prove to me that Carey Price is the real deal, I will still think them stupid for wasting a perfectly better and perfectly willing goalie in Jaroslav Halak."

I've been touting Halak for years. It only took most of the season and past Olympic break for some fans in MTL to see that the guy wasn't a joke. And this IS NOT a knock on Shane Doan's cousin here.

Caps "I believe they'll be where they were last year, on top of the division and at the top of the conference." I know, I know. No one saw this one coming!

Why I Suck At This:

Boston "Do they even miss Kessel?" Yeah, okay. I know we'll never be able to say for sure how Boston would have done had Thomas had a better year and Savard not had so many injuries, but I guess we can say, yes, Kessel did mean something more to this team than I thought.

And for the Rangers. . .

"The Rangers are a better team with the coach they now have - with his go-go-go attitude and his hatred for anything less than 100% effort. This team may finally come to know what accountability means."

I can stop there right?

(More Rangers analysis on the way, as promised.)


So overall, a crappy follow-up in year two to predictions. (And I apologize because I would love to have taken a deeper look at just who improved/declined and by how much, as well as answer some key questions. Unfortunately, as this year proved, not enough time in the day). But predictions are just that. There is no perfect system. One less injury? One better road trip? The league is so close that may just be the difference between in and out, and 9th and 14th. To be honest.


We'll see how I do...next year!