Blog parameters:
Each person covered will be given a rating. Factoring into that rating will of course be his performance but another input is going to be performance versus expectation coming into the season. Much of the background I likely covered in my tear down blogs, so don't expect massive chapter and verse but possibly some quick hitting information if not already covered in those blogs. In addition, to create some parameters, a player will have had to play 20 games to get a grade. Anything less means there isn't a representative sample for which to make a decision, so Brady Skjei and Marek Hrivik, to name two, will not get grades.
Here is where it gets really funky and interactive. I want you the reader to comment on the blog as to the rating. But not just hey I think you are right on or you are crazy but to provide your own rating and rationale for it. So if you agree with what I wrote, great, say that. But if the belief is the rating should be higher or lower, then you have to provide the rationale accordingly. Plus and minus grades are allowed to enable a broader opinion. Before the next blog, we will see if the blog comments consensus rating mirrors mine.
In addition, to shake it up, I will jump around a bit, so not all the players of the same rating are listed in a row, same with positions. So in the immortal words of Forrest Gump, you never know what you're going to get.
Covered in this blog:
Kevin Klein
This is what I wrote on Part II of my Rangers tear down and post-mortem blogs.
The first three months of the season, Klein might have been the team's best defenseman. Then, as his responsibility grew and need for him to help carry the blue line, his play flatlined and regressed. Late in the season, Klein was more of a liability than an asset, showing that he is best served on the second pairing and not the first. At $2.9 million with two years left, Klein likely has a lot of value on the open market. His status may also depend on what happens with the rest of the blue line. If room can be created by moving another d-man or Rick Nash, then Klein likely returns, if not, then he could go in a deal as a sweetener to move a contract.
Overall Grade:
C+ (if this rating had been given at the three-quarter pole of the season, Klein probably would have gotten a B+. If the rating was based solely on the last-quarter of the season, it might have been a D, reflecting just how poorly he played. What we did learn is that Klein is a good second pair defenseman but he is ill-suited to step up and consistently play on the top-two. He can make that transition periodically but his weaknesses get exposed when he is forced into that role too often).
Players covered in prior blogs,
My grade,
Consensus Grade
Tanner Glass C/D
Rick Nash C-/C
Assistant Coaches C/C
Dan Girardi D+/C or C-
Derick Brassard, B/ B+
A few weeks ago it looked like the entire Rangers coaching staff would be back. That obviously now will not be the case as
Ulf Samuelsson was named coach of the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL team of the Carolina Hurricanes. Good for Ulfie that he received a head coach position which should put him in line to be head coach in the NHL down the road. Samuelsson's relationship with Ron Francis clearly didn't hurt. “Ulf was my roommate for eight years,” Francis said. “We were traded to Pittsburgh together, won a couple of Cups together. He was the closest thing I had to a brother in the NHL. We’ve spent a lot of time together through the years. Our families are close, we’ve had vacations together. We’re excited to have him in our organization.”
With Samuelsson gone, his replacement could be at Hartford. Jeff Beukeboom is responsible for the d-men on the Rangers farm team and would appear to be a seamless fit in New York, given that role and his history with the team. However, there is no guarantee that will happen. Pat Leonard speculates that Rick Bowness could get the nod. Bowness, who is Alain Vigneault’s friend and former assistant/associate coach, gave Vigneault his first coaching job in the NHL with Ottawa in 1992. In addition, the two worked together for seven seasons in Vancouver and Bowness has done excellent work the past three seasons after being hired in June 2013 to coach the Lightning’s defense and penalty kill.
One other twitter thought today was to interview Adam Oates as a possible PP specialist. I could see that, then have Bowness coach the D and PK but what would you do with Scott Arniel, who was retained? I think who AV hires may show where the power in the organization sits and how much influence AV still has. If Bowness is willing to listen and leave Tampa but NY promotes Beuk, it's a pretty good sign that AV's power and influence may have eroded a bit.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»