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Grading the Rangers: Mats Zuccarello. Sam Rosen-HHOF. Picks Not Signed

June 2, 2016, 8:15 PM ET [263 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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: Mats Zuccarello

This is what I wrote on Part II of my Rangers tear down and post-mortem blogs.
Mats Zuccarello, who will make $4.5 mil for the next three years, made a miraculous recovery from his scary injury in Game 5 of the 2015 playoffs against Pittsburgh. He scored a career-high 26 goals and added 35 assists for a career-high 61 points. Zucc had a playoff to forget against Pittsburgh, with just a goal and an assist along with a minus-two rating, those though numbers don't really reflect just how difficult of a series he had.

Zucc and Derick Brassard used to be a duo, showing offensive chemistry. But their defensive lapses resulted in a breakup during the season. At times they were reunited to try and kickstart the offense but then had to be separated again. One defensive aspect about Zucc's game that was positive was his willingness to never give up on a play. Several times he was able to break up rushes by using his long stick while back checking to thwart chances. Zucc is going nowhere. His sublime passing skills, power play ability and energy, let alone his scoring prowess, mean he will be a top-six player again.


Overall Grade: B+ (I went back and forth as to whether this should be a B or a B+. The higher rating was chosen because of how much Zucc had to overcome just to make it back to the NHL let alone the role he filled. The lower rating might have been warranted because of the stretches where he disappeared coupled with the major regression in his own zone play. When Zucc was on, the offense rolled. When he struggled, it didn't. That evidence to how valuable and important he is. Finding the right line mates will be a huge for AV and may drive how much Zucc produces in 2016-17).

Players covered in prior blogs, My grade, Consensus Grade

Kevin Klein C+/C+
Tanner Glass C/D
Rick Nash C-/C
Assistant Coaches C/C
Dan Girardi D+/C or C-
Derick Brassard, B/ B+

Sam Rosen, the voice of the Rangers for 32 years, will be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame as this year's recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. While many like to take issue with Rosen, there is no question that he has had a storied career, not only calling hockey but also well known for his NFL work. As the official PFWA press release noted, Rosen most memorable call came in 1994 when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 54 years. ‘The waiting is over – the New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup champions! And this one will last a lifetime’ was the definitive call in what is still the highest-rated game in MSG Network history.

Wednesday was the deadline for the Rangers to tender a contract to their 2014 draft picks. New York opted to not sign three of their seven picks: Keegan Iverson (3rd round, 85th overall), Ryan Mantha (4th round, 100th overall), and Richard Nejezchleb (5th round). The draft will be made or lost by the develop of Brandon Halverson and Igor Shestyorkin but opting not to sign three players is a pretty good indication that the Rangers did not draft particularly well in those rounds. Gord Clark garners a lot of praise for his drafts, especially his ability to find gems outside the first round, but he has to take the criticism here. He does get credit for using the seventh rounder last year received from Tampa in exchange for Daniel Walcott (another 2014 pick) on Adam Huska but having three picks walk for nothing on a team where the pipeline has dried up is not a good use of assets. Adam Herman has a good blog (https://t.co/PBimSyqI6B) on why these players weren't signed and in essence it was swinging for the fences on those with a high risk and missing on all three. Clark may once again have to work his magic, unless New York moves players for high-ish picks in order to replenish the system.
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