A Rangers' season that began with such hope, despite the late start to the season, ended once again in great disappointment, this time with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Bruins on Saturday and a 4-1 series loss. May 25 is proving to be a horrific date in Rangers lore, as this is the second straight season that the year ended on that date. Maybe next year we can either just go from the 24th to the 26th or petition the league not to have a game on that date.
In this blog, I will give a quick recap on the series and then move on to a list of questions that I believe are the most pressing ones for the Rangers. Moving forward, I will for the most part cover each question as an individual blog unless I give you early warning that a few will be combined together, I believe that each topic should be addressed individually in order to give it the proper depth of coverage and to avoid co-mingling multiple topics together and losing the flavor for each.
Game Lowlights:
The same issues that hurt the Rangers in Games 1-3 were the ones that cost them in Game 5. You could extrapolate and say that those issues hurt the team all season, but I will try and focus on just this series. The problems are the ones that many of you already know and have pointed out. First, special teams, but in a twist from the norm, it was the more the PK than the PP. the Rangers did convert on a PP in the first to grab a 1-0 lead but once again, the PK let them down. That letdown was partially due to issue #2, Torey Krug, the 2013 version of John Druce for the Blueshirts. The one addendum I will give on Krug is I thought a few of the shots could have been saved by Lundqvist but that is quibbling as Krug's hockey sense and shot were huge difference makers in the series. When Boston had Seidenberg, Ference and Redden sidelined, most thought that helped the Rangers, how wrong we all were. Last, depth, but especially the fourth line. It's not as if Haley-Newbury-Dorsett played poorly, though Dorsett did take way too many penalties, but Thornton-Campbell-Paille were the most dominant trio on the ice. Last year, it was Carter-Gionta-Bernier who did in the Rangers with nine points, this year, the Boston trio had 10 points in one less game. In addition, the lack of depth, due to injuries, Staal's and especially Stralman's absence were killers, and lack of progression of the D within the organization forced the Rangers to go to Roman Hamrlik who made not one but two errors on the same series, leading to the game-winning goal. Boston put in Krug and Bartkowski and Hamilton, while NY had to turn to Hamrlik. That lack of depth also came across on the PK where Clowe or Powe might have made a difference, but that too was not the case.
With the series over, it's time to turn the page and now focus on 2013-14 and beyond. Next year is the 20th anniversary of the Stanley Cup championship. Let that sink in, 20 years. The Rangers have had good and great players pass by but have never been able to put it all together, topping out in the Eastern Conference Finals twice. For those of us that bleed Rangers blue, that is unacceptable and has to change. The questions below should cover the major topics this team faces heading into what is once again an all too long offseason.
Here are my top 20, some of which were asked on the prior blog, including by Mrhattrick27:
1. Should John Tortorella return as coach?
2. Will and should the Rangers buy out Brad Richards?
3. Henrik Lundqvist sign an extension with the Rangers, and can the Rangers allow him to heads into next year in the final year of his deal, especially given his non-committal response when asked if he will re-sign with the team? (Yes, I know Ek covered this but I have my own views and will cover this in a separate blog)
4. Was 2012-13, especially in the playoffs, an aberration for Rick Nash or is this what can be expected from him yearly?
5. With Marc Staal admitting his eye will never be 100 percent, due to the small muscle tear in it that impact the pressure in the eye, can you head into 2013 relying on him as a top-four defenseman? (see 11 below)
6. Which is the real Chris Kreider, the one who had solid contests in game 4 and 5 and payed well last postseason or the one who struggled during the regular season, earning a seat in the press box and demotion to the minors? If it's the first part of the sentence, do you view him as top-six material?
7. Is Derek Stepan a true #1 center? How many years and $ should he get as an RFA?
8. How many years and how much money should the team offer Ryan McDonagh as an RFA?
9. Should the Rangers look to bring back Ryane Clowe? If yes, for how many years and how much per year? Even if so, with Clowe and Dorsett, a the Rangers big enough to play the physical style they like?
10. Similar question for Carl Hagelin, or does he just get a bridge contract? In addition, can the Rangers win with him on the second line, or must he be on the third line?
11. Despite defensemen growth not being linear, is Michael Del Zotto a top-four defenseman? Even if so, should he be moved in an attempt to upgrade the position, including adding a righty d-man?
12. Mats Zuccarello energized the Rangers when he returned to the US, do you sign him for two or three years and at what $ amount?
13. As good as Dan Girardi is, given his contract, other needs and style of play, do you try and move him now before it gets too late?
14. Can JT Miller fill the third line center spot?
15. Which is the real Brian Boyle? The 2011-12 season, first three games against Ottawa and first round against Washington this year version or one that struggled the rest of the way? Can he be the fourth line center?
16. Is Darroll Powe brought back for depth?
17. Has Derick Brassard truly turned the corner and can he be relied upon as a second line center? Or was it a small sample size and fools gold?
18. Can Lindberg, Fast or McIlrath earn a spot on next year's squad?
19. Which free agents would you target?
20. Who would you look to trade?
One more for good measure. 21. Due to his health concerns, will Glen Sather remain as the Rangers's GM? If not, can Jeff Gorton and Gord Clark handle the role as the team's leadership?
Kicking off with John Tortorella. Today's was breakup day for the Rangers. Katie Strang, Andrew Gross and others indicated that they believe Torts will be back. You could easily argue that each of them are supporters of his, so that view is not surprising, similarly, you can say that Larry Brooks is not, yeah, I know big shock, which is why he has advocated for Torts to be fired.
At the break up day, Torts did not sound like someone who did not expect to be back. He spoke about the decision on Richards, which I will cover in the next blog, to be made at the organizational meetings in June. Not once did he waiver or appear shaky in discussing the future, so does that sound like a man who doesn't expect to be back? Of course, that doesn't matter, as the decision on Torts will be made by Sather and James Dolan.
We have spoken all season about Torts' flaws. How he is inflexible with his system. How he failed to maximize the talent around him (though several of us have questioned how extensive that talent, which may be part of what is covered in question#21). How he was unable to jump start a moribund power play. All of these and others are valid, but the biggest question and one that has to be answered is if you believe he is the man to get the Rangers to the next level? And if not, who is? In addition, is he message still getting through or has he reached his shelf life and saturation point with the team?If you believe he is the right choice, than all other questions and criticisms get shoved to the side and you now need to figure what Tortorella needs to get them there and what tweaks need to be made.
We saw Boston play a similar system to NY, yet do it a lot better. They were faster, stronger, more powerful, meaner, better skilled and also, used all the above to their advantage. While the Rangers may have those components, for whatever reason, and that is subject to your own interpretation and viewpoint, they failed to do so. I personally think it was a combination of the system and lack of talent, partially caused by a lack of depth but also due to non-optimal utilization of the talent, each of which comes back to coaching to a certain extent.
Tortorella can say the Rangers went sideways this year, I respectfully disagree, they regressed. Granted, just because you made the Eastern Conference Finals last year and added the scorer everyone believed was needed, nothing is a given as we saw. Many of us felt that last year's run was somewhat an aberration and trying to win with that exact system again was a mistake. Unfortunately, we were proven right. In addition, how many teams have we seen regress in general or add parts that should push them over the top only to fall back? That was the case of this year's Rangers, but sharing in that blame has to be Tortorella.
That said, one area I would like to address is the view of how Torts can't mold and develop young players. So Stepan hasn't come along. Neither has McDonagh. Brassard didn't show his talent here in NY? What about John Moore? I love everyone focusing on his call out of Hagelin, but how rare is it that Torts did call out a player? How many press conferences have we listened to and watch, at least those more than 15 seconds, where we wish he would take a player to task or call him out only to hear that he won't talk about individuals? How easy would it have been for him to call out Richards, yet he didn't because of his relationship with him? Say what you want about him, but to question his ability to develop young players or how he handles them in front of the media is a fallacy. In addition, the off-ice needs of players having to understand the change in mindset from round 1 to round 2 should not only be on the coaches, if you as a player can't realize how the stakes have changed, the shame on you. You are a professional and should know some of the history of the game and how hard it is to win the Cup, rather than needing someone to motivate and prepare you for it at this stage.
So back to the question at hand, should Torts be back? In my opinion, the answer is yes, has he reach the satuartion point? No, not just yet, as i don't believe the team has tuned him out just yet. I agree this year was disappointing on many levels. I believe he has flaws and areas that need to be worked on, but I also think he is the right coach for this team at this moment. Part of my reasoning does have to do with the shortened season and players not going through the Hell Camp, which I think will help the team tremendously. However, even with that, changes do need to be made.
First, fire Mike Sullivan and bring in a special teams coach. Maybe try and get Doug Weight or someone who has been a proven special teams coach to maximize the talent. In addition, change up the system to allow more traffic in front, as we saw in Game 5. Second, tweak the system to allow more flexibility. As we saw how Boston played a similar system, you can block shots and stop the opponent while also creating odd-man rushes. Enable the forwards to play higher and cover the points better, rather than collapsing which created too many open shots and deflection opportunities, limiting the breakout chances. If need be, creating a mini-caste system between the top- and bottom-six depending on the line configurations. This year, that disparity in talent should have resulted in mildly tweaked formatting between them, yet didn't. Last, better utilize the talent. We all agree more talent needs to be brought in, but it's on Torts to maximize that talent. He admitted that this year he failed to do so. One more full year or even a slow start along the same lines and the Rangers will be welcoming in a new coach.
Now for a personal note and sappy part of the blog. Part of the reason why I handle the Rangers blog is selfish as you know I bleed Rangers blue. But a big part is the readers and commenters to the blog, otherwise known as all of you. The intelligent debates and conversations. The insightful comments and just the relationship built due to own common rooting interest help me when I have to write another criticism blog of the system etc. Guys like Pete, Jimbo, Glen, Brian, Alex, aecliptic, TPC, cranford93, tomburton99, mrhatrick27 etc have made it a pleasure to be the Rangers blogger. I thank you for all the support, comments and readership and hope I have rewarded them with the daily blogs.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»