So what's next? I'm with Brett. I think both Gallant and Drury need to go. Two straight years of blowing a 2-0 series lead and having your team no-show. Unacceptable.
But I think Drury is our new Sather and I think Gallant will be retained, but Mike Kelly will "retire". I'd rather have Gallant than Sutter, Julien and even Laviolette. The two "retreads" who intrigue me most: Andrew Brunette (DUI and all) and Joel Quenneville. Will Coach Q ever get another HC job again? IDK, doesn't seem like it, but he would definitely be an upgrade at HC.
As for the players...lots of decisions to be made. Two certainties: Kane should walk, if not retire, and Goodrow is going to be a cap dump.
I think 8 guys are definite returns: 1) Igor, 2) Fox, 3) Lindgren, 4)Kreider, 5) Trouba, 6) Zibanejad, 7) Chytil and 8) Schneider
Laf and K'Andre are RFAs and frankly, I hope they both get offer-sheeted. Kakko? Underwhelming. Trocheck likely is coming back, but it's not a certainty.
I'd bring back Tarasenko on the cheap if he's up for it.
And then there's Panarin, who was by far the most disappointing this series. And this is nothing new. Aside from the Game 7 OT winner against the Yinz last year, he's been fucking terrible in the Playoffs. He has a NMC and a huge salary, so IDK if he's movable, but man, this is a problem. He is a total liability when it comes to the Playoffs.
I'm like a broken record on this, but so much in hockey can be traced to a face-off win or loss. I watch and cringe on the PP when the team with the PP has a center who isn't good on the dots, lose the face-off clean and have it iced the other way. it kills off maybe 30 second or 25% of the PP, then if you struggle to enter the zone you basically have a min or less to get set up.
Face-offs are also fixable to players who put in the work. it's one of those areas why some young players start at wing and move to center. Kotkaniemi on CAR is a good example. Still just 22 years old, but brutal on the dots in MTL (not Chytil bad, but bad) now he's at 51.4% for CAR.
2023 face off numbers for Rangers centers
Trocheck 56.1%
Mika 49.5%
Chytil 39.8% - unless he's playing on a line with another player who can take face-offs (which some teams do) he can't be your 2C with those numbers
Goodrow 45.9%
As a team the Rangers were 49.1% which isn't bad, but it's also not great. They lost 85+ more face-offs than they won.
I don't want to sound like an entitled fan that "expects" championships but the way this roster was built and how the playoffs started, I thought we were in for another run similar to last year. Obviously, putting things in perspective there a much more important things in life than sports teams' success but I was just hoping for a bit of joy amongst a crappy year.
Apologies Gentlemen, I don't want to bring the mood down any worse but this feels good to type and share with Rangers fans. I am not the only person who is dealing with a loss. Thank you for the venting space.
Sometimes sharing can be therapeutic. Sorry for your loss Drew.
I don't want to sound like an entitled fan that "expects" championships but the way this roster was built and how the playoffs started, I thought we were in for another run similar to last year. Obviously, putting things in perspective there a much more important things in life than sports teams' success but I was just hoping for a bit of joy amongst a crappy year.
Apologies Gentlemen, I don't want to bring the mood down any worse but this feels good to type and share with Rangers fans. I am not the only person who is dealing with a loss. Thank you for the venting space.
I'm sorry for your loss, man...I lost my brother in law to pancreatic cancer last February. I've also lost my college roommate to cancer in the last couple months, and another colleague and good friend got leukemia out of the blue at 55 years old and has a couple months left. Brutal couple of years for me...lost a sister, mother, grandfather, mother in law, her sister, and several friends. It is ok to find the joy in the small things. As Bruce says, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive. Keep your brothers memory, and God Bless.
I don't want to sound like an entitled fan that "expects" championships but the way this roster was built and how the playoffs started, I thought we were in for another run similar to last year. Obviously, putting things in perspective there a much more important things in life than sports teams' success but I was just hoping for a bit of joy amongst a crappy year.
Apologies Gentlemen, I don't want to bring the mood down any worse but this feels good to type and share with Rangers fans. I am not the only person who is dealing with a loss. Thank you for the venting space.
Don't ever apologize for that. I'm very sorry for your loss.
I lost my dad just under 2 weeks ago. He was sick for the last few years, and had a failed lung transplant 18 months ago. It was a slog, but the pain is no less in spite of the relief that he is no longer suffering.
I, too, am having a little tougher time today than I was over the course of the last few days after the services were all concluded and extended family flew home.
The Rangers were providing me with a much needed distraction, probably even moreso than I realized.
Sending strength your way, my man.
The mistake was not adjusting to the devils style of play and talent level. The Rangers roster is very good. They got outplayed by an equally dangerous team.
The only change worth making might be Gallant. ANd you can trade Panarin as long as we're getting back production because he is fucking maddening in the postseason.
To Gallant, about whom I've railed all season (you could look it up): when do you ever see him get in the face of any of those stars? He has two different standards, one for the untouchables, one for the kids. It was so odd to me last night, clear that game was getting out of hand, and he lit into Trochek for (what I think) was a failure to keep the puck inside the offensive zone. If there's an honest two-way guy on the top six, it's him, yet Gallant was reaming him out for a good 25-30 seconds, visible to all. He scapegoats.
He scapegoats: in the PG presser he scapegoated the 'talent' on the team (properly, but not the time). Why didn't the top six forecheck the way he obviously felt they should have but didn't? He benches Kakko, he benches Laf, he moves them around like deck chairs. I don't think the kids 'trust' him because of his double standard; I'll argue that he doesn't connect with them and that has hampered their development because they're on edge for doing something 'wrong'. When a game or series goes against him, he gets negative instead of adjusting.
Not a fan of Drury either, agree with Brett for the most part. I don't think there's a prayer in heaven he gets the hook.
Anyway, some earlier posters mentioned Trocheck, and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed in his play. I thought he was going to be a player who thrived in the playoffs, and he did not have any real impact on this series other than winning some faceoffs. Ideal situation regarding Kane is he gets surgery in the offseason, comes back at least 80% of what he once was, and signs for a team friendly deal. He so badly wanted to come here, and I would be happy to have him back to try again with a full season, healthy hip, and training camp. We've seen time and time again that these stars that get acquired late in the season very rarely succeed in their new homes. As far as Lafreniere and Kakko go, I just need to see one of them at least do what Chytil did this year. One or both of them will be back in the top 6 presumably, opportunities will be there, they have to start making more of an impact offensively.
The mistake was not adjusting to the devils style of play and talent level. The Rangers roster is very good. They got outplayed by an equally dangerous team.
The only change worth making might be Gallant. ANd you can trade Panarin as long as we're getting back production because he is fucking maddening in the postseason.
Very reasonable and rationale take. I agree with everything.
The mistake was not adjusting to the devils style of play and talent level. The Rangers roster is very good. They got outplayed by an equally dangerous team.
The only change worth making might be Gallant. ANd you can trade Panarin as long as we're getting back production because he is fucking maddening in the postseason.
Why do you think they couldn't adjust? Because they had a player who can't skate or handle a pass in their top six.
He totally disrupted their powerplay too. Comforting yourself with him being a 'respected player' is why the Rangers make dumb mistakes like this.
If you look back this time last year, so many hockey fans wondering "How does Gallant wear out his welcome so quickly after it seems like he has early success everywhere?"
Well you get out coached by Lindy Ruff and that explains it.
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If you look back this time last year, so many hockey fans wondering "How does Gallant wear out his welcome so quickly after it seems like he has early success everywhere?"
Well you get out coached by Lindy Ruff and that explains it.
I'm stunned I'm advocating for his dismissal.
It's much less about the tangible result - the Devils are a very good team and losing in 7 is on the surface respectable - and more about how it happened.
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In comment 16107426 Anakim said:
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If you look back this time last year, so many hockey fans wondering "How does Gallant wear out his welcome so quickly after it seems like he has early success everywhere?"
Well you get out coached by Lindy Ruff and that explains it.
I'm stunned I'm advocating for his dismissal.
It's much less about the tangible result - the Devils are a very good team and losing in 7 is on the surface respectable - and more about how it happened.
That's really what it comes down to. If they lose 3-2 in OT last night, OK, it happens. Two of the last three games of the series, they were completely out-skated, could not have played with lower intensity. How much of that is on the coach? Shouldn't the players be held accountable for their energy level? Is it a little of both because the team has started to tune out Gallant? If so, is it truly a Gallant issue or is this a concern that it will happen with the next coach? It's so hard to know what is really going on behind the scenes, but one thing that is very easy to see is this team did not come anywhere close to matching the intensity of their opponents in this series.
You watched the Rangers do nothing to adjust on their own to what the Devils were doing in games 4 and 5. and then Game 6 and 7 they shuffled lines thinking that is how you beat a neutral zone trap.
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I don't think the Ranges are immaculately run but I think you're being a bit unfair. They didn't draft Igor and develop Igor? Nothing about their moderate recent success is due to good decisions? Feels hyperbolic, but I respect the opinion.
Allaire deserves credit, I guess.
Glad to hear the chatter that Gallant is on his way out
Rangers in my eyes have been handed gift after gift and bungled it.
Drury isn't the real power anyway. It's still Sather, as it always is.
Rangers in my eyes have been handed gift after gift and bungled it.
Yeah especially in hockey. Most GMs do try to shortcut it. There's a lot of bad situations out there. Maybe I'm naive, I'm just not quite as pessimistic about the team moving forward. Toronto was referenced earlier. But they stayed patient with a highly paid core that repeatedly couldn't get it done. Now they look primed for a run
Look how young they are. Matthews is 25, Marner is 26 in a few days. Their stars have 5 years left.
The Rangers stars don't.
I also think they got majorly unlucky being in the Atlantic. Playing Boston or TBL every year, lol.
Dubas could have easily broke the team up after any one of the first round losses though, but he stayed patient. I want to do the same. There's another step the Rangers can take if they can get Kakko and Lafreniere to take another step. Any coach I'm interviewing, I need to know what the plan is to get the most out of the young players.
Look how young they are. Matthews is 25, Marner is 26 in a few days. Their stars have 5 years left.
The Rangers stars don't.
I also think they got majorly unlucky being in the Atlantic. Playing Boston or TBL every year, lol.
Matthews has one year left on his contract and Marner has two. Is that what you meant or years before they're in their 30's?
The problem in Toronto has been they have been very top heavy.
their core 4 (Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Rielly) cost over a $40M cap hit, that's almost 50% of the cap. Nylander, Kerfoot Brodie and Matt Murray is another $20M.
$60M of the $82.5M cap in 8 out of 23 players.
So in the past if you stop their top line, you would beat them.
They also got "lucky" with some LTIR and were able to add O'Reilly
Kyle, I don't want to break it up. They can compete and win next year. I'm just very worried about Panarin and the forwards - I think Panarin is already in decline.
As CHP pointed out, not one of their best players stepped up when the team needed it most vs the Devils. I agree with CHP, it's red flags not to be ignored.
Their cap situation might lead to it being ignored, in the end. Perhaps the next coach can address it, but it doesn't get much worse than the manner of the losses to NJD.
They both did it to the entire league all year.
The shitty part is that it doesn't seem likely to change, but if you dropped this NYR team out west, or even just on the other side of the East bracket, they wouldn't be so neutralized.
There are some serious issues with contract terms and NMC clauses that we're going to have no choice but to ride out, but I don't think the reality is quite as bleak as it feels today.
By hook or crook, the roster is going to largely be what it is right now. Shake up the coaching staff and scheme, ideally with someone better positioned to change the trajectory on KK and Laf, and let's ride. It's really the only sensible option as far as I can see.
Yep. The more things have changed, the more they stay the same. Until Glen Sather is completely out of the picture, which doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon, I don't expect things to be much different.
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for a player who basically put up about a point a game and is one of the most respected vet NHL players going, is not a "massive mistake." Calm down.
The mistake was not adjusting to the devils style of play and talent level. The Rangers roster is very good. They got outplayed by an equally dangerous team.
The only change worth making might be Gallant. ANd you can trade Panarin as long as we're getting back production because he is fucking maddening in the postseason.
Why do you think they couldn't adjust? Because they had a player who can't skate or handle a pass in their top six.
He totally disrupted their powerplay too. Comforting yourself with him being a 'respected player' is why the Rangers make dumb mistakes like this.
Fine he wasn't great. It still wasn't a massive mistake. If we're playing tomorrow night Kane would have been a good legit top 6 threat.
Didn't matter though because the problem pointed out by Henrik, Vally and even Micholetti, and echoed by Gallant is that this group won't do the dirty work to win in the playoffs. They want to play tic tac toe rather than shoot and crash the net. THe usually oblivious Micholetti was harping on the PP not shooting and giving Kreider a chance for tips and rebounds. Lundqvist was all over them. Trocheck is a dumb player. Loses the puck forcing a blueline carry in, then argues when Gallant points it out to him.
Igor is the ONLY reason they weren't run in the river last night in the 1st period.
Do they have enough guys who they can reasonably turn over?
Quite frankly, they just haven't gotten nearly enough from the few high picks over the last few years.
The roster we have now is going to be pretty similar to the 2023-2024 roster IMO.
This was from March 10, I'll see if I can find something more recent but the point remains. I don't know they will duplicate that health next year unless they have unlocked some secret. If so, share with NYG.
@ManGamesLostNHL
If the Montreal Canadiens stopped playing hockey today it would take the New York Rangers 870+ more games to catch them in number of injuries https://mangameslost.com/nhl-man-games-lost-and-injury-metrics-march-10-2023/
@CanadiensMTL
@NYRangers
Lias-Traded for Cuylle
Kravtsov-Traded for cap room
Kakko-Two points against the Devils
Laf-Zero points against the Devils
Awful
What caused you to change your take? I'm not baiting or bashing, not my style, your take has significance. Was it the way the Series unfolded, or more granular? tnks
“Talent doesn’t mean a thing,” Gallant said in what might have been a critique of the structure of his team. “It’s great to have talent, but you’ve got to play together and work together. Obviously, the four games that we lost, we had two goals. That’s the bottom line. You’re not going to win if you get two goals in four games.”
“I love to have talent, but you love to have work ethic and more forecheck and stuff like that. We just didn’t get it done.”
The Rangers had all sorts of issues getting out of their own end.
The Rangers had all sorts of issues pinning the Devils in their end.
A fast team was made to look slow.
A buttoned-down squad was picked apart.
A poised team came undone.
That is on the players, nearly all of whom had substandard series.
But responsibility falls on the coaching staff as well.
The Devils improved by leaps and bounds during the series.
The Rangers — other than in Saturday’s 5-2 revival in staving off Game 6 elimination at the Garden — steadily deteriorated.
Igor Shesterkin had a remarkable series.
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thank you very much, CHP.
1st (their own) #24 I believe, 3rd (from the Avs in the Georgiev), and two 6ths (their own and WIN).
not sure if you go to capfriendly at all, but it's a great resource for cap, prospects, draft, etc. Below is the NYR link. it shows you their 2023 picks- trades, etc.
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What caused you to change your take? I'm not baiting or bashing, not my style, your take has significance. Was it the way the Series unfolded, or more granular? tnks
At a high level, we should keep the roster the same and go forward because we are a secondary contender and can still win a Cup. Also, there is really no choice. We have flexibility next off-season but we're shit out of luck this year.
In terms of Gallant, he needs to go based on how we lost. Lifeless efforts in games 5 and 7 and blowing a two game lead is inexcusable. He sucks as a tactician. He got outclassed by Sullivan, Cooper, and Ruff. Ruff is not some great coach. Losing in 7 is fine. Losing in 7 not showing up to two games and blowing a 2-0 lead is not.
Drury should go because he does nothing well, is a bad asset manager, and has made a number of decisions to shorten the window and hasn't won. His best moves were the 2022 deadline moves... that didn't lead to a Cup.
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