Why the Rangers suck [R]

[Labdarugo]

Read this quote in the NY Times this morning.
Totally explains it for me:

"Have you ever seen an All-Star team play defense?"

That was the rhetorical question asked by one of the defending Stanley Cup champion Devils during last season's playoff run, when it was observed that the Rangers always seem to field an All-Star roster but have rarely achieved success.

And that, concluded the Devils' player, who requested anonymity, was the main reason the Rangers have not qualifed for the playoffs for a franchise-record six consecutive seasons, despite all their stars.

Not much as changed this season...

If you've ever watched an NHL All-Star game, this analysis makes perfect sense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/25/sports/hockey/25JAGR.html

[Frieslander]

What position does Jagr play? He's a quality goalie, right??

Ottawa 9-1 NYR

how about a trade? Albelin for Kovalev? Rangers have to pay half of Alex's contract though.

[Daniel from Montréal]

The weirdest part is that EVERY YEAR the papers here predict the Rangers'll finally do good. Finally, it's their year, they say. And people believe them. "They've been underachieving for too long, look at their roster: it's too good not to make them a top team".

And invariably, every year, nada.

[Khansingh]

Don't get me wrong, I hate the Rangers. But even I'm starting to feel bad for them. At least their fans, anyway. As far as the league is concerned, I think it's important that the Rangers and Kings be respected. It's not that they need to play each other in the finals every year, but as the largest markets in the NHL, they need to be stable, competitive, healthy. The Rangers need a little of the Yankees' mystique and aura.

[ElJefe]

Originally posted by Khansingh
Don't get me wrong, I hate the Rangers. But even I'm starting to feel bad for them. At least their fans, anyway. As far as the league is concerned, I think it's important that the Rangers and Kings be respected. It's not that they need to play each other in the finals every year, but as the largest markets in the NHL, they need to be stable, competitive, healthy. The Rangers need a little of the Yankees' mystique and aura.
They need a little of the Yankees' smarts.

The Rangers, year in and year out, make some of the dumbest moves in the entire league. The Jagr one was just the latest one.

[eric d]

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Any more questions?

[SoccerFan8270]

The Rangers haven't been the same ever since they lost Mike Richter.

[Matt in the Hat]

Originally posted by SoccerFan8270
The Rangers haven't been the same ever since they lost Mike Richter.

Do you mean Mike Keenan?

[SABuffalo786]

Ah, poetic justice.


I can't wait for the CBA.

[ticogordo]

hockey, like a lot of sports, is a team game. on any given night a team with more heart will beat a team that tries to get by with pure talent.

There are only about 4 guys playing for the rangers that understand that there are three zones on a rink (Leetch, Devries, Holik, and i'm sure maybe someone else).

All the Rangers know about the offensive zone, but the neutral zone and defensive zone are foreign concepts to most of those guys.

Jagr, Kovalev, Nedved, Bure, Lindros, Rucinsky, Malakov are all fabulously talented players, but none of them backcheck. so that's at least 17:00 a game each which leads to a de-facto power play fo rthe other team.

oh yeah and messier is the dirties player in the league.

Too much money, not enough heart.

[afgrijselijkheid]

too much turnover, not enough hunger

[otterulz]

The Rangers sucking is one of life's greatest mysteries. All that talent, yet they can't do diddly squat together. Who would've thought that acquiring some of the biggest names in the NHL all on one team wouldn't produce results? Hell, it works for the Yankees, why not the Rangers?

The problem in my opinion is management, from ownership to the president to the GM to the coach. Of course 3 of the latter positions are all down to one man, Glen Sather. Yes, he had great success as coach and GM all those years with Edmonton. Hell, he even had big name stars like Gretzky, Coffey, Kurri, Fuhr, Messier, and such. What is he doing wrong in New York that he did right in Edmonton? First off, I wasn't a hockey fan back in the Edmonton glory years, so I can't comment on what he did or didn't do. But from knowing the organization from the Neil Smith era, it seems as if it's the same in the current Glen Sather era. People criticized Neil Smith for a lot of moves. He didn't sign Messier to that huge contract. He didn't sign Joe Sakic. Then when he gets a name like Theo Fleury, and doesn't produce, he gets ripped apart.

What has Sather done in his tenure as Rangers GM? Vladimir Malakhov was given a lot of money. He ended up missing all of his first season cuz of a knee injury, and even now, still can't play consistently. Acquired Eric Lindros. You can have argue whether that was a good or bad trade. He traded away fan favorite, Adam Graves for Mikael Samuelsson; a finesse Swede for a hard working grinder. He acquired Tom Poti which seemingly works out. He acquired Pavel Bure who might never play again. He got Alexei Kovalev from cash-strapped Pittsburgh. He hasn't been the same since he was scoring on the Rangers every single time out as a Penguin. He got Bobby Holik who had an awful first year in Blue, but is doing well now. But worth $9 million? Darius Kasparaitis had an awful first year also but was quite reliable until he got hurt 2 weeks ago. He got Mike Dunham who stood on his head end of last season and was great beginning of this season. Now he's shaky and unreliable for a big game on a team not the Islanders. Anson Carter didn't do squat and neither is the guy who he got traded for, Jaromir Jagr.

So why can't all these big names do anything? Sather for as long as he's been here has talked abut accountability. He said that the veterans who don't produce will be sent down to AHL Hartford. Half the team should've been sent down, and has he done it? Nope. Apparently he threatened to make the team take a 10 hour bus trip back to Gotham if they didn't beat Buffalo in Buffalo. They lost. Did they take the bus? Nope. He doesn't do what's necessary. Why did Holik have a rough season last year? Because he didn't match him against the other team's top line. He started to do it this season, but only sometimes when it should be all the time. He thinks Messier is still 30 years old and gives him the most ice time. Sure, Mess is the leading goal scorer on the team, but he gets all the ice time. Kaspar and DeVries, the most reliable pair, is out. What does Slats do? Acquire Jaromir Jagr. Oh, and Jamie Pushor off of waivers. He defies logic. We could have Ken Hithcock behind that bench right now. Who did we get instead? Bryan Trottier. Why? Because Sather was impressed with Trottier's 40 page essay on why he should be the New York Rangers head coach. He got a gold star for his paper and the job, but got an F in coaching, and a big "F YOU" from Ranger fans (as well as disheartened Islander fans).

Maybe I'm not being fair. Maybe Sather has made some good moves. Tom Poti has played well. Matt Barnaby gives his heart and soul every night. Chris Simon has done well. Boris Mironov for the most part has been solid. Greg DeVries has been very reliable. And maybe it's Jimmy Dolan's fault for giving Sather so much backing. Maybe Dolan shouldn't give him so much job security when the team's $80 million payroll can't get us into the playoffs (oh, but we came SO close last season). But when it comes down to it, I think it's Sather and no one but Sather to blame. Sure, the players haven't produced, but whose job is it to get them going and to shuffle things around when nothing works? The coach. And who knows, maybe relieving Sather of his coaching duties is pointless, especially since he's the GM and President, but someone needs to step up and give these players the confidence and discipline to make them do what they should be doing. But right now, I don't see that happening any time soon, and it makes me sad. Will I still watch the games? Yeah, but only cuz I'm a sucker.

Rangers/Canucks at 7.

[Frieslander]

why did Sather waive Pascal Rheaume?? He's good defensive forward and a solid fourth liner for the Devils last year. Just the kind of player the Rangers need.

Do you think Sather was suprised when both the Blues and Devils put a claim in for him?

[Michael K.]

Originally posted by Frieslander
why did Sather waive Pascal Rheaume?? He's good defensive forward and a solid fourth liner for the Devils last year. Just the kind of player the Rangers need.

Do you think Sather was suprised when both the Blues and Devils put a claim in for him?

I thought I read that they wanted him to get more ice time, so were trying to get him through waivers so he could be sent down (up?) to Hartford. D'oh.

[otterulz]

Originally posted by Frieslander
why did Sather waive Pascal Rheaume?? He's good defensive forward and a solid fourth liner for the Devils last year. Just the kind of player the Rangers need.

Do you think Sather was suprised when both the Blues and Devils put a claim in for him?
I don't know why he was waived. And I agree that he should've gotten more playing time. One guy that I am glad that is getting ice time is Jed Ortmeyer.

[nyrmetros]

Originally posted by Khansingh
Don't get me wrong, I hate the Rangers. But even I'm starting to feel bad for them. At least their fans, anyway.

Thank you............

[metroflip73]

Originally posted by eric d
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Any more questions?

Shall we do the roll call of ex-Rangers from the 80s all over again, just to feel better?

At least one team that plays in the Garden is doing well (STARBury and Co).

[nyrmetros]

Thank you Mike Richter......... Thank You......