When was the last time you watched the New York Rangers literally blow away a genuine Stanley Cup contender? And you weren’t surprised by the result. When was the last time the Rangers lead the NHL in goals/game? (and be almost half a goal up on third place). Hey, even the power play is flirting with top ten status.
You see, this year’s New York Rangers are a little different than almost every recent edition you may remember. Plenty of depth, speed, talent, skill, size, balance, upside, elite passers, dangerous shooters. While allowing for the fact that nine games certainly do not a season make (and there will be inevitable bumps in the road during an 82-game grind) when was the last time a Rangers line-up, or more specifically this set of forwards, literally had everything you hoped for in an offense?
You’re right, this team still doesn’t boast a truly perennial All Star, top-ten, league-wide forward amongst its ranks. But does it need one? It doesn’t seem to. This team has serious depth and so much upside it makes many a fan slightly giddy with excitement (myself included).
You look at the Rangers’ lines at practice from Monday and you notice that Oscar Lindberg (he of the nigh on 30-point rookie campaign) is an extra forward and Pavel Buchnevich – arguably the most talented Ranger draft pick in a generation – is taking reps on the fourth line. Yep, these are different times in Rangerland. This team is almost unrecognisable from recent editions and it seems that’s a good thing.
Putting team bias aside for one second, you can make a reasonable argument that there are as many as – or is that at least? – seven Ranger forwards who should be putting up 50+ point seasons, and if any of those seven failed to crack the mark there would be some valid criticism headed their way. Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, JT Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello should all reach the 50-milestone. Hayes aside, all those forwards are within two seasons from either 50 points or 20 goals.
Of course, there is only so much ice time and production to go around. The thing is, we haven’t yet factored in the rookie contributions from Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich or the fact the Rangers have a 20-goal scorer in Brandon Pirri lingering on the bottom line. Oh, and remember when Michael Grabner had a 30-goal season? This is as deep a line-up as there is in the entire NHL.
Of course, this edition of the Rangers has their flaws. The defense is – to put it politely – a work in progress and Henrik Lunqdvist hasn’t hit his usual heights yet. But let me stop you there for a moment. Read that last sentence back. As a Ranger fan is it not truly exciting when one of the biggest current ‘concerns’ on this team is its future Hall of Famer and All World goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (who is almost certain to improve)?
Now in November the early returns are at least promising. The roster appears to be overflowing with offensive talent even though many of this current crop of Rangers could walk down Broadway without being ambushed for an autograph. Jeff Gorton has work to do (that pesky blueline again…) but his moves so far hint to the golden touch – is there a better bargain thus far than Pirri and who wouldn’t want Jimmy Vesey?
Many Rangers fans will still remember the shadow of the unmistakeable Glen Sather looming over the franchise, indeed many a casual fan may not recognise Jeff Gorton if he stood in a midtown bar. He’s probably OK with that, just like he’s probably OK with his current Rangers team being unrecognisable to many while being among the league’s most potent line-ups. This is truly a different type of Ranger team. You could almost say, unrecognisable.
You must be logged in to post a comment.