So far, this has shaped up to be one of the more dramatic overhauls in recent memory for the Rangers. After much speculation, Glen Sather and the rest of the organization decided to move on without captain Jaromir Jagr. And Martin Straka. And Brendan Shanahan (presumably). And Sean Avery.
Instead, they picked up a couple of players coming off of down years in Wade Redden and Markus Naslund. They also hope that Nikolai Zherdev doesn't turn out to be the lazy underachiever some fear he might be. They also hope that Dmitri Kalinin's knees and shoulder recover enough to return him to the form he was in during the two seasons preceding the last. Michal Rozsival was brought back for quite a bit of money in the hopes that his injured hip was the reason for his second-half dip in production, and that the surgery allows him to turn things around.
While I am not entirely unhappy with the new look of the team, I have reservations about how successful they can be. Nothing bothers me more than bringing players into an organization thinking a "new environment" or a "fresh start" might rejuvenate their careers. This was why no one could complain too much about the signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury from last summer. Both are in their primes and were coming off very good, productive seasons.
That's not the case this year. Glen Sather is now looking to catch lightning in a bottle. He's hoping Naslund and Redden play like the Naslund and Redden of 2001 to 2005. He's hoping that Zherdev overcomes his reputation and becomes the star some think he can be. He's hoping that Kalinin remains healthy. He hopes that Marc Staal, Nigel Dawes, and Brandon Dubinsky don't suffer sophomore slumps. He's hoping Petr Prucha is able to bounce back from this enormously disappointing season. And I don't know what he hopes happens with the army of third/fourth liners he has amassed in Orr, Hollweg, Betts, Fritsche, Rissmiller, Voros, Jamtin, Moore, and Sjostrom.
Of course, turning the team over to Gomez, Drury, and Lundqvist is a positive and necessary transition. These are proven winners in their primes, and they will all be leaders by example. I have a tremendous amount of faith in Staal and Dubinsky, and doubt that either does anything but improve on last season. Beyond that, though, I worry.
The corps of prospects within the organization is dwindling somewhat. Just a year ago, Al Montoya, Alex Bourret, and Hugh Jessiman were among the highest rated of the Rangers' prospects. Of the three, only Jessiman remains and likely does not factor into the Blueshirts' immediate or long term plans. Defenseman Michael Sauer has suffered setback after setback with injuries. Ivan Baranka has bolted to Russia, probably for good. As of this moment, Alex Cherepanov doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about travelling to North America, thought that can change. Greg Moore doesn't appear to be a favorite of Tom Renney's. Bobby Sanguinetti and Michael Del Zotto were pushed a little further down the depth chart with the acquisition/re-signing of Redden and Rozy (though neither were expected to compete for a roster spot this season).
Taking everything into consideration, I don't see the Rangers competing for the Stanley Cup this season. It's become increasingly difficult to keep up with the Joneses in the Eastern Conference, and there are some very good young players and very good young teams the Rangers have to challenge. Montreal, Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston, Ottawa, a retooled Tampa Bay, etc. Not to mention potential Western Conference powerhouses like Detroit and Chicago (yes I said Chicago).
These are just early observations, though. While we have an idea what things will look like come October, the roster isn't set just yet. A surprise move here or there is possible, but the team is pushed up against the cap so don't expect a major free agent signing.
It will be quiet for a while, but training camp will be here sooner than you think. I'm looking forward to it, as always.
Posted by jim at July 08, 2008 10:44 AMeMail this entry!
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