Monday, July 21, 2008

Rangers in Division of Their Own



As I was walking down 33rd and 7th yesterday, which is right next to the Garden, many thoughts ran through my mind on the upcoming NHL season. The Atlantic Division will be more competitive this year than ever, as each team (Rangers, Devils, Islanders, Philly, Pitt) is uniquely talented in their own way, with the Penguins most likely giving the Rangers the most trouble. When taking an extensive look at the rosters, coaches, stats, etc. of each team, I can confidently say that the Rangers are superior to every team in the Division; while being virtually equal to the Penguins. To most fans of hockey, when speaking about the Rangers, people might say, "Ohh the Rangers? they're not going anywhere next year, that dumb ass GM Sather just pulled another classic Ranger free agency period where he threw tons of money at aging players to try and win, what a joke." Now, to true Ranger fans, we know that the players that Sather pulled in are not lost, aging souls that came for the city and the money. Markus Naslund stated that he wanted to only play for New York even before the signing period began on July 1st, saying how he wanted to play for a true Cup contender. Naslund will come to NY next year and will play with one of the games most skilled center in Scott Gomez. Naslund will have a dynamic scoring forward in either Zherdev, Prucha, Callahan or Dawes..a line that is sure to explode. Naslund wants to start fresh by making a new name for himself in New York, he wants to win a Cup and he wants to revitalize his already stupendous NHL career. There is a great chance that Zherdev will meet his potential playing for the Blueshirts, as he will envision scoring that big goal and having that big celebration inside the packed Garden, quite different from his last arena in Columbus. Redden will play with one of the smartest new defenseman in the game in Marc Staal. Staal made huge leaps last year, impressing all throughout the hockey world. Staal should motivate Redden to play at his very best, and along with Roszival and my personal favorite Dan Girardi, with very sturdy defenseman Paul Mara and Dmitri Kalinin, the Rangers defense is second to none in the Eastern Conference. Oh, having Henrik Lundvqist behind all of them 'ain't too shabby either.


Now you've already heard my beliefs on how good the Rangers will be next season, with some of you saying that "I shouldn't be in love with my team", well I'm here to say I am in love with my team. I am proud to say that I'm a Rangers fan who is confident that the Rangers are far superior to the Devs, Isles and Flyers, as their defensive core is stronger than all three and the forwards in Rangers jerseys have the potential of becoming a seriously high scoring group of guys. With all the young guys on the roster, the will to win is huge. The young, ecstatic, energy packed guys like Callahan and Sjostrom will inspire the like of Gomez, Drury, Naslund to play up to their best potential as well. And vice versa, the poise and leadership that Redden and the rest of the "veterans" have will keep the young guys on their toes. The Rangers have a roster that is full of players that want to win, and want to win together and for each other and for their City. The players on the team came here to play for an organization that is known for its professionalism and its arena-packed with 18,000 screaming New Yorkers--can it get any prettier than that? Fuggetaboutit!! No other Atlantic Division offense has such a dynamic set of four lines of forwards, which has the potential to become one of the best New York Rangers squads in a long time. Except, of course for the Penguins. The Rangers first three centers (Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky) are all slight downgrades from the Penguins first three centers (Crosby, Malkin, Staal). The Penguins are undoubtedly more skilled at the center position, but that's all they have on our Rangers. Satan, Dupuis, Sykora, Fedetenko. Those are the main scoring threat wingers for the Penguins, who match up nicely to those of the Rangers. It is almost inevitable that the Rangers and Pens face off in the playoffs yet again next year, as they are both so similar in many ways, while differing greatly in style of play. In the end, the next time the Rangers face off against the Pens in the playoffs, Ranger fans can look forward to victory, as Lundvqist will lead us past Marc-Andre Fleury, the most overrated goalie in the league. Fleury did play well in the playoffs, but he did not lead the Pens to the finals as Henrik would do for the Rangers. "Sid the Kid" and the ever improving Evgeni Malkin were the catalyst players that played great offense and defense for the Pens, which hugely impacted their Cup Run.


The Rangers will prove to be superior to all their Atlantic rivals next season, just wait and see folks, and even though I am in agreement that it is a little early to make these predictions, I am bored as hell; I can't sit around and wait for the season to start without throwing my take on the Rangers out there for all to ponder, disagree and debate.s


later ~syr11~

7 comments:

  1. You are a proud monkey syrr. You make the Dolans proud. Never underestimate New Jersey and Philadelphia as both have top 'D''s...rebuilding themselves. Timmonen is one of the top guys in the East. An opinion piece....I like it.

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  2. ppp, the devils are redux this year, or rather re-tread. fatty in goal can stop a few pucks which makes them a threat every year. maybe this is the year and dips, when we thought last year was the year he'd dip, and the year before, and the year befor....

    the only team we can be sure to beat is The Islanders without a coach. other than that, there is nothing to love until they win games.

    i love the Rangers too, but we can never be too sure of ourselves.

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  3. I sure hope so. Sounds good to me syr11. I'll be sure to say 24 Hail Marys' before I go to bed.

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  4. The rangers have a better team than last season,but are playing in the hardest division in the league.It's gonna be a tough season.

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  5. Honestly, the team looks good to me. I AM excited. It is going to suck this year though. I'm still at home with my dad until December, but in January I'm moving about an hour north of where we live right now. Looks like I am only going to be able to see about half the Rangers season, unless I cough up some serious cash and get the NHL ice package with Comcast or Directv at my new apartment. Either way, good post. I like reading your opinion syr11, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy in side. I can't wait for the season to get rolling. LETS GO RANGERS!!!

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  6. ppp and rangerfan94..thanks for the kudos, I'll continue with pieces like this all through the year as I too feel it neccessary to talk about just how good we are as a team, and as a city. cheers

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  7. 1) As long as Lundqvist stays healthy and plays 65-70 games no one can say the Rangers won't be right there in contention in the East

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