Galant might be a 1 year wonder kind of coach, but I’d be willing to bet the Rags aren’t imploding any time soon.
They’ve got a top 10 defenseman in the league who’s likely to get better.
A top 10, if not the second best goalie in the league.
Their recent draft picks are really starting to pan out.
Zibanejad is proving to be a legitimate #1C, not to mention they’ve got that top line locked up for at least 4 more seasons.
I think the Rangers are likely to get better…
Disagree he's top 10, great powerplay and offensive defenseman but he's been trash in his own end this season. And he got worse this year so I wouldn't say he's likely to get better. Nice piece to have, but he's getting paid like an elite #1 defenseman, which he is not.
Right now Igor is the 2nd best goalie in the league, yes. But the fact is relying on and hoping a goalie will be a core piece for your team long term is a bad strategy. Teams can get lucky and get a consistently great goalie for a long time, but that is rare and more often than not as good as a goalie's peak may be, he'll still be streaky and inconsistent over the course of his career. Goaltending is so voodoo. Would not surprise me one bit to see Igor regress significantly next season or subsequent seasons. Still with great seasons mixed in too, yes, but until we see him keep this play up for like 3-5+ years I think it's more likely than not he'll be like most other goalies who have some great seasons.
Completely disagree on their recent draft picks. Miller looks legit and I like his game but none of their young forwards impress me whatsoever. Also even if they do pan out, which I doubt, they don't have the cap space to keep them.
Zibanejad and Panarin are highly skilled players but significantly overpaid and getting old. Kreider is a solid player but he's not gonna be scoring 50 goals a season, this was a random one off.
We'll see what happens but the Rangers long term prospects (of contending) as of right now don't impress me much. Their regular season wouldn't have been great at all if not for Igor putting up one of the best goalie seasons ever and their playoff run is reminiscent of ours in 2018-19, more in the moment magic and things clicking than being a great team. Barely beat the washed up Pens who had their 3rd string scrub goalie in and after taking Crosby out with a dirty hit. Then barely get by us with our backup goalie in a game 7 where our team didn't show up (plus we have other issues). Their success is from a hot PP and a hot goalie, 2 things which are unsustainable.
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