NHL 20 GM Mode Logs & Conversation

[Deku]

The real suprise is that the Sharks are still good (in game)

To be fair it’s like 5 seasons in so I’ve retooled the team a decent amount. Karlsson stills sims like a god though which helps a lot

 

[ETTHAKING67]

To be fair it’s like 5 seasons in so I’ve retooled the team a decent amount. Karlsson stills sims like a god though which helps a lot

Haha good for you !

My life would be so much better if people would take about their career here (C'MON)

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

Haha good for you !

My life would be so much better if people would take about their career here (C'MON)

Still playing 19 lol. Rebuilt the Rangers. Missed the playoffs in 19 but drafted Podkozlin and Kakko in the draft nabed Lafreniere in 2020 and got Byfield for Andersson and a pick. Missed by the skin of our teeth in 2021 but won the cup in 2022. Heres my lineup in November of 2022

Lafreniere-Zibby-Podkozlin
Lemieux-Byfield-Kakko
Grabner-Howden-Kravtsov
Gropp-Paquette-Gettinger

Miller-Fox
Lindgren-Skej
Hajek-Domingues

Shsty
Lundqvist

I have 2 kids tearing it up in the OHL right now a C and LW and I know ill have to dump either Podkozlin or Kravtsov. Uggh

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Can someone tell me if in Year 3(or 4) Shane Wright is available in the Draft same with Zach Dean, etc.

 

[Hope Bringer]

So have fiddled around with NHL 20's Franchise mode and had a few questions:

Does chemistry and team morale for your AHL team improve/hinder player development?
When looking at hiring or firing coaches, is the team fit percentage basically the only thing you're looking at? And is it better to fire in-season or does more coaching talent become available during the offseason?

 

[ThorNton Apologist]

Can someone tell me if in Year 3(or 4) Shane Wright is available in the Draft same with Zach Dean, etc.

Yes they are available in the most recent update. There are still some players missing from AHL rosters. I will wait 1 more update before I do my mass editing

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Yes they are available in the most recent update. There are still some players missing from AHL rosters. I will wait 1 more update before I do my mass editing

Great, yes same, well i'm waiting for Black Friday but it will come at the same time imo.

 

[Ghost Bear]

Just finished simulating the first preseason with my expansion team. Drafted an Elite OFD Lars Lundstrom first overall.

Seattle Metropolitans 2019-2020:

Perron - Cirelli - Kase
Donskoi - McCann - Kapanen
Bennett - Lowry - Hartman
Dickinson - Weal - Virtanen
Goodrow - Raffl

Krug - Larsson
McCabe - Jensen
Nutivaara - DeAngelo
Fleury

Lehner
Saros

 

[OB5]

Just had the chance to dive in. Seems the chemistry thing makes everything move a lot slower.

Having a lot of trouble finding the right line combos, can't get them all on the positive, just two.

I fired some coaches and hired some coaches and am not able to hire two assistant coaches so I don't have any goalie coaches.

Is there a way to see coach feedback? Can't seem to find that anywhere.

 

[BigRig4]

How do I get my goalie to stop letting in point shots on superstar??

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Do you guys usually play the 82 games, sim the whole season or do you play only the Home Game,Away game,etc.

 

[OB5]

Do you guys usually play the 82 games, sim the whole season or do you play only the Home Game,Away game,etc.

I mainly sim but I drop in on the rival games/important games.

 

[Emery]

Do you guys usually play the 82 games, sim the whole season or do you play only the Home Game,Away game,etc.

Usually play season opener and any playoff OT, if I play on deadline day I’ll play if I made any moves

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Allright just got the game (the black Friday sale started today), I'll start my Wings Career and keep you posted on my career.

 

[ETTHAKING67]

Who has been your favorites player in the first year draft ?

Doesn't have to be a 1st round prospect.

 

[kinger8998]

starting a new rangers log tonight...stay tunes for first post

 

[Readytostart]

Sometimes I turn off Fog of War, fire all my Pro scouts and have 4-5 scouts in each of OHL, WHL, QMJHL, but still barely get any information on prospects for the draft. Super annoying. Decent scouts, too, with Bs in prospect discovery and effficiency.....

 

[Readytostart]

And why aren't there any decent goalie coaches? The best ones available are C- or worse......
Also: You can't fire a head coach at the NHL or AHL level without promoting/demoting a replacement. You can't back out of that screen with those spots vacant. So how are you supposed to hire a new head coach?
Game seems pretty broken in a lot of places.....

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

Setup and 2019-2020 NHL Season

*Long Post Alert*

Setup

BREAKING NEWS: Time warp takes NHL back to Training Camp's
Setup
The Rangers sat 15-12-3 prior to the warp.

All trades remain, all firings and current events are the same...which leads into next part.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers fire GM Gorton due to unprofessional conduct
Setup
First off, this is not mocking or anything this is just to be as realistic as possible since Gorton has done a phenominal job in reality.

Team president John Davidson has announced the firing of GM Jeff Gorton due to unprofessional conduct. That was all that was cited. He is the first GM to fall from such charges, but coaches Bill Peters and Jim Montgomery preceded him as coaches.

JD, as Rangers fans call him, announced the new GM is Brant King; a rookie GM. Davidson cited wanting someone outside the current NHL hockey world, as he looks for a fresh face.

BREAKING NEWS: Thomas Vanek signs with Rangers
Setup
The 35-year old veteran of 1029 NHL games comes to the Rangers as the start to transition into the next phase of their rebuild. GM Brant King had this to say during his press conference about the first move he made as GM:

GM Brant King
Look, this organization had a very successful summer. Between Panarin coming to us, John returning as president, us selecting Kaapo...I am very happy with the state of the organization I've joined. It's also important to not forget that it's been just one full season since "The Letter" was sent out. This is still a process. Yes, we've gotten a lot of good young players since then. You can see it in our team now: Kaapo, Fil, Howdy, Lemieux, Lindy, Libor...but they still need guys to depend on when time's get tough, and they will.

These guys have experienced a lot of things in their hokcey careers, but they haven't experienced the NHL. It's the best league in the world. They need guys who have been there and done that. Thomas Vanek is that guy. He not only is yet another source of goal scoring for this hockey club, he's a guy who is going to help our young guys develop and he's going to help guys like Mika and Buch even better leaders.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Thomas Vanek	81	35	N/A	LW	Sniper	64 GP 16G-20A-36P -12 ... 26 PIM (DET 18-19)	1/$1.375M

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

​

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers announce Opening Night Roster
End of Training Camp
After an extremely competitive training camp, the New York Rangers revealed their 2019-2020 Opening Night roster.

They elected to go with a 23-man roster. The two goaltenders were Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev. The 7 defenseman were Brady Skjei, Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo, Adam Fox, Libor Hajek, Ryan Lindgren and Marc Staal. The 13 forwards were Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome, Chris Kreider, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Jesper Fast, Thomas Vanek, Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux, Matt Beleskey and Boo Nieves. Brendan Smith also made the roster and will be used as a F/D.

This means that prospect Vitali Kravtsov, Igor Shesterkin and Yegor Rykov were all sent to the minors. Along with them was 2017 7th overall pick Lias Andersson and veteran forwards Phil Di Giuseppe, Michael Haley and Vinni Lettieri.

GM Brant King held a press conference to take questions on the decisions:

GM Brant King

On demoting the Russian trio: They all showed very well. As an organization we are very impressed. That being said, there are still some things they can definitely iron out, and a lot of that has to do with the adjustment. Not only to North Americasn ice, but to North America itself. Different surroundings, different diet, different times. The three players we are talking about are all very talented players and extremely important people to this organization. We are in no way disappointed with how they showed, we just want to make sure they are at their absolute best when they are in the NHL, and we want to put them in a position to succeed.
On Kaapo Kakko: I don't think I have to say this, but he obviously earned this. No matter if yuo're picked 2nd or 201st, you have to earn your spot in this league, and Kaapo did that. He was one of our best players throughout training camp, and we expect him to do very well this season. He's going to have bumps along the way, but we have a solid support system and we are going to instill all the confidence in the world into him. He's a special player.
On Lias Andersson being demoted: I think as an organization, some of the blame falls on us. Lias is a very good hockey player. This organization still believes in him, and I think promoting him the way we did straight out of the Draft was unfair. It's so hard to make an impact right away in the NHL and Lias, like many other 18-year olds, was just not ready to do that. There is no issue with that. Every player travels a different path to get to the NHL, and Lias is currently still on him. There's nothing else to it.

First Half of Season

LW	C	RW
Panarin 90	Zibanejad 86	Kakko 81
Kreider 82	Chytil 80	Buchnevich 83
Vanek 81	Strome 83	Fast 80
Lemieux 77	Howden 78	Beleskey 76
Nieves 76	Smith 76

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

LD	RD
Skjei 84	Trouba 85
Lindgren 78	Fox 82
Hajek 78	DeAngelo 82
Staal 78

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 90	Georgiev 81

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

BREAKING NEWS: Vanek record 1st point as Rangers fall to Jets in OT
October 3rd, 2019
Thomas Vanek recorded a powerplay assist in his debut with the Rangers, but it was not enough as the Jets prevailed in OT on a 5-on-3 powerplay.

Tony DeAngelo had 2 points (0-2--2) in the 4-3 loss. Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves.​

BREAKING NEWS: Buchnevich scores twice as Rangers earn first win
October 5th, 2019
Pavel Buchnevich was the catalyst behind the Ranegrs 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators in their second game of the season. The right winger scored twice and added an assist (2-1--3).

Henrik Lundqvist stopped all but one for a .967 SV% and his first win of the season.

BREAKING NEWS: Goergiev stars in first appearance of season
October 18th, 2019
The Rangers have had an odd schedule to start the season, with many teams already having double the amount of games played, so rest has not been an issue for Henrik Luundqvist. The schedule allowed him to play the first four games of the season, but on the 2nd night of a back-to-back, Alexandar Georgiev got the nod.

The Bulgarian netminder turned aside 25 shots for the win (.962 SV%). After his performance last season, the 23-year old has been a topic of conversation around the NHL, and teams are starting to lurk knowing Igor Shesterkin is in the minors.

Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad both recorded 3 points in the win.

BREAKING NEWS: Kakko struggling through first 10 NHL games
Nov. 1st, 2019
The first month of the NHL season has closed, and the Rangers have completed their first 10 games. Those games brought a record of 5-4-1, not a surprise for a young team. What may come as a surprise is Kaapo Kakko's struggles. No one expected the young Finn to light the league on fire right away, but he is still searching for his first NHL goal. He also just has 4 assists so far.

Rumor has it that coach David Quinn pleaded to GM Brant King for Kakko to be sent to the minors after playing his 9th game (pointless in games 7-9). GM Brant King said no and the two have not seen eye to eye since Kaapo played his 10th game. This may be worth keeping an eye on.

BREAKING NEWS: Jesper Fast out until Nov. 28th with UBI
Nov. 7th, 2019
One of the four remaining members from the 2014 SCF team will be out with an injury for 2-3 weeks. The versatile forward has 7 points (3-4--7) in 14 games so far this season. Boo Nieves will take his place in the lineup, getting his first action of the season

Kaapo Kakko still has not scored yet, and has just 7 assists in 14 GP.

The Rangers currently sit 9-4-1, good for 5th in the Metro.

BREAKING NEWS: Newly formed 2nd line explodes in thrashing of Sens
Nov. 22nd, 2019
Coach David Quinn has done some line shuffling recently, in order to get some players generating offense during a mini 3-game slide (0-2-1). He seems to have found something, as Kaapo Kakko recorded 3 assists (still no goal), while Ryan Strome had 4 points (2-2--4) and Chris Kreider had 2 (1-1--2).

Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 22 shots for his 9th win of the season.

BREAKING NEWS: Kakko scores 1st NHL goal in 4-2 win over Canes
Nov. 27th, 2019
Henrik Lundqvist was the star, turning aside 32/34 shots, but Kaapo Kakko earned 1st star with his first NHL goal. The rookie seems to have found some chemistry with Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome on the 2nd line.

The Rangers improved their record to 15-7-1, which places them 3rd in the Metro behind the Islanders and the Hurricanes.

BREAKING NEWS: Alexandar Georgiev records 3rd straight shutout as Rangers down Canadiens
Dec. 6th, 2019
The Rangers backup goaltender has played in just 11 games so far this season, but he has made the most of his time. The 23-year old owns a record of 9-2-0. He has a stellar SV% of .952, boosted by his 3-game shutout streak that has earned him his first set of consecutive starts this season.

Henrik Lundqvist has not seen the same team Georgiev has, and it shows. The team plays much tighter with Georgiev in nets, and Hank's .905 SV% is what the veteran has to show for his teams play in front of him. The 37-year old has a record of 11-7-2 with no shutouts.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin record 4 points as Rangers down Knights 6-0
Dec. 8th, 2019
Artemi Panarin was electric with 4 points (2-2--4) in the game, but Alexandar Goergiev once again stole the show with his 4th consecutive shutout. While the Rangers carried the play in a convincing win over the Golden Knights, who are no slouches, Georgiev still had to be sharp en route to the extension of his streak.

He earned himself a 3rd striaght start agaisnt the Kings in 2 days.

Kaapo Kakko also scored again, bringing his total to 3 and 18 points in 29 games this season.

BREAKING NEWS: Kakko's OT winner - and hattrick - propels Rangers over Preds
Dec. 16th, 2019
Promoted to the top line after some strong play and a 3-game losing streak, Kaapo Kakko did not let this opportunity slip away. The Finnish force on Broadway treated the fans to a show they won't soon forget. Kakko recorded his first career hattrick, capped off with the OT winner, to end a thrilling 6-5 game for the Rangers.

Artemi Panarin once again proved worth his contract with another 4 point effort. Henrik Lundqvist continued his struggles allowing 5 goals on 26 shots (.808 SV%).

The Rangers snapped a 3-game losing streak and also took hold of 1st in their division for the first time this season.

BREAKING NEWS; Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid atop scoring race nearing halfway point
NHL Updates
Jack Eichel leads the NHL in points with 48, 23 of those goals, while Connor McDavid trails behind by 3 points (20-25--45).

Phil Kessel has taken Arizona by storm, building up a 4-goal lead in the Rocket Richard race with 27 goals. Eichel's 23 are second. Rangers forward Artemi Panarin is tied with Connor McDavid for 4th (20 goals). Alexander Ovechkin lags behing the pack with just 16 goals, a slow pace for The Great 8.

John Klingberg currently leads all defensemen in poitns with 33 (4-29--33). Familiar faces Drew Doughty (5-25--30), Erik Karlsson (5-23--28) and Kris Letang (4-24--28) follow closely behind. Brent Burns is currently sturggling with just 16 points in 35 GP.

Marc-Andre Fleury leads all goaltenders in wins with 20 (32 games). Jordan Binnington (19) and Sergei Bobrovsy (18) round out the top 3. Rangers Alexandar Goergiev leads the league by quite a margin among goalies with 10+ games played. His .951 SV% is a full .014 ahead of second place Linus Ullmark (.937... 11-0-0). Among starters, David Rittich takes the cake with a .926 SV%.

Jack Hughes leads all rookies in points with 10 goals and 26 points, but 5 other players (including Kakko: 6-17--23) are within 3 points of him for the lead.

BREAKING NEWS: Kakko scores in 3rd straight despite 7-2 loss.
Dec. 28th, 2019
The Rangers may have lost 7-2 to the Maple Leafs, but Kaapo Kakko extended his goal streak to 4 games, a good sign for the Rangers. The young forward now has 27 points in 38 games, a pace no one can complain about.

Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 42 points in 38 games, 23 of those being goals.

BREAKING NEWS: Vanek explodes for 4 points in 4-1 win over Flames
Jan. 2nd, 2020
The Rangers kicked off the New Year with a bang, winning their 1st game of the young year. Veteran forward Thomas Vanek socred 2 goals and added 2 assists to take 1st star honors. Jacob Trouba also had 2 points (0-2--2), while Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome scored the other goals.

Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves to win his 2nd consecutive game, while only allowing 3 goals in those 2 outings. The quicker Lundqvist turns his own season around, the more of a force the Rangers will be.

First Half Recap

​

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
28-11-2	13-6-1	15-5-1	3.20 (8th)	2.49 (3rd)	23.3% (5th)	82.1% (T-11th)	1st	1st	3rd	Yes

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

​

Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	18-9-2	.903	2.87	0
Igor Shesterkin	10-2-0	.940	1.82	4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The Rangers are in unfamiliar territory. While backups have outperformed the King before, it has been while the King himself was also playing somewhat well. At this point, Hank is struggling mightily, and Georgiev is playing phenominally. Igor Shesterkin is in the minors, and will almost assuredly need one of the two spots this season. Will the Rangers ask Lundqvist to waive his NMC? Or will Goeegiev's strong play warrant a trade offer the Rangers can't refuse?

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Jacob Trouba	41	3	18	21	+11	16
Tony DeAngelo	41	2	17	19	-5	4
Adam Fox	41	2	15	17	+10	4
Ryan Lindgren	35	5	5	10	-7	20
Brady Skjei	41	0	8	8	+8	22
Libor Hajek	38	5	1	6	+10	25
Marc Staal	9	0	3	3	+5	4
Brendan Smith	0	0	0	0	E	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Jacob Trouba is slightly underperforming for his new deal, but the offseason acquisition has been New York's #1 defesneman, no doubt. Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox are both rounding out the right side with solid seasons themselves, forming on of the best right sides of any defense in the league.
Rookies Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek are both having solid seasons. Brady Skjei has seen a dip in offensive performance, but looks much mroe well rounded defensively.
Marc Staal, still wearing an "A", has not gotten into much action this season. The writing may be on the wall for the veteran defender that his time in NY is coming to an end sooner rather than later. Will he wait out the final year of his contract? Or will he waive his NTC and be involved in a potential bad contract for bad contract deal? Brendan Smith has not yet gotten into action this season.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Artemi Panarin	41	25	20	45	+3	10
Mika Zibanejad	41	10	26	36	+8	29
Pavel Buchnevich	41	7	25	32	+7	8
Ryan Strome	41	12	16	28	+10	4
Kaapo Kakko	41	9	19	28	+1	6
Thomas Vanek	41	11	15	26	+3	6
Chris Kreider	41	6	12	18	+10	24
Filip Chytil	41	11	5	16	-1	4
Brett Howden	41	3	11	14	E	10
Jesper Fast	25	5	8	13	+6	8
Matt Beleskey	41	6	2	8	-1	16
Brendan Lemieux	41	6	1	7	-1	16
Boo Nieves	16	3	3	6	+4	2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Artemi Panarin is worth every cent on his new deal. The superstar is the catalyst behind the Rangers powerplay and entire offense. Mika Zibanejad is continuing his growth into a #1 center with Panarin on his wing. Pavel Buchenvich has benefitted from playing with them, but has now proven capable of generating offense by himself when separated from the duo.

Thomas Vanek has gone beyond what the Rangers could have expected, while Kaapo Kakko is starting to get on a roll, posting 21 points in the past 24 games. Filip Chytil has seen his season yo-yo, and has shown flashes of elite potential while also showing signs of struggles. The 4th line of Brett Howden, Matt Beleskey and Brendan Lemieux has been great for the Rangers. Boo Nieves has played wonderful when asked to fill in.

Pending UFA's Jesper Fast, Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome have had varying degrees of success. Ryan Strome has shown a resurgence, forcing the Rangers to ask if he's more valuable re-signed or as a trade piece. Jesper Fast has missed time due to an injury (re-aggravated it in first game back, missing more time), but is at over a .5 PPG pace. He does all the little things right and is a guy a contender would love to have. Meanwhile Chris Kreider has struggled mightily, but that may be his contract status weighing him down. All three players will have considerable value on the trade block, but should the Rangers, near the top of the league, trade guys away? What message does that send?

Hartford has not had the success everyone hoped. The team sits just 12-18-6. A losing culture is not one an organization wants it's prospects developing in. To right this, the team has announced a slew of signings to shore up their depth.

Prospects Vitali Kravtsov and Lias Andersson lead the offensive charge. Kravtsov has 9 goals and 16 assists (9-16--25) in 36 GP while Andersson has 6 goals and 17 assists (6-17--23) in 36 GP.

Defensemen Yegor Rykov, Joey Keane and Tarmo Reunanen are promising Rangers prospects presiding in the minors. Rykov has 9 goals and 17 points in 34 games, while Keane has 5 goals and 9 points in 33 GP. Tarmo Reunanen has 10 points and a +5 rating while playing in all 36 games.

Igor Shesterkin has a .902 SV% to go along with his 9 wins. His, like Lundqvist's, suffer due to poor play.

Second Half of Season

LW	C	RW
Panarin 90	Zibanejad 86	Kakko 82
Vanek 81	Strome 83	Buchnevich 83
Kreider 82	Chytil 80	Fast 80
Lemieux 77	Howden 79	Beleskey 76
Nieves 76	Smith 76

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

LD	RD
Skjei 84	Trouba 85
Staal 78	Fox 82
Hajek 78	DeAngelo 82
Lindgren 78

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 90	Georgiev 82

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin, Zibanejad and Kakko light up Islanders
Jan. 13th, 2020
Opening the second half 0-3-0 and desperate for a win, the Rangers turned to their big guns. Their guns were shooting tonight. In a rivalry game against the Islanders, the Rangers top line did not fail, combining for 16 points in a 9-3 victory.

Artemi Panarin led the way with 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. Kaapo Kakko posted his first career 5-point game with 1 goal and 4 assists, while Mika Zibanejad had 5 assists himself. Also scoring for the Rangers was Brady Skjei, Ryan Strome, Matt Beleskey and Adam Fox. Pavel Buchenvich had 3 points, all assists.

Henrik Lundqvist won after losing his previous 3. The veteran netminder is still struggling.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers fall to 3-8-0 in 2nd half
Feb. 5th, 2020
With less than a month to go before the NHL Trade Deadline, the Rangers have hit their roughest patch sicne the start of the season. That being siad, they still have a 3 point cushion on 1st in the Division, which shows how formidable this team was prior to the slump.

After their huge performance, the top line went incognito for the past 5 games, leading the way as reasons for the slump. All lines and defense pairings have now been changed.

BREAKING NEWS: Georgiev fends off Jackets for 1st in Metro
Feb. 14th, 2020
The Rangers have seen their lead on the Metro evaporate, and things have been very rough in the second half. Henrik Lundqvist continues to struggle, the offense has dried up, and the Trade Deadline looms.

That said, Alexandar Georgiev put forth an admirable performance for his 5th shutout of the season, further complicating matters for the Rangers. The young netmidner will be in demand witht eh Rangers situation, but is he more valuable as a support system for Hank or as a trade chip?

BREAKING NEWS: Shesterkin wins NHL debut
Feb. 22nd, 2020
In the final game before the NHL Trade Deadline, the New York Rangers were without Henrik Lundqvist who was under the weather. As opposed to giving Alexandar Georgiev the start, and putting him at risk of injury, they started callup Igor Shesterkin.

The Rangers were not at their best in this one, commiting countless powerplays that led to 2 powerplay goals against. They also allowed a SHG, losing the special teams battle. That didnt matter because Shesterkin made 18 saves in the 3rd period while the Rangers came back from down 4-2 to tie the game late and win it in overtime.

Mika Zibanejad had 2 points while Brady Skjei scored the overtime winner.

Trade Deadline

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers trade Chris Kreider and Alexandar Gerogiev to Leafs
Trade Deadline
After the Leafs re-acquired their 1st round pick from Carolina to facilitate this trade (legitimately don't know why the Leafs traded their 2nd and 3rd to Carolina to get their 1st back, but it worked awesome for this trade...), this deal was smooth sailing. The Rangers retain half of Chris Kreiders salary, and the Leafs get a 1B option for Frederik Andersen.

In return, the Rangers got the Leafs 2020 1st, as well as prospect Jeremy Bracco. This deal gives the Leafs a chance to rest Andersen prior to Playoffs, but not risk losing points in the standings. It also gives them a cost controlled option in net should they decide Andersen can go to make room for other contracts. Kreider is a pure rental for them and just bolsters an already lethal attack.

The Rangers recoup yet another Draft pick, as well as a solid prospect to bolster their forward depth.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers re-acquire former Draft pick as Fast moved to Panthers
Trade Deadline
The Florida Panthers picked up a solid piece as they prime themselves for a run, and they gave up a maligned prospect to do so.

Aleksi Saarela, a former Rangers 3rd round pick, now returns to his Draft organization after going through the Hurricans, Blackhawks and Panthers systems. This is probably his last shot at making a name for himself.

With Kreider and Fast gone, it leaves just Lundqvist and Staal as the remaining members from the 2014 Cup run. 6 years, 18/20 new faces.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers acquire Kurashev as Vanek moves to Hawks
Trade Deadline
The New York Rangers continue to bolster their forward prospect depth, possibly their only organizational weakness, as they ship out another UFA. Vanek, 36, was a great signing for the rangers, but with the Rangers struggling in the 2nd half and a real run not likely, they deemed a trade was the right move.

Philipp Kurashev is currently with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, and has 42 points in 41 games.

Forward david Kampf also comes back in the deal. He will join the Rangers.

BREAKING NEWS: Ryan Strome traded to Vegas for 1st, Stephenson
Trade Deadline
Likely the hardest decision for GM Brant King was what to do with Ryan Strome. The pending free agent, restricted that is, is a controversial player among the two sides of hockey. The analytics community seems to have it out for him, while the "old age" hockey men defend him. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, but when the Rangers got offered a 1st for him, it was a no brainer. In such a deep draft, no matter how deep Vegas goes, the Rangers have an excellent chance of selecting a player that matches what Strome brings to the organization.

Chandler Stephenson also comes back to facilitate the move cap wise for Vegas and roster wise for New York.

The Rangers have also called up Vitali Kravtsov from the AHL.

GM Brant King Press Conference
On the moves:None of these were easy deals to make. Guys like Kreids and Quickie, they've been here for a long time. It's definitely a hard decision to make, but it was time. We are now coming out the other side of this rebuild, and we have to really decide who we have room for and what works for this organization in the present and future, not the past.
On the new guys:These are all very good players coming into the organization. Lots of potential. We are very excited to welcome these guys into the fold.
On the goaltending situation:We believe in Hank. He's human. Everyone struggles, but we have belief that he can do his thing and get us to the Playoffs. These trades, they are not about deterring this team from making the Playoffs, it's about making sure this team is primed to make the Playoffs count when we get there, and make sure we get there annually. Shesty is a very promising goaltender. We are excited to see what he can do from this point forward. We really wouldn't have traded Gerogie if Igor didn't force our hands. The stats might not completely show it, but he was phenomenal down in the minors. He deserved this chance.
On Kravtsov:He took the AHL stint like a pro. He went to work, performed well, and earned this callup just like Shesty. This is about instilling in the organization that nothing is given, everything is earned. Vitali is a talented kid, he's going to have a great NHL career and we are excited he gets to do that with us.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Chandler Stephenson	78	25	Med Top 9F	C	2 way Forward	64 GP 5G-9A-14P -2 ... 16 PIM	1/$1.050M
David Kampf	76	25	Low Bottom 6F	LW/C	2 way Forward	57 GP 13G-24A-37P +5 ... 22 PIM (AHL)	2/$1.000M
Jeremy Bracco	73	22	Med Top 6F	C	Playmaker	54 GP 17G-21A-38P -3 ... 16 PIM (AHL)	1/$0.845M
Aleksi Saarela	73	23	Low Top 6F	LW	2 way Forward	51 GP 18G-12A-30P -5 ... 12 PIM (AHL)	1/$0.755M
Philipp Kurashev	65	20	Low Top 6F	C	Playmaker	41 GP 15G-27A-42P -1 ... 15 PIM (QMJHL)	3/$0.845M

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LW	C	RW
Panarin 90	Zibanejad 86	Kravtsov 77
Buchnevich 83	Chytil 81	Kakko 82
Lemieux 77	Howden 78	Smith 76
Kampf 76	Stephenson 78	Nieves 76
Beleskey 76*

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LD	RD
Skjei 84	Trouba 85
Lindgren 79	Fox 83
Hajek 78	DeAngelo 83
Staal 78

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 90	Shesterkin 79

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BREAKING NEWS: Kravtsov scores 1st NHL goal as Rangers beat Isles in shootout
Feb. 25th, 2020
In the first game post deadline, the Rangers were a very different team. Absent 5 regular forwards (Beleskey injured), there was no chemistry to build off of. That said, the team rallied and reversed a 2 goal deficit to come back and beat their rival Islander 3-2 in the shootout.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22/24 while Vitali Kravtsov recorded his first NHL goal, playing 23:00 mins on the top line.

BREAKING NEWS: Zibanejad, Panarin lead Rangers past Habs
Feb. 27th, 2020
Igor Shesterkin won his 2nd career NHL game to improve to 2-0-0 in his career. Vitali Kravtsov recorded another 2 goals, bringing his total to 3 in 2 games.

Despite the young guns' showings, it was the teams #1 center (Zibanejad) and franchise cornerstone (Panarin) who stole the show. The dynamic duo combined for 8 points, with Zibanejad socring 2 (2-2--4). Panarin had 4 assists in the game (0-4--4).

Panarin now has 75 points on the season in just 63 games.

BREAKING NEWS: Shesterkin, Kravtsov lead Rangers over 'Yotes
March 14th, 2020
Igor Shesterkin registered his first career NHL shutout and Vitali Kravtsov added another goal as the Rangers nsapped a 6-game losing skid (0-5-1).

IT was Kravtsov's 4th goal in 10 game splayed. The rookie also has 1 assist for a total of 5 points.

BREAKING NEWS; Rangers clinch Playoffs despite loss to Lightning
March 30th, 2020
The Rangers rode a late season hot streak from Henrik Lundqvist until it ended, and after it ended, the Rangers clinched the Playoffs.
Henrik Lundqvist put together a strign of 5 straight return-to-form games, two of which were shutouts, and after a 4-0 loss to the Lightning ended that, it was then that the Rangers clinched the Playoffs.

Artemi Panarin had 4 points (2-2--4), Mika Zibanejad had 3 (2-1--3) and Kaapo Kakko had 2 (0-2--2) in a 7-3 victory over the Washington Capitals just days earlier which respresented the last 2 points the Rangers gained before clinching.

Season Recap

​

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
45-34-3	21-19-1	24-15-2	3.07 (T-12th)	2.93 (T-14th)	23.4% (2nd)	83.4% (T-6th)	1st	6th	11th	Yes

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​

Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	28-27-2	.901	3.06	2
Igor Shesterkin	3-5-1	.883	3.61	1

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Lundqvist did not have a good season. There are still no doubts about his talent, as he showed he still has the ability to steal a game, but where was the consistency? Igor Shesterkin started strong but struggled when given more starts, so it's Hanks crease for the Playoffs.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Adam Fox	82	11	27	38	E	6
Jacob Trouba	80	3	28	31	-19	38
Tony DeAngelo	82	4	24	28	-14	6
Brady Skjei	82	4	19	23	+8	56
Ryan Lindgren	59	6	6	12	-16	36
Libor Hajek	79	5	4	9	E	43
Marc Staal	29	1	6	7	+12	10
Brendan Smith	6	0	0	0	-3	4

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Adam Fox was the Rangers only defesneman who can realistically look back and say he performed at or above expectations. Ryan Lindgren saw his second half slump awfully, Brady Skjei shored up defense but lost offesne, Libor Hajek was okay, and Jacob Trouba was downright awful in the second half for being paid $8.000M. Marc Staal played well because of rest, while Smith saw 2 games on D and 4 at F.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Artemi Panarin	82	47	50	97	-1	12
Mika Zibanejad	81	22	59	81	+7	49
Pavel Buchnevich	82	15	51	66	E	14
Kaapo Kakko	81	22	43	65	-6	8
Filip Chytil	82	22	12	34	-14	10
Brett Howden	82	6	16	22	-17	20
Chandler Stephenson	85 (21)	6 (1)	13 (4)	19 (5)	+-6 (-4)	20 (4)
Brendan Lemieux	82	9	5	14	-19	34
Boo Nieves	48	8	6	14	-1	6
Vitali Kravtsov	21	6	6	12	-5	4
Matt Beleskey	67	7	3	10	-11	28
David Kampf	20	4	1	5	E	0

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Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko and Pavel Buchenvich saved the Rangers seaosn from unmitigated disaster. Pavel Buchenvich broke out as an elite playmaker, Panarin elevated Zibanejad to elite status and rasied his own game too, and Kakko recorded 58 points in his last 64 games after his slow start.

Filip Chytil showed a knack for gaol scoring, but only played half a season with linemates consistently capable of finishing the chance he gave them. That reflects in his assist total.

Brett Howden and Brendan Lemieux struggled defensively without much NHL support. Boo Nieves proved capable of the full tiem jump, while Matt Beleskey held his own, although likely won't be back with NYR. David Kampf and Chandler Stephenson both showed decently in their stint.

Vitali Kravtsov looked very good in his first 20 games at the NHL level. The kid is for real.

Next Post: 2020 NHL Playoffs and 2020 Offseason

Hartford has not had the success everyone hoped. The team sits just 12-18-6. A losing culture is not one an organization wants it's prospects developing in. To right this, the team has announced a slew of signings to shore up their depth.

Prospects Vitali Kravtsov and Lias Andersson lead the offensive charge. Kravtsov has 9 goals and 16 assists (9-16--25) in 36 GP while Andersson has 6 goals and 17 assists (6-17--23) in 36 GP.

Defensemen Yegor Rykov, Joey Keane and Tarmo Reunanen are promising Rangers prospects presiding in the minors. Rykov has 9 goals and 17 points in 34 games, while Keane has 5 goals and 9 points in 33 GP. Tarmo Reunanen has 10 points and a +5 rating while playing in all 36 games.

Igor Shesterkin has a .902 SV% to go along with his 9 wins. His, like Lundqvist's, suffer due to poor play.​

​

​

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

2020 NHL Playoffs and 2020 Offseason

2020 NHL Playoffs

As a reward for finishing 1st in the Metro, the Rangers drew a matchup against the Boston Bruins, who actually had more points than them. That's right, the 1WC team had more points than the 1st Metro team. Not only does that hold true, but these are also the uber-experiences defending Champs of the East, against the inexperienced Rangers. The Rangers, who were trending down heading into the Playoffs (aside from a 9-2 drubbing of the Blackhawks in the final game), face the Bruins, who won their way into the Playoffs, going 8-2-0 in the L10.

If the Rangers hope to have a fighting chance in this series, they will need Lundqvist to go toe-to-toe with Tuukka Rask. They will also need a much better performance out of Jacob Trouba on defense, as the Rangers need a defenseman to matchup against their Bruins "Perfection Line".

To combat Pastrnak, Marchand and Bergeron the Rangers will need their own trio; Panarin, Zibanejad and Kakko to continue their Regular Season domincance.

Here we go:

LW	C	RW
Panarin 90	Zibanejad 86	Kakko 82
Buchnevich 83	Chytil 82	Kravtsov 78
Beleskey 76	Stephenson 78	Nieves 76
Lemieux 77	Howden 78	Kampf 76
Smith 76

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LD	RD
Skjei 84	Trouba 85
DeAngelo 83	Fox 83
Lindgren 78	Hajek 79
Staal 78

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 90	Shesterkin 79

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Round 1 vs. Boston

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	4-3 BOS (OT)	Panarin (1), Buchnevich (1). DeAngelo (1)	Lundqvist (.882 SV%)(3.56 GAA)	Rangers blow 3-1 lead.
2	3-1 NYR	Kravtsov (1), Kakko (1,2)	Lundqvist (.976 SV%)(1.00 GAA)	Lundqvist throws is back and steals one.
3	3-1 NYR	Fox (1), Zibanejad (1), Kakko (3)	Lundqvist (.956 SV%)(1.00 GAA)	Rangers take back home ice advantage.
4	2-1 BOS (OT)	Kravtsov (2)	Lundqvist (.947 SV%)(1.86 GAA)	Rangers lose heartbreaker after tying it late. Back to NY for Game 5.
5	3-2 NYR	Lindgren (1), Kravtsov (3), Smiht (1)	Lundqvist (.944 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Rangers with chance to close in Boston. Kravtsov and Kakko lead way with 3 goals each. Surprising output for rookies in first PO.
6	2-0 BOS		Lundqvist (.951 SV%)(2.04 GAA)	Lundqvist did all he could, but experienced Bruins shut Rangers down. Game 7.
7	3-2 BOS	Panarin (2), Trouba (1)	Lundqvist (.930 SV%)(3.05 GAA)	Bruins outshoot Rangers 24-4 in 3rd, score 3 to come back and win.

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2020 Offseason

BREAKING NEWS: Tampa Bay Lightning finally win Stanley Cup
End of Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning, predicted to win the Stanley Cup year after year, have finally proved the predictions true. Their first Cup since 2004, as they defeated the Dallas Stars in a tightly contested 6 game series.

En route to the Championship, the Bolts dispatched of the Maple Leafs, the division winning Sabres and the team that knocked the Rangers out, the Boston Bruins.

Nikita Kucherov led the way, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP. His 28 points were a league high, followed closely by teammates Syeven Stamkos and Brayden Point with 27 points each.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin and Kakko take home Awards
NHL Award Show, Las Vegas
Artemi Panarin was electric for the Rangers in his first season, and a 52 point second half propelling him to a league leading total of 97. That won him the Art Ross Trophy, but he also took move the Lady Byng and Ted Lindsay Trophies. What a year for the big Free Agent signing of 2019.

Kaapo Kakko started slow, but his torrid pace after catching fire earned him rookie of the year honors as he won the Calder Trophy. He beat out fellow 2019 draftee (1st overall) Jack Hughes and defenseman Cale Makar.

BREAKING NEWS: Ottawa Senators hold 1st and 4th picks
NHL Draft Lottery Results
After the Sharks pick from the Karlsson trade won the lottery, their pick slid down to 4th, but now they own 2 of the top 4 picks in the deepest draft since 2003. That includes the 1st overall pick, with which they will assuredly take Alexis LaFreniere.

The future just got birghtened a bit more in Ottawa.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers trade up, select Byfield 6th overall
NHL Entry Draft
When Quinton Byfield started dropping, the Rangers saw a chance to strike. Montreal was selecting 6th overall, and they already have Ryan Poehling, Nick Suzuki, Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi at center. That being said, they have long been searching for a suitable replacement as Shea Weber's partner since the departure of Andrei Markov.

The Rangers shipped Brady Skjie, Brett Howden, their 2020 1st (25th), 2020 4th and unsigned prospects Hunter Skinner (D) and Jacob Ragnarsson (D) to Montreal for the 7th overall pick.

This creates a whole in the Rangers defense on the left side, as this now means they are relying on Yegor Rykov (74 GP, 22G-25A-47P) to make the jump after just 1 season in the AHL. That would also assume Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek improve massively on their rookie seasons to move up the lineup.

Nonetheless, this can be considered nothing but a win for the Rangers, as Byfield is an elite prospect capable of one day centering a 1st line. This gives the Rangers formidable depth down the middle.

Draft Results

Round	Pick	Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type
1	7	Quinton Byfiled	74	17	Med Elite	C	Power Forward
1	20	Jamie Drysdale	66	18	Med Top 4D	D	Offensive Defenseman
1	27	Noel Gunler	59	18	Med Top 6F	RW	Two way Forward
2	56	Ilya Jaskin	63	18	Low Top 6F	RW	Two way Forward
3	87	Jan Mysak	57	18	Med Top 6F	LW	Sniper
3	92	Brady Burns	59	18	Med Bottom 6F	C	Playmaker
5	144	Brandon Umberger	47	17	Med Elite	G	Hybrid
5	149	Nico Savoie	53	18	Med 7th D	D	Two way Defender
6	180	Jacob Murray	53	18	Med 7th D	D	Two way Defender
7	197	Braydon Ludwig	49	18	Med Starter	G	Hybrid

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Re-sign Phase

After the Draft trade, the Rangers opened up a bit more Cap flexibility. The Rangers entered the re-sign period with nearly $20.000M in cap space, $3.5 of that contributed to the cap ceiling raising to $87.000M.

Micheal Haley was released. Along with him, Matt Beleskey was also released from the team. Phil Di Giuseppe, a late cut fromt he team last year and a very good AHL forward, elected to test Free Agency.

RFA Chandler Stephenson was qualified, and negotiations continue as the Rangers look to come to an agreement. Tony DeAngelo meanwhile, was also qualified, but the Rangers have a decision to make. In his rookie season, Adam Fox passed Jacob Trouba on the Rangers depth chart. Now, DeAngelo, with considerable offensive potential, will never be a better defender than Trouba. That being said, he brings powerplay skills that make both units lethal, so he is integral to the attack. That being said, he sits 3rd on the RHD depth chart and is fully right to command money and term after taking a 1-year deal last season. The Rangers have to decide if they want to go big and long on a guy that may be stuck 3rd on the depth chart.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV	Notes
Brendan Lemieux	76	24	Med Top 9F	LW/RW	Power Forward	82 GP 9G-5A-14P -19 ... 34 PIM	2/$0.975M	Cheap deal for a gritty, young forward all teams need to win.
Boo Nieves	76	26	High Bottom 6F	F	Playmaker	48 GP 8G-6A-14P -1 ... 6 PIM	1/$0.900M	Solidified himself as full-time NHL option last season, remains to be seen if he can fend off intense competition in NY.
Quinton Byfield	74	17	Med Elite	C	Power Forward	67 GP 48G-71A-119P -16 ... 14 PIM (OHL)	3/$0.925M (ELC)	Ranegra 6th overall pick will get a 9 game audition at NHL level, no doubt. Going to be a very good player for a very long time.
Jeremy Bracco	74	23	Med Top 6F	C/RW	Playmaker	69 GP 19G-25A-44P +1 ... 16 PIM (AHL)	2/$0.800M	The centerman may have to move to the wing with a crowded C depth chart in NY. His speed will do the team wonders there.
Aleksi Saarela	74	23	Low Top 6F	LW	Two way Forward	57 GP 18G-12A-30P -6 ... 12 PIM (AHL)	2/$0.750M	Another case of center moving to wing here. Saarela now on his 2nd stint with NYR. Must establish himself in AHL.
Lauri Pajuniemi	70	20	Med Top 9F	RW	Sniper	60 GP 18G-20A-38P +11 ... 4 PIM (Liiga)	3/$0.875M (ELC)	Pajuniemi has chance to come to HFD and become lethal PP triggerman, as he was in Liiga. Rangers have a lot of prospect depth, and Lauri may not be the cream of the crop, but they want to see this prospect through.
Nils Lundkvist	66	19	High Top 4D	D	Two way Defender	48 GP 7G-8A-15P -5 ... 10 PIM (SHL)	3/$0.900M (ELC)	ELC for 28th pick in 2018 Draft. Rangers thought highly of this pick, and the NHL is starting to take notice too.
Olof Lindbom	63	19	Med Starter	G	Hybrid	36 GP 17-13-0, 4 SO .883 SV% 3.39 GAA (SHL)	3/$0.900M (ELC)	After a year of injuries and a down year, NYR takes a chance on a goaltender they feel will benefit from the guidance of Benny Allaire in NA.
Calle Sjalin	61	20	Low Top 4D	D	Two way Defender	N/A	3/$0.775M (ELC)	Questionable ELC for a guy who's excuse for so long has been injuries. If he doesn't prove worthy quickly, this could be his only NHL contract.

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Free Agency

BREAKING NEWS: Long awaited Thornton to Rangers deal arrives
Free Agency
Every season that Joe Thornton has an expiring contract, his name seems to come up in rumors connected to the Rangers. Every season though, he re-signs in San Jose. Not this season. This time, Joe Thornton takes his services in his 23rd NHL Season to the New York Rangers.

The deal is 1-year and will come in somewhere between $4-5M. The veteran forward is expected to give Vitali Kravtsov a linemate that can support him in his first NHL season. He will also be a teacher for young centers like Filip Chytil and Quinton Byfield. Not to mention, he now combines forces with Henrik Lundqvist, another greybeard still searching for his 1st Stanley Cup.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers and RFA Tony DeAngelo agree to terms
August 15th, 2020
Nearing the halfway point of the July 1st-Season Starting point, Tony DeAngelo and the New York Rangers ended a stalemate with a huge contract. The defenseman agreed to a 6-year deal worth a total of $29.700M.

The polarizing defenseman had 28 points in 82 games last season, disappointing output for a defenseman that much was expected of. That's why the big commitment is a surprise to some. That being said, with Fox expected to surpass Trouba on the depth chart, DeAngelo may move to the left side and form a pairing with Trouba.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers move on from Staal in rare trade with Devils
Sept. 1st, 2020
Just days before the start of training camps, the Rangers and Devils made their first trade since 2016. In that deal, the Rangers came away with a 2nd round pick and prospect Yegor Rykov, now looking to make the team, while they sent away Michael Grabner.

This time, the Rangers trade Marc Staal across the Hudson river for another veteran with a criticized contract in Travis Zajac. Both Staal and Zajac agreed to waive their trade protection in order to salvage their hockey careers, and they wont have to relocate their families to do so since both rinks are just across the Hudson.

Marc Staal finishes his Rangers career with 869 games played. The defenseman was the Rangers 12th overall pick in 2005.

Travis Zajac has 1-year remaining and is owed $5.750M. The 35-year old has 535 points in 1004 NHL games, all with the Devils. He is coming off a 28 point season, his lowest in a full season since 2014/2015.

New Players

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Tony DeAngelo	84	24	Low Elite	D	Offensive Defenseman	82 GP 4G-24A-28P -14 ... 6 PIM NYR 19/20	6/$4.950M
Joe Thornton	83	41	N/A	C	Playmaker	82 GP 8G-47A-55P -12 ... 18 PIM SJS 19/20	1/$4.500M
Travis Zajac	80	35	N/A	C	Two way Forward	82 GP 10G-18A-28P -8 ... 50 PIM NJD 19/20	1/$5.750M

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Next Post: 2020-2021 NHL Season​

 

[ETTHAKING67]

I started one with the Wings a couple of weeks ago, i'm in my second season.

Line Up
Bertuzzi - Larkin - Zadina
Perlini - Byfield* - Mantha
Rasmussen - Fillipula - Fabbri
Abdelkader - Ehn - Hartman**
X- Nielsen

Brodin** - Seider
Dekeyser - Hronek
Cholowski - Stone***
X- Bowey - Mcilrath

J.Allen****
J.Bernier

* - Drafted 4th Overall after my first season.
** : Traded Andreas Anthanasiou and Patrick Nemeth for J.Brodin and R.Hartman (Picks were also involved)
*** : Signed Stone on a 1 year - 3 million deal.
**** : Traded Tiro Hirose for J.Allen and a Prospect.
---
Also Traded :
Darren Helm and a 5th for a 7th.
Adam Erne for a 5th.
Mige Green for a 3rd and a 4th.

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

2020-2021 NHL Season

Season Preview

In nets, the Rangers have the utmost confidence in their tandem. Henrik Lundqvist returns to man the crease after a strong post season in which he nearly defeated the Eastern Conference runner ups with a performance for the ages. Igor Shesterkin represents the Rangers future in nets, and he will certainly get somewhere in the range of 30-40 starts in his first NHL season.

The Rangers enter the season returning 6 of 8 defense who appeared in the NHL for them last season. Adam Fox takes over as the #1 guy after a solid rookie season, while Ryan Lindgren steps up and pairs with him as he gets his big chance. Tony DeAngelo and Jacob Trouba form a lethal second pair, and Libor Hajek returns on the 3rd pair. He is joine dby Yegor Rykov, he of 22 goals in the AHL last season. The Russian defenseman is a strong skater and a physical player. Brendan Smith returns as the extra defenseman.

The top line of Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko and Artemi Panarin return fully intact. Pavel Buchnevich comes back, while Jumbo Joe joins him and Filip Chytil graduates to a full time top-6 role with them. Vitali Kravtsov will start his first full NHL season after a successful audition last year, and he will start with fellow rookie Quinton Byfield and trade addition Travis Zajac. Byfield, just 18, will almost certainly go back to the CHL after his 9 games. Brendan Lemieux and David Kampf return on the 4th line, as does Chandler Stephenson, who just accepted his qualifying offer before TC. Boo Nieves starts as the healthy scratch.

GM Brant King on lineup decisions:
On Lias Andersson still in AHL: Our organizational position on this has not changed since last season. Lias is on a path, and he's just travelling it slower than he, or anyone, really expected. We still feel he'll be a very good player in the NHL someday.
On Byfield: Quinton is going to be a huge part of our future. The goal right now is to get him some reps and see how he does. He handled the preseason and TC very well, so he's earned this chance.
On the goaltending situation: Hank understands that Igor needs time. Hank has always been very understanding of the goaltending combination as Benny helps goalie after goalie discover their potential. Shesty is no different, he is coming into his own. We really believe we have the best tandem in the league here.

LW	C	RW
Panarin 92	Zibanejad 87	Kakko 84
Chytil 84	Thornton 83	Buchnevich 84
Byfield 74	Zajac 80	Kravtsov 81
Lemieux 77	Stephenson 77	Kampf 76
Nieves 77	Lettieri 75

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LD	RD
Lindgren 80	Fox 87
DeAngelo 84	Trouba 85
Hajek 79	Rykov 79
Smith 76

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 88	Shesterkin 82

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BREAKING NEWS: Rangers, Lundqvist open season with 2-0 win.

Oct. 4th, 2020
In the season opener against the St. Louis Blues, the Rangers seemed slow. That didn't matter though, as Henrik Lundqvist weathered the storm and Filip Chytil scored the game winner as the Rangers shutout the Blues 2-0.

Joe Thornton assisted on Chytil's goal, the first point of his Rangers career. Chanlder Stephenson recorded the ENG to seal the victory.

BREAKING NEWS: Byfield scores 1st in Rangers win over Pens
Oct. 25th, 2020
In the Rangers first game without Artemi Panarin, as the star forwards sits out with a sore hip flexor, the Rangers won by committee. Quinton Byfield scored his first NHL goal (1-0--1), Kaapo Kakko scored 2 (2-0--2), Lindgren had 3 points (2-1--3). TRavis Zajac had his best game as a Rangers recording 2 points (1-1--2), while Joe Thornton had 3 assists (0-3--3) in the win.

Henrik Lundqvist posted a .929 SV%, and will also play the second half of the back-to-bakc in Columbus tomorrow.

BREAKING NEWS: Byfield scores again, but still sent to CHL
Oct. 26th, 2020
After scoring his 2nd NHL goal just one night after scoring his first, Quinton Byfield can go down to the CHL feeling good about his game. The 6th overall pick started to find his footing, but GM Brant King agreed with head coach David Quinn that 9-games was enough to see Byfield would benefit from one more year in the CHL.

Greg McKegg has been recalled from the AHL.

BREAKING NEWS: Shesterkin out until January with injury
Nov. 6th, 2020
Shesterkin sustained a broken wrist in the third period of a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs. The Rangers will now rely heavily on Henrik Lundqvist for a couple months. The team announced they signed Viktor Fasth to a 1-year deal.

The Rangers currently sit 8-6-0, good for 6th in the Metro. That is 1 point back of the Devils and Hurricanes for the WC positions in the East, and 2 points back of Carolina for 3rd in the division.

BREAKING NEWS: Thornton, Lundqvist lead Rangers to 5th straight win
Nov. 11th, 2020
Joe Thornton scored his 2nd with the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 40 for the shutout as the greybeards led the Rangers past the Ducks 2-0.

The win marked the 5th in a row for the Rangers, who now sit 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.

Libor Hajek was injured and will be out for 2-3 games. Brendan Smith draws into the lineup.

BREAKING NEWS; Fasth snaps Rangers 6-game losing streak
Nov. 22nd, 2020
Given his first start with the Rangers, Viktor Fasth recorded his first NHL win since 2014/2015, also the last time he played in the NHL.

The Rangers now sit 11-10-0, and need to right the ship quickly.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers, Lundqvist shutout Caps 5-0
Dec. 4th, 2020
Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves and five different Rangers' found the back of the net in a convincing win over the Capitals.

Vinni Lettieir scored his 1st of the season for the Rangers, while youngsters Kaapo Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov also scored.

Panarin had an assist in the game, just his 15th point of the season, as the superstar and reigning Ted Lindsay winner seems out of sorts.

BREAKING NEWS; Rangers sweep back-to-back as win streak reaches 5
Dec. 18th, 2020
The Rangers have been a very streaky team this season, and they needed this next streak to be of the win variety badly. A 5 game winning streak, and wins in 6 out of their last 7 (6-0-1), propels the team to 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.

They now are 3 points ahead of the 3rd place Devils and 4 behind the 1st place Pens.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin scores twice as Rangers win 9th straight
Dec. 26th, 2020
The Rangers still remain 2nd in the Metropolitan, evenly in between 1st and 3rd points wise.

The 2 goal night from Panarin is encouraging for the electrifying player as the Rangers are at their best when the defending Art Ross winner is producing.

Kaapo Kakko posted his 3rd straight multi-point game, and leads the team with 30 in 34 games.

BREAKING NEWS: Kravtsov, Rangers ring in New Year with 12th straight win
Jan. 1st, 2021
The Rangers and Penguins are going toe-to-toe atop the Metro Division with matching winning streaks. The Rangers, winning their 12th straight, were boosted by a hatttrick from Vitali Kravtsov, the first of his young career.

Joe Thornton (1-2--3) and Mika Zibanejad (1-2--3) each had 3 points in the victory. Henrik Lundqvist started and won his 12th consecutive game.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin scores twcie but Rangers fall to Winnipeg
Jan. 3rd, 2021
The winning streak is over. The Rangers fell to the Winnipeg Jets 5-3.

Artemi Panarin recorded 2 goals n the loss, if any positives can be taken from it. Igor Shesterkin has recovered from his injury and will start the next gaem, as the Rangers let Hank ride out his hot streak.

First Half Recap

​

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
26-16-1	12-9-0	14-7-1	2.95 (T-15th)	2.74 (T-6th)	18.4% (14th)	83.2% (11th)	2nd	5th	8th	Yes

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​

Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	20-8-1	.922	2.44	4
Igor Shesterkin Viktor Fasth	3-7-0 3-1-0	.887 .914	3.49 2.50	0 0

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The New York Rangers have their cornerstone back. After a disappointing season, Henrik Lundqvist seems to be building off of his outstanding Playoff performance to save the Rangers season. Meanwhile, rookie Igor Shesterkin struggled, but veteran free agent signing Viktor Fasth has filled in well when needed.

Shesterkin is the future in the crease, so the Rangers would greatly benefit from an improved performance from him.
​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Adam Fox	43	2	19	21	+9	6
Tony DeAngelo	43	4	14	18	+1	2
Ryan Lindgren	43	5	9	14	+14	28
Libor Hajek	42	2	6	8	+8	20
Jacob Trouba	43	2	6	8	-7	28
Yegor Rykov	43	4	3	7	-9	26
Brendan Smith	1	0	0	0	-2	0

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Adam Fox continues to develop and prove himself as the Rangers best defenseman. Meanwhile, he has found a partner in Ryan Lindgren, who has spent lots of time on the top pairing with him, and has flourished as a two-way defenseman.
Yegor Rykov is struggling in his rookie season, which was not unexpected. Libor Hajek has regressed, and Jacob Trouba is a shell of himself.
In Trouba's case, he could find himself being shopped. The Rangers need some scoring support for their goaltenders, and $8.000M is a lot for a defenseman who has been surpassed by two other defensemen on the depth chart. This is something to keep an eye on.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Mika Zibanejad	41	13	25	38	+14	26
Pavel Buchnevich	43	13	25	38	+12	10
Kaapo Kakko	42	17	19	36	+6	8
Artemi Panarin	41	19	16	35	+8	10
Vitali Kravtsov	43	13	15	28	-5	12
Joe Thornton	43	6	21	27	+3	6
Filip Chytil	43	6	12	18	E	29
Travis Zajac	43	7	8	15	E	12
Brendan Lemieux	43	3	6	9	E	33
David Kampf	43	1	8	9	-4	8
Vinni Lettieri	25	2	4	6	-3	2
Greg McKegg	24	4	1	5	+1	4
Chandler Stephenson Boo Nieves	21 12	2 0	3 0	5 0	-4 -4	8 4

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While it's weird to call a 35 point first half a down season, Artemi Panarin is not at the same pace he was last season. That's okay though, because Zibanejad, Buchenvich and Kakko have made up for it with increased production.
New addition Joe Thornton has clicked well, and has even spent time moved up in the lineup, he has been an integral part of the attack. Trade acquisition Travis Zaajc wasn't expected to have a massive bump offensively, and he's only on pace for a 2 point increase, but he has been key on the penalty kill and in the bottom-6.
Vitali Kravtsov is having an awesome first full NHL season. He is going to be a very special player. Filip Chytil has struggled this season, as he has been moved back an forth between center and wing.
Aside from the aforementioned Zajac, the Rangers really have not gotten much offensively or defensively from their bottom 6 group. It is definitely a point that they may look to revamp at the TDL or in the offseason.
The Rangers could also look at a rental forward for the top 6 to increase depth. They would not want term as their young players grow and develop into top-6 roles, but a rental forward would not hurt.

The Wolf Pack arr 19-15-3, much improved from last season. They sit 4th in their division, which is still 6 points out of the Playoffs.

Jeremy Bracco leads the team with 36 points in 37 games (13-23--36). Lias Andersson follows with 29 (11-18--29), while Aleksi Saarela is further down with 20 points in 37 games (7-13--20).
Tarmo Reunanen is just 2 points off last seasons total in about half the games. The 22-year old defenseman has 19 point sin 37 games. Joey Keane has 3 goals and 11 points in 37 games, along with a +3 rating. Nils Lundkvist and Calle Sjalin have 8 and 4 points respectively in their rookie seasons.

Second Half of Season

LW	C	RW
Chytil 84	Zibanejad 87	Kakko 83
Panarin 92	Kravtsov 81	Buchnevich 84
Lemieux 77	Thornton 83	Zajac 80
Nieves 77	Kampf 76	McKegg 76
Lettieri 75	Stephenson 77

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LD	RD
Lindgren 80	Fox 87
Hajek 79	DeAngelo 84
Rykov 79	Trouba 85
Smith 76

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Starter	Backup
Shesterkin 82	Fasth 75 (Lundqvist 88*)

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BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist shuts out Avs in return
Jan 20th, 2021
Henrik Lundqvist returned from his LBI to a 3 game losing streak. The veteran was not shook by that though, as he posted a 25 save shutout in his comeback.

Vitali Kravtsov and Brendan Lemieux each recorded a goal and an assist (1-1--2) to lead the way. Kaapo Kakko and Greg McKegg scored the other goals.

The Rangers remain second in the division, still chasing Pittsburgh.

BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist outduels Georgiev in return to NY
Jan. 30th, 2021
In Georgiev's first game against the Rangers since being dealt, he played pretty well. The BUlgarian netminder stopped 31/32, but was outdone by his former mentor, Henrik Lundqvist.

The King, in just his second game back after a LBI, stopped 29/30 to backstop the Rangers to a 2-1 OT victory, in which Mika Zibanejad scored the overtime winner. Brendan Lemieux scored the other goal for the Rangers.

BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist injured in 7-4 win
Feb. 10th, 2021
Henrik Lundqvist will be out until earyl March with a relapse of the injury he just returned from. The 38-year old left the game in the third period, which turned out to be a 7-4 victory.

Mika Zibanejad recorded 5 points (2-3--5) and Artemi Panarin scored 2 goals, while adding an assist.

Viktor Fasth has been recalled from the AHL.

BREAKING NEWS: Buchnevich, Shesterkin star in rout of Oilers
Feb. 18th, 2021
With Ryan Lindgren out for 1-2 weeks and Henrik Lundqvist still rehabbing his injury, it was going to be important for Igor Shesterkin and the offense to step up.

They answered the call with 6 goals in a 6-1 victory. Pavel Buchnevich took charge, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists. Igor Shesterkin is not to be forgotten as the Russian netminder posted 25 saves for a .961 SV%.

BREAKING NEWS: Viktor Fasth, offense, lead Rangers over Knights
Feb. 19th, 2021
After beating the Edmonton Oilers 6-1, the Rangers followed it up with a 7-1 beatdown of the Vegas golden Knights.

Goaltender Viktor Fasth once again performed admirably in his call to duty, stopped 30 for a .967 SV%.

Artemi Panarin recorded a hattrick (3-1--4) in the victory and Joe Thornton had 3 points (1-2--3).

The Rangers are now 36-22-1, now 9 points behind the blazing Penguins for 1st in the Division.

Trade Deadline

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers acquire Ekman-Larsson in blockbuster
Trade De

adline
Henrik Lundqvist played an integral role in this trade. The best goaltender to hail from Sweden has some serious pull with players of his nationality, and OEL listened. The Swedish-born defenseman listened to Hank and allowed a Trade from Arizona, the only franchise he's known, to the Rangers. This comes after the team indicated it wished to move on from the all-star defenseman last season after they failed to take the step forward expected when they added Phil Kessel.

In a huge deal, the Rangers sent Jacob Trouba, Lias Andersson, their 1st in this years Draft and their 2nd in 2022 for the 29-year old defender.

The trade essentially gives the Rangers 6 more years of Oliver-Ekman Larsson as opposed to 5 more years of Jacob Trouba. The Rangers do lose their 1st round pick this season, but after 3 last season, that's not an issue. Lias Andersson, the 7th overall pick in 2017, was just never truly going to make it in this organization, and needed the change of scenery, no matter what GM Brant King said.

BREAKING NEWS: Filip Chytil signs extension with Rangers
Trade Deadline
Filip Chytil is in the midst of a rough season, but the Rangers are showing faith in their young players.

Moved out of center and to the wing for a large portion of this season after starting slow at center, Filip Chytil has taken a while to adjust. The 21-year old forward has posted 10 points in the past 18 games since the halfway mark, and the team success has come with that.

Filip Chytil's contract has a 4-year term and is worth a total of $22.000M. His future as a centerman is up in the air as the Rangers have Mika Zibanejad already and now have Quinton Byfield in the system, but Chytil he is a key piece of the future, nonetheless.

BREAKING NEWS: Andrew Mangiapane dealt to Rangers
Trade Deadline
After a contract dispute that lasted until training camp left Andrew Mangiapane in not the greatest standing with Calgary Flames management, and they were trying to move him all season. Now, with just hours remaining before the bell goes, he has been dealt.

The Rangers reap the benefits of the Flames loss, and the dealt Chandler Stephenson and Buffalo's 3rd round pick to the Falmes for the diminutive 5'10" forward. The sniper has 13 goals so far this season. He has one season left on his contract and is owed $2.000M against the cap.

AROUND THE NHL
Trade Deadline Update
The Pittsburgh Penguins lead the New York Rangers in their division by 11 points, and they lead the entire NHL too, with 86 points and a record of 40-16-5. Second is the Winnipeg Jets with 84 points and a record of 41-19-2.

Nathan MacKinnon (43-41--84) is in a heated race for not only the Art Ross but also the Rocket Richard. While MacKinnon has a 4 points lead on Ovechkin in the scoring race, the Great 8 has a 3 goal lead for the Rocket Richard. These two will be dueling it out for the rest of the season.

IN acquiring Ekamn-Larsson (11-38--49), the Rangers got themselves the 6th highest scoring defenseman in the League this season. Drew Doughty leads the way with 59 points, and John Klingberg is on his tail with 58.

Vitali Kravtsov leads the way in rookie scoring with 19 goals and 41 points. The 21-year old has a 3 point lead on Denis Guiranov (16-22--38) and a 5 point lead on Eeli Tolvanen (19-17--36).

Henrik Lundqvist is deadlocked in a battle with Jordan Binnington and Andrei Vasilevskiy for the leagues best goalie this season. His .922 SV% is 2nd among started to Vasilevskiy (.924), while Binnington follows behind with .920. Lundqvists win total (25) and games played total (40) lags behind the ther two though, as injuries have partially derailed a spectacular season for the soon to be 39-year old.

Trade Deadline Recap

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	88	29	N/A	D	Two way Defender	63 GP 11G-38A-49P -9 ... 36 PIM	7/$8.250M
Filip Chytil	84	21	Med Elite	C/LW	Two way Forward	61 GP 8G-20A-28P +7 ... 43 PIM	4/$5.500M (EXT)
Andrew Mangiapane	80	24	Med Top 9F	LW	Sniper	62 GP 13G-6A-19P +3 ... 0 PIM	2/$2.000M

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Rest of Season

BREAKING NEWS: Mangiapane scores in Rangers debut, win over Boston
Feb. 26th, 2021
In a thrilling game, the New York Rangers reversed a 2-goal deficit in the 3rd period en route to a 5-4 SOW over the Boston Bruins.

Pavel Buchnevich led the way in this one with 2 goals, but Andrew Mangiapane was also key in this victory, scoring his first as a Ranger in the victory.

Viktor Fasth gave up 4 goals on 39 shots and earned his 6th win of the season.

BREAKING NEWS: Zibanejad scores twice as Rangers rout Pens
March 1st, 2021
In a confidence boosting game, the New York Rangers defeated the 1st in the NHL Penguins in convincing fashion. A 3-goal first period set the tone for the game, which ended in a 5-1 victory for the Blueshirts.

Mika Zibanejad came up clutch for the Rangers, scoring 2 goals and adding 2 assists for 4 points. Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchenvich each had 2 assists in the win.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 26/27 for a .963 SV%, and his 10th win of the season.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin sprains MCL, out for 6-8 weeks
March 5th, 2021
The Rangers best forward and reigning Art Ross winner Artemi Panarin will miss the rest of the Regular Season, and atleast the first round of any potential Playoffs, with an MCL sprain. The electric forward had 62 points in 64 games this season, which lef the Rangers.

Jeremy Bracco has been recalled from the AHL.

In other news, Henrik Lundqvist returns to the lineup, and Viktor Fasth has been sent to the AHL.

LW	C	RW
Mangiapane 80	Zibanejad 87	Buchnevich 84
Chytil 84	Bracco 79	Kakko 84
Lemieux 78	Thornton 83	Kravtsov 81
Kampf 77	Zajac 80	McKegg 76
Lettieri 75	Nieves 77	Panarin 92*

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LD	RD
Lindgren 81	Fox 88
Ekman-Larsson 88	DeAngelo 84
Hajek 79	Rykov 79
Smith 76

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 88	Shesterkin 82

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BREAKING NEWS: Mangiapane scores 2 as Rangers beat Devils
March 9th, 2021
Wihtout Artemi Panarin, the rest of the lineup was going to have to step up considerably for the Rangers to succeed and keep pace in the Playoff race. So far, so good.

Andrew Mangiapane scored his 2nd and 3rd goals as a Blueshirt to lift the Rangers to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Hudson River rivals.

Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves for his second consecutive shootout victory since returning to the lineup, the other being 2-1 over the Pens just 2 nights ago.

The Rangers improved to 2-0-0 without Artemi Panarin.

BREAKING NEWS: Vitali Kravtsov records hattrick in Rangers win
March 12th, 2021
In a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers were lifted by a hattrick from Vitali Kravtsov, who stepped up in his fellow Russian's absense. The Rangers record without Panarin now improves to 3-0-0.

OIlver Ekman-Larsson also recorded his first as a Ranger in this one, and also had an assist.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 in this one for his 3rd straight victory in games he's started.

BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist, Rangers, return to win column with shootout win
March 22nd, 2021
After going 4-0-0 to start of the Panarin-less portion of this season, the New York Rangers fell flat, losing 3 straight games at a combined score of 17-6. With a 3-2 SOW over the Flames that streak was snapped.

Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves in the victory, including 2 in overtime, to earn his 29th win of the season. Andrew Mangiapane socred against his former team to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second, a lead they would not be able to hold onto.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers clinch Playoffs with win over Chicago
March 26th, 2021
IN a thrilling game between two Original 6 teams, the Rangers prevailed with a 5 goal third period en route to a 5-3 victory.

The Rangers received goals from five different skaters in this one. Adam Fox and tony DeAngelo led the way with 1 goal and an assist each. Yegor Rykov, Ryan Lindgren and Travis Zaajec recorded the otehr 3 goals.

Igor Shesterkin was solid in this one, turning aside 31 shots for the win. The Russian netminder has been putting together quite the string of strong games lately.

BREAKING NEWS: Bracco scores shootout winner in Boston
March 30th, 2021
Jeremy Bracco recorded a goal and the shootout winner in an exciting 4-3 shootout win over the Boston Bruins. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31/34 for the win, a much needed win for the veteran who has struggled of late, trying to get back into a groove after his injury.

The Rangers also got goals from defensemen Yegor Rykov and Libor Hajek, while Adam Fox played a game-high 29:09.

BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist stars in Rangers 50th win of season
April 4th, 2021
When the Rangers decided to sign Joe Thornton to a 1-year deal, they probably envisioned something like this. The 42-year old socred a goal and added an assist to combine with Lundqvist (.939 SV%) for the Rangers 50th win of the season.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson also scored for the Rangers, as did Yegor Rykov and David Kampf. Jeremy Bracco recorded another point in this one (0-1--1).

Season Recap

​

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
50-31-1	24-17-0	26-14-1	3.01 (T-12th)	2.74 (T-9th)	16.9% (T-17th)	82.7% (15th)	2nd	2nd	6th	Yes

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Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	32-15-1	.918	2.56	6
Igor Shesterkin Viktor Fasth	12-14-0 6-2-0	.901 .929	3.14 2.16	0 0

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Henrik Ludnqvist returned to his elite form this season after a spectacular showing in last seasons Playoffs. The Rangers hope he can carry it into these Playoffs. Igor Shesterkin improved mightily over the second half, but his slow start was too much to overcome statistics wise.

Viktor Fasth was amazing in his brief stint.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	63 (21)	13 (2)	50 (12)	63 (14)	-8 (+1)	48 (12)
Adam Fox	82	5	36	41	+19	10
Tony DeAngelo	82	9	22	31	+2	12
Ryan Lindgren	77	7	13	20	+7	54
Yegor Rykov	78	11	6	17	-1	57
Libor Hajek	81	4	10	14	+12	32
Brendan Smith	10	1	2	3	+5	4

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson gave the defense a boost offensively, while Adam Fox continued his upward trend as NYR's best defensema. Tony DeAngelo continues to make strides defensively, but his offense still lacks. Rookie Yegor Rykov had a splendid second half, while sophomores Ryan Lindgren and Libor Hajek were solid, if not spectacular, for the Rangers. Brendan Smith was good in his limited action.

​

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Mika Zibanejad	80	25	51	76	+21	46
Pavel Buchnevich	82	24	44	68	+14	12
Kaapo Kakko	81	30	35	65	+7	16
Artemi Panarin	64	31	31	62	+12	12
Joe Thornton	82	13	39	52	+14	10
Vitali Kravtsov	82	25	26	51	-14	21
Filip Chytil	82	9	27	36	+3	47
Andrew Mangiapane	83 (21)	19 (6)	9 (3)	28 (9)	+4 (+1)	(2)
Travis Zajac	82	11	15	26	-5	24
Brendan Lemieux	82	8	13	21	+2	60
David Kampf	82	4	15	19	E	10
Greg McKegg Vinni Lettieri	63 39	9 4	8 7	17 11	+5 E	10 2
Jeremy Bracco Boo Nieves	16 16	2 0	6 0	8 0	-5 -4	0 4

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Pavel Buchnevich posted a new career high in points, while Vitali Kravtsov set the bar high in his rookie season. Mika Zibanejad continued his dominance as a #1C, while Joe Thornton was phenomenal in a twilight season.

Kaapo Kakko matched his point total from last season, but hit the 30-goal plateau for the first time of his career. Andrew Mangiapane was solid in his post deadline stint. Travis Zajac and David Kampf, along with Brendan Lemieux were fantastic in depth roles.

Artemi Panarin was still a superstar despite having his season ended early, whle Filip Chytil has plenty of future potential deptire a down season for the 21-year old. Jeremy Bracco was great in his callup from the minors.

Vinni Lettier and Boo Nieves were disappointing, while Greg McKegg impressed and may have earned himself another deal with the Rangers.

Next Post: 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 2021 Offseason​

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 2021 Offseason

2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Despite the roster turnover for the Rangers, they can just never seem to escape their past. After the Boston Bruins ended their season last year, similar to 2012-2013, they now face the Washington Capitals. The memories against this team is fonder, as the defeated these eerily similar caps in 2012, 2013 and 2015 (lost to them in 2009 and 2011). The Rangers retain just Henrik Lundqvist from those matchups.

If the Rangers hope to stop the Capitals attack, they will need a strong performance from Henrik Lundqvits, but also they will need their depth to step up in the absence of the Rangers own elite scorer.

The Regular Season offers little indication of who has a step up, with the teams each going 2-2-0 in the series.

LW	C	RW
Mangiapane 80	Zibanejad 87	Kravtsov 82
Buchnevich 84	Bracco 79	Kakko 84
Chytil 84	Thornton 83	Lemieux 78
Kampf 77	Zajac 80	McKegg 76
Lettieri 75	Nieves 77	Panarin 92*

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LD	RD
Lindgren 81	Fox 88
Ekman-Larsson 88	DeAngelo 84
Hajek 79	Rykov 78
Smith 76

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 88	Shesterkin 82

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Round 1 vs. Capitals

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	4-3 WSH (OT)	Zibanejad (1), Ekman-Larsson (1), Kravtsov (1)	Lundqvist (.886 SV%)(3.60 GAA)	Caps overcome 3-1 deficit in 3rd to win in OT.
2	3-2 NYR	Mangiapane (1), Kravtsov (2), Zajac (1)	Lundqvist (.923 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Kravtsov with 3 points. Rangers overcome 2-1 deficit in 3rd to win this time.
3	5-2 WSH	Zibanejad (2), Lindgren (1)	Lundqvist (.852 SV%)(4.01 GAA)	Lundqvist not having good Playoffs so far. Line changes made as Panarin returns for Game 4.
4	2-1 NYR	Kravtsov (3), Panarin (1)	Lundqvist (.961 SV%)(1.00 GAA)	Panarin scores game winner in return to lineup...how fitting.
5	5-4 NYR (OT)	Rykov (1), Bracco (1), Mangiapane (2), Kravtsov (4), Kampf (1)	Lundqvist (.897 SV%)(3.64 GAA)	Kampf scores overtime winner to give Rangers 3-2 series lead. Bracco goal and assist for 1st career 2 point PO game.
6	4-2 NYR	Panarin (2), Mangiapane (3), Kakko (1), Fox (1)	Lundqvist (.933 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Rangers are headed to the 2nd Round!!!

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​

Series Recap
Despite a struggling Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers got the clutch game from him in Games 4 (avoid going down 3-1) and 6 (close out series) to move onto the second round for the first time since 2017. Vitali Kravtsov led the way for the Rangers with 7 points (4-3--7), while Andrew Mangiapane came up clutchwith 3 goals and 6 points.

Henrik Lundqvist continues to take these yougn Rangers for a stroll down memory lane as the Rangers meet the League winning Pens in Round 2. The Rangers beat the Penguins in previous Playoff matchups in 2014 and 2015, but lost to them in 2016.

The Penguins are similar to the Caps, with explosive offense from forwards and defensemen. Artemi Panarin is back for his first full series, which should give the Rangers a boost. Henrik Lundqvist will have to be improved and build off his Game 6 performance, while the offense as a whole will have to be better.

The Rangers fared well against the Pens in the Regular Season, going 3-1-0 against the Presidents' Trophy winners. That being said, the Pens have much more Playoff experience, and anyone led by Crosby and Malkin are a massive threat.

LW	C	RW
Panarin 92	Zibanejad 87	Buchnevich 84
Kravtsov 83	Chytil 84	Kakko 84
Mangiapane 80	Thornton 83	Bracco 79
Lemieux 78	Zajac 80	Kampf 77
McKegg 76	Nieves 77

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LD	RD
Lindgren 81	Fox 88
Ekman-Larsson 88	DeAngelo 84
Hajek 79	Rykov 78
Smith 76

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 88	Shesterkin 82

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Round 2 vs. Penguins

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	5-0 PIT		Lundqvist (.844 SV%)(5.00 GAA)	Oof.
2	4-1 PIT	Lindgren (2)	Lundqvist (.879 SV%)(4.16 GAA)	Henrik Lundqvist done for year w broken wrist. Wholesale line changes after pathetic first 2 games.
3	5-2 NYR	Panarin (3), Zibanejad (3,4), Kakko (2), Thornton (1)	Shesterkin (.942 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Jumbo Joe awakens and Igor starts strong. Must win next game.
4	3-1 PIT	Kravtsov (5)	Shesterkin (.813 SV%)(5.36 GAA)	Rangers with backs against wall now.
5	7-1 PIT	Fox (2)	Shesterkin (.737 SV%)(11.65 GAA) ------------------------------ Fasth (.889 SV%)(3.50 GAA)	Rangers embarrassed by Penguins. Young team outmatched completely. Not sure if an underperforming Hank would've made any difference. Disappointing end to season.

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​

2021 Offseason

BREAKING NEWS: Tampa Bay Lightning win back-to-back Cups
End of Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning become just the 2nd team int he Cap Era to win back-to-back Cups, after the team they beat in the Conference Finals, The Pittsburgh Penguins (2016 & 2017).

The Lightning defeated the St. Louis Blues in the finals. The Blues returned to the finals for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos had an 11-point lead on their teammates in Playoff scoring, each posting an insane 32 points. Andrei Vasilevksiy struggled in the Playoffs, putting up just a .907 SV%.

Steven Stamkos edged Nikita Kucherov for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

BREAKING NEWS: Spezza, Gaborik, Chara, headline summer retirees
NHL Retirement News

BREAKING NEWS: Kravtsov wins Calder as league's best Rookie
NHL Awards
The usual suspects took home the major trophies: Nathan MacKinnon (Art Ross), Crosby (Hart, Ted Lindsay), Ovechkin (Maurice Richard), but Vitali Kravtsov won the Calder.

Kravtsov took home the Calder, giving the Rangers their second rookie of the year winner in 2 years. The Rangers have a legitimate chance to re-claim it again next season with Quinton Byfield joining the club.

Re-sign Phase

Henrik Lundqvist was the Rangers biggest profile Free Agent this season. Along with him, fellow greybeard Joe Thornton needed a new deal after deciding against retirement. RFA's Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Lindgren and Igor Shesterkin also require new deals.

RFA's Libor Hajek and yegor Rykov were tendered qualifying offers.

Boo Nieves and Brendan Smith were allowed to walk to Free Agency.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV	Thoughts
Henrik Lundqvist	88	39	N/A	G	Hybrid	51 GP 32-15-1, 6 SO .918 SV% 2.56 GAA	1/$6.000M	Hank returns for one more kick at the can after having Playoffs cut short by injury.
Pavel Buchnevich	85	26	Med Top 6F	RW/LW	Playmaker	82 GP 24G-44A-68P +14 ... 12 PIM	3/$7.500M	Buch has been one of the Rangers best F's the past 2 seasons. Earned this payday.
Joe Thornton	83	41	N/A	C	Playmaker	82 GP 13G-39A-53P +14 ... 10 PIM	1/$4.500M	Thornton returns with Hank, still both searching for their Stanley Cup. Not clear where he will play this season with Quinton Byfield primed to make team.
Igor Shesterkin	82	25	Med Elite	G	Hybrid	32 GP 12-14-0, 0 SO .901 SV% 3.14 GAA	3/$1.750M	Shesterkin's struggles this season were well noted as he is supposed to be future after Hank. This contract is cheap enough for NYR to wait and see.
Ryan Lindgren	81	23	Med Top 4D	D	Defensive Defenseman	77 GP 7G-13A-20P +7 ... 54 PIM	3/$3.975M	Lindgren has developped nicely for Rangers, and looks to be a legit top 4 defenseman for NYR.
Travis Zajac	79	36	N/A	C/RW	Two way Forward	82 GP 11G-15A-26P -5 ... 24 PIM	1/$1.000M	Role for Zajac a question mark with young talent incoming, but the veteran just wants to be in NY, not moving his family from the area he's been his entire career in.
David Kampf	77	26	Med Bottom 6F	F	Two way Forward	82 GP 4G-15A-19P E .. 10 PIM	2/$0.950M	Kampf has carved out a nice role for himself in NY, managing to play all 82 gms last season in bottom 6.
Jamie Drysdale	70	19	Med Top 4D	D	Offensive Defenseman	64 GP 4G-32A-36P +8 ... 16 PIM (OHL)	3/$0.900M (ELC)	ELC for 20th overall pick in 2020. Has potential to be a solid guy for NYR in future.
Karl Henriksson	69	20	Med Top 9F	C	Two way Forward	49 GP 9G-9A-18P -9 ... 19 PIM (SHL)	3/$0.850M (ELC)	Diminutive forward signs ELC. Uber talented and has potential, but never know with amount on depth NYR has.
Leevi Altonen	64	20	Med Top 9F	LW	Playmaker	57 GP 6G-17A-23P +10 ... 9 PIM (Liiga)	3/$0.875M (ELC)	ELC for 5th rounder in 2019. Lots of speed, made for today's NHL...question is if there is enough in rest of game to play in NHL.
Adam Huska	76	24	Med Fringe Starter	G	Hybrid	48 GP 22-24-1, 2 SO .894 SV% 2.99 GAA (AHL)	2/$0.700M	AJL starter had rough season last year, but has plenty of potential as a future NHL backup. Rangers will see this through, presumably a contract that allows them to make a decision.

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Free Agency

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers ink Dadonov to 1-year deal
Free Agency
Coming off a down season with just 39 points in 82 games, Evgenii Dadovov was looking for a 1-year deal to prove himself still capable of producing. He joins the Rangers likely staring down a 3rd line role, liekly centered by Joe Thornton and flanked opposite of Jeremy Bracco. That combination has a scary trio of speed (Bracco), playmaking (Thornton) and finish (Dadonov).

This acquisition greatly increases the Rangers scoring depth, an area they keyed in on as a main factor in their demise last season.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers waste no time signing Kakko to extension
Free Agency
The Rangers 2nd overall pick in 2019 has been fantastic in his first 2 NHL seasons, and the sky is the limit. The Rangers signed Kakko to a 3-year bridge deal, while will allow him to set himself up for a massive payday from New York should he realize his full potential.

The deal is worth a total of $28.5M over the three years.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers trade Hajek to Flames
Free Agency
Libor Hajek has been dealt to the Calgary Flames for prospect Matthew Phillips. The Rangers were given a choice of Hajek or Rykov essentially after the acquisition of OEL and the expected arrival of Joey Keane, and it seems they have made their choice.

Hajek, who has 2 NHL seasons under his belt and had a better year last year, likely had more trade value which led to the deal.

Phillips is a 5'7" forward who scored a career high 14 goals in the AHL last season, posting 38 points.

​

Offseason Recap​

Player	OVR	Age	Position	Potential	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Evgenii Dadonov	85	32	LW/RW	N/A	Sniper	82 GP 11G-28A-39P -5 ... 14 PIM WSH 20/21	1/$6.500M
Kaapo Kakko	85	20	RW	Med Elite	Power Forward	81 GP 30G-35A-65P +7 ... 16 PIM NYR 20/21	3/$9.500M Ext. starts 22/23
Matthew Phillips	73	23	C	Low Top 6F	C	68 GP 14G-24A-38P -9 ... 18 PIM AHL 20/21	1/$0.850M

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Next Post: 2021/2022 NHL Season​

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

2021-2022 NHL Season

Season Preview

BREAKING NEWS: Mangiapane, Lemieux, dealt to Sabres
Training Camp
The writing was on the wall for these players. Despite having successful seasons last year, the signing of Evgenii Dadonov pushed these guys down the depth chart. Then, the forceful training camps of Quinton Byfield and Aleksi Saarela forced themselves onto the team, further making Lemieux and Mangiapane expendable.

In return, the Rangers receive a 2023 3rd round pick and depth defesneman Jordie Benn.

Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin return to man the crease for NYR. These guys will likely split the playing time nearly dow the middle this season, with Lundqvist clearly needing more rest after an injury filled season and Shesterkin needing development time. For the Rangers, this season may represent the perfect opportunity to keep Hank fresh, and allow him to ride off into the sunset with a Cup, leaving Shesterkin to take over.

Joey Keane is the lone addition to the NYR Top 6 defensemen group, joining the returning Adam Fox, Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren, Yegor Rykov and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. OEL enters his first full season with the Rangers, paired at the top with elite defender Adam Fox. This is likely the best defensive group the Rangers have iced since they had Keith Yandle, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Klein, Marc Staal and Dan Boyle.

Quinton Byfield played his way onto the team in training camp. The rookie will start on the 4th line, with fellow rookie Aleksi Saarela and veteran Travis Zajac, but there is no doubt he will work his way up as the season progresses, should he make it past the 9-game mark. Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Pavel Buchnevich and Joe Thornton all return for the Rangers. As does Jeremy Bracco, entering his first full NHL season.

LW	C	RW
Panarin 91	Zibanejad 87	Kakko 85
Buchnevich 85	Chytil 86	Kravtsov 85
|Dadonov 85	T hornton 82​	Bracco 80
Saarela 77	Byfield 78	Zajac 79
Kampf 77

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LD	RD
Ekman-Larsson 89	Fox 89
Lindgren 83	DeAngelo 85
Rykov 79	Keane 80
Benn 77

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 86	Shesterkin 84

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First Half of Season

BREAKING NEWS: Bracco, Panarin, lead Rangers to first win of season
Oct. 8th, 2021
After a disappointing opening night loss to the LA Kings, the Rangers decided to change some lines and pairs and ended up with a win in Columbus.

Igor Shesterkin started in nets for the 6-2 victory, turning aside 19/21 shots. Artemi Panarin had 2 goals and added an assist, while Jeremy Bracco had 1 goal and 2 assists. Adam Fox had 3 asssits in the win.

BREAKING NEWS: Mika Zibanejad lifts Rangers to win with 4 points
Oct. 13th, 2021
The Rangers pending UFA and undisputed number 1 center came up with a monstrous night to give the Rangers their 2nd win of the season, as he scored 1 goal and 4 points.

Artemi Panarin (2-1--3) and Kaapo Kakko (1-2--3) also had 3 points each in the win.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 20 shots for the win.

BREAKING NEWS: Byfield sent to CHL
Oct. 27th, 2021
2020 6th overall pick Quinton Byfield has been sent to the CHL after a 9-game stint for the 2nd consecutive season.

Rangers GM Brant King cited too much depth ahead of Byfield limiting his opportunity for ice to develop as the reason for the demotion. He expects Byfield to have a very successful season and make the team again next season.

Greg McKegg has been recalled from the AHL and David Kampf enters the lineup.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin continues hot start in blowout of Flyers
Oct. 31st, 2021
Despite being on a 3-game losing streak, Artemi Panarin was determined to not let the low carry into a new month as he and the top line powered the Rangers to a 7-2 victory over the Flyers.

Panarin had 3 assists, bringing his point total this season to 18 in just 11 games. MIka Zibanejad was also stellar in this one, recording the hattrick and adding an assist.

Aleksi Saarela also scored his first NHL goal in the game. Henrik Lundqvist manned the crease and made 28 saves for a .933 SV%.

BREAKING NEWS: Thornton leads Rangers over Avs
Nov. 8th, 2021
After a 3 game losing streak where the Rangers were outscored 17-8, it was time for them to correct a downward spiral and win a game.

Their oldest player and oldest goalie came up big for the win. Joe Thornton posted a goal and an assist, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25/27 to aid the Rangers.

It has been a rough start to the season for the Blueshirts, who have yet to see a goalie string together two good performances, while also they have not gotten a goal from Filip Chytil.

BREAKING NEWS: Zajac, Thornton, power Rangers to win
Nov. 14th, 2021
Joe Thornton socred 2 goals while Travis Zajac had 3 points (1-2--3) as the Rangers got in the win column following another 2 game losing streak.

Artemi Panarin had yet another point, bringing his season total to 26 in 18 games. That number places him 6th in the NHL.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 shots for a .969 SV% and the win, The Rangers desperately need this type of goaltending from Hank and Shesty if they hope to go anywhere this season.

BREAKING NEWS: Kakko scores 2 goals in return, but Rangers lose
Nov. 15th, 2021
After sitting out nearly a month with a shoulder ailment, Kaapo Kakko had a solid return for the Rangers, posting 2 goals. That being said, the Rangers never held a lead in the game, and ended up losing 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils.

Henrik Lundqvist suffered yet another loss, a concerning sign for the Rangers.

BREAKING NEWS: Dadonov saves coach David Quinn from the axe
Nov. 20th, 2021
After it being leaked before the game that GM Brant King was seriously considering firing coach David Quinn if the Rangers suffered another loss, the Rangers came out ready to play.

Evgenii Dadonov had a Kakko-esque return with 2 goals of his own, while Panarin scored the other 2 in a 4-1 win over the Flyers. Joe Thornton had 2 assists in the win.

Igor Shesterkin earned the win with a .929 SV% (13/14).

BREAKING NEWS: Dadonov extends Rangers win streak
Dec. 12th, 2021
Without Kaapo Kakko as he deals with a LBI, his second injury of the season, the New York Rangers needed someone to step up in his absence.

Evgenii Dadonov answered the call with yet another 2-goal game, his third of the season, while Henrik Lundqvist continued his hot streak with 22 saves and a .956 SV%.

Tony DeAngelo also had 2 assists for the Rangers, who improved their record to 17-12-2 with the 5-1 victory.

BREAKING NEWS: Chytil records hattrick as Rangers beat Islanders 5-3.
Dec. 17th, 2021
The Rangers showed up with their good selves, as opposed to their alter ego, the bad Rangers, in a rivalry matchup against the Islanders.

Filip Chytil had easily his best game of the season with a hattrick, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and 2 assists.

Adam Fox also had a goal and an assist in the game, while Henrik Lundqvist continued his strong play of late with a .923 SV%.

BREAKING NEWS: Bracco helps Rangers over Devils
Dec. 26th, 2021
After benefitting from a 2nd line center role while Filip Chytil worked through a rough phase on the 3rd line, it is Bracco's turn to work through a phase.

The year old failed to take advantage of the promotion, totaling just 5 goals and 5 assists before a goal and an assist tonight lifted the Rangers over the Devils 6-3. Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov also registered a goal and an assist each, while Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich had 2 assists each.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 23/31 to win his first game since November. The 25-year old Russian forward has struggled considerably this season. His SV% this season sits at .877.

First Half Recap

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
22-17-2	9-9-1	13-8-1	3.41 (T-3rd)	3.10 (T-19th)	26.7% (2nd)	74.3% (31st)	4th	7th	15th	Yes

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Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	15-12-0	.913	2.68	1
Igor Shesterkin	7-5-2	.872	3.64	0

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Henrik Lundqvist started slow, but has rebounded of late to salvage his statistics atleast partially. Meanwhile, Igor Shesterkin is having quite possibly the worst season of any goalie in the cap era to date, which will force the Rangers to play Lundqvist more in the second half.

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Adam Fox	41	8	21	29	-1	14
Tony DeAngelo	39	4	20	24	-2	4
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	41	6	13	19	-10	12
Ryan Lindgren	41	4	9	13	+10	22
Yegor Rykov	41	6	5	11	+8	18
Joey Keane	41	1	4	5	+7	8
Jordie Benn	3	1	0	1	+4	0

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Adam Fox is finally here. The young defenseman has been developing, but now he's on pace for easily the highest point total of his career, and he's playing with a confidence and swagger the Rangers haven't seen from him before. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this is 100% not the Ekmna-Larsson the Rangers expected to have paid a King's ransom to get.

Tony DeAngelo still leaves more to be desired, but the defenseman is on pace for his best season yet. Yegor Rykov and Joey Keane, while playing sheltered minutes, have been fantastic for the Rangers. Jordie Benn hasn't gotten many reps, but he's been great in the ones he has.

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Artemi Panarin	41	20	32	52	E	10
Mika Zibanejad	41	14	32	46	+2	16
Pavel Buchnevich	41	7	23	30	-7	8
Vitali Kravtsov	41	11	16	27	+1	8
Kaapo Kakko	29	8	15	23	+5	18
Filip Chytil	41	8	15	23	-2	24
Evgenii Dadonov	38	10	12	22	+5	8
Joe Thornton	41	5	15	20	+8	15
Jeremy Bracco	41	8	10	18	+2	2
Travis Zajac	41	6	11	17	+1	10
David Kampf	32	4	4	8	-4	4
Aleksi Saarela	41	4	4	8	-1	14
Greg McKegg	14	5	1	6	-3	4

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Artemi Panarin has come back with vengeance after having his encore to his 2019/2020 Art Ross win ended early by injury. The Russian forward is on pace for the highest points total of his career. His centerman, Mika Zibanejad, is a pending UFA whos future is uncertain, but he is also on pace for his best season. Pavel Buchnevich is on pace for his 3rd straight 60-point season.

Kaapo Kakko has had his season shortened by injury so far, but is still producing at a solid clip. More is still expected of the youngster, and the Rangers feel no different about Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov, who they feel have another level.

Evgenii dadonov hasn't lit it up, but he's been a nice scoring addition, while Jeremy Bracco was better in the 2nd quarter. Joe Thornton remains a valuable NHL player at 42.

The 4th line of Travis Zajac, David Kampf and Aleksi Saarela has been one of the better 4th lines in the league so far, with Zajac still producing at his advanced age. Greg McKegg has been good in a cameo role.

Recently acquire Matthew Phillips leads the Wolf Pack forwards in scoring with 34 points in 37 games. Prospects Tim Gettinger (10-20--30) and Lauri Pajuniemi (7-20--27) follow closely behind.

Tarmo Reunanen has been the best of the bunch though, leading the entire team in scoring with 35 points off of 8 goals. In nets, Adam Huska leads the way with a .901 SV% and 20 of the team's 25 wins.

Around the NHL, two teams have run away so far. The 2-time defending Champs Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars, one of the teams they defeated in the finals, each have 63 points; a full 10 ahead of every other team. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the Metropolitan standings with 53.

Panarin's 52 points leave him 6th in NHL socring, behind Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Mitch Marner, Leon Draisaitl and Jack Eichel. Zibanejad is tied for 17th with Sidney Crosby.

Adam Fox is tied for 6th in defensive scoring with Brent Burns and John Klingberg.

Second Half of Season

LW	C	RW
Panarin 91	Zibanejad 87	Dadonov 85
Buchnevich 86	Kravtsov 85	Kakko 85
Chytil 86	T hornton 82​	Bracco 80
Saarela 77	Zajac 79	Kampf 77
McKegg 76

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LD	RD
Ekman-Larsson 89	Fox 89
Lindgren 83	DeAngelo 85
Rykov 79	Keane 80
Benn 78

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 85	Shesterkin 84

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BREAKING NEWS: Hank responds to benching with strong game
Jan. 12th, 2022
After a tough few games, Igor Shesterkin was given a break and he managed to run with it for a few games. But, in the second game of a back-to-back, Henrik Lundqvist responded with a strong game of his own to possibly win back the crease.

The veteran made 21 saves to help the Rangers defeat the Islanders for the 3rd time in 3 matchups this season. Artemi Panarin had 3 points (1-2--3) while Kaapo Kakko added 2 points (1-1--2) and Vitali Kravtsov and David Kampf scored the other goals.

BREAKING NEWS: Panarin steps up as Rangers snap 6-game losing streak
Feb. 4th, 2022
The Rangers went on a 6-game losing streak, surrendering 4 goals or more in each of the 6 games, before finally defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 tonight.

Artemi Panarin stepped up in a big way, recording 3 assists, while Vitali Kravtsov socred twice and Filip Chytil had a goal and an assist.

Henrik Lundqvist was the goalie to earn the win tonight, after losing his previous 3 starts.

BREAKING NEWS: Kravtsov, Shesterkin, push Rangers to 6th straight win
Feb. 12th, 2022
The Rangers win that snapped their losing streak apparently sparked a winning streak, because now they've countered their 6 losses with 6 wins.

Vitali Kravtsoc scored another goal and added an assist in this one, and he has scored in all 6 wins. Igor Shesterkin posted a shutout off of 20 saves, and has won 2 out of the 6 games in this streak.

Trade Deadline

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers go all-in and acquire Anthony Mantha
Feb. 26th, 2022
The Rangers have made it very clear that they are going to go for the Cup this season, as they've traded away their 2022 1st and prospects Jan Mysak, Calle Sjalin and Noel Gunler.

The addition of Mantha further strengthens the Rangers offensive attack, and it points to the fact that they must be going for the pure outscoring of other teams as opposed to fixing their defense.

Mantha is owed $9.650M for this season and next.

Trade Deadline Recap

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Anthony Mantha	86	27	N/A	RW	Power Forward	62 GP 16G-18A-34P -12 ... 38 PIM	2/$9.650M

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Rest of Season

LW	C	RW
Panarin 91	Zibanejad 87	Mantha 86
Kravtsov 87	Chytil 86	Kakko 85
Dadonov 85	Bracco 80	Buchnevich 86
Saarela 78	T hornton 82​	Zajac 79
Kampf 77	McKegg 76

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LD	RD
Ekman-Larsson 89	Fox 89
Lindgren 83	DeAngelo 85
Rykov 79	Keane 80
Benn 77

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 85	Shesterkin 84

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BREAKING NEWS: Mantha scores first with Rangers in win
March 2nd, 2022
After three straight losses post deadline, the Rangers finally won a game thanks to Anthony Mantha's first goal in a Blueshirt.

Panarin has 2 asssits in the game while Kravtsov (1-2--2) and Zibanejad (1-1--2) also scored. Filip Chytil scored the 4th goal in the 4-2 win over the Islanders, who the Rangers have dominated this season.

BREAKING NEWS: Fox fractures ankle, out until late April
March 10th, 2022
For the second straight season post deadline, the Rangers have lost a star player to injury. This time, it's Adam Fox, the teams best defenseman, done for the Regular season and any potential first round of Playoffs with a fractured ankle.

Jordie Benn enters the lineup, the Rangers are considering a Tarmo Reunanen callup.

Season Recap

Record	Home	Away	GFPG	GAPG	PP%	PK%	Division	Conference	League	Playoffs?
47-32-3	24-16-1	23-16-2	3.43 (T-5th)	3.07 (17th)	26.9% (2nd)	75.4% (30th)	3rd	5th	8th	Yes

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Goalie	Record	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik Lundqvist	26-22-1	.899	3.01	2
Igor Shesterkin	21-10-2	.890	3.06	1

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The Rangers goaltending was horrendous and there is no way they should be in the Playoffs. There is no way they will be in it very long without better play from whoever they decide to start.

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	82	15	39	54	+4	30
Adam Fox	71	12	39	51	+13	22
Tony DeAngelo	78	7	36	43	-14	6
Yegor Rykov	82	12	7	19	+2	33
Ryan Lindgren	82	5	13	18	+3	34
Joey Keane	82	4	13	17	+2	20
Jordie Benn	16	1	2	3	+9	14

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson finally showed the Rangers his true colors in the second half, joing Adam Fox as the Rangers top duo. Tony DeAngelo was a victim of a poor +/- stat belmishing his otehrwise solid stats. The rest of the defense was good.

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
Artemi Panarin	82	36	61	97	+12	14
Mika Zibanejad	82	23	64	87	+20	48
Pavel Buchnevich	82	19	51	70	-7	16
Vitali Kravtsov	82	34	32	66	+9	26
Kaapo Kakko Anthony Mantha	70 80 (18)	18 23 (7)	35 27 (9)	53 50 (16)	+9 -10 (+2)	24 38 (0)
Evgenii Dadonov	79	21	26	47	+9	14
Filip Chytil	82	17	27	44	-1	46
Joe Thornton	77	7	22	29	+2	17
Jeremy Bracco	82	12	15	27	-12	8
Travis Zajac	82	12	12	24	-12	10
David Kampf	60	9	5	14	-11	4
Aleksi Saarela	82	5	9	14	-14	24
Greg McKegg	14	5	1	6	-3	4

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Artemi Panarin once again led an insane offense. Anthoyn Mantha was fantastic psot-deadline, while Zibanejad and Buchneivch posted new career highs in points. Kaapo Kakko was great as was Vitali Kravtsov.

Evgenii Dadonov, Filip Chytil, Joe Thornton and Jermey Bracco disappointed to various degrees.

Aleksi Saarela, Travis Zajac, David Kampf and Greg McKegg were not very good in bottom 6 roles.

Next Post: 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and 2022 Offseason​

​

 

[kinger8998]

New York Rangers Franchise Mode

2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs 2022 Offseason

2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Rangers finished 3rd in the Metropolitan Division after a shaky season. The Rangers finished 7 points behind their opponent in the 1st round, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers did not fare well in the Regular Season against the Canes, going 0-4-0.

The Rangers will need improved goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, who gets the nod in round one, despite Shesterkin having the superior record. If Lundqvist falters, the Rangers will have no choice but to turn to Shesterkin. Neither goaltender had a season the inspires any confidence.

The Rangers strength is their offense, while the Hurricanes strength is defense and goaltending. The signing of Braden Holtby gives them an elite goaltender for the first time in their history, while the defense is a solid group of 6. Their offensive group is not made up of slouches either, led by Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen.
​

LW	C	RW
Panarin 91	Zibanejad 87	Kakko 85
Mantha 86	Chytil 86	Kravtsov 87
Dadonov 85	Bracco 81	Buchnevich 87
Saarela 79	Thornton 82	Zajac 78
Kampf 77	McKegg 76

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LD	RD
Ekman-Larsson 89	DeAngelo 85
Lindgren 83	Keane 80
Rykov 79	Benn 77
Fox 89*

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Starter	Backup
Lundqvist 85	Shesterkin 84

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Round 1 vs Hurricanes

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	4-2 NYR	Kravtsov (1), Zibanejad (1), Ekman-Larsson (1), Rykov (1)	Shesterkin (.933 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Hank injured in practice prior to Game 1, will be back for Game 2
2	2-1 NYR	Dadonov (1), Kravtsov (2)	Lundqvist (.967 SV%)(1.00 GAA)	Rangers steal both games on road, surprise Canes.
3	4-3 NYR (OT)	Buchnevich (1), Chytil (1), DeAngelo (1), Dadonov (2)	Lundqvist (.917 SV%)(2.65 GAA)	Dadonov scores overtime winner as Rangers prepare for sweep.
4	4-2 NYR	Panarin (1), Buchnevich (2), Ekman-Larsson (2), Zajac (1)	Lundqvist (.935 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Rangers stun NHL and sweep Canes to move onto Round 2.

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Series Recap
In the most shocking result of the first round, the Rangers received the improved goaltending they were waiting for all season long and managed to catch the Hurricanes off guard en route to a convincing sweep. The rest of the NHL takes notice, as the Rangers did all this without their #1 defenseman Adam Fox.

Pavel Buchnevich led the way with 2 goals and 6 points, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson stepped up in the absence of Fox and continued his strong play from the second half, scoring 5 points (2-3--5).

It's Artemi Panarin vs Matthew Barzal. The Rangers vs. the Islanders.

The Rangers dominated the Islanders in the Regular Season, but if their upset of the Hurricanes was any indication, Regular Season does not often translate to Playoffs. The Rangers get Adam Fox back from injury, while Jordie Benn exits the lineup. The rest of the Rangers lines remain the same.

The Rangers will need the bounce back form of Henrik Lundqvist to show up, as opposed to the Regular Season version they saw. Any Rangers success hopes literally hinge on the goaltending performance they get from Hank.

The Rangers will have to shut down Matthew Barzal, as he is the furnace that provides the energy for this Islanders team.

Round 2 vs. Islanders

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	4-1 NYR	Dadonov (3), Kravtsov (3), Zajac (2), Lindgren (1)	Lundqvist (1.000 SV%)(0.00 GAA) -------------------------------- Shesterkin (.967 SV%)(1.62 GAA)	Lundqvist suffers injury, out for nearly a month. Shesterkin now must save NYR season.
2	5-4 NYR	Buchnevich (3,4), Lindgren (2), Mantha (1), Zibanejad (2)	Shesterkin (.852 SV%)(4.00 GAA)	Rangers jump out to second straight 2-0 series lead
3	6-1 NYI	DeAngelo (1)	Shesterkin (.760 SV%)(6.00 GAA)	Shesterkin surrenders 6 goals on 25 shots. Rangers patience wearing thin. Mika Zibanejad suffers concussion, out for 2 weeks.
4	4-3 NYR (OT)	Kampf (1), Lindgren (3), Panarin (2), Mantha (2)	Shesterkin (.912 SV%)(2.55 GAA)	Rangers come back from down 3-0 in third to tie game and win in OT. Chance to close on home.
5	4-3 NYR	Kampf (2,3), Kakko (1), Mantha (3)	Shesterkin (.906 SV%)(3.00 GAA)	RANGERS ARE HEADED TO THE CONFERENCE FINALS!!!

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Series Recap
For the first time since returning in consecutive seasons (2013/2014 & 2014/2015), the New York Rangers are headed to the conference finals. Just as their offense did in the Regular Season, it carried them in this round over faulty goaltending to success.

Pavel Buchnevich continues to lead the Rangers in scoring so far as he feasts on team's lower lines due to the Rangers offensive depth. Anthony Mantha continues to make the Rangers decision to acquire him worth it, as he sits second with 8 points (3-5--8). David Kampf drew into the lineup for Zibanejad and posted 3 goals and 4 points in the 2 games.

Lines Update​

LW	C	RW
Panarin 91	Zibanejad 87	Kakko 86
Mantha 86	Chytil 86	Kravtsov 87
Dadonov 85	Bracco 81	Buchnevich 87
Saarela 79	Thornton 82	Zajac 78
Kampf 77	McKegg 76

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LD	RD
Ekman-Larsson 89	Fox 88
Lindgren 83	DeAngelo 85
Rykov 79	Keane 80
Benn 77

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Starter	Backup
Shesterkin 84	Huska 77 Lundqvist 84*

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Mika Zibanejad returns from injury to battle head to head with Sabres #1C and elite player Jack Eichel. The New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres meet in the Conference Finals, with both teams looking to go to their first finals since 2014 and 1999.

The Rangers are still without Henrik Ludnqvist for this series, and he is doubtful for the rest of the Playoffs. They will need a much better performance from Igor Shesterkin if they wish to beat the Sabres, who are a much better team than the New York Islanders.

The Rangers defense will have a tough time shutting down Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Casey Mittlestadt and Sam Reinhart, so they will just have to rely on their offensive depth to come up big and counteract that Sabres quartet of stars.

Conference Finals vs. Sabres

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	7-5 NYR	Chytil (2,3), Lindgren (4,5), Panarin (3), Bracco (1), Ekman-Larsson (3)	Shesterkin (.833 SV%)(5.00 GAA)	Rangers better hope the offense doesn't dry up. They will be in massive trouble if it does.
2	8-4 BUF	Mantha (4), Chytil (4,5), Kravtsov (4)	Shesterkin (.774 SV%)(7.02 GAA)	Shesterkin surrenders 8 goals on 32 shots...yikes.
3	4-3 NYR	Kakko (2), Panarin (4), Ekman-Larsson (4), Dadonov (4)	Shesterkin (.889 SV%)(3.00 GAA)	Phenomenal NYR have series lead w/o a game in which Igor has recorded above a .900 SV%
4	5-4 NYR	Buchnevich (5), Keane (1), Panarin (5,6), Chytil (6)	Shesterkin (1.000 SV%)(0.00 GAA) ------------------------------- Huska (.826 SV%)(5.17 GAA)	Shesterkin leaves game with injury, Huska no improvement. Igor starts game 5 with NYR having a chance to close.
5	5-2 NYR	Mantha (5), Panarin (7), Kakko (3,4), Buchnevich (6)	Shesterkin (.931 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	IT'S OVER, THE RANGERS ARE HEADED TO THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!!!!

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Series Recap
The Rangers offense has now carried them through 2/3 rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Led by a dominant performance by Pavel Buchnevich, with 18 points (6-12--18) in 14 games, the Rangers outwilled the Sabres en route to a Stanley Cup Finals birth. The Rangers have had a knack for closing out series quickly, with none of the three getting past Game 5.

The Rangers finally got a game out of Shesterkin in Game 5, but Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be back at some point during the Finals.

Artemi Panarin (7-9--16), Kaapo Kakko (4-11--15) and Vitali Kravtsov (4-10--14) also are major reasons the Rangers have surprised the entire NHL with this run.

Player without a Cup vs team without a Cup. Joe Thornton spent years working for a Cup with San Jose, and now they work for is apart, against eachother.

Henrik Lundqvist is expected to make his return somewhere between Game 2-4, so the Rangers will rely on Igor Shesterkin to give them a strong start in Game 1. The Rangers offense will look to continue it's explosive Playoff run as San Jose comes to NY.

The Sharks defeated the Coytoes (4-3), Flames (4-2) and Stars (4-1) en route to the Finals. The are led by a strong playoff performance from Kevin Labanc (18 GP, 8-10--18) and Timo Meier (18 GP, 5-11--16). Martin Jones has just a .901 SV% throughout these Playoffs, a weakness that the Rangers will attempt to attack using their offensive depth.

Stanley Cup Finals vs. Sharks

Game	Score	NYR Goals	NYR Goalie	Notes
1	3-2 SJS (OT)	Zibanejad (3), Buchnevich (7)	Shesterkin (.914 SV%)(2.81 GAA)	Ennis records hattrick as Sharks come back from down 2-0 in 3rd to win in OT
2	7-3 SJS	Rykov (1,2), Thornton (1)	Lundqvist (.500 SV%)(31.58 GAA) ------------------------------ Shesterkin (.897 SV%)(3.44 GAA)	Not a good first game back for Hank, he'll get another chance in Game 3 with defensive line changes.
3	3-2 NYR	Fox (1), Zajac (3), Panarin (8)	Lundqvist (.920 SV%)(2.00 GAA)	Rangers avoid 3-0 deficit and certain death with Game 3 win. Another must-win scenario in Game 4.
4	6-3 NYR	Keane (2), Fox (2), Zibanejad (4), Chytil (7), Panarin (9,10)	Lundqvist (.824 SV%)(3.00 GAA)	Rangers bail out Hank (14/17) with 6 goal effort in win. Rangers tie series to regain Home Ice as they look to take 1st lead of series.
5	4-3 NYR	Zibanejad (5), Kakko (5), Mantha (6,7)	Lundqvist (.897 SV%)(3.00 GAA)	Rangers go up 3-2, with chance to close out series in Game 6 in SJ.
6	3-2 SJS (OT)	Mantha (8), Ekman-Larsson (5)	Lundqvist (.938 SV%)(2.90 GAA)	Rangers lose heartbreaker in OT. Game 7 here we come.
7	5-3 NYR	Thornton (2), Panarin (11)	Lundqvist (.905 SV%)(2.37 GAA) ------------------------------ Igor Shesterkin (.875 SV%)(72.00 GAA)	THE RANGERS HAVE WON THE STANLEY CUP!!! THORNTON AND HANK HAVE WON A CUP!!!

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BREAKING NEWS: Lundqvist, Thornton, finally win Stanley Cups
End of Playoffs
The New York Rangers ended a 27 year Stanely Cup drought. Henrik Lundqvist returned successfully to the lineup, and finally won his long-awaited Stanley Cup. Should he choose to retire, no one would blame him for leaving on a high note.

The same can be said for Joe Thornton, who managed to score the GWG against his former team. Jumbo Joe struggled, but managed to improve his play down the stretch in the Playoffs to help himself and the Rangers win the elusive Stanley Cup.

BREAKING NEWS: Zajac retires for Rangers
Offseason News
Travis Zajac won his first, and only Stanley Cup for the Rangers, and he has now called it quits on a career. The 37 year old played in 1168 games, scoring 219 goals and 585 points.

Ilya Kovalchuk also announced his retirement after 1113 games and 966 points (487 goals). Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, David Backes and Mike Green also decided to ride off into the sunset.

Former Rangers defenseman Marc Staal announced his retirement today as well, after sitting out last season contemplating the decision.

NHL Entry Draft

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers move Mantha to Flyers for huge package
NHL Entry Draft
In exhange for reigning Conn Smythe winner Anthony Mantha, the Rangers acquired Philadelphia's 2023 1st round pick, winger James Van Riemsdyk (50% retained) and rights to UFA forward Claude Giroux.

The deal comes as the Rangers face a massive Cap crunch.

BREAKING NEWS: DeAngelo traded to Flames at Draft
NHL Entry Draft
The writing was on the wall for Tony DeAngelo. He narrowly escaped the same fate when the Rangers elected to trade Trouba insted, but with Joey Keane's impressive season and Playoff run, along with Nils Lundkvist and Tarmo Reunanen looking ready for the promotion from the AHL, it was time for this deal.

DeAngelo becomes the second player to fall victim to the Rangers cap crunch after winning the Stanley Cup. In retur, the Rangers egt Calgary's 20th overall pick in this years draft and prospect Dmitri Zavgorodny.

Trade Acquisitions

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Claude Giroux	87	34	N/A	F	Playmaker	82 GP 35G-33a-68P -9 ... 12 PIM PHI 21/22	Pending UFA
James Van Riemsdyk	82	33	N/A	LW	Power Forward	82 GP 17G-9A-28P -1 ... 6 PIM PHI 21/22	1/$3.$980M
Dmitri Zavgorodny	72	21	Low Top 6F	LW	Playmaker	26 GP 4G-3A-7P -1 ... 4 PIM AHL 21/22	2/$0.785M

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Draft Recap

Round	Pick	Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type
1	20	Emmanuel Lalime	65	18	Med Top 6F	LW	Sniper
3	79	Viacheslav Khabibulin	59	18	Low Top 4D	D	Two way Defender
3	93	John-Jason Peterka	64	20	Low Top 9F	LW	Two way Forward
4	124	Petri Pyorala	57	18	Low Bottom 6F	RW	Power Forward
5	155	Ryder Korczak	60	19	Med AHL Top 6F	C	Playmaker
6	186	Ernesto Bouwmeester	49	18	Med 7th D	D	Two way Defender
7	206	Esa Niskala	49	18	Med Bottom 6F	LW	Two way Forward
7	217	Boris Suglobov	52	19	Med 7th D	D	Defensive Defenseman

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Re-sign Phase

Despite trading Anthony Mantha and Tony DeAngelo the Rangers still had quite the offseason to get through. Their biggest priorities, their RFA's, consisted of Adam Fox, Vitali Kravtsov, Jeremy Bracco, Aleksi Saarela, Yegor Rykov, Joey Keane and Matthew Phillips. That list is the length of most NHL team's entire re-sign list, but the Rangers also had Mika Zibanejad, recently acquired Claude Giroux, Henrik Lundqvist, Joe Thornton and Evgenii Dadonov to sign.

First, the Rangers allowed Evgenii Dadonov to walk to Free Agency. While the forward added a layer of depth, he never truly rediscovered his form as expected in NY. The Rangers then qualified RFA Vitali Kravtsov. This comes as the Rangers expect to face a long offseaosn in negotiations with the forward. After his breakout season, his reported ask is between $11-12M, a figure far too high for the Rangers.

The Rangers then had to part ways with Mika Zibanejad. Their #1 center since being acquired for Derrick Brassard was a UFA, and likely saw this coming. Filip Chytil has been struggling and seems to need a bigger opportunity, while Quinton Byfield is knocking on the door.

The Rangers then qualified RFA Yegor Rykov. As of now, the Rangersn don't know where he fits into their plans with young defesnemen ready to break the roster.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV	Thoughts
Adam Fox	91	24	Med Elite	D	Offensive Defenseman	71 GP 12G-39A-51P +13 ... 22 PIM	6/$8.000M	Fox signs long term with NYR, which is a steal as their best defenseman. Scary to see what he'll do in injury free szn.
Claude Giroux	87	34	N/A	F	Playmaker	82 GP 35G-33A-68P -9 ... 12 PIM (PHI)	1/$6.500M	Longtime Flyer becomes Ranger as Giroux will look to be cheaper, short- term option to offset loss of Zibanejad/Mantha. Interesting experiment.
Joe Thornton	82	43	N/A	F	Playmaker	77 GP 7G-22A-29P +2 ... 17 PIM	1/$1.750M	Can no longer be a top-6 option, but will be veteran presence in bottom-6. Never been a guy to like to move, and he's found a new home in NY.
Jeremy Bracco	82	25	Med Top 6F	C/RW	Playmaker	82 GP 12G-15A-27P -12 ... 8 PIM	3/$2.500M	Likely going to be centered by Giroux/Byfield. NYR looks for NY native to take that step forward in development they acquired him on.
Henrik Lundqvist	82	40	N/A	G	Hybrid	50 GP 26-22-1, 2 SO .899 SV% 3.01 GAA	1/$3.000M	After easily the worst season of his career, but a great Playoff run resulting in him finally winning his Stanley Cup, Hank could have retired. But, he comes back to be a support option for young Igor Shesterkin, who likely starts more games than the King for the first time in his career.
Tarmo Reunanen	79	24	Med Top 4D	D	Two way Defender	76 GP 11G-55A-66P +24 ... 12 PIM (AHL)	2/$0.750M	Reunanen looks primed to make the NHL jump after the best season in recent memory by an NYR defensive prospect. Look out.
Aleksi Saarela	79	25	Low Top 6F	LW	Playmaker	82 GP 5G-9A-14P -14 ... 24 PIM	1/$1.100M	Saarela was okay in a 4th line role last season, managing to play all 82 games. This likely represents his chance to prove to NYR that he is worth a new deal and the chance to get into top-9 role.
Matthew Phillips	74	24	Low Top 6F	C	Playmaker	76 GP 18G-42A-60P -9 ... 16 PIM (AHL)	3/$0.750M	Phillips had a monster szn last year, and looks like a legit prospect for NYR. This deal will be development.

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Free Agency

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers lose Kravtsov to Offer Sheet from Blues
Free Agency
GM Brant King held a press conference saying he had a point he would match an offer sheet up to, but once it passed that point, he would let the player walk. It seems as though that point was found when the St. Louis Blues signed Russian winger Vitali Kravtsov to a 5-year deal carrying an AAV of $11.900M, which the Rangers elected not to match.

As compensation for the signing, the Rangers received the Blues 1st round picks in each of the next 4 seasons.

GM Brant King had this to say:

"We as an organization pride ourselves on finding players who want to be here and who are not just playing for the money. We just won the Stanley Cup, and it is no secret that we had a Cap crunch incoming. So, 4 first round picks, which can potentially turn out to be #1 overall pick, is a fantastic haul for a player that was never going to sign here for the money he wanted. We wish Vitali and the St. Louis Blues the best of luck.

BREAKING NEWS: Rangers acquire DeBrincat from Hawks
Free Agency
After receiving the Blues next 4 first round picks, the Rangers had a bit of leeway. They decided to move Philadelphia's 1st round pick they acquired, along with their own, for skilled winger Alex DeBrincat. DeBrincat had requested a trade out of Chicago, and the Rangers had the most dispensible picks to trade as the Blackhawks go all in on the rebuild.

DeBrincat joins a Rangers team that is signifigantly retooled after winning the Stanley Cup, reminiscent of the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks.

Player	OVR	Age	Potential	Position	Player Type	Stats	Years/AAV
Alex DeBrincat	86	24	Med Elite	RW	Sniper	82 GP 19G-33A-52P -10 ... 16 PIM (CHI)	1/$6.400M

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