I actually find Boyle more creative than Moore (and that's not saying too much). Moore reminds me of guys like Rico Fata, Manny Malhotra and Lauri Korpikoski - fast guys who can get noticed because they're faster than everyone else, but are missing something in their skillset that lets them convert their chances into anything tangible. Moore SHOULD be more creative than Boyle.
This year, the Rangers have paralleled the teams from the 1999-2004 era - during those years, I was always forced to listen to our announcers tell us what a "great effort" we were getting from some of the lesser home-grown players - guys like Moore, Malhotra, and yes, even Niklas Sundstrom and Mike Knuble, who were brought in, and, because their skill set never reached it's potential (with the Rangers, not in general), were representative of how awful this team was at drafting (or at least developing) talent. Freddie Sjostrom, although not homegrown, was like this as well (as was Jed Ortmeyer). Of course the one guy everyone complained about NOT noticing - Marc Savard - turned into a star. You always "noticed" the intangible players - they just never helped the teams in tangible ways.
And now, here were are again, a flawed mediocre team in a bad division, on the verge of falling off the proverbial cliff should our schedule get ANY more difficult (it does - the last 15 games have 9 road matchups), and once again, guys like Dominic Moore get a free pass because their hustle is noticeable. Dubinsky was noticeable many nights- but also gave us 40+ points. Fedotenko, Prust, and even Avery were not only noticable - they put some points on the board along with the intangibles.
This book feels the same again - I am annoyed with Sather for bringing Moore back. He should follow the advice of the GM across the river - you pay someone based on the VALUE they bring - that can mean paying a 3rd liner $4 million if they truly bring that value to the team or paying your franchise goalie. It can also mean letting a player go if they cost too much. Moore is making $1 million, whereas his production could be replaced by many minor league players making half that. We need more offense - we cannot afford to waste roster spots, even 4th line spots, on guys who produce zero points. But I'll save anti-Sather for another day.
