BarbaraAlphanse
Guest
Haven't seen a thread about this. Every thread seems to touch upon this at one point or another. Let's see what everyone thinks the problems of this team are.
For me, there are several.
First and foremost, talent aside, this team does not hold the concept of camaraderie. Hockey is a team sport, and that escapes this particular group of guys.
Mentality - this group lacks resilience. There is no urgency for this team to win games. There is no accountability. No motivation to play above average. It's a shame. There is a certain prestige to playing as a professional athlete... let alone as one for one of the most historic teams in NY. Where is the will to win in every game? Is there no sense of representation in these players for a city that's supposed to characterize greatness? This group of guys is mentally soft. You can't be a successful team without resilience. Every elite team, every elite athlete, has this common denominator - mental fortitude.
Physicality - this group lacks grit, lacks toughness. There's a thread about this. It's not a coincidence i'm mentioning it here. It's not about adding the Brashears and the Orr's of the world to mindlessly fight another team's goon. No. This is about defending your manhood. If someone disrespects you, if someone takes liberties with you or one of your team mates (especially in a manner that compromises safety and health), where is the response? I'm not saying this was the right thing to do, but Erikson is no where near the player to the Bruins that Nash is to the Rangers, and Thornton brutally assaulted the guy responsible. You think that doesn't send a message to the rest of his team mates? Thornton is about to be suspended for games, likely without pay. His name will be dirtied league wide. Yet this is the direct type of action that brings a locker room together. Brings guys together. Makes everyone fight for each other, rather than just for themselves.
Alain Vigneault - I know Tortorella wasn't going to lead us to the promise land. He alienated his players, was stubborn to the point that it did his team harm, and was incapable of understanding the sport of hockey with how it is meant to be played. But AV isn't going to lead us there either. This is NYC. There is a personality to this city... a gritty, tough, and irrepressible character. There needs to be the recognition by this coach that this ever present personality needs to be represented by the team he sends out there. AV is emotionless. He's passive. He's not the coach we need, as a city, and as a team, to succeed.
Michael Del Zotto - For all of his faults as a player, this is not a complaint about him. This is a complaint about how management has managed to take focus away from winning, away from the players to succeed (which should be primary) with this media distraction. Every day everyone talks about Del Zotto and where he should go, when he should go, how terrible of a fit he is, etc. I'm sure this chatter and sentiment trickles down to the players. It serves as a distraction. It unfocuses the players from what should be their primary objective - win. This isn't how first class organizations should act. Either trade the guy or force the coach to give him permanent playing time. Vigneault is essentially becoming Tortorella part 2. He's becoming bigger than the team by continuing to jerk our players around with their place in the lineup. You can't have that.
Finally, talent and construction of the team - This is an unbalanced team. It is not in need of a full overhaul, but there need to be changes. There need to be more players with mental toughness. There needs to be an even distribution of talent and complementary skill on every line. The blame falls on the GM in this regard. In terms of players that exemplify a certain strong mentality.... Sather eradicated this team from the only players that cared. They may not have been the most talented players but they held this team together fundamentally. Prust, Rupp, Fedotenko, Dubinsky... these players cared about the well being of the team and their fellow team mates. We are devoid of that character trait now. How about depth and balance? Pyatt? Pouloit? Dumpster diving for a franchise with endless capital and resources? Unacceptable. This is a failure of the GM to assemble a balanced team with a winning attitude.
I'm tired of the self-pitying I see from fans and this team with the results we're seeing from this year's Rangers team. Good teams find a way to overcome adversity. Refereeing may not help this team's causes, unlucky bounces may be the final nail in the coffin in some games, whatever other excuses you can think of... but this team has already decided to have a losing mentality. Don't expect much out of this team until that changes.
For me, there are several.
First and foremost, talent aside, this team does not hold the concept of camaraderie. Hockey is a team sport, and that escapes this particular group of guys.
Mentality - this group lacks resilience. There is no urgency for this team to win games. There is no accountability. No motivation to play above average. It's a shame. There is a certain prestige to playing as a professional athlete... let alone as one for one of the most historic teams in NY. Where is the will to win in every game? Is there no sense of representation in these players for a city that's supposed to characterize greatness? This group of guys is mentally soft. You can't be a successful team without resilience. Every elite team, every elite athlete, has this common denominator - mental fortitude.
Physicality - this group lacks grit, lacks toughness. There's a thread about this. It's not a coincidence i'm mentioning it here. It's not about adding the Brashears and the Orr's of the world to mindlessly fight another team's goon. No. This is about defending your manhood. If someone disrespects you, if someone takes liberties with you or one of your team mates (especially in a manner that compromises safety and health), where is the response? I'm not saying this was the right thing to do, but Erikson is no where near the player to the Bruins that Nash is to the Rangers, and Thornton brutally assaulted the guy responsible. You think that doesn't send a message to the rest of his team mates? Thornton is about to be suspended for games, likely without pay. His name will be dirtied league wide. Yet this is the direct type of action that brings a locker room together. Brings guys together. Makes everyone fight for each other, rather than just for themselves.
Alain Vigneault - I know Tortorella wasn't going to lead us to the promise land. He alienated his players, was stubborn to the point that it did his team harm, and was incapable of understanding the sport of hockey with how it is meant to be played. But AV isn't going to lead us there either. This is NYC. There is a personality to this city... a gritty, tough, and irrepressible character. There needs to be the recognition by this coach that this ever present personality needs to be represented by the team he sends out there. AV is emotionless. He's passive. He's not the coach we need, as a city, and as a team, to succeed.
Michael Del Zotto - For all of his faults as a player, this is not a complaint about him. This is a complaint about how management has managed to take focus away from winning, away from the players to succeed (which should be primary) with this media distraction. Every day everyone talks about Del Zotto and where he should go, when he should go, how terrible of a fit he is, etc. I'm sure this chatter and sentiment trickles down to the players. It serves as a distraction. It unfocuses the players from what should be their primary objective - win. This isn't how first class organizations should act. Either trade the guy or force the coach to give him permanent playing time. Vigneault is essentially becoming Tortorella part 2. He's becoming bigger than the team by continuing to jerk our players around with their place in the lineup. You can't have that.
Finally, talent and construction of the team - This is an unbalanced team. It is not in need of a full overhaul, but there need to be changes. There need to be more players with mental toughness. There needs to be an even distribution of talent and complementary skill on every line. The blame falls on the GM in this regard. In terms of players that exemplify a certain strong mentality.... Sather eradicated this team from the only players that cared. They may not have been the most talented players but they held this team together fundamentally. Prust, Rupp, Fedotenko, Dubinsky... these players cared about the well being of the team and their fellow team mates. We are devoid of that character trait now. How about depth and balance? Pyatt? Pouloit? Dumpster diving for a franchise with endless capital and resources? Unacceptable. This is a failure of the GM to assemble a balanced team with a winning attitude.
I'm tired of the self-pitying I see from fans and this team with the results we're seeing from this year's Rangers team. Good teams find a way to overcome adversity. Refereeing may not help this team's causes, unlucky bounces may be the final nail in the coffin in some games, whatever other excuses you can think of... but this team has already decided to have a losing mentality. Don't expect much out of this team until that changes.
