Larry Brooks: Rangers season already on thin ice

[RangerBoy]

Another gloom and doom column by Larry. He is 100% right.

The loss of Nash has been debilitating. The Rangers remade their team two summers ago in order to acquire the power winger from Columbus and have nothing at all to show for it absent Big No. 61. The Blueshirts were 0-3-1 last season when he was out with a concussion; they are effectively 1-4 since their most important skater was concussed anew by a Brad Stuart head shot in the first period in San Jose on Oct. 8.

Questions about Nash’s future health hang uncomfortably over the franchise. What if this becomes chronic? What if Nash becomes, say, Keith Primeau? What then?

But more immediately, what now? Nash is down for an indefinite period of time. Callahan, the essence of a Black-and-Blueshirt mentality that is merely a memory, is down for a month. Hagelin, an engine, is out for at least three more games.

First-pair defenseman Dan Girardi is off to a nightmarish start. A Norris candidate two years ago, his 39.6 percent Corsi rating (five-on-five attempts for versus attempts against) ranks 512th among 535 players who have played at least five games.

Derek Stepan has made no impact. Derick Brassard looks like the perennial disappointment he was in Columbus rather than the ascending talent he was upon his acquisition at last year’s deadline.

Injuries. Contract negotiations. Brutal travel. Mutual unfamiliarity with the coach. All excuses for the Rangers, who are taking every one of them.

http://nypost.com/2013/10/20/rangers-season-already-on-thin-ice/

Are these guys afraid to take a rip at Glen Sather? The teflon GM. If this guy ran the Yankees,Giants,Jets or Mets or even the Knicks,the New York media would have run him out of town years ago. All of the Rangers beat writers never write a bad word about Slats. They must be afraid the Garden will give them the Frank Isola treatment by having one of the Garden spies follow them around.

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[abev]

Brooks nails it in hindsight every time.

 

[Drewbackatu*]

Another gloom and doom column by Larry. He is 100% right.



http://nypost.com/2013/10/20/rangers-season-already-on-thin-ice/
Are these guys afraid to take a rip at Glen Sather? The teflon GM. If this guy ran the Yankees,Giants,Jets or Mets or even the Knicks,the New York media would have run him out of town years ago. All of the Rangers beat writers never write a bad word about Slats. They must be afraid the Garden will give them the Frank Isola treatment by having one of the Garden spies follow them around.

Same old **** and nobody is more full of it than the terminally schizophrenic Brookie! This is the same guy who raved about the hiring of AV and also has us making the ECF this year and now he is conveniently painting a picture of doom and gloom for this team going forward when the truth is this roster is seriously flawed(with or without Nash, Callahan and Hagelin) that in no way shape or form can be competitive playing any other system than the one they played under Torts.

 

[StepansLabyrinth]

We've had the worst schedule in the NHL at this point. We haven't played well but it's going to get much easier for us once we start playing at home and once the players have gotten more comfortable with the new system. I am not that worried. Teams have had worse Octobers and still made the playoffs. If Nash doesn't come back and Lundqvist continues to struggle, we're in trouble but I don't think the odds of either thing happening are all that high.

 

[Championship*]

We've had the worst schedule in the NHL at this point. We haven't played well but it's going to get much easier for us once we start playing at home and once the players have gotten more comfortable with the new system. I am not that worried. Teams have had worse Octobers and still made the playoffs. If Nash doesn't come back and Lundqvist continues to struggle, we're in trouble but I don't think the odds of either thing happening are all that high.

It's not about just making the playoffs...

 

[LeetchisGod]

It's not about just making the playoffs...

Yes it is. Dolan needs his playoff revenue.

 

[StepansLabyrinth]

It's not about just making the playoffs...

Obviously but you need to make the playoffs in order to win the cup and the odds of the best team winning the cup aren't great (7 game series aren't totally representative of quality). If we can make the playoffs and get Hank hot, we always have a shot at the cup.

 

[Machinehead]

It's not about just making the playoffs...

To us it's not. To the franchise it always will be.

Back during the drought, I never imagined trying to consistently make the playoffs would become the team's problem.

 

[surf]

Still mind boggling we let our Star players get smashed in the head without even a dirty look in return.I am disgusted with this teams mindset.

 

[pld459666]

Obviously but you need to make the playoffs in order to win the cup and the odds of the best team winning the cup aren't great (7 game series aren't totally representative of quality). If we can make the playoffs and get Hank hot, we always have a shot at the cup.

completely delusional

 

[Raspewtin]

completely delusional

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

 

[Stugots]

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

Not to mention the Kings had the 2nd worst offense in the league during the 2011-2012 regular season.

 

[aufheben]

Still mind boggling we let our Star players get smashed in the head without even a dirty look in return.I am disgusted with this teams mindset.

FWIW they were pretty fumed after the Stepan hit, but AV made them keep their cool.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

Im not so sure that referencing a clear outlier when it comes to the type of teams that win championships is really much of a point at all.

Im very sure that fielding a team each season that has a puncher's chance is some sort of purgatory.

 

[kovazub94]

Don't know about others but I was against Torts firing for one reason - he brought accountability to the club that previously was not known for it (to say the least), and that team as a whole reached its potential. And this is what's disturbing for me in the Rangers start this season.

 

[Machinehead]

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

The Kings had a better team that year than any Rangers team since '94. Once again, them being in 8th to begin with was a total fluke. I don't know why people can't understand this.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

The Kings had a better team that year than any Rangers team since '94. Once again, them being in 8th to begin with was a total fluke. I don't know why people can't understand this.

Yep. But that doesn't fit people's straw men arguments. They only like what's on paper. Stats. Ranks. Numbers. Anything that can be used, without silly things like context, to make an argument absolute. There's no question that Kings roster never should have been a #8 seed to begin with, but they were, and they won the Cup so, hence forth, it doesn't matter how slim the skin of your teeth that you slip into the playoffs on is, your chances are legit. Just look at LA!

 

[satrabyk]

Same old **** and nobody is more full of it than the terminally schizophrenic Brookie! This is the same guy who raved about the hiring of AV and also has us making the ECF this year and now he is conveniently painting a picture of doom and gloom for this team going forward when the truth is this roster is seriously flawed(with or without Nash, Callahan and Hagelin) that in no way shape or form can be competitive playing any other system than the one they played under Torts.

AGREED YOU CANNOT PLAY A SKILLED OPEN GAME WITHOUT SKILL.. its not that complicated, a coach should see that in 1 month with a team and adjust or just hope for the lottery pick. I hope people begin to realize the grass in not always greener.

 

[pld459666]

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

Yeah, because anomolies like that happen ALL THE TIME.

Lets see.

The Kings had Kopitar - MUCH better than Nash.

The Kings had Doughty - MUCH better than any defenceman we have.

The Kings had Brown - a bigger and better version of Callahan

Not to mention, the Kings also had Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Justin Williams.

That Kings team was deeper in talent than this Rangers team.

And if you can't tell the difference then Sather has you right where he needs you to keep his job.

 

[Championship*]

Obviously but you need to make the playoffs in order to win the cup and the odds of the best team winning the cup aren't great (7 game series aren't totally representative of quality). If we can make the playoffs and get Hank hot, we always have a shot at the cup.

I'm sure you said that when the Kings snuck into the playoffs right?

He has a point.

Kings were an aberration. Time for people to realize that.

 

[Championship*]

Yes it is. Dolan needs his playoff revenue.

He does? He doesn't care about hockey. The Rangers still sell out every night. If he cared about hockey playoff revenue Sather would have never made it past Lockout II. This isn't about the Knicks, which he does care about.

 

[pld459666]

Same old **** and nobody is more full of it than the terminally schizophrenic Brookie! This is the same guy who raved about the hiring of AV and also has us making the ECF this year and now he is conveniently painting a picture of doom and gloom for this team going forward when the truth is this roster is seriously flawed(with or without Nash, Callahan and Hagelin) that in no way shape or form can be competitive playing any other system than the one they played under Torts.

I think that what Brooks is getting at is that regardless of how flawed the team is and we all know that it is flawed, the level of compete needs to be higher and that it shouldn't take a task master like Torts to get them to compete.

Winning and losing games aside, the level of effort should not be as absent as it has been through 7 games.

That is not a system issue. That is a player issue and it seems that guys have taken a competitive break under AV starting with pre-season and continuing through to the Devils game.

I would hate it if it happened, but I could lose 82 games and if the effort was there and consistent each and every night, then I can say that we gave it one hell of an effort.

We can say that about this team in only three games so far. Kings game, Blues game and against the Caps (a team that Hank is CLEARLY the heads of)

Brooks writes alot of poop. We all know that. He is not wrong with this article.

 

[Savant]

I would have loved to see Brooks publish a similar article (not that I completely disagree with it) with Torts still in town. And people wonder why I am not on the AV bandwagon.

 

[Wolfy*]

I wish we still had Gaborik and Dubinsky in the lineup, disaster trades. And if Nash has to retire because of health problems...well

 

[pld459666]

I would have loved to see Brooks publish a similar article (not that I completely disagree with it) with Torts still in town. And people wonder why I am not on the AV bandwagon.

it would be a hard article to write while Torts was HC because the team RARELY gave up efforts like the back to back spankings at the hands of SJ and ANA or the Debbies.

Brooks happens to be pointing out fact here.

Had he written this about a Torts run team, the odds are great that he would have been lying.