Underrated Rangers

[Crease]

Who are some Rangers underrated by Rangers fans in the past 20 years or so?

I want to say Steve Larmer. When people remember the '94 team, they remember Messier, Leetch, Graves, Richter and the deadline acquisitions. But the team was flat before they traded for Larmer in November '93. He had 60 points in 69 regular season games. And another 16 in the playoffs, including 4 goals in the SCF.

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[pld459666]

Who are some Rangers underrated by Rangers fans in the past 20 years or so?

I want to say Steve Larmer. When people remember the '94 team, they remember Messier, Leetch, Graves, Richter and the deadline acquisitions. But the team was flat before they traded for Larmer in November '93. He had 60 points in 69 regular season games. And another 16 in the playoffs, including 4 goals in the SCF.

Sarge was pretty underrated that season and the season before as well.

for the role he played, posting 54 and 49 points respectively were awesome.

More recently? Rozsvial jumps to mind. for the 5 full seasons with the Rangers he missed just 10 games. Averaged over 30 points a season while playing a ton of minutes.

 

[broadwayblue]

Clearly Marc Staal. And you only have to go back 2 years, not 20. lol

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Sergei Nemchinov immediately comes to mind.

Going into the dark years, I thought Mattieu Schneider played well here on some truly horrendous teams.

 

[Crease]

Clearly Marc Staal. And you only have to go back 2 years, not 20. lol

I don't think Mark Staal is underrated by many around here. The consensus is that he's a 1st pairing defensemen pre-injuries.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Who are some Rangers underrated by Rangers fans in the past 20 years or so?

I want to say Steve Larmer. When people remember the '94 team, they remember Messier, Leetch, Graves, Richter and the deadline acquisitions. But the team was flat before they traded for Larmer in November '93. He had 60 points in 69 regular season games. And another 16 in the playoffs, including 4 goals in the SCF.

If you are going to use that example, than the most natural mention is Zubov. He lead that team in scoring in the regular season.

Larmer and Sarge are two other great mentions.

Over the last 20 years it's tough because there's been some bad teams and a lot of player who underachieved.

Others from the last 20 years:

James Patrick
Michal Rozsival
Matt Cullen
Martin Straka

Others beyond the last 20 years

John Ogrodnick
Tomas Sandstrom
Bob Froese
John Vanbiesbrouck
Ulf Dahlen
Don Maloney

I think some of the guys the Rangers traded were pretty underrated by the organization when they were dealt:

Manny Malhotra
Todd Marchant
Mikael Samuelsson

 

[Crease]

SBOB, Zubov's name gets dropped a lot so I didn't think he was that underrated. Man I wish the Rangers held on to him though. Going back further, I absolutely agree with Beezer. Good call there. He probably didn't deserve the Vezina in 86 but in terms of talent and consistency, I think he was a better goalie than Richter.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

SBOB, Zubov's name gets dropped a lot so I didn't think he was that underrated. Man I wish the Rangers held on to him though. Going back further, I absolutely agree with Beezer. Good call there.

Beezer's legacy seems to have been forgotten with Richter's success and Cup win. And now with Lundqvist.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

SBOB, Zubov's name gets dropped a lot so I didn't think he was that underrated. Man I wish the Rangers held on to him though. Going back further, I absolutely agree with Beezer. Good call there.

Loved the Beezer - had a poster of him on my wall when I was a youngin'. I don't think the organization could've went wrong when they had to choose between him and Richter.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Brian Mullen.

Heart and Soul guy who never took a shift off, and even though he was slight of frame, he never shied away from contact.

Mark Pavelich is a guy nobody talks about. He was one-dimensional was one of the most creative guys I saw with the puck. Super patient and crafty.

And Vickers doesnt get enough love. He was my first idol. A great playmaker for a guy who played the wing. His goal against the Isles is what pretty much made me a fan for life.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Hard to say Beezer was underrated. He was the franchise until Leetch established himself.

Beezer wrote his own pink slip. His meltdown in the 1989 season is what opened up a lot of eyes. Had he maintained his play that entire season, you probably would have seen Richter traded that offseason. In fact, there were rumors in 1992-93 that Richter and Zubov were being offered for Bourque when he had his contract issue with Sinden.

I guess it worked out in the end.

 

[Crease]

Wow, I would have had my dad drive Richter and Zubov to the airport if that was true.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

The Larmer trade was a shock. He had held out, and Pulford was going crazy.

There were several teams in on larmer -- Quebec (Page was also pitching for Bourque), Calgary and I think Detroit.

Keenan didn't think it would happen since he was fired by Pulford and didn't want to see him succed. I think that's why a three-team trade was swung with sucker-ass Hartford.

That trade was a steal. Turcotte was expendable and soft, Patrick was even softer and I don't think Keenan ever coached a D-man as soft as he (maybe Doug Crossman).

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Wow, I would have had my dad drive Richter and Zubov to the airport if that was true.

I read it in the Globe in 1993-ish, and KPD is the Larry Brooks of Boston, so chances are it would have never happened. Besides, Sinden never tipped his hand, but Smith put feelers out for everyone that offseason after the 1993 fiasco.

Leetch's contract set the bar, and Bourque wanted more.

 

[cjc5103]

Sergei Zubov comes to mind

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

Bill Fairbairn...Gilles Villemure from my youth

 

[Crease]

Fairbairn is a good call. When you hear about those early 70s Rangers, you hear about Park, GAG Line, Tkaczuk and Giacomin. The Tkaczuk-Balon-Fairbairn line actually outscored GAG some years, while playing a better two-way game.

Oakland Seals coach Freddie Glover once said that "you won't find a dime's worth of glamour" in Fairbairn. A good honest two-way workman. A funny aside: Fairbairn and Park lived together in the early 70's. Fairbairn's only complaint was that Park, who cooked for the both of them, only served pork chops.

 

[Ian]

In before someone says Prucha.

Always thought Straka went under the radar a bit with the successes of Jagr and Nylander.

96/97 team was all about Gretzky, but I feel like Nik Sundstrom would get a lot of support if the game was played now. Shame that was kind of it for him though.

 

[Kris Chreider]

I'll go out on a limb here and say.....

Brian Boyle.

He outscored Ovechkin, Nash, and Callahan in the playoffs. Without him, we might not have made it out of the 1st round.

 

[Cliffy1814]

Nylander was a guy who never got any credit. It obviously doesn't hurt having Jagr on your wing, but he was a very good player for us and never got any recognition.

I was not happy that Summer when they let him walk and then spent all the money on Drury and Gomez.
I would have signed one of the two and brought Nylander back.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Nylander was a guy who never got any credit. It obviously doesn't hurt having Jagr on your wing, but he was a very good player for us and never got any recognition.

I think Nylander got a ton of credit. To the point that people were bent when the Rangers let him go for the ridiculous contract he got. Part of the reason I listed Straka as underrated is he got the least credit of the three on that line.

 

[Cliffy1814]

Stalman if we are talking today's Rangers.

He will get a chance to play point on the PP under AV and do a nice job. He has a better shot than anyone back there other than maybe Girardi and he's a good skater with some offensive instinct.

Late bloomer who will keep getting better IMO.

 

[Cliffy1814]

I think Nylander got a ton of credit. To the point that people were bent when the Rangers let him go for the ridiculous contract he got. Part of the reason I listed Straka as underrated is he got the least credit of the three on that line.

Really? I always felt like Straka got more credit. Splitting hairs though I guess. They were both very good players here.
I agree about the contract and as it played out with him getting hurt it would have been even more of a disaster than Drury and Gomez.

That was some line for two years (Nylander, Straka, Jagr). Really fun to watch.

 

[Crease]

From 1999 to the 2004, this player had 62 goals more and 47 points more than any other Ranger.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

From 1999 to the 2004, this player had 62 goals more and 47 points more than any other Ranger.

Kovalev with a purpose.