The New York Rangers finally figured out how to get back to the Stanley Cup Final this year. Unfortunately, they ran into another Western Conference team staking their claim to the “dynasty” moniker.
The Chicago Blackhawks won their second title in three years last summer before the Kings duplicated the feat just two months ago. The Rangers certainly have nothing to be ashamed of and can build on the experience to assert themselves in the east.
The blue shirts are the glamour franchise of New York, playing their games on Broadway in “The Most Famous Arena in the World”. They added some substance to their style last season, but do they have what it takes to achieve similar results in 2014-15?
Key Additions: Dan Boyle, Mike Kostka, Tanner Glass
Key Subtractions: Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman, Brad Richards, Derek Dorsett, Benoit Pouliot
Offense:
On offense the biggest question mark has to be Rick Nash. The highest paid player on the team has been one of the most frustrating since being traded to New York from Columbus. The loss of Richards isn’t that great if Nash can regain form and New York sees a continued upward development of Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin.
Martin St. Louis has had a full offseason to adjust to playing in New York and has shown no signs of a production drop off. However, the Rangers are in trouble if they are putting their offensive hopes on the stick of a 5’8 39-year old man (St. Louis).
Defense:
The Rangers weren’t going to match any offer made for Stralman despite the fact that he had the highest Corsi rating on the club. They brought in Boyle to help the power play at roughly half the cost. The coveted right-handed defenseman has his best days behind him but his production last season at age 37 would have put him right behind Ryan McDonagh among Ranger rearguards. Dan Girardi isn’t even close to as bad as he was in the Stanley Cup Final and will welcome the opportunity to reassure the nerves of the coaches and fans. Marc Staal will more than likely pair with Boyle and the final defensive pairing will come down to newcomer Kostka, Kevin Klein, John Moore and Matt Hunwick.
Goaltending:
What more needs to be said about the “King”, Henrik Lundqvist?
While it may be hard to feel bad for a guy who is so thoroughly winning at life, part of even the coldest heart had to hurt for Lundqvist in the Final, if even only for a fleeting moment. Handsome Hank is still in his prime and even though he just turned 32, he’s got plenty left in the tank. He also has a new underwear commercial if you want to feel terrible about yourself.
Special Teams:
The Rangers were consistently mediocre last season on the power play and shorthanded. There is way too much star power in the lineup for New York not to be better. The talent pool is absurd for the team to be so consistently mediocre. Boyle should help with the extra man. His vision, presence and experience will be a welcome addition to the power play.
When New York was a man down they always seemed dangerous with the speedy Hagelin only a bad pass away from a breakaway. The penalty kill was third in the league last year and almost all the same personnel are back with the exception of (Brian) Boyle. Anytime the best goaltender in the world is in net, it’s hard to be at a real disadvantage.
Coaching:
Alain Vigneault swapped coasts and jobs with John Tortorella last summer. While Torts got canned in Vancouver, his replacement was taking his old team to the Stanley Cup Final. Vigneault has an impressive track record since his days in Vancouver, but this season will better reflect his influence on the team. For a coach renowned for his offensive mind, the Rangers struggled in areas where Vigneault has “expertise”. He’s a good not great coach, but a more accurate assessment of his coaching will be reflected in the 2014-15 season.
Outlook:
Given how the Eastern Conference shook out, New York could consider themselves fortunate with some of the matchups they had. They played the maximum number of games you could play by the time they got to the Final and got some very good bounces along the way. I’m not taking away anything from what the team accomplished because they were deserving of their fortune. That being said, anyone can agree that there is a certain amount of good fortune along the way to any Stanley Cup run.
The Rangers did very little to improve their roster, instead improving their salary cap situation. That being said, they really didn’t lose too much either. The Eastern Conference is the weaker of the two and with Henrik Lundqvist as your goaltender, anything is possible. Unfortunately I see the Rangers taking a step back as several other teams will take a step forward. They’ll be a playoff team, but it will be a wild card spot.