Okay, this is how much I REALLY didn't want to work on my dissertation tonight. I got the idea that it would be interesting to see what kind of a roster you could put together if you took one player from each Ranger's roster over the past 22 years (based on the logic that you need four lines, three defensive pairs, two goalies, and an extra forward and D).
These were my ground-rules:
-No repeats (no rosters with three Leetch's, two Grezky's etc).
-Players have to have played the position where you are placing them.
-Pick the player based on the YEAR that you picked them (ie: if you pick post-Vancouver Mess, that's the one you're getting, not 1994 Mess).
That's basically it. Here's what I came up with when I gave it a go (as I said--desperately avoiding work tonight). My first move was to go through the rosters once quickly and identify several MUST keep seasons (Graves' 52 goal year, Jagr's post-lockout year, Lundqvist's Vezina year, etc). That, combined with position requirements/realities meant that I had to forego several players who I'd thought for sure would have made it (Brass, Zucc, Staal, Beuk, Prospal, Nylander, Nedved, LaFontaine). The whole process sort of showed that we have, historically, been VERY weak on D (RD in particular) and very strong at Center.
Here's what I came up with. Feel free to critique, do your own, or just peruse it to avoid doing Sunday evening work yourself, haha:
First Line: Graves (93-94) Gretzky (97-98) Jagr (05-06)
Second Line: Nash (12-13) Messier (95-96) Gaborik (09-10)
Third Line: Fleury (00-01) Lindros (01-02) Kovalev (03-04)
Fourth Line: Straka (06-07) Stepan (12-13) Callahan (08-09)
First Pair: Leetch (96-97) Zubov (94-95)
Second Pair: McDonagh (13-14) Girardi (10-11)
Third Pair: Yandle (15-16) Ulf Samuelsson (98-99)
Starting Goalie: Lundqvist (11-12)
Backup Goalie: Richter (99-00)
Extra Forward/Defenseman:
Pavel Bure (02-03)
Michal Rozsival (07-08)
The top line is Graves the year he broke the goal scoring record (a tough choice over Zubov, but had to be done), Gretzky's second best year with the Rangers (going with that season let me bring in Leetch's second Norris run in 96-97), and Jagr's amazing year out of the lockout.
The second line is Nash's 42 goal season on the left wing, with Gaborik's 44 goal season on the right wing, with Messier in the middle, in a season where he put up 99 points and finished 2nd in Hart Trophy voting.
The third line has Theo Fleury on the left wing from his best season as a Ranger (74 points in 62 games), with Eric Lindros in the middle--also from his best season as a Ranger (73 points in 72 games)--with Alex Kovalev on the right, from what was definitely NOT his best year as a Ranger (45 points in 78 games), but after my "locks," the pickings for RW were a little slim.
The fourth line has Straka (70 points in 77 games) and a young Ryan Callahan (40 points in 81 games) on the wings, with Stepan's PPG lockout season in the middle (44 points in 48 games). The RW here was tough. Zherdev put up significantly better production, but I think Callahan from that season would contribute to more wins with his defensive play and attitude.
The D is stacked on the left, and a bit weak on the right.
The top pair is Brian Leetch from his second Norris Trophy season (78 points in 82 games) paired with Sergei Zubov in his lockout-shortened final season with the team (36 points in 38 games).
The second pair is Ryan McDonagh's best season thus far (43 points in 77 games with some Norris votes) paired with Dan Girardi's best offensive season (31 points in 80 games)--this was the season before Girardi came in 6th in Norris voting.
The third pair is a classic deke and dirty pair, with Keith Yandle from this past season (47 points in 82 games) paired up with Ulf Samuelsson from his last season with the Rangers (93 PIMs in 67 games).
In goal, I have Henrik from his Vezina winning season, and he's being backed up by Richter in a season that wasn't his best (but nobody else on that team was worth taking, and Richter needed to be here).
I have Pavel Bure as my spare forward in the year that his knees completely died (but he played amazingly well until that point--30 points in 39 games including 19 goals). My spare defenseman is Michal Rozsival from 07-08 (a respectable .5 ppg pace).
Position Player GP G A PTS PIM
RW Bure 39 19 11 30 16
RW Callahan 81 22 18 40 45
LW Fleury 62 30 44 74 122
RW Gaborik 76 42 44 86 37
D Girardi 80 4 27 31 37
LW Graves 84 52 27 79 127
C Gretzky 82 23 67 90 28
RW Jagr 82 54 69 123 72
RW Kovalev 66 13 29 42 54
D Leetch 82 20 58 78 40
C Lindros 72 37 36 73 138
D McDonagh 77 14 29 43 36
C Messier 74 47 52 99 122
LW Nash 79 42 27 69 36
D Rozsival 80 13 25 38 80
D Samuelsson 67 4 8 12 93
LW Straka 77 29 41 70 24
C Stepan 48 18 26 44 12
D Yandle 82 5 42 47 40
D Zubov 38 10 26 36 18
G Henrik Lundqvist .930 save %, 1.97gaa, 8 Shutouts
G Mike Richter .905 save %, 2.87 gaa, 0 Shutouts
These were my ground-rules:
-No repeats (no rosters with three Leetch's, two Grezky's etc).
-Players have to have played the position where you are placing them.
-Pick the player based on the YEAR that you picked them (ie: if you pick post-Vancouver Mess, that's the one you're getting, not 1994 Mess).
That's basically it. Here's what I came up with when I gave it a go (as I said--desperately avoiding work tonight). My first move was to go through the rosters once quickly and identify several MUST keep seasons (Graves' 52 goal year, Jagr's post-lockout year, Lundqvist's Vezina year, etc). That, combined with position requirements/realities meant that I had to forego several players who I'd thought for sure would have made it (Brass, Zucc, Staal, Beuk, Prospal, Nylander, Nedved, LaFontaine). The whole process sort of showed that we have, historically, been VERY weak on D (RD in particular) and very strong at Center.
Here's what I came up with. Feel free to critique, do your own, or just peruse it to avoid doing Sunday evening work yourself, haha:
First Line: Graves (93-94) Gretzky (97-98) Jagr (05-06)
Second Line: Nash (12-13) Messier (95-96) Gaborik (09-10)
Third Line: Fleury (00-01) Lindros (01-02) Kovalev (03-04)
Fourth Line: Straka (06-07) Stepan (12-13) Callahan (08-09)
First Pair: Leetch (96-97) Zubov (94-95)
Second Pair: McDonagh (13-14) Girardi (10-11)
Third Pair: Yandle (15-16) Ulf Samuelsson (98-99)
Starting Goalie: Lundqvist (11-12)
Backup Goalie: Richter (99-00)
Extra Forward/Defenseman:
Pavel Bure (02-03)
Michal Rozsival (07-08)
The top line is Graves the year he broke the goal scoring record (a tough choice over Zubov, but had to be done), Gretzky's second best year with the Rangers (going with that season let me bring in Leetch's second Norris run in 96-97), and Jagr's amazing year out of the lockout.
The second line is Nash's 42 goal season on the left wing, with Gaborik's 44 goal season on the right wing, with Messier in the middle, in a season where he put up 99 points and finished 2nd in Hart Trophy voting.
The third line has Theo Fleury on the left wing from his best season as a Ranger (74 points in 62 games), with Eric Lindros in the middle--also from his best season as a Ranger (73 points in 72 games)--with Alex Kovalev on the right, from what was definitely NOT his best year as a Ranger (45 points in 78 games), but after my "locks," the pickings for RW were a little slim.
The fourth line has Straka (70 points in 77 games) and a young Ryan Callahan (40 points in 81 games) on the wings, with Stepan's PPG lockout season in the middle (44 points in 48 games). The RW here was tough. Zherdev put up significantly better production, but I think Callahan from that season would contribute to more wins with his defensive play and attitude.
The D is stacked on the left, and a bit weak on the right.
The top pair is Brian Leetch from his second Norris Trophy season (78 points in 82 games) paired with Sergei Zubov in his lockout-shortened final season with the team (36 points in 38 games).
The second pair is Ryan McDonagh's best season thus far (43 points in 77 games with some Norris votes) paired with Dan Girardi's best offensive season (31 points in 80 games)--this was the season before Girardi came in 6th in Norris voting.
The third pair is a classic deke and dirty pair, with Keith Yandle from this past season (47 points in 82 games) paired up with Ulf Samuelsson from his last season with the Rangers (93 PIMs in 67 games).
In goal, I have Henrik from his Vezina winning season, and he's being backed up by Richter in a season that wasn't his best (but nobody else on that team was worth taking, and Richter needed to be here).
I have Pavel Bure as my spare forward in the year that his knees completely died (but he played amazingly well until that point--30 points in 39 games including 19 goals). My spare defenseman is Michal Rozsival from 07-08 (a respectable .5 ppg pace).
Position Player GP G A PTS PIM
RW Bure 39 19 11 30 16
RW Callahan 81 22 18 40 45
LW Fleury 62 30 44 74 122
RW Gaborik 76 42 44 86 37
D Girardi 80 4 27 31 37
LW Graves 84 52 27 79 127
C Gretzky 82 23 67 90 28
RW Jagr 82 54 69 123 72
RW Kovalev 66 13 29 42 54
D Leetch 82 20 58 78 40
C Lindros 72 37 36 73 138
D McDonagh 77 14 29 43 36
C Messier 74 47 52 99 122
LW Nash 79 42 27 69 36
D Rozsival 80 13 25 38 80
D Samuelsson 67 4 8 12 93
LW Straka 77 29 41 70 24
C Stepan 48 18 26 44 12
D Yandle 82 5 42 47 40
D Zubov 38 10 26 36 18
G Henrik Lundqvist .930 save %, 1.97gaa, 8 Shutouts
G Mike Richter .905 save %, 2.87 gaa, 0 Shutouts
