Regarding Hanks game.
I have followed Lundqvist avidly (since his start in Frölunda) throughout his career and myself being a goalie gives one a perspective that might be Hard for nongoalies to fully comprehend. Hank has had a fantastic and extremely consistent career. He has been a cornerstone of the Rangers turnaround after the lockout season with the Rangers miraculously thereafter joining the playoffs every year but one (thanks Oli) since the dark ages. Playing behind many a team that many years should not even have aspired to be in a discussion for postseason play. He was the difference maker. For well over a decade Hank has played extremely well and it is impossible to even start to think where we would be without his stellar play. Franchise goalie for sure. No questions asked actually.
I never liked the contract though. It was necessary to give him this high hit I guess, especially since he bit the bullet a bit earlier and took a hometown deal in order for Sather the continue has vanity-based, pathetic roster juggling in a new cap world, but the numbers involved here always had me thinking, "this will bite us in the future".
That being said, last season and at WC (small sample size) I saw things in Hanks game that are a bit concerning. To say the least. And yet logical. Hank has become a bit more inconsistent in his play. His rebound control and reflexes are a tweak slower. His numbers dipped a bit. Get used to it. His frustrations and anguish are also a tiny bit more apparent. That probably has to do with Father Time knocking at the door. Inevitable. His playing style "deep in the net" builds on his extremely superior reaction skills to play the fantastic game he has played throughout his career. But since this is a world of microseconds, there is a very small margin for error. I am sure Allaire sees this too. Forget the fancy stats btw. They do tell a bit but not the entire truth. There is no doubt in my mind that Hank has been the best goalie in the world the past 12 years (not taking one season out of context) and that he has bailed out The Rangers and Team Sweden consistently over this timeframe. More than either team deserves.
That said, in order for Hank to continue at a level anything close to what he has put up before, I think he will now need to adjust his game a bit. Play a little further out. Use angles and experience more than always relying on his previous catlike explosive reactions. Play less games and more focused (something AV took up which of course means they know and see this too). Change his game a little. Can he and will he do this? Only time will tell...
Another thing is of course - Avoid being burned out in April. This of course will put pressure on the backup and the team in General. Can the spoiled NYR D - with Rantaa in net - go say 15-10 or better in 25 games with Rantaa as the starter? If so, they should be good. If not, well there lies a risk. Both for the team and for Hanks developing twilight of his career. The pressure of making the POs otherwise might then be its own undoing as an overworked older Hank will not be as useful in the POs as the Rangers will need to have. And therein lies the problem. Are the Rangers a playoff team with Hank getting a smaller workload? And if not, what doe that mean and what implications will this have?
Because the demise has started, there are cracks in the wall and there are still many and very expensive years left on that contract. That could become a real cap catastrophe situation down the line. Where the "what have you done for me lately?" Crowd comes out with pitchforks and torches in the earnest. It can get very very ugly. And also provide fuel for hundreds of threads, thousands of posts and millions of letters being typed on these boards and elsewhere.
Like the gut guy Red said in Platoon "I got a bad feeling about this one"... Time will tell