Conspiracy Theorist
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- Jan 30, 2016
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I think they will make the playoffs. Pretty sure people said Islanders were going to garbage without Tavares.
Are the Rangers a serious playoff contender?
- Thread starter AIexisLafreniereNYR
- Start date
Panteras
“I’ll remember this hell of a journey”- Barkov
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Crease
Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
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This is the correct answer. The first serious year will be 21-22, when Kakko and Kravstov are in the final years of their ELCs. Any playoff experience this young roster can get before then will help.
I feel like the Rangers will be one of the biggest question marks next year.
How good is Kakko?
What can Kravtsov do?
Can Zibanejad keep up his level of play?
Do Trouba and Fox provide some stability on D?
Will Chytil, Hajek, Anderson, etc. make strides?
Does Hank bounce back or do the young goalies take over?
Panarin might be the only player you know what you’re getting with on this roster. He kept up his play when moving from Chicago to Columbus.
How good is Kakko?
What can Kravtsov do?
Can Zibanejad keep up his level of play?
Do Trouba and Fox provide some stability on D?
Will Chytil, Hajek, Anderson, etc. make strides?
Does Hank bounce back or do the young goalies take over?
Panarin might be the only player you know what you’re getting with on this roster. He kept up his play when moving from Chicago to Columbus.
txpd
Registered User
A contender for the playoffs? Yes. A lock? No. A contender IN the playoffs? No. I don't understand people thinking they are suddenly a juggernaut.
Panteras
“I’ll remember this hell of a journey”- Barkov
txpd
Registered User
islandersdynasty
Registered User
Eh, not impressed outside the 1st forward line and 1st D pairing. Zibenajad is more of a 2nd line center imo...Instead of picking 2nd overall next year they’ll pick in the 10-15 range, so modest improvement.
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Panteras
“I’ll remember this hell of a journey”- Barkov
There are no excuses or lack of motivation for Hank not to perform very well and bounce back. I expect him to play with a chip on his shoulder knowing he does not have much time left in the starter role. Rangers have also improved the team around him.
I am cautiously optimistic that the Rangers can squeeze into a playoff spot next season, not sure how much noise they will make, but would be nice for these young kids to get a taste of the playoffs while they continue to grow. Even if they are bounced in the 1st round in 4 or 5 games. I don't think anyone is expecting them to be true contenders for at least another couple of years or more. But Panarin will still be in his prime when they do turn that corner.
Assuming playoff contenders means bubble team, yeah, that’s about where I’d put them. They’ve had nearly an ideal offseason.
i expect them to be in the PO mix in a year or 2. Still lots of youth and question marks right now, but lots of potential of course.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
vanarchy
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I'm talking about a longer term rebuild mainly through drafting. I don't think they have to wait long at all. It was almost a full scorched retool in a way.
Not good for this or next year but they have$25 million plus in smith, shattenkirk, stall, hank and the Girardi buyout coming off the books in two years. All of which other than hank are players they would give away for free right now.
Hank, Staal, Kreider, and Fast (who was a rookie) are the only players left from our 2014 team that went to the cup finals. Feels kind of weird to think about how much has changed in 5 years.
They probably won't be good but to say they aren't like a wild card contender or something is an underestimate of the current parity in the NHL.
