Strome, Smith, Rooney, Blackwell, and DiGuiseppe answered the bell. I didn't expect any of the kids to get in on this, but this is a lesson that you take care of your own.
Strome gets shit on, myself being guilty of doing that, but he is a guy that doesn't back down. He's improved exponentially since being traded for. I am hopeful there is room long the way for him, but I think his future is up in the air.
I want Smith back. 1 year deal. He is perfect as an extra player that can fill in and will play tough.
Buchnevich did exactly what I expected. He's gotten to a different level of grit. He's probably getting suspended and if I had to guess, it's his last game as a Ranger. I wished it wouldn't be true, but it's a numbers game.
We're heading into an unknown now. It was comforting knowing as a fan that the team had a direction, and I still think that direction may still be intact. Are we pushing to jump from a non playoff team to a contender? This doesn't happen much in hockey. Football and basketball have that more often, and baseball is on part with hockey in going from worst to 1st.
At this point I wish Dolan decided to wait 1 more year. Unfortunately we'll never know what the plan Gorton had for this summer. He did everything to get the team to where it is, but he may never reap the benefits of building the most equitable franchise in the NHL at the moment.
