Is The Season a failure? Interesting take here...

[Shesterkybomb]

Terrible 5 on 5 hockey for 2 years is the ultimate failure. When the pp isn't clicking we got nothing, there's the real problem

 

[xsniper11x]

Here’s another take. Call it optimism out of failure.

Getting smoked out of the building by a much faster team that is playing modern hockey should go a long way to highlighting our flaws and allowing the front office to start addressing them. If you care about our long term success, I think that’s actually a better outcome then lucking our way to a semi or even ECF final where we get eliminated easily.

I rather we get embarrassed and are forced to address our issues ASAP rather than be given false hope and wait years to address them.

 

[Machinehead]

I kind of just see it as a stagnant year. Not a failure but we didn't really build either.

Expectations from Rangers fans were way too high. Tarasenko and Kane should not be seen as "all in" acquisitions. We didn't even give up that much. They came at a discount and it's widely accepted that they're no longer superstars. This team was a 5 seed. They're losing to a team that won more games than they did. People had us as one of the favorites and I don't get it. We weren't last year and we aren't this year.

 

[bernmeister]

If you win, it is a success.
If you don't win, but you set yourself up to be more successful going forward, that is something to consider in the equation.

Did not listen to bern
Did not heed his call that win now = failure 99+% of the time

Only way to prevail in a hard cap scenario where you cannot 111% just buy your way out is to draft smarter with hope you are adding difference makers. Howev, to do THAT, you need to listen to bern and be willing to take a step back every so often to advance coupla steps forward.

 

[LOFIN]

I kind of just see it as a stagnant year. Not a failure but we didn't really build either.

Expectations from Rangers fans were way too high. Tarasenko and Kane should not be seen as "all in" acquisitions. We didn't even give up that much. They came at a discount and it's widely accepted that they're no longer superstars. This team was a 5 seed. They're losing to a team that won more games than they did. People had us as one of the favorites and I don't get it. We weren't last year and we aren't this year.

When you look at it this way, I agree. From what I listened and read, many people had this series going to 6/7 games, and majority had the Devils over us.

But it's also about the expectations of the team and the organization. In that instance it's a failure. And look, I agree when you look at the way we've played it's close. But we should have the edge roster wise. Should have it.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I kind of just see it as a stagnant year. Not a failure but we didn't really build either.

Expectations from Rangers fans were way too high. Tarasenko and Kane should not be seen as "all in" acquisitions. We didn't even give up that much. They came at a discount and it's widely accepted that they're no longer superstars. This team was a 5 seed. They're losing to a team that won more games than they did. People had us as one of the favorites and I don't get it. We weren't last year and we aren't this year.

The problem is that the window for a group like this is getting tougher to win with because of cap issues. We were able to add players at the deadline this year, after Miller, Lafreniere, Kakko, Lindgren etc get their money it gets tougher to build a better team than we have right now. The biggest reason this would be a failure is because the team on paper is much better than they are showing, so by that it's a huge disappointment, especially when you consider how little this team has scored over the last 3 games with the players they have.

 

[Machinehead]

The problem is that the window for a group like this is getting tougher to win with because of cap issues. We were able to add players at the deadline this year, after Miller, Lafreniere, Kakko, Lindgren etc get their money it gets tougher to build a better team than we have right now. The biggest reason this would be a failure is because the team on paper is much better than they are showing, so by that it's a huge disappointment, especially when you consider how little this team has scored over the last 3 games with the players they have.

The team on paper is nowhere near what it actually is. I think we should be prepared for that by now. We know who Tarasenko and Kane actually are and we know who the kids actually are.

 

[Brutananadilewski]

Can we stop with the "well, they won more games than us, so technically they should win" argument? So every sports team in the playoffs should keel over when they face a higher seeded team? Rangers should have called it quits with the Hurricanes last season?

Last season, we were the inexperienced ones, we were banged up. This season?

This is a colossal failure, especially when considering two players that this team received were supposed to elevate our highest paid forward's game. Not only does that still leave us with an $11.6 million problem, there still is that other $8.5 million hemorrhoid that is getting noticable as well.

 

[Machinehead]

Can we stop with the "well, they won more games than us, so technically they should win" argument? So every sports team in the playoffs should keel over when they face a higher seeded team? Rangers should have called it quits with the Hurricanes last season?

Last season, we were the inexperienced ones, we were banged up. This season?

This is a colossal failure, especially when considering two players that this team received were supposed to elevate our highest paid forward's game. Not only does that still leave us with an $11.6 million problem, there still is that other $8.5 million hemorrhoid that is getting noticable as well.

The better team should generally win, yes.

 

[Brutananadilewski]

The better team should generally win, yes.

So that's why the President Trophy winner keeps winning those cups, right?

 

[Machinehead]

So that's why the President Trophy winner keeps winning those cups, right?

Complete strawman.

There's obviously a lot of nuance to it beyond regular season records, including luck, injuries, matchups, and sometimes a team with a worse record is just better by the team the playoffs roll around.

The Devils are much better than us. They're not only a better hockey team, but the worst matchup for us out of any team that made the playoffs. A group of posters were screaming this all year and got ignored. People were rooting for the Devils to win the division so we got Carolina instead.

 

[Brutananadilewski]

Complete strawman.

There's obviously a lot of nuance to it beyond regular season records, including luck, injuries, matchups, and sometimes a team with a worse record is just better by the team the playoffs roll around.

The Devils are much better than us. They're not only a better hockey team, but the worst matchup for us out of any team that made the playoffs. A group of posters were screaming this all year and got ignored. People were rooting for the Devils to win the division so we got Carolina instead.

Not a strawman: don't preface things with "they had the better record." Then you would have to explain the '94 Rangers and '07 Giants, and before you lay claim that football is just a one-and-done thing, they had to thrash 3 teams that thrashed them earlier in the season.

There have been numerous teams that bested the better team from the playoffs in whichever sport you'd like to bring-up. This Rangers team has skill up the ass, a Vezina trophy winner, youngbloods who got a taste of the playoffs, and they're being smacked around by the Devils in the playoffs.

Hughes tries to deke around 4 of our players, he just loses the puck. He does that with any other team, he loses the puck, and his ass gets introduced to the ice or the boards.

We have overpaid primadonnas and young players with the IQ of a kumquat, and all have the heart of a 3 month old decompsing corpse.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

The team on paper is nowhere near what it actually is. I think we should be prepared for that by now. We know who Tarasenko and Kane actually are and we know who the kids actually are.

I disagree, we have more than enough talent up front, Tarasenko and Kane were basically brought in as hole fillers for the right side, and while Kane is a shell of who he was Tarasenko is still a good player, the kids are on the 3rd line, mika is a 40 goal scorer, bread a 100+ point guy, Kreider a 35-50 goal scorer, Trochek, etc not to mention we are one of the top of the league for points from the defense and we have a top 2 goalie in the world. It's beyond stupid how little offense we generated the last 3 games. There's more than enough talent here, it's the want to win thats the problem, if they actually tried a little more and played as a team they are a cup contender, with the disappointing effort we are seeing it's never happening. So yes the team is a disappointment if they get booted this round by a rookie goalie.

 

[LOFIN]

The better team should generally win, yes.

This ain't the Premiership though. Unbalanced schedules alone f*** up that side of it. The difference of few points isn't much.

Also, even through 82 games, teams can over/underperform.

 

[n8]

Can the season officially end before we have this conversation?

 

[Kravtsov420]

Our team was the first team to lose to the ducks in regulation this year.

That was the first and last sign we should have known then

 

[huerter]

They traded/rented Tank and Kane to win the Cup. Anything less is a failure.

And those trades inarguably worsened our chances.

 

[duhmetreE]

seriously though...

coaching has been bad, as in there's minimal coaching and tactics are from the 80's. It's been repeated ad nauseum..

We're heavily reliant on the PP and elite goaltending.

but a failure.... the 'stars' are a failure. ( up to now ) Panarin, Zibs and Trouba. That's the heart of the team and the heart of the cap. If they were producing, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

 

[Machinehead]

Not a strawman: don't preface things with "they had the better record." Then you would have to explain the '94 Rangers and '07 Giants, and before you lay claim that football is just a one-and-done thing, they had to thrash 3 teams that thrashed them earlier in the season.

There have been numerous teams that bested the better team from the playoffs in whichever sport you'd like to bring-up. This Rangers team has skill up the ass, a Vezina trophy winner, youngbloods who got a taste of the playoffs, and they're being smacked around by the Devils in the playoffs.

Hughes tries to deke around 4 of our players, he just loses the puck. He does that with any other team, he loses the puck, and his ass gets introduced to the ice or the boards.

We have overpaid primadonnas and young players with the IQ of a kumquat, and all have the heart of a 3 month old decompsing corpse.

You're harping on the exceptions. Yes, lower seeds have won. They still shouldn't be considered a favorite.

You can look at the records but you can also look at the analytics, the play on the ice, hell, look at the lineups.

The Rangers are a tier below the top teams in the NHL. Any objective observer would tell you that.

If you're immensely disappointed because you thought the Rangers were a favorite, you were warned, and you're getting what you deserve.

I disagree, we have more than enough talent up front, Tarasenko and Kane were basically brought in as hole fillers for the right side, and while Kane is a shell of who he was Tarasenko is still a good player, the kids are on the 3rd line, mika is a 40 goal scorer, bread a 100+ point guy, Kreider a 35-50 goal scorer, Trochek, etc not to mention we are one of the top of the league for points from the defense and we have a top 2 goalie in the world. It's beyond stupid how little offense we generated the last 3 games. There's more than enough talent here, it's the want to win thats the problem, if they actually tried a little more and played as a team they are a cup contender, with the disappointing effort we are seeing it's never happening. So yes the team is a disappointment if they get booted this round by a rookie goalie.

Nothing about this is all that impressive. Like 69 guys scored 100 points this year.

 

[Machinehead]

This ain't the Premiership though. Unbalanced schedules alone f*** up that side of it. The difference of few points isn't much.

Also, even through 82 games, teams can over/underperform.

Again, we're harping on records.

I only bought that up because my head is on a plate if I bring up analytics.

Across the board, I don't know how nobody saw that the Devils were a better hockey team than us all year.

It was apparent to me every time the two teams played each other this year.

 

[Roo Returns]

To me this year had a "one step back" kind of vibe just by losing Vatrano, Copp, Motte V 1.0 and Panarin playing dispy doodle.

The kids most notable Chytil, Kaako, and Miller have progressed but not by as much as was needed. Lafreneire didn't, Jones wasn't given a fair shake, and Kravstov had no emotional intelligence or will.

I chalk it up to like a 2013 after 2012. I'm not saying next year will be a 2014 run.

Getting Kane and Tarasenko was more of a smoke and mirrors thing, especially Kane. It was actually a circus when the right moves were to increase speed and grit.

I don't think a lot of these guys Drury is in love with. This is not going to be a summer 1991 thing when Neil Smith decided after the Capitals series debacle that his team was too soft and couldn't get the job done, mostly because this is a cap era, and the NMCs but we're going to start seeing it soon.

More speed, grit, and piss and vinegar is needed in this teams DNA. We're seeing a little of it now in Hartford with guys like Garand/Cullye and Estrom/Sykora all contributing to a nice playoff run.

I expect some angry grizzled veterans to be added for next season, and guys like Cullye and Othmann, along with maybe Edstrom all making their way to NY.

If it's over tomorrow (and I'll post this in the roster thread) first order of business is to get rid of Mark Ciaccio.

 

[Machinehead]

If it's over tomorrow (and I'll post this in the roster thread) first order of business is to get rid of Mark Ciaccio.

This isn't talked about enough.

Guys who came in weak skaters haven't improved their skating at all. It's also crazy some of the things our star players are bad at.

Maybe we get more out of Zibanejad 5v5 if somebody taught him how to stick-handle.

 

[Roo Returns]

This isn't talked about enough.

Guys who came in weak skaters haven't improved their skating at all. It's also crazy some of the things our star players are bad at.

Maybe we get more out of Zibanejad 5v5 if somebody taught him how to stick-handle.

He sucks. I don't get how or why he's still there. Yeah he trained Austin Matthews when he was 11? Adam Gase was also once Peyton Manning's QB coach. Don't mean a thing,

And I've said it a zillion times....this team needs to use resources that are out of the cap:

1. Analytics
2. Sport Psychology

For the first point I don't mean go all Billy Beane or rely on Corsi or Fenwick or Heat Maps. Study trends and commonalities of the most successful teams. Study who is progressing in what direction and where the league is going. There are some really smart people who can do that and they'd cost 1/3 of DeAngelo's buyout this season. If the NFL can make a big deal of the 40 yard dash, NHL teams can look at skating strides. That would've avoided the Lias pick.

The second isn't about Zibanejad sitting on a couch. I know we all laugh about it. it's testing for emotional intelligence, behavioral patterns. What type of personalities are these kids? Do they prefer to live in NYC, or the quieter suburbs of Westchester? How disciplined will they be? Look at outgoing picks like Schneider/Cullye, or even someone with a dry sense of humor like Igor as opposed to Kravstov, someone who was easily distracted and wanted to party like Del Zotto, or a lunatic like Kovacs.

 

[DanielBrassard]

Again, we're harping on records.

I only bought that up because my head is on a plate if I bring up analytics.

Across the board, I don't know how nobody saw that the Devils were a better hockey team than us all year.

It was apparent to me every time the two teams played each other this year.

The numbers at 5v5 are virtually identical too in games between these teams during the regular season and the playoffs. This should not be a surprising series.

 

[TopShelfSnipes]

A first round loss would be a colossal failure for this team. On paper they should be the second most talented team behind Boston. They have a elite goalie who fought through struggles but has largely rounded back into form. They have three potential 35 goal scorers, a 30 goal scorer, a Norris caliber D, a mostly decent D corps, prospects who can occasionally dominate, and a two-way center in Trocheck. They've got a solid 4th line, and a good backup goalie.

The Devils ride Jack Hughes. Meier's been nothing special since getting acquired, and probably washes with Kreider if Kreider is playing at his best. NJ's goaltending has been way behind ours all season. Hamilton vs. Fox is a wash. They don't have another D that can match up with Miller as the rest of their guys are all third pairing types except Severson who's clearly behind Miller in every respect. Sure, they had a better record, but if the Rangers didn't suck ass early in the season, they would've easily finished second based on how the team played during the season as ultimately constructed (and not when guys like Ryan Carpenter, Zac Jones, and Dryden Hunt were in the lineup). We don't match up with the Devils well one on one, but talent wise we are better IF everyone plays to their potential and we utilize our strengths to properly neutralize their speed.

So for the Rangers to lose in the first round is an utter choke, especially after being up 2-0.

If that happens, personally, I'd like to see them keep Tarasenko because they're still going to have a gaping top 6 role there next year regardless of whether it's him or Kakko on the top line. Kakko NEEDS to be in the top 6 consistently next year though.

Kane, walk away from. Goodrow too (contract). Pick one big contract to move and explore selling high.

And get Gallant far away from here.