NYR Viper
Registered User
Respectfully, I disagree. AV always had his tough guy in the line up, much to the detriment of the team. Also, I think toughness isn't going away, I believe it is almost gone. Any team that dresses a Tanner Glass or Cody McLeod at this point is just putting themselves at a disadvantage. The agitator has replaced the tough guy and that is what the Rangers actually lacked. The team wasn't vanilla because of #toffness, they were vanilla because they had no snarl, no grit, no drive. You need guys who aren't afraid to play on the line. The problem is... AV didn't want those players. The hard hits, the skirmishes, the heated moments of the game, that is what helps a team bond, they one of many things that help keep a team together.
Kreider could be that guy but AV effectively neutered him. Not we are 100% to get Kovalchuk or that he will still be here when we turn things around, but even Ilya was fairly good about stuff like that. If you can get Kreider to return to his old form and maybe a few more players like him (big body, strong, play on the edge), it will go a long way. Miller was one of those guys but depending on what you want to believe, other things outweighed that benefit. A guy like Tom Wilson would be perfect. He constantly plays right on the edge.
I know a lot of people here hated Torts and that is fair. But you know what, his teams always competed. His teams always played on the edge. His teams never half assed it like AV's teams did as of late. Why? The players had enough respect for their coach and for each other that they went out there every night and gave it their all.
Daily Antoine Roussel name drop here