Why couldn't the Rangers get over the hump between 2012 and 2015?

[hacksaw7]

With the news going around of Tarasenko being moved this thread actually just popped in my head again. In 2006 and 2010 they had 2 horrible 1st rund draft choices in Bobby Sangunetti and Dylan Mcilrath. Players selected after them in 06 and 10 were Claude Giroux and Vladimir Tarasenko respectively. If they had those guys in this era would it have won them a cup or 2?

McIlrath I never understood with the direction the NHL was heading in. He was such a 1997 era pick. And the Rangers by 2010 were nothing like the org they'd been from 1997-2004

 

[Midnight Judges]

IMO they were a very good team and could have won a cup or two if they were able to add 1 elite goal scoring forward.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

No depth.

Tough to go anywhere when you only have 3-4 forwards score at least 50 points.

Defensive depth was very suspect as well. Not much to worry about after McDonagh

I think their depth was fine, they didn't have top end scorers. Other than Hank their depth was the reason they were good in the first place because it sure as hell wasn't their superstar players. The closest thing they had to a superstar was Gaborik. I guess you can argue McDonagh in 2014.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I think their depth was fine, they didn't have top end scorers. Other than Hank their depth was the reason they were good in the first place because it sure as hell wasn't their superstar players. The closest thing they had to a superstar was Gaborik. I guess you can argue McDonagh in 2014.

True you can look at it that way too. They had depth but no stars.

I was looking at it as if you're going to build a no star team you need 3 lines of depth to cover for it

 

[SnowblindNYR]

True you can look at it that way too. They had depth but no stars.

I was looking at it as if you're going to build a no star team you need 3 lines of depth to cover for it

They did though, they had guys like JT Miller and Zuccarello playing on the 3rd line at different points. Though Miller wasn't the 70+ point player he is now. Depth is all they had.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Not really enough A grade forward talent, if Nash was an actual superstar instead of most overrated player in the league maybe it would have been enough. Defenseman core was strong + Lundquist. They COULD have been a champion like 06 Hurricanes or 19 Blues if they had the perfect year, but it didn't happen.

 

[LightningStorm]

They COULD have been a champion like 06 Hurricanes or 19 Blues if they had the perfect year, but it didn't happen.

Yeah those 2 are a good comparison. These Ranger teams weren't teams I believe should've won a cup in retrospect, but at the same time, they were good enough to the point where had they won the cup, I wouldn't have considered them a Cinderella champion. Same case with these 2 champions. However, the 2019 Blues came after their great run of 2012-2016, so the Rangers equivalent may have been if they won it in 2016 or 2017.

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

However, the 2019 Blues came after their great run of 2012-2016, so the Rangers equivalent may have been if they won it in 2016 or 2017.

Yes and no. Remember the Blues missed the playoffs in 2018. In 2016 the Rangers were still looked at as contenders by some experts and were even lauded as a darkhorse by alot of experts . I remember after the got Eric Stall Jeremy Roenick even had them as his cup favorite as they had 3 solid lines at that point. I still wonder had they not ran into Pittsburgh early on and had to play in the Atalntic bracket how they would have fared. In 2017 they were still looked at in the same way but they sort of threw games to play in the Atlantic bracket, remember they were 2 ot wins from their 4th ecf in 6 years and if they were able to get by the Pens they definitely beat Nashville. Had those teams had Giroux and Tarasenko I wonder how they would have fared.