Post by darren on Sept 20, 2008 20:58:29 GMT -5
NEW YORK - 9/20/2008
Thud. That's the sound of expectation falling in New York. After a promising preseason in which the Rangers led the league, they find themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum now. Dead last. Seven straight losses. Four wins and ten losses. The special teams have been abysmal. The team sits last in both categories with a ghastly 7.4 PP% and 70.4 PK%.
So what's to be done about this? Management decided to act rather than sit around and wait much longer. The GM brought back three players who had previous stints with the Rangers. Jason Spezza was a Ranger from the very beginning but was dealt in the multi-player deal to get Vincent Lecavalier in the first place from Chicago. Now Lecavalier is on the outs to Davos to bring Spezza back. Lecavalier has been a face of the franchise along with Brodeur for many years but has never produced as expected other than a spectacular season 7. Will it be any different with the goofy looking and giggling Spezza taking over? It remains to be seen. Dustin Byfuglien also comes back to the Rangers after a whopping 14 games with the Devil Dogs. The team was seriously lacking an overweight black guy. He'll start on forward but could see time on defense.
Earlier in the week, New York and Detroit hooked up for a deal to address specific team needs. The Rangers needed a center and the Cougars were desperate for a winger so the teams swapped J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott. With Nicklas Backstrom proving an insufficent second line center, the hope is that Arnott will provide. We're pretty sure Arnott played with the Rangers before, but we are not certain when and for how long because they've sifted through a good portion of the league.
Word on the rumour mill is the defense needs a shakeup and they are looking to bring in a veteran presence via trade. Goaltending needs to be a heck of a lot better too, but starting Dwayne Roloson is probably not the answer.
Thud. That's the sound of expectation falling in New York. After a promising preseason in which the Rangers led the league, they find themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum now. Dead last. Seven straight losses. Four wins and ten losses. The special teams have been abysmal. The team sits last in both categories with a ghastly 7.4 PP% and 70.4 PK%.
So what's to be done about this? Management decided to act rather than sit around and wait much longer. The GM brought back three players who had previous stints with the Rangers. Jason Spezza was a Ranger from the very beginning but was dealt in the multi-player deal to get Vincent Lecavalier in the first place from Chicago. Now Lecavalier is on the outs to Davos to bring Spezza back. Lecavalier has been a face of the franchise along with Brodeur for many years but has never produced as expected other than a spectacular season 7. Will it be any different with the goofy looking and giggling Spezza taking over? It remains to be seen. Dustin Byfuglien also comes back to the Rangers after a whopping 14 games with the Devil Dogs. The team was seriously lacking an overweight black guy. He'll start on forward but could see time on defense.
Earlier in the week, New York and Detroit hooked up for a deal to address specific team needs. The Rangers needed a center and the Cougars were desperate for a winger so the teams swapped J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott. With Nicklas Backstrom proving an insufficent second line center, the hope is that Arnott will provide. We're pretty sure Arnott played with the Rangers before, but we are not certain when and for how long because they've sifted through a good portion of the league.
Word on the rumour mill is the defense needs a shakeup and they are looking to bring in a veteran presence via trade. Goaltending needs to be a heck of a lot better too, but starting Dwayne Roloson is probably not the answer.