[brooks] Rangers on Brink of Wasteland Amid Litany of Issues

[Phil]

1. It isn?t about the playoffs, right now, and it?s not about the standings, either. It is about development and culture. No one will grow in a wasteland. And something like a 2-9-1 start will turn this season into just that. Issues must be addressed immediately.

 

2. Mistakes are one thing. Errors, both of omission and commission, are to be expected before they can be corrected. But other than the second game of the season, the Rangers are playing uninspired hockey. That is worrisome.

 

6. The constant line juggling, it resembles preseason. This young team may have missed the traditional training camp and exhibition games more than most, but this is not a good enough excuse. It isn?t that the Rangers are losing, it?s that they almost never look good.

 

7. This is a squad without a shred of confidence. But that can happen, and almost invariably does, when a team almost never gets a big save and goals just come out of nowhere. Alex Georgiev needed to make the breakaway save on Tobias Rieder on Tuesday. Two younger guys are driving the bus and they are now doing so in the equivalent of a blizzard.

 

9. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome aren?t in the same time zone where they resided last year in carrying the team?s offense. If they don?t step up, changes around the margins will mean little.

 

10. Neither for that matter is Tony DeAngelo, who doesn?t seem to have responded as hoped by the staff in the wake of his benching.

 

12. And with the team?s most important players mere shadows of themselves so far, it would be foolish to scapegoat Jack Johnson. But seriously, why the signing and why the playing time? It can?t be because?Jacques Martin. It seems silly to have both Johnson and Brendan Smith on the roster, in essence blocking Libor Hajek. There are spots open on the taxi squad. There is no reason the Rangers shouldn?t ship the veteran defensemen off the cap.

 

https://nypost.com/2021/01/27/rangers-early-struggles-have-team-on-brink-of-wasteland/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons

[RodrigueGabriel]

"No one will grow in a wasteland." Words to live by.

[Scott]

[lefty9]

Teenage wasteland

[Keirik]

Fungi grows I think

[paddynyc]

Good article by Larry and touches on a lot.

[Phil]

Link:

[4EverRangerFrank]

I came to the board today to find inspiration...not perspiration! :eek:

 

Many years ago when the Rangers sucked like they have this season, and they fell behind, my dad and I would talk about "getting the towels" out because you would be sweating in front of the TV hoping they could cling to the lead or somehow, miraculously find a way to get that last-minute goal to tie it.

 

Next game I'm heading to the laundry closet.

[Sod16]

The last point by Larry is devastating. They had to add J.T. Miller in order to get Hajek, and three years later Hajek is apparently not up to being the 7th defenseman.

 

The other really pointed observation is about how this looks like a carryover from the Carolina series. That makes what is happening now all the more concerning.

 

Oh, and yes, Fast may have been a little bit more important than some posters can bring themselves to accept.

[Phil]

The last point by Larry is devastating. They had to add J.T. Miller in order to get Hajek, and three years later Hajek is apparently not up to being the 7th defenseman.

 

The other really pointed observation is about how this looks like a carryover from the Carolina series. That makes what is happening now all the more concerning.

 

Oh, and yes, Fast may have been a little bit more important than some posters can bring themselves to accept.

 

That entire trade is one of the worst in NHL history, Lundkvist notwithstanding.

[ThirtyONE]

This is the kind of article that puts pressure on the organization. It's not twitter trolls spewing bullshit about David Quinn, it's an old school public flogging.

 

I feel like everyone always has to qualify "well I don't like Brooks usually, but..." whenever he writes something like this but it's fair to say he's nationally recognized in the hockey world. And the Rangers need to be put on blast. The GM. The coach. The players. They're all responsible for what can only be seen as a complete mess at the moment.

 

Articles like this can sometimes shake things up. Let's see what happens.

[Scott]

This is the kind of article that puts pressure on the organization. It's not twitter trolls spewing bullshit about David Quinn, it's an old school public flogging.

 

I feel like everyone always has to qualify "well I don't like Brooks usually, but..." whenever he writes something like this but it's fair to say he's nationally recognized in the hockey world. And the Rangers need to be put on blast. The GM. The coach. The players. They're all responsible for what can only be seen as a complete mess at the moment.

 

Articles like this can sometimes shake things up. Let's see what happens.

Fair point for sure. Let's hope it brings a sense of urgency from the top down. Turning a blind eye would only play into the status quo imo. Lindgren's take doesn't reflect good on the coach, it's his job to get these guys ready to play and play with confidence. They can't be defeated before they even step on the ice, they've been playing the lesser teams to boot.

[Sod16]

Uncle Larry has considerable influence. Back before forums and message boards, if Larry turned on a player in the paper, the boo birds at MSG would follow, and then the player was marked.

 

Neil Smith understood this and gave Larry the scoop on all the trades, buying himself a little immunity from harsh criticism for most of his tenure.

[Sharpshooter]

Great read from Larry. One of his best pieces, I think. Yeah, reading about Miller definitely stings. I was actually looking at the Canucks boxscores and seeing how well he's doing, it sucks. I was like, "Yeah, hated the trade then, hate it even more now". I think Lundkvist will be a good one, but I think Hajek really had to amount to something in order for me to feel a lot better about that trade. He got injured when he was first called up after a handful of games after looking good, and then everything for him seems to have gone down the tubes.

[Dunny]

Both Hajek and Henrikkson are duds, so it's down the the D man who is the same size as my twelve year old.