Don’t know if youve had the pleasure of watching the Canada/Russia super series, but its been a pleasure to finally see live hockey once again. So lets get to it. First, the overall play was actually quite poor. The refs were calling everything, and I mean everything, including things that didn’t even happen. It was a powerplay fest out there littered with mental breakdowns by both clubs in both zones. Definitely a see-saw period with Russia carrying the play to start, and Canada carrying it at the end.

The goaltending was horrific out there, 3 of the 4 goals were soft, and the 4th goal was on a penalty shot, so really no “true” goals yet.

Onto the players youre interested in, Alexei Cherepanov and Artem Anisimov.

First lets start with Anisimov, hes been noticeable only because of his size (so far). Hes huge out there, and you see him because of that, but he hasn’t been particularly noticeable because of his actual game play. Then there is Cherepanov, who is noticeable because the second he touches the puck, the stadium starts to buzz. He made one beautiful centering pass from behind the net, but it looks like his game has really been hurt by the poor ice. A guy known for his ability to control the puck and make good plays, hes been hampered with a bouncing puck.

Terrible ice there, not really benefiting either team, but definitely hurting the play for us fans.

-Inferno

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Michael Nylander	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Regular Season	79	26	57	83	+14	42
Playoffs	10	6	7	13	+9	0

This one hurts. I know his ballerina-esque twirling gets on our nerves, I know his refusal to shoot makes you go prematurely bald, but losing Michael Nylander this offseason hurts, big time.

Look, don’t get me wrong here guys, I understand why it had to be done. I get that this guy is 34 years old right now (35 in October), and I get that signing him till he is 39 would be a move we would regret big time, but he was as large a part of the turnaround here as anyone else. And for the record, I too would have let him walk, but it doesn’t make the loss any easier to take.

What do you get with Nylander? Incredible vision, and an ungodly ability to navigate through the tightest of spaces without ever losing the puck. A superb ability to thread the needle, and an excellent wrister when he uses it.

Honestly Nylander may be one of the most under-rated players on our roster last year, and possibly in the entire NHL. keep in mind that Jaromir Jagr’s numbers went DOWN last year, yet Nylanders went up. Thats not an accident folks, hes a damn good player. Put him with even mildly competent wingers who can hit the net, and youll see 60 points easy from this guy. Place him with a guy like Alexander Ovechkin, and it is a downright scary combination.

He does however have his negatives, and it starts first and foremost with an unwillingness to shoot. Hes got tremendous puck control and accuracy. When he shoots, he hits the net, he just never seems to shoot! We ranger fans often joke that even during the shootouts he’ll try to pass the puck (he is a whiz on the shootout though) . Nylander last year, if im not mistaken, had a complete breakaway, and elected to pass the puck off to a trailing man. Yes…he’s that infuriating.

Nylander is also a very poor defensive player. He half-asses it out there when he is in his own zone, The Rangers first line was built solely to outscore and out puck-control the opposition, but it was necessary to have Straka or Hossa on that line as the other 2 simply dont play defense. So if youre looking for a defensively responsible guy, hes not your man.

Also, Nylander slows the game down to a crawl at times, and can often wasted 30% of your power play just trying to regroup. you’ve seen it plenty of times, where he has the puck, has a free dump in with a winger flying down the flank, but skate-in entry is denied. Rather than take the dump in, he will skate back to center ice, or his own blueline, and regroup for another skate in. He also often comes up on the rush on the near side, and stops on a dime, does a spin, and tries to find the trail man. He does it so often that if the other team does any scouting at all, its an easy pick-off for a rush against.

Regarding Nylanders puck control, he has an insane ability to hold the puck along the boards for long, long LONG stretches of times with these cut backs. He’ll go one way, lose a guy, then cut back, lose the guy, then cut back, etc looking for a play. If he is paired with guys that can use that time to get open (need good hockey sense), then youll get a TON of offense from this ability of his. If he is paired with guys who dont have good reads off of his moves, what youll get are tired guys who skate like crazy to try to get open, and then just end up wasting a full shift in the oppositions zone without having a single shot on goal.

So Nylander has some excellent pros, and some annoying cons, but im my opinion hes not necessarily a 100% product of Jagr, and his pros most definitely outweigh the cons so long as hes put with guys who look to shoot first.

Id let him walk, just like Glen did, but I know he is going to have a huge year playing with Ovechkin.

This concludes my reviews for last year. I hope you, at the very least, used it to kill some time this offseason (which by the way has just been brutal on me because of hockey withdrawal). Coming up in a few days, I will do my Eastern Conference predictions. I will NOT do any Western Conference stuff because frankly, I dont follow it nearly as religiously as I do with the East.

-Inferno

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Martin Straka	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Regular Season	77	29	41	70	+16	24
Playoffs	10	2	8	10	0	2

You see this guy? Martin Straka? Give me 23 guys with his combination of skill, work ethic, heart, desire, and speed, and I will give you a Stanley Cup.

Simply put, you have to love this guy. Seriously, its in the rule book, Section 18 Paragraph 3 (right after the section stating you have to hate Erik Cole). The only negative I can think of is that he doesn’t shoot enough, but that seems to be true of almost every European player to ever enter the NHL. They pass too damn much, but that’s ok, I’m more than happy to look past all that to see the positives. You have ones of the fastest skaters in the league, one of the most relentless guys on the forecheck, on the backcheck, just on the check (czech?) in general.

Watch this clip here(from Rangers ONDemand, I couldn’t figure out how to load their player and make it play that video), at the 1:41 mark is where you see typical Straka, making the defensive play, and finding his way to the perfect scoring place, and best yet, he actually shot the puck.

He’s the guy I want the youngsters to try to emulate (just like Brendan Shanahan). He has character, he has leadership, he has a ton to admire. That’s really all there is to it guys, there really isn’t much else to say, the guy plays through injuries, he never gives up, and he sticks up for his teammates.

I’m glad hes back for this year, but rest assured, this will be his last year, there is no point in having him here beyond this year, next year, the rebuild takes full force.

-Inferno

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Could you imagine if Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky played on the same team?

/end randomness

-Inferno

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Marcel Hossa	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Regular Season	64	10	8	18	-4	26
Playoffs	10	2	2	4	+5	4

Marcel Hossa, the guy I was continually trashing all season, is on his make or break season. Enough with the, man, he might be a star, or man he just doesn’t do anything out there, I want results, and I want them over 82 games.

The reason he is still on this team is because of a 13 game stretch last year. In it, while playing with Jaromir Jagr, he finally showed me, what some of you have seen all along. That his puck possession game coupled with his exceptional strength on the puck could translate to a strong offensive game if paired with the right guys. When he was put with Jaromir during those games he suddenly lit it up. He had 8 goals and 5 assists during that span.

So, 13 games, 8 goals 5 assists, that means during his other 51 games he only produced 2 goals and 3 assists. So you can see both sides of the argument. That he sucks, or that hes a solid player. If you extrapolate his crappy numbers it becomes 3 goals, 5 assists, and 8 points in 82 games, but if you extrapolate his numbers during that streak it then becomes 50 goals, 32 assists, and 82 points.

So thats why I think this is the year he tells us which it is, is he the crappy player, or the extraordinary player. I need to know, and I need to know NOW. If he is indeed set to breakout this year, then youve got a star making under a million bucks. A kid who weve more or less developed ourselves, and a guy you have to give 100% of the credit to Tom Renney for having the nerve to develop. Many others, including myself, would have given up on him, but Tom thought it was better he develop his defensive game then learn his offensive game, than to just give up on him altogether. As it stands he has a fairly well rounded game. I’d like to see him kill penalties more, since I think he can be effective at it, and I would like to see him get some first line playing time. But I am not convinced either will happen.

Do or Die Marcel, I really hope you Do.

-Inferno

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So, there I was, having an argument with an Islander pal of mine on how effective the Islanders offense was going to be (over on the ECSF boards btw) when I decided that I wanted to do some analysis on their offense to make my point (being that I think the Isles are going to have a horrendous offense next year). But before I did that, I figured it would be prudent to apply the same analysis to the team I actually care about, the Rangers.

So here is what I wanted to do. I wanted to look at 3 metrics.

1: How would the teams total offense look like if the players simply put up identical numbers to last year?

2: How would the teams total offense look like if the players put up numbers equivalent to their career best?

3: How would the teams total offense look like if the players put up their expected 82 game career average?

Now I realize this is FAR FAR FAR from a surefire way to predict what the offense will actually produce. In fact I would hope you consider this nothing more than a “just for laughs” piece. This does not take into account chemistry problems, it doesn’t account for injuries, nor does it show anything how team play might effect a players career numbers (will Gomez score a ton more now that he can “go”?).

But what it does show us, at least, is that this team “should” have a reasonably effective offensive threat.

A few caveats first. I did not include Marc Staal, Hutchinson, or any other players not listed here. For Staal it was a simple thing that he had zero numbers to work with, so I figured I would put in Strudwick instead, who has very low numbers, but numbers none the less. I honestly feel Staal can, and will make this team, but it would not surprise me if he starts off the year in Hartford either. The rest is just gut feeling on who will make this roster. As you can see I have Peca in there, who is not officially signed at the time of me writing this. I could have put Dubinsky in there but since he has zero points in six NHL games, I figured leaving Peca in there shouldn’t hurt this analysis, especially since I feel you could swap their names in there, leave the numbers as is, and have it be totally believable. Also, during a normal season, you have plenty of guys come up, play a few games, then go elsewhere, or what have you. It is too difficult to accurately do this, especially in the time I have here, so instead I have made it so the bench players play a full 82 games. This SHOULD NOT hurt the analysis since the bench players I have chosen really accurately reflect what your annual fill-ins should put up for you.

So, shall we begin? First let us look at how the team looks like if they all put up the exact same numbers as last year….

Martin Straka (29)	Scott Gomez (13)	Jaromir Jagr (30)
Sean Avery (18)	Chris Drury (37)	Brendan Shanahan (29)
Petr Prucha (22)	Michael Peca (4)	Ryan Callahan (4)
Marcel Hossa (10)	Blair Betts (9)	Colton Orr (2)

Ryan Hollweg (1)

Nigel Dawes (1)

---

Michal Rozsival (10)	Marek Malik (2)
Fedor Tyutin (2)	Daniel Girardi (0
Paul Mara (5)	Thomas Pock (4)

Jason Strudwick (0)

Starting Forwards:	207
Bench Forwards:	2
Total Forwards:	209
Starting Defenseman:	23
Bench Defenseman:	0
Total Defenseman:	23
Total Team:	232

This is what I like to call, your worst case scenario, especially since Jagr was hurt most of last year, Peca didnt play most of last year, nor did Callahan, Girardi, etc. Still 232 goals for is not a terrible number. Comparatively speaking 232 goals would literally place us exactly where we were last year(233, don’t use TSN’s GF number, use NHL.com’s, TSN is wrong), 18th in the NHL, however our team speed, and defense have clearly been upgraded.

Next, let’s look at the opposite end of the spectrum, what I like to call the best case scenario. What happens if each of these guys suddenly equaled their career best?

Martin Straka (35)	Scott Gomez (33)	Jaromir Jagr (62)
Sean Avery (18)	Chris Drury (37)	Brendan Shanahan (52)
Petr Prucha (30)	Michael Peca (27)	Ryan Callahan (4)
Marcel Hossa (10)	Blair Betts (9)	Colton Orr (2)

Ryan Hollweg (2)

Nigel Dawes (1)

---

Michal Rozsival (10)	Marek Malik (7)
Fedor Tyutin (6)	Daniel Girardi (0)
Paul Mara (15)	Thomas Pock (4)

Jason Strudwick (3)

Starting Forwards:	319
Bench Forwards:	3
Total Forwards:	322
Starting Defenseman:	42
Bench Defenseman:	3
Total Defenseman:	45
Total Team:	367

Obviously this one is the most ridiculous out of these numbers, especially since, lets face it, this just won’t happen. Shanny wont score over 50, and Jagr probably isn’t putting up 62 (though it sure would be nice). But at least you know what the “upper limit” would be. Just so you know, 367 goals would be, by far and away, the best goal total using last years numbers. In fact Buffalo had the best offense in the league, and they scored 298 goals.

Next, I have the actual thing I wanted to get to. The, “what if everyone just did what they should do” scenario.

Here is how these numbers are calculated. I took the career NHL goals total for each player, divided it by games played, and multiplied it by 82. So what that means is, if every player in the lineup, plays for 82 games, and plays just like their career average, how will they do?

Martin Straka (27)	Scott Gomez (17)	Jaromir Jagr (43)
Sean Avery (13)	Chris Drury (25)	Brendan Shanahan (36)
Petr Prucha (29)	Michael Peca (18)	Ryan Callahan (23)
Marcel Hossa (13)	Blair Betts (9)	Colton Orr (2)

Ryan Hollweg (2)

Nigel Dawes (10)

---

Michal Rozsival (7)	Marek Malik (4)
Fedor Tyutin (5)	Daniel Girardi (0)
Paul Mara (9)	Thomas Pock (10)

Jason Strudwick (2)

Starting Forwards:	265
Bench Forwards:	12
Total Forwards:	277
Starting Defenseman:	35
Bench Defenseman:	2
Total Defenseman:	37
Total Team:	314

Now I would want you to note 1 thing, I include the bench people here, but it really shouldn’t be so, since this projection removes their influence at all by assuming every starter plays 82 games. Therefore if you subtract the 14 goals that Dawes, Hollweg, and Strudwick account for you get a total of 300 goals. Still though, 300 goals gives you the best offense in the entire NHL. That is a helluva projection right there. Will it come to pass? Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. None of those numbers really stand out and make your eyes roll (like having Jagr score 60+ or Shanny score 50+ in the previous section) however what you do see is an incredibly balanced offense, and numbers that look very, very, VERY doable.

I hope this helps to give you some sort of perspective for next year, I know I am eager to see what this club can actually do out there.

-Inferno

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Kevin Weekes	Games	Wins	Losses	OTL	GAA	SV%	SO
Regular Season	14	4	6	2	3.39	.879	0
Playoffs	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

I tried, I really and truly tried guys. You know I did. I really tried to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, to look past his blatant deficiencies in the net, to look past his rocky starts and look for the good. Sadly, I can’t do it here.

Look, we all like the guy, he never caused any trouble, he was a consummate professional, and he carried himself in a manner we can all respect, and frankly strive for. He was not, however, a good goalie. He just wasn’t.

He played 14 games last year, here is how those games broke down. (im only counting complete games for 2 goals or less).

2 goals or less: 4 times
4 goals or more: 5 times

Thats a 0.8:1 ratio guys. That just is a putrid statistic there.

To compare apples to apples, here is what Henrik did out there, INCLUDING his horrendous start to the season, but not including the playoffs.

2 goals or less: 42 times
4 goals or more: 14 times

thats a 3:1 ratio, which is a huge difference.

Now, how about we look at another veteran goalie who is backing up a young goalie, Johan Hedberg.

2 goals or less: 9 times
4 goals or more: 5 times

1.8:1

You see where I am going with this? Let’s add another one just for laughs..
Jocelyn Thibault:

2 goals or less: 6 times
4 goals or more: 4 times
1.5:1

As you can see, even compared to other backups Kevins “does he keep you in the game” stat just looks awful. You want your backup goalie to, at the very least, win you more games than he loses you. Weekes couldn’t even do that much. He may have been one of the most well liked guys on the team, but this is a game where you are paying the guys salary to produce on the ice, NOT to be a nice guy. Heck, I can be heck of a guy and Henrik Lundqvists own personal cheerleader…male cheerleader mind you. Would you want me as your backup goalie? No, of course not.

I for one am glad Kevin is gone, my supply of Tums will be impacted positively for sure.

-Inferno

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Here is what my source said on Peca, its short and to the point.

Peca is a done deal, just waiting on medical results

There you have it.

-Inferno

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Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…er….tomorrow.

-Inferno

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Jaromir Jagr	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Regular Season	82	30	66	96	+26	78
Playoffs	10	5	6	11	+6	12

Sorry about the delay in getting this one up here. As you can see, I am using the updated version of Excel, and its taking me a while getting used to this.

As Jagr goes, so go the Rangers. You’ve said it, I’ve said it, we’ve all said it, which probably means its true. When Jaromir struggled in the beginning of the season, and really through the middle of it as well, we weren’t winning many games. When he started scoring, we started winning. I suppose what that really means is the guys shoulder was hurting him a ton more than most of us thought. As the season wore on, instead of getting more banged up, he seemed to get stronger.

Simply put Jaromir is the 2nd most important guy on this team, and this year it will be extremely important that he come out the gate with a bang. Let’s face it, we’ve had a lot of turnover in the offensive end of things. Even though it is only 2 players, really we are replacing the face of the top 3 lines. Thats big. That also probably means that players aren’t going to come out the gate guns-a-blazing, which means scoring goals in the beginning might be a bit of a patchwork job. But eventually the Rangers will start scoring goals, lets face it, they have a lethal lineup on paper, and should be among the top 5 teams in terms of goals scored AND in terms of goals allowed. The latter part there is the key to why Jaromirs overall score is so low. He simply doesn’t play defense. The only time he plays defense is when he has the puck and is playing defense by playing offense. It’s ok though, I honestly don’t care if he plays defense, as long as hes controlling the puck, dominating the play, and is putting the puck in the net.

Lets face it guy, Jaromir Jagr is a generational talent. Hes a legendary offensive player with skills that make your eyes pop out of the sockets. He is also a physical anomaly. He is just enormous, with tremendous lower body strength, and unbelievable, nearly ungodly balance. This also leads to less than favorable reffing when it comes to the big guy, because he refuses to dive (which is something I LOVE about his game). Guys cling on to him like his jersey is coated in superglue, and they just don’t let go. If the game was called against him like it is against the rest of the league, Jaromir would be drawing a penalty almost every other shift out there. As it is, he is lucky to draw one or two a game.

Jaromir does have a tendancy to take stupid lazy penalties, and he tends to get flustered when things aren’t going his way out there, but despite these relatively mild deficiencies hes still the most dominating right wing on the planet.

I expect HUGE things from Jaromir this year. With the offense being spread out, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had a career year. Are 65 goals and 90 assists out of the realm of possibility? I don’t know, but if he scored something insane like that, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. And if he doesn’t I could guarantee you that means the rest of the team is scoring like crazy, because this team is too loaded for you to just key on Jaromir all the time.

-Inferno

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