Here is an email I sent in to the NYRangersCast, I will use this instead of a post game wrap to todays debacle.
Heya fellas, I actually tried to call this one in, but the number kept giving me a “your call did not go through, please hang up and try again” on both the landline, and my cell, so I’m not sure whats up with that.
Anyway, here is what I was going to say:
Basically, I disagree with most of what you guys said last podcast. You basically have done what i consider to be one of the worst things a fan can do, and that is, to accept mediocrity. What you guys said is, well, this is what they are, so i am ok with it. I firmly disagree with that. Let me tell you why.
What do you think of, when you think of the best teams? Odds are you are thinking about the more high powered offensive teams, that can also keep the puck out of their net. The question is, how do those teams keep the puck out of their net? In general, the best teams keep the puck out of their net by playing up tempo offensive hockey, and continually pressing the puck in the oppositions zone. In short, the other team never has a chance to do anything because they are run ragged by the opposition.
So, if that is what you think of when you are talking about the best teams in the league, you clearly are not going to think of the Rangers as one of those teams. Why? Because their ENTIRE game plan is based around playing defense in the defensive zone. Think about it, if everything goes right in a Rangers game, what happens? Realistically, they give up 1, maybe 2 goals, and score 2, maybe 3 goals for the win. THAT is how we play hockey!
And that is my biggest problem with this team, they simply play a retarded brand of hockey. It makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER the way in which this team plays.
Glen Sather built an up tempo, offensive attack team. How does Tom Renney play the team? He plays them as a defense first, cycle and grind the puck out style of club, with midgets and speedsters all over the ice. Does that make sense to you? Tom Renney has been unable to get any offense from this club in basically his entire tenure. Seriously, go look back at the previous seasons, our entire offense was based around Jaromir Jagr scoring goals, when he wasn’t scoring, we didn’t score. Same thing with our Power Play, when JJ isnt there to put the puck in the net, nobody is. Why? Well, seems to me you blame the coach for being unable to do squat in the offensive zone, both with the man up, and 5 on 5.
Let me put this another way.
Which group of forwards do you think is more offensively talented?
In all honesty, ignoring salary, ignoring everything ancillary, which group of forwards do you think is better, plain and simple.
Phil Kessel
Marc Savard
David Krejci
Blake Wheeler
Milan Lucic
Dennis Wideman
Marco Sturm
Michael Ryder
Chuck Kobasew
Patrice Bergeron
OR
Nikolai Zherdev
Scott Gomez
Chris Drury
Markus Naslund
Brandon Dubinsky
Ryan Callahan
Aaron Voros
Nigel Dawes
Freddy Sjostrom
Lauri Korpiskoski
Which do you think is more suited for goal scoring. Be honest here.
I look at both rosters, and I can honestly say, based on talent alone, id say the Rangers are MUCH better, and even at worst, you would call it a push.
And yet, the Bruins goal scoring: 3.32G/G (4th in NHL) and the Rangers goal scoring: 2.41G/G (29th in the NHL)
What does this say to me? This says to me that you do not need to have a team filled with Crosbys and Ovechkins to score goals. You just need a coach with some semblance of an idea of how to best take advantage of the players he has.
So all of this brings me back to my original point. How can you honestly say that this team just isn’t that good when we haven’t really seen a style of hockey that makes sense for this club? You guys yourself have said this a few times in the last few weeks, particularly you Steve. It seems to me we are on the same page, that there is a disconnect between what Sather envisioned this team (by how he built the team) and the manner in which Renney is deploying the team.
If we agree with that, then how on earth can you say this is just how good they are?
If I have a Ferrari, drive it with the parking break on, and see it can’t top 30mph before it starts to die, you won’t see me saying, hey, you know what, I guess thats just how fast Ferraris go. Of course not. You need to first give youself every opportunity to succeed with what you are given, before you can make that judgement, and IMHO this team has all the makings of not a good, but a GREAT team. I agreed with you in the preseason, this team has all the makings of a Stanley Cup contender. But not while Tom Renney continues to drive this Ferrari with the parking break on.
In games where the team shows up (ie, not the habs or panthers games), you see them be most successful when they are pushing the issue. You see it in spurts and flashes, but you don’t see it all the time. Why? Because the Parking break is on.
