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24 Cups on the Rangers
posted by Mike Boone at 7h47 EST on Oct 24
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• Strange as it may seem, it would appear that Sather has made a lot of right moves so far this year. Much of the credit belongs to his scouting department, but there are certainly signs that a positive turnaround is unfolding. However, it’s best that Ranger fans curb their enthusiasm seeing that the team had a 17-7-2 start last year before things fell apart. Sather had to bring in controversial coach, John Tortorella, in order to just make the playoffs.
• It all begins with the Scott Gomez trade. Try for a second to park your Hab allegiance and look at the trade from the Rangers’ perspective. New York gives up Gomez and Tom Pyatt for Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, and the cap space to sign Marian Gaobrik. In essence they trade Gomez for Gaborik with Higgins and McDonagh as the frosting on the cake. Please don’t pull your groin trying to reply to that train of thought:-)
* Sather signed three UFA forwards with the following results after 10 games: Gaborik (7/6/13), Vinny Prospal (3/9/12), and Ales Kotalik (4/6/10). All three of these players have each scored two PP goals. So far, so good. Gaborik is a huge risk (missed 207 of his last 338 games) and Sather probably could have signed him for less. But if you’re going to roll the dice then this is the guy to wager on (450 points in 512 games) Prospal is in the ‘up’ year of his ‘up/down’ pattern of play and is signed for a very reasonable $1.1M. Kotalik is able to play top six minutes and is a good addition to the PP. The Rangers suffered from a lack of scoring last year and were 29th on the PP so these guys have really helped turn things around.
• Sather made the mistake of signing two centres for $7M each when all he really needed was one (same goes for Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival on defense). Chris Drury is still here and brings a great blend of two-way positional play as well as grit and leadership. Slightly overpaid and past his prime, he still is there when it counts the most. Brandon Dubinsky is following in his footsteps and already has 8 points. Ryan Callahan (20 points in his last 25 games) is from the same mold and is just about to show what he can really do. Both these guys are in their early 20's and will be mainstays for years to come.
* Sean Avery and Chris Higgins are competent wingers who bring solid depth to the secondary lines. No need to review their past records as everyone on the site is familiar with their history. Avery needs to stay away from untimely, selfish penalties and Higgins needs to realize his limitations so that he can contribute in a more productive manner.
* Brian Boyle (LA trade/6'7"/240) and Enver Lisin (trade from Phoenix) are cost efficient players who help fill out the line-up. Donald Brashear in the new pugilist who is in charge of acting as a deterrent. He’s a little over the hill and tends to pick his spots. Brings back memories of Harry Neale’s famous quote, “body by Fisher, head by Canada Cement.”
* Hab fans like to boast about their prospect list, but the Rangers are right up there with them. In fact, they’re ahead of Montreal is this important aspect of the game. New York has no less than five young pivots in the system that could make the big team one day. Artem Anisimov (6'4", on the team), Eveny Grachev (6'3", will arrive soon), Chris Kreider (New York’s answer to Louis Leblanc), Ethan Werek (good old Stouffville boy), and David Kveton (sleeper) are all decent prospects. Who the hell needs Gomez when these guys are in the pipeline?
* Speaking of kids, the defense is brimming with great prospects, some of whom are already with the big club. My player to watch tonight is Michael Del Zotto. Born and raised in Stouffville, this guy has burst onto the scene and has added a much needed punch to the anemic Ranger PP. Del Zotto has four goals and five assists with three PP goals (shoots L). Not that fast on the blades, but he can really move the puck around. Soft hands and a great shot make him a perfect point man. Could be better in his own end but who cares? That’s somebody else’s job! Wears #4.
* UFA whiz kid, Matt Gilroy (R), has made the club and joins Marc Staal (L) and Daniel Girardi (R) to form an impressive young blueline. All of these guys are 25 and under. Michal Rozsival (not a Tortorella favourite) and Wade Redden (always makes me think of Eric Clapton) are decent Dmen but are way overpaid. Redden’s contract is just as bad as Gomez’s. Bobby Sanguinetti, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, and Ilkka Heikkinen are waiting in the wings to take their place. The Rangers have so many good, young players.
* I’ve saved the best for last, as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is still the top Ranger in town (6-2/2.41/.922). In his prime at just 27 years of age, he is the glue that holds it all together. His strong mechanics and great poise under pressure help keep the Rangers in games when other players are dreaming of Broadway. Steve Valiquette is a cheap, adequate career back-up.
* speaking of saving money, Sather runs a 21 man roster in order to help stay under the cap. It also helped that Marcus Naslund retired (4M in savings) and Nikolai Zherdev wasn’t signed after arbitration (3.9M in savings).
Stat Pack - GF: 1st, GA: 12th, GD: +11, PP: 6th, PK: 5th, GAA: 2.60, FO: 48.4%, CS: $962000
Injury Update - none reported as of Friday.
This game will serve as a litmus test in terms of how we are able to compete against a team that is well ahead of us in the standings. Lundqvist is always a worry and the Rangers potent offense will be a challenge for our injury ridden defense. You also have to think that New York will be smarting after a tough loss to New Jersey on Thursday night. On the other hand, Scott Gomez and Paul Mara should be well motivated to show that the Rangers made a mistake by letting them go. That same motivation should apply to whichever Hab goalie gets the nod tonight.
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...Steve, You are always insightful and a great read
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Thanks, Chris. Your thoughful comment makes it all worthwhile.
For the love of the game,
Steve
Tom Pyatt will turn out to be the player that makes this deal look a lot better. Go Habs!
good write up Steve.
I predict Habs 4-0
everyone is making to much of the Rangers, and if anyone can give them a reality check it will be our guys led by a charged up Gomez. If we play our puck control game the way we have the past few and continue to skate hard and make the hard crisp passes....look out NYR.
I know it's been posted but i missed it. But here is how the guys who left are doing, compared to the guys who replaced them.
Kovalev 3-1- 4pts Cammalleri 2-5- 7pts
Koivu 1-1- 2pts Gionta 4-0- 4pts
Tanguay 0-2- 2pts Gomez 2-3- 5pts
HIGGINS 0-2- 2pts Moen 2-1- 3pts
Kosto. 1-0- 1pts Mara 0-5- 5pts
Bouillon 0-0- 0pts. Spacek 0-3- 3pts
Hall Gill is doing exactly the same (or worse) than Dandenault
Bergeron has 2 points in 2 games, and Plecs and Metro are on fire.
Considering we are missing the biggest key to our success, I feel pretty good about our moves this summer. Plus once Markov and Obyrne get back Gill can't do as much damage, if he plays at all.
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
It's weird following the other teams that half our players went to from last year, usually players leaving Montreal play well for other teams, however this years crew certainly have not jumped out of the starting blocks to good.
going back of few years
Steve Begin 2 goals 4 assists/ Souray had nothing before he got his coconut scrambled/ MIKE RIBEIRO 3 goals 6 assists
The player I'm, most worried about is Artem Annisimov, He is a monster and can make a play out of nothing. If i'm not mistaken he's 6'2 182 Center. will definitly rip apart the league in a few years. When I heard about the trade for Gomez I thought forusre that he was included....
Saw Grachev in the OHL-Russian Selects game in Guelph last year. He was hands-down the best player on the ice, with Hodgson a close second. Size, speed, scoring touch...he's a keeper.
>Size, speed, scoring touch...he's a keeper.
Be nice to have one or two of those. :(
--------------------------------------------------- `Could this team miss the playoffs? Who knows?' - Bob Gainey on the new Habs.
That's pretty much what Pacioretty is. And his grading is identical to Anisimov and nearly equivalent to Grachev.(7.5B/8.0C)
Don't be such a sad pooch.
Halak to start according to Daily Habit
Thanks Ian!
ooooh yeah.
I just got my Gazette and I see Jack Fraud has writen another insightful article, no doubt full of the ORIGINAL OPINIONS that are his trademark.
Can't wait to wipe my butt with it.
Great preview, Steve.
I noticed last night that hockeyfutures.com has updated their organizational rankings as of yesterday and the Canadiens have dropped to 13th from 2nd. While most of us will not be surprised the Canadiens dropped significantly, 11 spots is still a bit more than I expected.
Interestingly, the writeup they include for the team states, "Having traded away several top prospects, the Canadiens prospect pool looks very different than it did last spring." The fact is the Habs have not lost several prospects since the spring, they lost two. While Mcdonaugh was our number #1 prospect at the time and so should have a significant impact on our ranking, Valentenko was only listed 12th in the spring. It seems losing those two could hardly explain such a large drop.
Also worth noting is that Pacioretty(7.5B) would now rank higher than McDonaugh(8.0C) if they were on the same team and if I understand their ranking system properly. Then there's the fact that the Habs seemed to have had a strong draft in the interim, having 4 players from this summer's draft join our top 20. We may even have added 5 since the site has not, as of yet, graded Micheal Cichy and the news from the NCAA has been very good regarding him.
Pertinent to all this, the Rangers are listed as the #3 organization. Though I don't know where they were ranked last spring, I believe they were in the top 10.
Having said all this, I still think the Habs are doing alright to be listed in the top 15 organizations considering they have not had very many good drafting positions over the past 5 or 6 years. Of course, the model for this type of thing is Detriot and they rank one spot ahead of us at #12.
It should have said, 'having been caught up in the hype around the habs at the start of last year, this year we realized how ordinary their development pool actually is with no major prospect up front and only one on D - and he's a few years away'.
--------------------------------------------------- `Could this team miss the playoffs? Who knows?' - Bob Gainey on the new Habs.
wow what a drop...those prospects just have to prove HF wrong!
- we need a MARKOV.
I suppose it's worth noting that we were ranked 8th in the fall of '08. So maybe the #2 last spring was also a bit bloated too.
well HF goes for a mathematical approach...they try their best....other sites may go with more of a subjective approach.
- we need a MARKOV.
Fair enough, though there's no escaping the subjectivity of the actual player grades.
http://habsprospects.hockeyhq.net/
this si a good site to monitor our own prospects.
- we need a MARKOV.
true, but honestly, how long did it take you to figure out what all the numbers and letters meant, even after reading the explanation
- we need a MARKOV.
The Habs dropped because 2 of their top 5 prospects from the spring are no longer there (McDonagh to NY, O'Byrne is now considered as having graduated to the NHL). They've also downgraded Fisher from an 8.0C to a 7.0C so the Habs have no 8+ prospects on their ranking scheme, which hurts their organizational rankings.
There are a few guys that have had their letter grades adjusted up and down, and Pacioretty and D'Agostini have both seen their number grades go up by 0.5.
What's interesting is that McDonagh is still rated higher (39th in the top 50 prospects) than Pacioretty (43rd), but Pacioretty is considered more of a sure thing to achieve his potential (B versus C).
Thanks for the insight Chris. That helps make sense of it.
McDonagh was dropped from a B to a C this fall. But your right, there does seem to be some incongruity in their top 50 prospects list. When looking at individual team rankings, players with a B who are a half point below a player with a C are usually ranked above the C player. I know this is getting ridiculously particular.
i'm not worried about fisher..after seeing him in the rookie development camp..he's an excellent skater, and good puckhandler...he's going to be a top 4, and a top pairing on some teams.
- we need a MARKOV.
I really don't care about how they rank rookies and prospects. Call me when they produce IN the NHL. To me our top prospect is PK Subban and even he has to prove himself on the big stage before we start the parade.
If you don't care about ranking prospects, why do you rank Subban as your #1?
Nice job again Steve,
Indeed, this game tonight will let us know how well we are implementing and growing into Jacques Martin's system.
there's a good chance i might be missing my first hockey game of the year...i've got a major midterm on monday that i haven't had a chance to start studying for cause my lovely university has saturday afternoon midterms that i must tend to later today.
but i hope gaborik gets injured when he tries to outskate gomez for a chase on a loose puck...gaborik pulls his groin and realizes the speedy mexican is just faster.
on another note...gaborik doesn't backcheck...he can't handle that extra skating...so we have to watch out for him cherry picking.
- we need a MARKOV.
Off Topic but did anyone see the picture in the Gazette today
Gionta is in the "captains" spot in the Team Picture....
Fearless prediction.
Price to start.
BGL fights Brashear in the first 5 minutes.
No points for Higgy and his new hair-do (ugh!)
3 points for Cammy (1st Star).
4-3 habs. (might take a SO)
Drunk by 8:30.
Wrong. Jacques had a good night sleep and decided on Halak...
As Charles Wang of Islanders fame says: let's play hockey!
My take on the "controversy", in French. (actually inspired by Sean Gordon)
last year, I would be sweating with dread coming up to a game like this. or any other game in that matter.
Now, Can't wait!
and has anyone else noticed: metro in we win, metro out we lose?
Gio!
Its been such a long time since we had a youth come on the team and have an immediate impact like Del Zotto in NY...I know this is silly but is it possible -given the climate that is playing in MTL- that the veterans dont do what they should to help the youth?
Cat, we are 10 games in, can't we wait to see if Del Zotto has an impact for at least half a season before we make such claims?
Sergei came in two years ago and had an immediate impact for over half a season. Heck, D'Agostini's first ten games last year made him seem like he was ready to tear it up. Halek had quite an impact in his first stretch, as did O'Byrne.
Give things time before we jump to conclusions about the colour of other teams' grasses.
Don't get too excited ovcer Del Zatto. When you fail so many years in a row you're bound to get it right once. That's about it for the Rags.
The Rags had an unreal easy schedule to start the season. The true rags will show up Saturday night. Shut down Gaborik, and they are done!
They call me Shane
"The Rags had an unreal easy schedule to start the season. The true rags will show up Saturday night. Shut down Gaborik, and they are done!"
!!??!!
The Rangers have played 10 games, with games against pre-season favourites Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Washington and San Jose plus a couple of games against the always tough Devils. I wouldn't call that an unreal easy schedule, despite the games against the Leafs, Sens and Kings.
If Habs fans want an easy schedule, they should look no further than the home team tonight.
Except they lost to Pittsburg and San Jose. Beat Washington who need a 185 shot bouncy goal to beat Atlanta, and Anaheim are playing worse than we were... And the Sens have only 2 loses this season, and of course the Kings and Leafs SUCK.
My point is the stats this early in the season don't mean anything. Not an easy schedule, but not a hard schedule... AND they didn't have to go out west for the first 2 weeks of their season. In fact they haven't been out west yet at all...
There may be other teams, but only ONE Club De Hockey...
Spin away. Coming into the season, those were considered the teams to beat. The Rangers have played 4 of them, and came away with a pair of wins.
Montreal has played two teams that were considered contenders this season (Calgary and Vancouver) and came away with nothing. Admittedly, those games were on the road.
But we are playing a cream-puff schedule right now, with 6 home games against 5 non-playoff teams from last year. The next week will be a good indication of where the Habs are: Rangers, Penguins and Blackhawks (plus a couple of home games against the Isles and Leafs). If they're back to .500 after that, I will start to feel better about this team.
I dont know about 'unreal easy' sholi. They played the leafs twice but those other games were pretty good teams.
I watched those games they won, the other teams hardly showed up.
They call me Shane
No, it's our development. Just not that good. --------------------------------------------------- `Could this team miss the playoffs? Who knows?' - Bob Gainey on the new Habs.
You can have your Stouffville boys Steve, I'll be watching the Guelph Storm alumni on the Rangers. Dan Girardi is a nice defenceman that can move the puck and has a decent shot. He's got the complete skill set to be a very good NHL defenceman, but has the benefit of not being called upon to do too much on a Rangers blue line that is stacked with young, quality players. When he does try to do too much, he can make some pretty horrific Brisebois-esque gaffes, so keeping him under pressure on the forecheck is pretty important.
And then there's Ryan Callahan. I loved this kid when he played here in Guelph. He has a motor that simply refuses to stop. Good speed, knows how to score (52 goals in 62 games in his final season in Guelph, when he played on a line with Matt D'Agostini, and 35 goals in 60 games in his first season in the AHL), very responsible defensively, great leadership...he's got a great skill set and was brought up slowly and patiently in New York, splitting time in the AHL and the NHL in his first two years before potting 22 goals in his third season last year. The remarkable thing? On a team full of minuses, Callahan was a strong +7, buoyed in part by scoring 19 of his 22 goals at even-strength (one other goal was short-handed). With additional power-play time this season, Callahan could break out.
Thanks for the summary Steve. I didn't realize the Rangers had retooled to that extent in the off season. Sounds like a big gamble to me with Gaborik's injury history and Prospal's inconsistencies. But then, BG has gambled as well. So far, I'd take Gomez over Gaborik. No way Gaborik makes it through the season. The Rangers seem well stocked for the future though.
Anyone have a link to watch the game tonigt?
New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens
Click on the link above to get the game tonight
I hope Gaborik stays Healthy. I have him in my pool!
Sorry - I kinda Hope Gomez or Gionta cough on him & he's injured for the rest of the season ;) :P
Does anyone know whether the pre-game skate is in Brossard or at the Bell? Time?
Its at the bell.. not sure the time.
In Gainey We Trust!
Interesting article on how the OHL is dominating the NHL entry draft these days. I wonder how Bob Sirois feels about it:-) The morning paper had a breakdown chart of how players have been drafted (by league) since the year 200, but I can't seem to find it on the Star webpage.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/juniorhockey/article/715512--ohl-churning-out-nhl-players
Steve,
i believe this is a nonissue. Has Sirois never heard of globalization? This is akin to GM saying no one buys our cars like they used to in North America. No difference, provide what the consumer " NHL" requires and they will buy.
Agreed. I posted a chart that I made up showing the first two rounds of the entry draft since Gainey took over in 2003. Unfortunately, I can't find it. The gist of it was that we have only missed out on two French players in the past seven years. Bergeron in 2003 and Giroux in 2006.
Geez, their archives go back a long way!
Fred - LMAO. It might have been a typo or maybe I just included that number so Mike Boone could recall his youth!
The quality of the OHL games has really improved in recent years. It used to feature a lot of the things you expect in junior hockey: pretty goals, slack defensive play and brawls when the score differential was two or more.
But the Guelph Storm-Oshawa Generals game I caught last night was more representative of the style of play the past few seasons. Fast hockey, great goaltending and some great offensive skills on display, with a lot less of the goonery on display.
The Storm are a representative team of this improvement in the OHL as a pipeline of NHL players. Despite featuring a number of quality NHL draft picks, such as Peter Holland (16th overall, 2009), Taylor Beck (70th, 2009), Michael Latta (72nd, 2009), Ben Chiarot (120th, 2009), Matt Kennedy (131st, 2009), Adam Comrie (80th, 2008) and Corey Syvret (181st, 2007), they are still considered a significant long-shot to make it out of the OHL to the Memorial Cup. The London Knights, Kitchener Rangers and Windsor Spitfires are all loaded with talent and angling for a Memorial Cup run.
I was thinking 4-3 habs as well.
Despite the losses, I like what I see from these guys. Character and effort will eventually rise above and bring results (see 1993).
I think the most noticable change this year is coaching. Carbo just wasn't quick/experienced enough to outwit another coach. The Count's (love that avatar whoever you are) "tweaks" during the games are usually very effective and his TOI distribution is more in line with NHL coaching, not houseleague. Most of the 5 losses were due to moments of ineffectiveness or mistakes made by the 4th line. Martin shuffled the deck and the 3rd and 4th lines are now less of a liability - Metros return helps that even more so.
Gionta was my early choice for captain, but I think that Gomez has the sense of humour and personality to be a great choice for MTL. He doesn't seem take anything seriously and deflects the media well with his quick jokes before they can offend. I also think he has quickly proven that he has qualities that others follow - works hard, talks on the bench, and doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. The trade initially annoyed me, but you have to give to get.
i agree , the team seems to have lifted itself back into the zone it was in 2 years ago, at least temporarilily .
Agreed except the Gomez for captain part. Not only did he provoke SK73 by invading Kamchatka, its rumored that his knife cut Markov's foot. I see him as a divisive element on the team. ;-)
Funny how rumors get taken seriously.
You have a good arguement about the Kamchatka invasion. However, if you check out Four habs Fans, you will really see why Gomez is key to our turnaround. Without his heritage, we don't have the best line name in years:
http://fourhabsfans.blogspot.com/
LOL Thanks for that link sag. Ah carumba!
I give the FHF link to friends as much as HIO. One for information and the other for great laughs...hard to believe these guys are busy lawyers and they still find the time to write daily. If you are really bored, check out their arichives for Ribero stuff.
An informative report , albeit through rose coloured glasses.
Gaborik for Gomez...the latter is a leader and durable...the former a scorer with an eggshell physique.
Higgins was overrated and the others may never play an NHL game.
Their D is impressively young...well we know where that goes in mid deason. Redden is not the rock to hold it together.
Avery is most often a sideshow/distratction.
Prospal bounces around the league like a lacrosse ball.
Drury, I agree ,is past his prime.
This is not a team that will make a run at Stanley 2010 -2012. Prospects?? Go ahead roll the dice!
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." (anon)
Thank you for the inciteful post. Where I live, I see more of the Rangers than I need to, and I agree with your observations.
As I posted the other night, this is a watershed game for us, to show that we can defeat a team that is "A" list competition.
LOL I don't think 24 Cups is trying to incite anyone, but its a helpful analysis all the same.
How about "insightful"? I was offering a compliment and ended up with a non intended pun. My error.
(Glad to see the school teachers stick together anyway)
Montreal 4, New York 3
The wheels are beginning to roll.