NHL Free Agency
I try to be objective here on The Blog of Champions, but once in a while, I want to write about my teams. Take the New York Rangers. Die-hard fan. And I want to express my thoughts. The Jagr era is over. It's sad, yes. But there's also a time to move on. This new team will feature the attacking mode, a style that has won the Cup in recent years. Detroit. Carolina. All the post-lockout teams that have won, win with an attacking style, something the Rangers lacked with Jagr and friends. And I'm excited for this new team. It'll take some getting used to, sure. But, when this team realizes its potential, which I don't think will take too long, it has Cup winner written all over it. Put on your seat-belts, Ranger fans. It's going to be a fun ride.
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July 5th, 2008 - 20:36
Yeah that Jagr is gone…he just didn’t seem like he was all he was cracked up to be. Look at how he fizzled out for Pittsburgh. And No. The Rangers are stuck in the cheap pay for player. Yagr never turned his frown upsidedown because he was looking for the cup on the cheap but not enough to change his attitude. The Rangers need to be willing to pay more people more money. When they do that…they will be better. I hope the best for you but you have to be willing to pay good skaters with great performances the price they need to get paid to perform.
July 6th, 2008 - 00:32
Well, inbodyexperience, I have to respectfully disagree. Jagr did everything to try and win a cup. Sure, he got greedy with the Russia deal. But wouldn’t you take 35 million in a heartbeat? Of course you would. No brainer. That said, I still think the Rangers spent a ton of money the past two offseasons. They brought in a ton of players, all who can skate. Which is what you need in this post-lockout league to win. I recommend just watching Scotty Gomez skate. He is the most fluid skater I have ever seen.
July 7th, 2008 - 02:11
Look at this situation from the perspective of Jagr. He has maybe 3 years of high-level hockey left in him. Of course he is going to take the big contract to secure his future, since he is going to enter retirement soon. I am glad he is taking care of himself and his family. Too many athletes go broke, right when their professional careers end.
As for the Rangers, well I like there plan. They have almost all the ingredients for a cup challenger: top goalie, offensive D-men (Redden, Rosival, Staal), and prolific offensemen. The only thing they are missing at this point, maybe Drury and Gomez are the guys, is a Superstar: Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Iginla, and E. Staal come to mind.
July 7th, 2008 - 19:22
i dont get how you think the rangers are a better team now than they were last season. avery is a big loss, as is jagr. redden is not worth close to 6.5 mil, and naslund has little left. the only solid move made was acquiring zherdev. basically the rangers continued on an old trend of signing old, diminished superstars, and overpaying for them. not to mention that it was evident in the second half of the season that teams have figured out that they can score on lundqvist if they shoot high.
also, paying rosival 5 mil a season is a terrible move, which just further creates future cap problems. at best the rangers finish 3rd in the atlantic behind pittsburgh, and either philly or new jersey.
July 8th, 2008 - 02:23
John, while I don’t disagree about the signings of the older players, I do disagree that they aren’t a better team. They’ve made efforts to quicken the pace on the ice. The defenseman make quick outlet passes to the speedy forwards. That’s how the game is played. You need the speed, the relentless pressure, to have consistent winning. This is something the Rangers did not do last year. They were too east-west. This year, they will be more north-south.