2011/2012 NHL Team Preview: New York Rangers
The New York Rangers want to believe they’ve drastically improved entering the 2011-12 season. Already a gritty, defensively sound team, they knew they needed offensive help, so they went out and bagged the top free agent available: Brad Richards.
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But the ghosts of horrible signings like Bobby Holik, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez haunt Madison Square Garden. Will Richards break the curse or will he become just the latest expensive bust to sink the Broadway Blueshirts?
NEW YORK RANGERS
Stanley Cup odds: +3000
Not surprisingly, the Rangers finished as a top-five defensive team in the NHL last season. Henrik Lundqvist alone was enough to make them above-average at keeping pucks out of the net. A truly elite goaltender, the Swede led the NHL with 11 shutouts last season. There are few if any goalies as consistent as King Henrik from season to season.
Lundqvist has a hard-working supporting cast surrounding him. In Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan, the Rangers have two very effective two-way players, almost identical in their games. Both guys are huge, American power forwards, hard forecheckers and equally effective in the offensive and defensive zone. With Richards joining the fray, they won’t be depended on as the team’s primary scoring options any more. If a guy like Dubinsky gets to play more of a Ryan Kesler role, that’s a scary advantage for New York.
The Rangers’ defense corps lacks flair but it’s a hard-nosed group. Marc Staal has become an All-Star shutdown man and minutes eater; Dan Girardi is right up there with Dennis Seidenberg among hockey’s best shot blockers. New York didn’t add much in the way of depth this offseason, however. They also need more offense from the back end. Their revolving door of power-play quarterbacks in recent seasons includes Wade Redden (ugh), Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy. Failing to land a reliable puck mover should be viewed as a failure this offseason. [ad-4437448]
Similar to the Ilya Bryzgalov signing in Philly, the Richards deal is ugly in terms of its term and cap hit, but not in terms of its short-term effect. Assuming he can shake off the effects of a nasty concussion suffered last season, Richards should undoubtedly enhance the Rangers’ middling offense.
Richards isn’t the flashiest guy out there but he has elite vision and playmaking ability. The center has six 70-point seasons to his name and two campaigns of 90-plus points. He’ll help the power play and could turn Callahan into a 30-goal man in his sleep.
More importantly, the sky’s the limit for Marian Gaborik with Richards potentially lining up as his centerman. His injury-prone ways are frustrating but there are few better or faster natural goal scorers than Gabby. He’s never had a center remotely close to Richards feeding him. If he can score 40 with guys like Andre Brunette, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Vinny Prospal passing him the puck over the years, what will he tally with Richards? 60?
The New York Rangers aren’t an upper-echelon contending team but they look like a rock-solid group. They’re big, physical, defensively sound and anchored by phenomenal goaltending. With their offense set to improve this season, they have a shot at securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Prediction: 2nd, Atlantic Division
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