Here is what went wrong for the Rangers through their disappointing Eastern Conference Final series against the Panthers.
Here is what went wrong for the Rangers through their disappointing Eastern Conference Final series against the Panthers.
LESSON FOR GM CHRIS DRURY: You made a mistake, pal. You imported Dead Wood On Skates at the trade deadline. Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic, for starters. Pray, what did they do but get in the way?
Good players were available, starting with Jake Guentzel in Pittsburgh, not to mention Vlad Tarasenko who merely scored the winning goal in Game 6 turning the Rangers dream into a nightmare.
We don't know what the MSG high command will order – if not another sob-letter as in the past – but there are guidelines.
Interestingly, they are provided by the team – and its manager, Bill Zito – that vanquished the beloved Rangers.
My man in Florida, Alan Greenberg, has studied the Panthers transformation since Zito took control of the team a good decade or so ago. Here is a real plan for the Rangers by someone who cares about them.
"Drury and company have to do what Zito, et. al. did over the last two years. They had some hard decisions to make a good team better," says Greenberg. "Despite making it to the Final last year, the Panthers did a big turnover.
"Zito brought in Dmitry Kulikov, Oliver Edman-Larson, Niko Mikkola, Kevin Stenlund, and Anthony Stolarz on team-friendly deals. Guess what? They all exceeded expectations."
Hey, Chris, make some hard decisions. Zito made them; You shied away from big names and settled for non-entities who did nothing.
Writing in the New York Post, veteran hockey columnist Larry Brooks agrees in part with what Greenberg suggests – "hard decisions" must be made. Whether Drury follows through will depend on what his boss, MSG head Jim Dolan, decides. But don't expect another of the letters.
WHY TROUBA HAS TO GO? Even the staunchest members of the Jacob Trouba Fan Club have to admit that the Captain's playing graph plummeted from bad to worse during the Florida series.
Constantly out of position, the maker of bad passes and no help at all on offense, Trouba also was having a negative effect on K'Andre Miller whose series could best be described as mediocre.
To begin with, the captain's "C" should be removed from Jake's jersey and transferred to lifetime Ranger Chris Krieder. Next the general staff has to figure out what to do about Trouba' $8 million cap hit contract which has two more seasons to go.
Waiting too long in the wings, Zac Jones surely would be an improvement on Trouba even with his eyes closed. I daresay Connor Mackey as well.
And if they can't find anyone willing to deal for Trouba, slot him in as sixth D-man while hoping for the best. If they get the worst then – once and for all – buy him out!
WHAT GIVES WITH ADAM FOX? From the opening round against Washington through the boot out of Sunrise, one time Norris Trophy-winner Adam Fox looked more like Joe Nothing than the ace quarterback who once made the power play scary.
All we heard was "It's gotta be an injury because Foxy can't be THAT bad."
But he was THAT bad right down to the end; nor has the – Injury or not? – question has been answered. Ironically, the hope has to be that Foxy was playing while wounded and he'll be A-! next fall.
Heaven forbid that his game simply has deteriorated and it has nothing to do with injury.