If you had to guess what the sweetest dream for a citizen of Rangerville would be tonight, it certainly would be to have his Blueshirts as a reasonable facsimile of the Florida Panthers.
Forget the dream. Consider how far away in the Ranger rebuild they are from the Cup champs? (And don't tell me "Three Continents" although that might be a bullseye.)
For a reasonable answer, I needed to find an expert close to both teams and that had to be Al Greenberg. He's been a Rangers fan since Don Raleigh wore the captain's "C" and – as a Floridian – he's been chronicling the Cats for the past couple of decades.
"Okay, Big Al," I insisted, "compare the two - are the Blueshirts even close?" Usually, The Maven's hockey wish is Greenberg's icy command; but not this time.
"I can't do it," he shot back, stunning me to the very core. But before I demanded an answer, he beat me to it.
"It's difficult to do a position by position comparison between a Cup-winner and an Also-Ran." Then a pause: "Make that, with the possible exception of Vincent Trocheck and J.T.Miller." Then another pause:
"And what Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad should be."
If the Panthers have a flaw it's as invisible as The Shadow. The Rangers are so flawed, we don't know where to start although Chris Drury already has begun the rebuild where it's most needed, on the blue line.
But how well the new guys such as Slava Gavrikov and Scott Morrow evolve remains to be seen. Personally, The Maven is bullish about Morrow. The Hockey News Yearbook offers this scouting report:
"Great skater with top unit power play upside."
I like that – but will we love it in October? Maybe yes, maybe no.
The best way to judge the Rangers vs. The Champs is to see how close YOU believe the Rangers are to Greenberg's final assessment of his Panthers. Or, Sean McCaffrey's of Blue Collar Blue Shirts.
What To Make Of The Rangers' Offseason Moves
It's Friday, folks, and time for the "Ask The Maven Frenzy." Today's question comes from Moe Manvogle of Manhattan. Take it away, Moe:
"Florida functions as a team; not a bunch of individuals," Greenberg concludes. "Sam Reinhart led the team in scoring, and he was 24th in the NHL."
McCaffrey: "What I like about the Cats is that they are pure 'eye test', and grit and 'sheis' on your team!"
Bottom Line: Time will tell!