Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesIf you REALLY want to know where the Rangers will finish next season, take the The Maven's advice;
1. Don't believe the papers.
2. Don't buy a Ouija Board or a Magic Globe.
3. But, please check out the one and only very insightful and excellent writer Bryan Reilly.
He's the author of one of my all-time favorite hockey books: "The Last Original Ranger of New York."
In his novel, deft craftsman that he is, Reilly blends Blueshirt fact with fiction. This is one scribe who has the rare talent to enable the reader to feel as if he is, in fact, an Original Ranger Murray Murdoch's teammate.
But I digress. I'm here to award Reilly The Maven's Annual Best Prediction of 2025-26 Prize, a wooden medal and two cups of any coffee but Tim Horton's. More accurate than columnists on the dailies or internet, Bryan was first and the best.
Here are a few of Bryan's words written before the start of last season.
GEM ONE: "I approach the campaign with dread. The team's 100th anniversary season may be one to forget."
GEM TWO: "Defense? I'm not convinced this blue line is even an improvement over last year's shaky group. Beyond Fox and Gavrikof, the depth is questionable."
GEM THREE: "Offense? Pamarin, Trocheck, Miller Lafreniere, Cuylle, Zibanejad? A Cup- contending Top Six? No!"
GEM FOUR: "Goaltending? If Igor isn't lights-out, we're staring down the barrel of two straight years without playoff hockey at the Garden."
Pal Reilly batted a thousand; who could ask for anything more?
(Well, actually, you can. Order a copy of "The Last Original Ranger of New York." Hot Tip: you don't have to root for the Blueshirts to love it!)