Rangers Hoping for a Soft Landing

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

2012-13 NEW YORK RANGERS PREVIEW

Summer 2012 was, frankly, an insane period in the Rangers front office. After last season's early playoff exit, everyone expected big changes across the board -- the on-ice product, as well as behind the bench. So no one was surprised at the number of pre-draft trades Rangers GM Pat Webber pulled off, nor at the revolving door parade of three-piece suits in and out of the team's New York offices. The team was getting old, the playoffs were looking more dubious each year, and the prospect pool was paper-thin. Last season's springtime swoon was the final nail, with the team winning just 3 times over a 20 game stretch at one point. Even a last-minute turnaround, sealing a playoff spot, was not enough to stave off the vultures.

Let's break down the events of the summer, trade for trade, move for move:

Player Trades:

Seb Wannstrom, Mikael Salmivirta, and Ryan Callahan to Dallas for David Booth and Eric Brewer

Kimmo Timonen to NY Islanders for a 2012 third and a fifth

Simon Gagne to Nashville for two 2012 second round picks

Marc Staal to New Jersey for Johnny Oduya and NY Rangers 1st in 2013

Michael Del Zotto, Patrick Marleau, and a pick to Minnesota for Tom Kuehnhackl, a 2012 first and two 2013 firsts

Paul Kariya to Florida for San Jose's 2nd round pick in 2013

A total of six trades involving significant assets from last year's team. (Plus two minor trades involving prospects, and several draft-day moves involving picks only, not listed above.) Nine players from the squad departed via trade. Toss in several more season-end regulars who were either released or not re-signed (Colin White, John Vandermeer, John Erskine), and you've got one hellacious make-over going on. By the time the dust settled and the draft was complete, Webber had stockpiled an amazing seventeen draft picks, as well as adding three first round picks for 2013.

In addition to the on-ice personnel movements, major upheaval also occurred behind the bench. Head coach John Tortorella was thanked for his (vocal) efforts leading the team, but was not renewed following the season. Soon afterward, Webber announced that Connecticut Whale head coach Mike O'Connell was being promoted to the big club to become the thirty-fourth head coach in the team's history. Also up from the AHL, former Rangers great Brian Leetch was brought in to be O'Connell's chief assistant coach. Brad Shaw was claimed from hockey coach oblivion to be the new head of The Whale, and Mike Sullivan and Rick Kehoe were tabbed as his assistants.


Breaking down the team, unit-by-unit:

FORWARDS: Obviously the scene of the biggest changes, as six players have moved on since the end of the last term, including half of the top six. Gagne, Marleau, and Kariya made significant contributions to the club and will be missed, but their ages and salaries made them easy targets for the chopping block. Trades brought bruiser forward David Booth and silky (but lightweight) scorer Tom Kuehnhackl to the club. Booth should contribute right away, most likely on a grinding second line. Kuehnhackl is a longer-term project, but will stick with the club and see some power play time, as he gets stronger and develops something of a defensive game to his capable offensive abilities.

Free agency brought in vets RJ Umberger and Travis Moen. Umberger will play on the top line, where he should thrive alongside holdovers Artem Anisimov and P-M Bouchard. Moen will be a grinder and penalty killer, and will likely rotate along the bottom two lines with Brian Sutherby, Dane Byers, Sami Pahlsson, Trent Hunter, and Jim Slater. Jason Arnott enters what will likely be his final go-round with the club on the second line, and has been moved back to center. He'll play with Booth and Martin Hanzal on a chippy line that O'Connell hopes will produce some decent secondary scoring. The wild card in the bunch is rookie Mikka Salomaki, coming off a solid debut season in the AHL. He's penciled in to the third line right now, but his scoring and skating ability could see him move up, especially in case of injuries or lack of performance on the lines above him. His only drawback is his casual indifference to physical play; but unlike many other 19-year olds in the EHEC, he's strong enough to withstand the grind of the regular season. Kuehnhackl is the only other under-25 forward, but he does not classify as a rookie after 56 games with the Wild last season.

DEFENSE: Half of last year's starting six are now gone, including three of the top four players. All this means an increased role and more pressure for holdover Ryan McDonagh. He's solid at both ends and is still developing, so this unit will be relying on him to lead the way. Rusty Klesla is the only other returning D who saw significant time last year. He too will play strong roles at both ends, and be a major contributor on special teams. The unknown factor is how well the newcomers will mesh within the unit -- trades brought in Brewer and Oduya, and free agency sees the arrival of Anton "Bomb" Babchuk. All three can contribute at both ends, and will be counted on for heavy special teams duty. The sixth spot will rotate, for now, between rookies Michael Sauer (more offense) and Maxim Shuvalov (more defense). Both spent the season in the AHL, with Shuvalov getting a late-season call-up, although he never made the ice.

GOAL: Once again the alpha and omega for this team will be in net. Henrik Lundqvist enters his eighth campaign with the club, and will be leaned on like never before. The squad's (thin) playoff hopes likely rest on his shoulders. Again. Backing him up this year will be rookie Liam Liston, who beat out last year's number two, Daniel Larsson. Should Liston falter, however, Larsson will be up quickly. His numbers from last year prove that he's a capable backup.

IN THE WINGS: Despite having seventeen picks in the latest draft, the team did not manage to move up into the elite top part of the first round. Which means that no youngsters from the latest draft will be on the top team going in to the season. GM Webber did, however, more than fully address the team's lack of prospect depth, which is bound to happen when you essentially draft an entire roster at one sitting. The AHL squad will, however, have two 20-year olds taken in this draft: forwards Samuel Walser and Jordan Martinook. For now, only one underager from 2012 is in Connecticut: fourth rounder Samuel Fejes. Other rookies looking to make an impact in the AHL this year are recent picks Jason Clark, Kenneth Agostino, and Josiah Didier. None are expected to be stars, but all should become solid role players, the kind of talent that fills out an EHEC roster and allows the stars to shine. Add to the mix unexpected free agent find Cameron Gaunce, and two more players the Rangers hope still have room to grow, forwards Jimmy Hayes and Brad Malone. First call-ups will likely go to the last cuts in camp -- forward Iiro Pakarinen and defenseman Nigel Williams. Pakarinen has the makings of a solid penalty killer and faceoff whiz, while Williams is a bruiser who saw limited action with the big club last year.


2012-13 OUTLOOK:
In short, not too good. Webber predicts the team will most likely miss the playoffs, finishing around 10th in the East. There may be talent enough to threaten for the eighth spot, but Rangers fans are likely looking at one or two years in the wilderness as the team reloads for the future. And if the playoffs are looking less likely as the season wears on, don't expect the veteran leadership the squad still has in abundance to be on the roster in April.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

+5 Henrik Lundqvist
+5 Miikka Salomaki
+5 Jaynen Rissling