Tank's Take March 28, 2003

Broadway Flop

The biggest long running failure on Broadway is about to go on hiatus again without the playoffs. For 6 straight years the New York Rangers have had the highest payroll in the NHL and have failed to even come close to making the playoffs. No matter what the Rangers have done it has failed. They have gone through 5 Coaches, and 2 General Managers, and the results have remained the same. They have signed big name free agents, and made blockbuster trades, yet the results have been the same; a listless, heartless, dull and boring team that can't win a big game to save their lives.

This year the Rangers have not only failed in big games against top playoff contenders, but they have alos lost to teams at the bottom of the NHL as they have endured a season sweep against the Buffalo Sabres, and need a win Saturday to avoid the same fate against the Atlanta Thrashers. However, perhaps the worst loss came Wednesday when they lost to a Pittsburgh Penguins team on a 16-game winless streak at home 3-1, a loss that sealed the coffin on and threw the first shovel of dirt on the 2002/03 Rangers season.

The Rangers failures go back to 1997 when they made the Eastern Conference Finals and were dominated by the Philadelphia Flyers. Mark Messier was a Free Agent, and the Rangers who had signed Wayne Gretzky the previous season assumed he would resign. Meanwhile Garden Management worked tirelessly to sign Patrick Ewing to an $18-million dollar a year deal for the Knicks. The Rangers would continue to make Messier wait as they pursued Free Agents like Mike Keen, and Brian Skrudland. When it came time to negotiate with Messier the Rangers were trying to sign restricted Free Agent Joe Sakic, and low-balled their captain. Angry, and feeling he had been taken for granite Messier would sign with the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers would attempt to sign Sakic, but had their deal matched by the Colorado Avalanche who were desperate to keep their captain. .

Without Messier the Rangers entered the 1997/98 season with Brian Leetch as the team Captain, and Colin Campbell as their coach. In truth the previous few season Campbell was less a figure head, as Mark Messier was almost at times player coach. Bad habits would be formed that season with the Rangers trying a finesse style that clearly did not work, as the team finished nearly 20 points out of the playoffs, as Campbell was fired near the end of the season.

In 1998/99 the Rangers assumed they would bounce back under Coach John Muckler. However, they were sadly mistaken as they finished 13 points out of the playoffs as Wayne Gretzky had his NHL swan song without the postseason encore.

With Gretzky retiring, the Rangers were at a crossroads. Either scrap the team to start rebuilding with youth or keep their aging foundation and try to fix the deep wound with the band-aid of free agency. The signing of Theo Fleury and the trade of Marc Savard showed the Rangers felt they were still a playoff team. Fleury was an instant failure as the Rangers continued to play listless passionless hockey, missing the playoffs again. This time it cost both GM Neil Smith and Coach John Muckler his job.

To replace Smith the Rangers brought in Hall of Famer Glen Sather who had coached the Edmonton Oilers dynasty. He knew what it took to build a franchise. One of his first moves was to bring back Mark Messier. Once again the Rangers were at a crossroads despite the return of Messier they could have used his leadership abilities to help a young team learn how to win. Instead they kept relying on the veteran who had failed over the past 3 seasons, as Goalie Mike Richter began to break down physically

After missing the playoffs for the 4th straight season the Rangers were at another crossroads, as they traded away Adam Graves for prospects. However, it was more restructuring of an old foundation, as they traded away youth for Eric Lindros, gambling the concussion prone star would return to his MVP form. A mistake the Rangers had already made 3 years earlier when they signed Free Agent Pat LaFontaine.

At first it looked as if Lindros would return to his MVP form as the Rangers were in first place as late as December. However, under Coach Kevin Lowe discipline was an issue as players like Theo Fluery took countless bad penalties, exposing the Rangers porous defense. Making matters worse Lindros would sustain a minor concussion around New Years, and would play scared hockey the rest of the way as the Rangers faded and missed the playoffs again. As the season wound down the Rangers start to concentrate on the following season by acquiring Pavel Bure, another top star with a history of injuries.

The Rangers continued to retool as they declined the option on Fleury's contract, and gave Bobby Holik and Darius Kasperitius big money deals. They would also enter the season with a new Coach in Brian Trottier. However, it was clear early that it would not work as Trottier was ill suited to coach, and the team built on brittle stars crumbled early. Missing significant time was Pavel Bure, Brian Leetch, and Mike Richter who was lost in November to a concussion.

To replace Richter the Rangers dealt for Goalie Mike Dunham. The Dunham deal was one of the few deals that worked. However, Sather desperate to make the playoffs continued to make moves acquiring Alexei Kovalelv, and Anson Carter while jumping behind the bench himself. All has not worked, as the Rangers are doomed to failure again.

It's been like one endless repeat it has almost became predictable. The Rangers will show flashes at times, but when the chips are down they will fail time and time again. Part of the Problem with Rangers is management dose not understand that you need more then big name players to win as quite often the true backbone of a Stanley Cup Contender are the nameless role players who contribute quietly, and only those knowledgeable about hockey notice A prime example would be Ken Daneyko who has never had big numbers yet has been a vital part of 2 Stanley Cup teams with New Jersey Devils.

What is surprising is the Rangers and Sather should know this in that Esa Tikkanen was just as important to the Rangers 1994 cup as Mark Messier, as well as one of the most important players on the Oilers dynasty. The Rangers have a number of goal scorers like Bure, Lindros and Kovalev. However, they don't have the playmakers that set up the goal scorers as the Rangers try to score every goal on a fancy pass or fancy footwork. Until Anson Carter came in a few weeks ago the Rangers had not had a player willing to take hits to work the puck deep often they would just dump the puck in to the offensive zone, hoping to chase it down and score.

Glen Sather should know better this does not work. You need the tough guys too. You need the grunt players. Though full of stars the Rangers parts are clearly greater then the sum.

The Rangers need not look far for an example how to do things right as the New Jersey Devils have been constantly one of the top teams over the last 6 years with a team made up of interchangeable parts. With a tight budget the Devils have stayed near the top bring in new players like Joe Nieuwendyk and letting key players like Bobby Holik go, yet they have stayed near the top with Goalie Martin Brodeur and defenseman Scott Stevens as the backbone. However, what keeps the Devils near the top are the countless role players like Ken Daneyko, and John Madden. The Devils sum is greater then their parts, and they will be going to the playoffs again, and will have to be considered a top contender for the Stanley Cup yet again.

Following the season the Rangers will not be at a crossroad. Their path is already laid out. They must now try and make a team out of their collection of high priced stars. The only move they can make is to bring in a Coach that will make it work, a coach that will force some of the stars into becoming the role players. A Coach that will improve the defense and make the players take responsibility when they show up and give a halfhearted effort like Wednesday against the Penguins. That coach is Mike Keenan. Though Coaching the Florida Panthers the Rangers need to bring him back. Keenan has practically lobbied for the job, and will jump at the opportunity to return to the team he led to the Stanley Cup in 1994. Getting him away form the Panthers has to be the off-season priority, allowing Keenan to rework the team and end the embarrassment the Rangers have become.