No Rangers fan has followed the Blueshirts closer than Al Greenberg, a graduate of Flatbush roller hockey who now covers the NHL from Florida.
A member of The Maven's esteemed Hockey Roundtable, Big Al offers the following take on the Rangers and how to fix the sick Blueshirts. Take it away, Big Al.
"The Rangers need a captain – a strong leader and strong personality who will be with the team for a while; such as J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck. Either can be the rah-rah guy when the coach loses the ears of the team.
"They also need rugged defensemen to replace Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren and more toughness up front. Matt Rempe is a fighter but not yet a proven NHL player although – if he stays out of the penalty box – he can be a real asset if used right. He's hard to move out of the crease area.
"As for pure talent, the Rangers have almost the same nucleus that took them to the Presidents' Trophy. Players like that don't all collectively deteriorate overnight. Repeat: Leadership is missing.
"They also need a front office overhaul. Drury no longer has the team's respect and hasn't done a great job. As for coaching, they need a young, bright guy who can relate to the players. Look at how good the Capitals are under Spencer Carbury. He inherited a non-playoff team; took them to the Wild Card the first year and now to the top of the Met Division."
MAVEN'S REACTION:
1. I'll take Trocheck over J.T. for captaincy.
2. Right about the need for tough defensemen.
3. Wrong about Rempe. Laviolette totally mis-played him – Matt got hardly any minutes when he did get in – last season and Drury buried him in Hartford part of this year.
4. Right about the need for a front office shake up, but it won't happen. Drury has a lock on owner Jim Dolan as well as the media. Lavv=out. Drury=rebuilder whether fans like it or not!
