Maybe in hindsight it was too good to be true. For the last twenty years, Rangers fans always had the satisfaction of knowing that no matter how bad things got, at least ownership stayed the hell out of it. James Dolan's fixation with his beloved Knicks gave the Blueshirts the cover they needed to operate under the radar, free from any interference.
Well not anymore. Dolan, who single-handedly turned one of the premier franchises in the NBA into a laughingstock, apparently found out that he also owns the hockey team currently residing in the same building. So Wednesday afternoon, the man who thinks he knows something about professional sports, decided to fire team President John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton.
I'll get around to the ramifications of this house cleaning and what it means for the organization going forward in just a bit, but first, I gotta talk about the Wilson situation.
I've been a fan of hockey since I was a teenager. I've made no secret of the fact that this sport, when it's played well, is one of the most exciting sports to watch. But that's the caveat: "when it's played well." Because all too often, this sport that I love has been dragged into the mud.
47 years ago this Wednesday, Dave Schultz pummeled Dale Rolfe in game seven of the 1974 semifinals at the Spectrum. The Broadstreet Bullies, as the Flyers were known back then, were notorious for beating up their opponents. Just think the movie "Slapshots" only worse, because unlike the fictional team that was a bunch of vagabonds, the real-life team managed to win consecutive Stanley Cups in the mid-'70s. Indeed, they would've won three in a row had it not been for the '76 Canadiens who were too quick for the plodding Flyers.
The NHL would have you believe that they've made great strides since those dark days. Goons like Dave Schultz have been banished and the league no longer tolerates such behavior. Really? Tell that to Artemi Panarin, the 170 pound Rangers winger who was picked up like a rag doll by 220 pound Capitals winger Tom Wilson and slammed to the ice Monday night. It was a miracle that Panarin did not hit the ice head first or he might very well have cracked his skull open.
The circus that occurred at the Garden two nights later, which saw over a hundred minutes in penalties doled out between the Rangers and the Capitals, is a direct result of the league not dealing with Wilson the way it should have. Wilson, at the very least, should've been suspended for ten games. Instead, all he got was a $5,000 fine. What would Wilson have gotten if Panarin had been hospitalized, two tickets to a Broadway show?
If this is the NHL that Gary Bettman believes has made great strides, no wonder it isn't taken seriously by sports networks like ESPN. As far as I can remember, hockey has been mired in last place; a distant fourth behind football, basketball and baseball. It is garbage like this that is partly responsible.
Name another professional sports league that allows its stars to be brutalized the way the NHL does. Go ahead, I'll wait. Do you know what would happen if an opposing player grabbed LeBron James by the neck and threw him to the court or picked up Tom Brady and drove him head first into the turf? I can tell you exactly what would happen. That player would be pumping gas at an Exxon station. His career in that league, or any other league for that matter, would be over. In the NHL, not only doesn't that happen, deep down the league actually encourages it. As Sean Gentille sadly and correctly pointed out in The Athletic, "This is a feature, not a bug."
And that "feature" gives league officials like George Parros, Director of Player Safety - an oxymoron if ever there was one - the excuse they need to look the other way. Seriously, putting Parros in charge of player safety is like putting an elephant in charge of peanut distribution. The man scored 18 goals and racked up 1092 penalty minutes in 474 games. To put that in perspective, Nick Fotiu had 60 goals and 1,362 minutes in penalties over 646 games. Think about that.
A goon in charge of player safety and a commissioner giving a wink and a nod to behavior unbecoming a professional sports league. What's it gonna take for the NHL to wake up, a tragedy? We came dangerously close to that happening Monday night. Artemi Panarin, thankfully, didn't suffer a serious injury. The next player might not be so fortunate.
Now onto Dolan.
This is the most bat-shit crazy thing this organization has done since Phil Esposito fired Michel Bergeron with two games left in the 1988-89 season. In fact, it's even crazier. At least that year, the Rangers were going to the playoffs, and Esposito felt that Bergeron had lost control of the team. This year's team, while still mathematically alive for a playoff spot going into Wednesday, was literally on life support. To put it bluntly, I'd have had a better shot of scoring a hat trick than the Blueshirts had of making the postseason, and I can't even skate.
Clearly, Dolan did not like what he was seeing and felt he couldn't wait until the end of the season to make a change. And as I pointed out in an earlier piece, there was a lot to be concerned about. This team, for all its talent, does not have the foot soldiers necessary to contend in today's NHL. Leaving aside the Wilson incident, the fact that they get pushed around by bigger teams like the Islanders and Bruins is a red flag that must be addressed. The last three games against the Islanders in which the team got outscored 13-1 was probably the breaking point for Dolan.
So where do we go from here? First off, the announcement that Chris Drury is taking over in the dual role of President and GM is good news. Drury has been in the organization for the last six years and was hand-picked by Gorton. He knows the personnel and is widely respected around the league. Indeed, the fact that he was interviewed for two GM spots - Pittsburgh and Florida - bodes well for the Rangers.
The problem here is the owner. Is he going to give Drury the time and space he needs to fix what's wrong? Or is he going to meddle like he did with the Knicks and really fuck things up? Time will tell which it is. If it's the former, then this should work; if it's the latter, expect a repeat of the nightmare we've seen with the Knicks over the last two decades.
Regarding David Quinn, it's 50 / 50 whether he'll be back. Coaches that go three seasons without making the postseason - and apparently last year's play-in round against the Hurricanes didn't count as a playoff appearance - typically don't survive. Don't be surprised if Drury replaces Quinn. The question is with whom? Kris Knoblauch has done an outstanding job with the Hartford Wolf Pack this year and he was behind the bench with Drury for a few games earlier this season when Quinn and his coaching staff were sidelined with Covid.
If Drury decides to go outside the organization, one possible candidate could be Arizona Coyotes' head coach Rick Tocchet, who is unsigned past this season. While the Coyotes have underperformed, most of that is due to a lack of offensive talent. Defensively, the team has been in the top six two of the last four years, and last season it beat the Predators in the play-in round.
As far as the personnel is concerned, Drury will have to thread a needle between the talent he has and the muscle he needs. It's a delicate balance, but this team cannot take the ice next season without significant changes and they will have to come via trade and/or free agency. Thankfully, Gorton didn't make any senseless trades at the deadline. That means Drury will have a boatload of cap space with which to work with during the offseason. And with several teams at or above the cap, the Rangers should be in a position to sign one or more players.
One of those players is Blake Coleman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. An unrestricted free agent, the 29 year old earned $1.8 million this year and is a solid two-way forward who can play center or either wing. He scored 13 goals in a shortened season, and at 200 pounds, he'd be a perfect fit on either the second or third lines. Drury could offer him a four-year deal at $4.5 million per and the Lightning would be hard-pressed to match it.
I would also re-sign Brendan Smith to a one-year contract. The 32 year-old defenseman has proven his worth down the stretch, and until Braden Schneider is ready to take his spot on the third defensive pairing, Smith is more than capable. Plus I like the way he took on Wilson Wednesday night. It takes balls to go up against a 220 pound opponent who 48 hours earlier almost put one of your teammates in the hospital. Good for him.
Speaking of defensemen, the St. Louis Blues are up against the cap and Vince Dunn, who's making $1.875 million, is a restricted free agent after this season. Did I forget to mention he also weighs 200 pounds? The Rangers could offer the Blues Zac Jones and next year's number one for him. A four-year deal for $5 million per should get it done.
Center ice is a huge question mark for this team. Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome are both entering their walk years. Do the Rangers keep both, one, or neither? Zibanejad is making $5.3 million and will command a huge increase. Strome at $4.75 isn't going to be cheap either. The smart move is to trade one of them. And what about Flip Chytil? Is he ready to take over as the second-line center? If not, what can the Rangers get for him? And what about Morgan Barron? The kid scored his first goal of the season against the Caps Wednesday night, and at 220 pounds, he could be just what the doctor ordered. Or he could be a bust. It will be up to Drury to figure out who stays and who leaves.
And lastly, some final words on Davidson and Gorton. While the rebuild was overall a success, it was not without its share of mistakes. The decision to re-sign Tony DeAngelo during the offseason, as I wrote back in February, was "indefensible." It showed an utter lack of judgement on the part of both men. DeAngelo's tweets and his track record with past teams were problematic even before the defenseman took a swing at his own goaltender. Fortunately, the organization will be able to get rid of most of the cap hit when they buy him out this summer, as DeAngelo is under 26.
Then there's the draft. Leaving aside Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko, who were no-brainers, some of Gorton's draft picks left something to be desired, as well. A few, like Lias Andersson, have been outright busts, and some just lack the physical size to compete with other NHLers. Take Vitali Kravtsov, for instance. Yes, the Russian winger is talented, but the same year the Rangers drafted him, the Islanders nabbed Oliver Wahlstrom out of Maine. Kravtsov is 189 pounds; Wahlstrom is 205. Seeing a pattern? Drury has to stop this love affair with European players. As gifted as many of them are, the Rangers simply have too many of them. A steady diet of North American players over the next couple of years should help cleanse the system.
The season is over come Saturday. The rebuild will now be a retool. Rangers' fans will have to wait and see if Chris Drury is the man who can turn this young, promising team into a bonafide contender.
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