Rangers Have the Opportunity of a Lifetime

The 2023 NHL postseason has certainly seen more than its fair share of surprises. As of last night, 43 playoff games have been played and the road team has won 27 of them. That comes out to a road winning percentage of 62.8. How unusual is that? Through the first round of last year's playoffs, the road team had won only 22 of a possible 51 games for a winning percentage of 43.1. Home cookin' it seems ain't all it's cracked up to be this postseason.

And that bodes well for a Rangers team that in a best of seven series against the New Jersey Devils, won its first two games on the road, then dropped the next two at home. In any other year, facing a game seven on the road, the Rangers would likely be polishing up their golf clubs, especially given that in ten road games last year, the Blueshirts won only twice. Though to be fair, one of those wins did come in Raleigh against the Hurricanes, so I guess anything is possible.

The Bottom line is that this will not be your typical road game for the men in blue. Not only do they have a chance against the Devils, but based on what happened last night, they should be the favorites to win. That's because last night, both the Presidents' trophy winner Boston Bruins and the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche lost their respective game sevens in their buildings.

Presidents' trophy winners shitting the bed in the first round are not that rare an occurrence. It's happened six times in the cap era. The Bruins are just the latest example of why it's so hard to be a dominant team over an 82-game regular season AND still have enough left in the tank for a grueling playoff run. Boston looked gassed last night against a Florida Panthers team that on paper had no business being on the same ice with them. Oh, well.

But getting back to the Rangers. While the hockey gods may be favoring the road teams this postseason, by no means are they a lock to advance. That's because the Devils are one of the best teams in the NHL. Like I said before the start of the playoffs, this was the worst possible opponent the Rangers could've drawn in the first round. Since game two, New Jersey has been the better and quicker team in the series. And even though the Rangers finally managed to solve Akira Schmid in game six, it was only due to the sheer brilliance of their own goalie Igor Shesterkin that they managed to get to a seventh game. With a GAA of 1.79 and a SV% of .939, he has been, by far, the best player on either team.

But while beating this Devils team will not be an easy task, the Rangers must find a way to do so. Here's why. Both the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning are gone. The Carolina Hurricanes look more like a MASH unit than a hockey team. The Toronto Maple Leafs are literally the only thing standing between the winner of this series and a trip to the Cup finals. An opportunity like this might not come around again for a very long time.

But if the Rangers need another incentive to win, it's this: The Devils are on the verge of becoming the team to beat in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future. Think about it. Both the Bruins and the Lightning are past their primes; the Canes, even when they're healthy, are not a legit contender; the Leafs have more skeletons in their closet than a haunted mansion on Halloween; the Islanders will never amount to anything so long as Lou Lamoriello is running the show; and the Rangers window to win is maybe two to three more years at best. To quote Elvis Presley, "It's now or never."

Chris Drury has assembled a team that is ready to win this year, not next year or the year after that. He has put all his chips on the table. A failure in the first round against the Devils will be a bitter pill to swallow for the entire organization. That is why, come hook or crook, the Rangers must find a way to not let that happen.

So how do they avoid playoff Armageddon? For starters, they must stop trying to skate with New Jersey. The Rangers may be the deeper team, but they are not the more athletic one. Trying to match speed with them is tantamount to a suicide mission. What the Rangers need to do is control the neutral zone like they did in games one and two.

That won't be easy. The Devils are not the same team they were in the first two games. To use a Star Trek vernacular, they've gone from sub-light to warp eight. Letting them off the ropes in game three might be the single-worst playoff mistake the Rangers have ever made.

Another thing they have to is dump the puck into the offensive zone and get in on the forecheck. Both the Zibanejad and Tarasenko goals in the second period of game six came as a result of the Rangers pinning the Devils in their own zone. As skilled as New Jersey is, they are not very physical. The one advantage the Rangers have is their size; they must use it or lose it.

Shesterkin will give them every chance to win tonight, but he cannot single-handedly drag them across the finish line. The stars have to come through. There is no tomorrow if they don't.

I predicted the Rangers in seven and I'm sticking with it. So far, I've been wrong twice: the Bruins and the Avalanche. Let's hope it stays that way. 

Horvat Deal Doesn't Impact Drury or the Rangers

To be honest, I was surprised that Lou Lamoriello pulled the trigger on the Bo Horvat deal. Frankly, I didn't think he had it in him. From everything we know about the man, he's strictly a role player type GM. Just take a gander at the Devils teams he put together in the '90s. He has a history of avoiding big names with equally big contracts. And make no mistake about it: it will take a lot of money to re-sign Horvat. Think at least $9.5 million x 8 years. If Mathew Barzal's AAV is $9.15 million x 8 years, you can bet the ranch the starting price for Horvat will be north of that. And that's assuming Lamoriello locks him up before the summer, which if he doesn't makes this "rental" a bust.

But while Horvat instantly becomes the Isles best player, his presence alone doesn't automatically catapult them into the postseason. That's because apart from Anders Lee there isn't a single winger on this roster that puts the fear of God into an opposing team. So unless Lou has another trade up his sleeve, I would hold off reserving those playoff tickets, if I were you. That might explain why Lamoriello protected the first round pick he sent to Vancouver. In the event they don't make into the tournament, he doesn't want to blow his chance at drafting Connor Bedard. Lou may be stubborn but he's not stupid.

So how does the Horvat deal impact Chris Drury's potential moves at the trade deadline? In a word, it doesn't. That's because Horvat is a center and the Rangers are set at that position. We can debate how effective Vincent Trocheck's offense has been since his arrival on Broadway last summer, but he is an improvement over Ryan Strome. If you can't see that, then maybe you should stop reading this blog. And after four years of promissory notes, Filip Chytil appears to finally be delivering on his potential. The third-line center has been one of the better forwards on this team the last few weeks, especially since Gerard Gallant reunited the Kid line. Drury's only problem will be re-signing him during the offseason.

As I wrote in my last piece, the Rangers number one need will be adding a scoring winger. And if they can find one cheap enough, maybe a shutdown center, as well. The problem for Drury won't be what his fellow GMs do, but available cap space. Even with Sammy Blais' contract off the books - and I assume Drury is actively working to make that a reality - the Rangers will only have about $7.5 million in deadline cap space to work with. That doesn't come come close to what they had last season when Drury was able to add four valuable pieces to help the Rangers on their playoff run.

Add to that the fact that, unlike last season when we knew who the top eight teams were in the Eastern conference, this season, there are eleven teams vying for eight playoff spots. In the Western conference, that number is ten. Meaning Drury will have a lot more chefs in the kitchen to contend with, all of them looking to make a soufflé from scratch. For an organization that values its youth and doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past, Drury will have to thread the needle here.

So, yes, the Horvat deal helps the Islanders, but it doesn't impact the Rangers in the slightest. Drury's job isn't any harder now than it was a day or two ago. This is still a playoff team that could use some filling out. How much will depend on what the seller is asking for and what the buyer is willing to pay.

2022-23 NHL Predictions

Seeing as how I was so "great" with my predictions last year - I actually had the Islanders over the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup finals and neither team qualified for the postseason - I thought I'd give it another whirl. As always, take them with a rather large grain of salt.

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:

Florida Panthers: They gave up their leading scorer and second best defenseman to land Matthew Tkachuk. That should tell you how desperate they were to get rid of the stench of last year's sweep at the hands of the Lightning. Time will tell if it was worth it.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Both Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat were cap casualties and will be sorely missed. But there's still more than enough talent on this roster, and so long as they have Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, they have to be taken seriously as a Cup contender.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Everyone has jumped on their bandwagon this season, which is odd given that they didn't address their lack of depth during the offseason and they're relying on a goaltender whose best years are half a decade behind him. Auston Matthews will once again keep them relevant. 

Metropolitan Division:

New York Rangers: Vincent Trocheck is a step above Ryan Strome; the "kids" seem poised to have a break out year; and last season's Vezina trophy winner Igor Shesterkin is the best in the league. Chris Drury has done a masterful job as GM.

Carolina Hurricanes: Yes, Brent Burns is better than Tony DeAngelo, and they got Max Pacioretty from the Golden Knights ostensibly for free, but losing Trocheck to the Rangers and Nino Niederreiter to the Predators will cost them.

Pittsburgh Penguins: They kept "the band" together. So what? The last time this "band" won a playoff series was 2018. The core of this team is old and getting older. Ron Hextall keeps punting the ball hoping for a muff. It won't work.

Wild Cards: 

Boson Bruins: God only knows how Don Sweeney managed to entice Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to return on such team-friendly contracts - $2.5m and $1m respectively. Good for him. Sans them, this team would have a hard time staying above .500. But even with both on the roster, it's hard imagining them going far in the playoffs.

Columbus Blue Jackets: They made the biggest splash during the offseason, signing Johnny Gaudreau and then re-signed Patrik Laine. They'll score a ton of goals but struggle on D. 

Western Conference:

Central Division: 

Colorado Avalanche: They steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup championship last season, going 16-4 in the tournament. And while losing Nazem Kadri to the Flames will test the depth of this team, the core is about as elite as it gets.

Nashville Predarors: McDonagh and Niederreiter were solid additions during the offseason and will make this team a formidable opponent during both the regular and postseason. Their goaltending is elite and their defense is among the best in the league.

St. Louis Blues: Balanced scoring throughout the lineup makes them a genuine threat, and Jordan Binnington is still one of the better goalies in the league.

Pacific Division:

Calgary Flames: Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Their two best players departed over the summer: one via free agency, the other via a trade, and they managed to actually get better. Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the best forwards in the league and Kadri was the second best center on last year's Colorado Cup team. Despite last season's poor showing against the Oilers in the second round, Jacob Markstrom is an outstanding goaltender.

Edmonton Oilers: I'm going out on a limb here by picking them again for second place. They have the scoring up front with Connor McDavid; the issue is the defense. Jack Campbell may not be an elite goalie, but he's head over heels better than Mike Smith.

L.A. Kings: They lucked out when the Wild had to shed Kevin Fiala's contract in an obvious salary dump. Now they will at least be able to put some pucks in the net. Jonathan Quick should still have enough left in the tank to give them first-rate goaltending.

Wild Cards:

Minnesota Wild: Fiala was a salary cap casualty. And that's unfortunate for a team that challenged for second place in the division last season. They re-signed Marc-Andre Fleury so that will help.

Vancouver Canucks: Now that they've extended J.T. Miller and they have their coach in place, I expect they will do what they should've done last year: make the playoffs.

Close but no cigar:

Eastern Conference:

New York Islanders: For the second straight offseason, Lou Lamoriello failed to add an elite scorer to this otherwise pedestrian forward group. Pity Mathew Barzall, who deserves better than what he's been given.

Washington Capitals: They needed to get younger and didn't. The good news is that at least their fans will be able to see Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's goal record.

New Jersey Devils: They needed a sniper on the wing; they got Ondrej Palat. They needed a solid goaltender; they got Vitek Vanecek. They'll score a lot of goals; they'll give up more.

Western Conference:

Vegas Golden Knights: Their successful pursuit of Jack Eichel has cost them Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Max Pacioretty. It will now cost them a second-consecutive postseason berth.

Dallas Stars: They extended the Flames a full seven games in the opening round of the playoffs last season. This year they won't get that chance.

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers over the Lightning 4-2

Western Conference Finals: Avalanche over the Flames 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals: Avalanche over the Rangers 4-2

Year End Awards:

Presidents' Trophy: Colorado Avalanche

Art Ross Trophy: Connor McDavid, Oilers

Hart Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames

Norris Trophy: Roman Josi, Predators

Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Jack Adams Award: Gerard Gallant, Rangers

Conn Smythe Trophy: Cale Makar, Avalanche

Lamoriello's Obstinance is Costing the Islanders

Before I get to the main topic, I'd like to say a few words about the late, great Mike Bossy who passed away this month at the age of 65.

While number 22 was not the fastest skater in the NHL, the puck always seemed to find his stick. And though he did not have the hardest shot in the league, it was, by far, the most accurate; around the net no one was more lethal. 

Unlike a lot of scorers of his day, Bossy never hung out in center ice looking for a breakaway. He took care of his own end first. And only when his team got possession of the puck did he head up ice. Much of that is attributable to his coach, Al Arbour, who instilled a team-first attitude in all his players. But the rest is owed to Bossy who bought in.

He never wilted under the spotlight; the bigger the game, the better he played. After a disappointing performance in the infamous 1979 semifinals against the Rangers, Bossy would go on to lead the league in postseason goals from 1981 thru 1983, including an overtime goal with two seconds left against the Vancouver Canucks in game one of the '82 finals. He was the epitome of a winner.

Until Alex Ovechkin surpassed him this year with his tenth 50 goal season, he held the mark, along with Wayne Gretzky, for most 50 goal seasons at nine. And had it had it not been for a series of back injuries which forced into retirement at the ripe young age of 30, there's no telling how many 50 goal seasons he might've had. Eleven? Twelve? The sky was the limit. 

As a Rangers fan, it pains me to have to admit this, but he was in a class all by himself. And I weep at what might've been had then Rangers GM John Ferguson selected him in the 1977 entry draft instead of Lucien DeBlois. Sadly, we'll never know.

Now onto the main course. 

Forgive me for being insensitive and perhaps a bit too blunt, but I've had it with all the apologists who insist that had it not been for the rough start the Islanders had this season - 13 consecutive road games to open the season, Covid outbreaks, injuries - they would've been a playoff team. Based on just a rough analysis of the available data, that assumption simply isn't true.

The fact is this team, which was largely intact before the arrival of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, isn't nearly as good as many - including yours truly who, truth be told, picked them to win the Stanley Cup this year - thought they were.

Our blind spot? We confused spit with polish. Yes, the Isles have been the hardest working team in the NHL the last three years under Trotz. They had to be. After their top scorer John Tavares bolted to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018, they were forced to play a defensive system. And it worked brilliantly. In Trotz' first season as head coach, the Isles allowed a paltry 196 goals, the fewest in the league. However, they also were 21st in goals scored; a problem that has plagued the team ever since.

Lost in all the hoopla over their consecutive trips to the conference finals the past two seasons is the fact that had it not been for the suspension of all sports in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic, the Isles would never have gotten into the playoffs. At the time the regular season was suspended, they were in 6th place in the Metropolitan Division. Only a qualifying round, in which they beat the Floridas Panthers to advance, prevented them from missing the postseason altogether.

This season, apart from Brock Nelson, who's having a career year with 36 goals, and Anders Lee, who's second on the team with 26, there isn't one player on this team who puts the fear of God into opponents. For all their blood, sweat and tears, there is a staggering dearth of elite-level talent on the roster. Mathew Barzal continues to be an enigma. After a promising rookie campaign in which he posted 22 goals and 85 points, he has struggled to become the offensive leader this team so desperately needs.

Part of the problem lies in the system Trotz employs; a system that while effective at limiting the number of scoring chances by the opposition, has had the unintended consequence of stifling many of their own. Then there's the toll that playing such a physical style of hockey exacts on the human body. Yes, it helped them beat the Boston Bruins in last year's conference semis, but it eventually caught up with them against the Tampa Bay Lightning. By game seven, they looked gassed.

But the real problem is Lamoriello himself, who since his hire four years ago has failed to address the lack of scoring. Why is that? Put succinctly, Lamoriello has long eschewed stars. Maybe it's because he doesn't like dealing with egos. This goes back to his days when he ran the New Jersey Devils. To be fair, the Devils did win three Cups and reached the finals five times. But they also had the best goaltender in the business in Martin Brodeur and one of the best defenseman to ever play the game in Scott Stevens. As good as Ilya Sorokin and Noah Dobson have been this season, they can't hold a candle to those two.

Since the beginning of March, the Islanders are 6-11 against playoff teams, and they continue to have one of the most anemic offenses in the league. But rather than cut his losses at the trade deadline by moving unproductive players like Josh Bailey and Anthony Baeuvillier (12 goals a piece) for badly needed draft capital, Lamoriello doubled down and extended perennial grinder Cal Clutterbuck another two years.

Much has been made of the Rangers offseason acquisitions of Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais and Ryan Reaves. But while they may have stiffened up their spine a bit, this is still a team that relies on stars like Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox to carry them. The sad truth is there isn't a single Islander capable of doing that for this team. Not one. There is such a thing as having too much grit.

Ironic, isn't it, that the Islanders are wearing numbers 22 and 9 on their jerseys in memory of Bossy and Clarke Gillies, who also passed away this year. Those two hall of famers were members of one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history. They won four consecutive Cups from 1980-83; the last time a team won more than two in a row. Yes, they outworked their opponents; but they also dominated them, as well. I oughta know, one of those opponents was the Rangers, who had the misfortune of losing to them in '81, '82, '83 and '84.

At the end of the day, talent counts, even in a league as backwards as the NHL. It's time Lou Lamoriello woke up and smelled the caffeine.

Dissecting What's Wrong With the Islanders

There have been a number of surprises in the NHL so far this season; some pleasant, some not so pleasant. Two of the more pleasant surprises have been the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames. Both are leading their respective divisions; the former with the second-best offense in the league and the latter with the stingiest defense. The Flames might be the biggest surprise of all; last season in a realigned North Division, they couldn't even beat out a Montreal Canadiens team that had no business being in the playoffs. As things stand now, they are the early odds-on favorite to emerge from the Western Conference.

Heading up the not so pleasant surprises are the New York Islanders, a team that last season was five wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup, and the year before fell six games short. As of this writing, they are tied with the Canadiens for the third fewest points in the league with 15; only the Ottawa Senators (13) and the Arizona Coyotes (12) have fewer.

Many have speculated as to what happened to this team. After careful consideration, I have come up with three things:

1. The early schedule. There's no getting around it. Opening up with thirteen straight road games to start the season was a tactical blunder. The moment management - and by management, I mean Lou Lamoriello - knew that UBS Arena was not going to be ready in time for the beginning of the 2021-22 season, there should've been a backup plan in place. You can't tell me that Lamoriello couldn't have arranged to play a couple of games at the Barclay Center or the Nassau Coliseum until UBS was ready. Forcing this team to play away from home for a month took its toll on the players. At one point, they were 5-2-2; then the roof caved in on them. Inexcusable.

2. The injury bug and Covid outbreak. As if the road trip from hell wasn't bad enough, the injury bug bit them, and right after that a Covid outbreak hit. When they finally did open their season at UBS, almost half the roster was either on IR or in quarantine. Not even the deepest of teams can overcome that many players being out of the lineup. In all fairness, the league should've postponed their games against the Maple Leafs, Rangers and Penguins. They looked like a minor league team out there against those opponents.

3. The offense has been MIA. Even before the start of their eleven game skid, the Isles were hardly an offensive juggernaut. Over their first nine games, they scored 25 goals, an average of 2.8 goals per game. Indeed, during the Lamoriello / Barry Trotz reign, this team has consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in goals for while finishing near the top in goals against. The problem with relying on a formula that puts so much emphasis on defense at the expense of offense is that your margin for error is already slim. During this losing streak, they scored a paltry 13 goals. That's an average of 1.2 goals per game. No matter how good your defense is - they currently rank 6th in the league - you still need to put the puck in the net in order to win. Players like Matt Barzal, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee are simply not good enough to carry this team. Anywhere else, they'd be second or third liners, at best.

Throughout his long and brilliant career, Lou Lamoriello has eschewed stars for underachievers who were willing to check their egos at the door for the good of the team. When he ran the New Jersey Devils, his teams specialized in employing the trap, one of the most boring systems ever thrust upon the NHL. It led to five finals appearances, three Cup championships and universal scorn from more talented teams who were often frustrated by the discipline Lou's players exhibited.

Since Lamoriello and Trotz arrived on the Island, no team in the NHL has been more difficult to play against than the Islanders. Their patience and brand of physicality are tailored made for deep playoff runs that over the last two years damn near paid off. So successful was their strategy, I picked them to win the Stanley Cup this season.

But the rash of injuries and Covid cases has exposed a fatal flaw in Lamoriello's method of madness. At a time when the team desperately could've used an elite player or two to carry them through this period, the plethora of gritty players he has assembled have been badly overmatched. When you live by the sword, you sometimes die by it. And right now, this team is hemorrhaging.

However, it's still early in the season. This team should be back to full strength before Christmas. If they can get back to the .500 mark by the end of December, there's still a chance they can sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard. And if they do sneak in, they will be very difficult to beat.

How difficult? Just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning, who needed all seven games in last year's semifinals to dispatch them, what it's like to play against the Islanders. Or the Boston Bruins, who got the shit kicked out of them in last year's quarterfinals. The only thing harder than losing to the Islanders, is beating them. Of the last four games they lost, all were by one goal, three in overtime. Does anyone think for a moment that with a healthy lineup those couldn't have been wins?

They have the goaltending, they have the defense. The only thing that might trip them up is that they happen to play in the Metropolitan Division, the best division in hockey, and they've already lost a lot of ground. If they don't turn this thing around soon, they will eventually run out of time.

But if I were a betting man, I wouldn't place any significant amount of money on that happening.

2021-22 NHL Predictions

I'm not a big fan of regular season predictions because too many things can go wrong during the course of an 82 game schedule. Injuries, for one. Still, given this will be the first full schedule in three years, I thought I'd stick my big toe in the water. So, here we go.

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:

Tampa Bay Lightning: Yes, they lost their entire third line and the center on their fourth. But this team is loaded with talent; their defense is intact; and they still have the best goaltender in the world, not to mention the second best coach in the league in Jon Cooper.

Boston Bruins: David Krejci's unexpected retirement hurts, as does the loss of Tuuka Rask. Still, the Marchand line is the best line in the league and that should carry them to a solid second place.

Florida Panthers: They went all out to acquire the depth they believe will get them over the hump. The only problem is their best goaltender is the guy not making $10 million a year. Hard to see them making a deep run with this group.

Metropolitan Division:

New York Islanders: They lost Jordan Eberle in the expansion draft, but Lou Lamoriello was able to keep the rest of this core intact, including their "identity" line which has given every team in the league fits the last three years. The defense is lights out, the goaltending is solid and, oh yes, they have Barry Trotz.

Carolina Hurricanes: Hard to figure what they were thinking letting Dougie Hamilton go in free agency. Tony DeAngelo can score, but as Rangers fans know all too well, his defense leaves a lot to be desired. The forwards are deep enough to keep them in the hunt.

New York Rangers: Chris Drury overhauled the lineup just enough and hired the right coach for this still very young team.

Wild Cards:

Toronto Maple Leafs: Replacing Zach Hyman with Nick Ritchie won't help a team that relies too much on finesse. Yes, they'll qualify for the playoffs again, but then that's not the problem, is it?

Washington Capitals: This team is starting to show its age but they'll be good enough to squeak in.

Western Conference:

Central Division:

Colorado Avalanche: They were forced to let Brandon Saad go because of the salary cap, but they have the best one-two punch in the league with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, plus Darcy Kuemper is an upgrade in goal.

Winnipeg Jets: They have arguably the second best goalie in the league in Connor Hellebuyck and one of the best centers in Mark Scheifele. Defense is good if unspectacular.

St. Louis Blues: They have the goaltending to contend and they added a couple of solid forwards to an already deep lineup.

Pacific Divison:

Vegas Golden Knights: What's there not to like? They play an uptempo, physical-style of play, and assuming the guys in white coats don't come for Robin Lehner, they should run away with the division.

Edmonton Oilers: Zach Hyman was a good pickup, albeit at a high price. But the operative question remains can this top heavy team advance in the postseason?

Vancouver Canucks: They have a future super star in Elias Pettersson and former Ranger J.T. Miller. Questions remain, though, in goal and on D.

Wild Cards:

Chicago Blackhawks: Hoping to squeeze the last ounce of life out of the careers of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, they went shopping during the offseason and bagged a couple of nice additions; the biggest one being Marc-Andre Fleury.

Seattle Kraken: Ron Francis was smart to stock up on quality defensemen in the expansion draft. They still don't have a number one center and will likely lead the league in one-goal games, but at least they won't embarrass themselves.

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference Finals: New York Islanders over Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2

Western Conference Finals: Vegas Golden Knights over Colorado Avalanche 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals: New York Islanders over Vegas Golden Knights 4-3

Year End Awards:

Art Ross Trophy: Connor McDavid, Oilers

Hart Trophy: Artemi Panarin, Rangers

Norris Trophy: Cale Maker, Avalanche

Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Conn Smythe Trophy: Mathew Barzel, Islanders

  

Three Reasons Why the Rangers Shouldn't Trade for Jack Eichel

Before I get to Jack Eichel, a few thoughts on the Goodrow signing. $3.642 million per year for six years may seem a little steep, but when you consider what he brings to the table, you can live with it. In fact, when this contract expires in 2027, Goodrow will be the same age Cal Clutterbuck will be next year when his contract expires, and he's getting paid $3.5 million. Question, who would you rather have, Goodrow or Clutterbuck? Before you answer that, go back and watch game seven against the Islanders. It's pretty clear that Goodrow was the better player. 

The fact is Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Goodrow were, pound for pound, the best skaters on the ice for the Lightning in both the semifinals and Cup finals. If Chris Drury can add Coleman and a physical defenseman this summer, he will go a long way towards making this team considerably tougher to play against next season.

Which leads me to... the main course.

There are three reasons why the Rangers should NOT trade for Eichel.

The health concerns: I've never had a neck injury, but from everything I've read, it's one of the most serious and chronic conditions an athlete can have. And it's nothing to trifle with. Even if Eichel is 100 percent ready to go by September - and that's highly unlikely given what we know about his condition - he's one cross check away from spending half a season or more on the I.R. It would be the height of irresponsibility for Drury to acquire a player who might not be able to finish out his contract, and even if he does, will be a shell of himself for the balance of it. The risk is simply too great here.

The contract: Given that there will be a flat cap in the league for the next few years, Eichel's $10 million salary is a huge nut for an organization that still hasn't signed its own RFAs, a list that includes Pavel Buchnevich and Igor Shesterkin. Next year, they will have to pony up to retain Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Strome and Mika Zibanejad. And the year after that, Alexis Lafreniere will be a restricted free agent. Even if Drury trades both Buchnevich and Strome - and there appear to be some suitors - as I wrote in my last piece, whomever he gets in return will not come cheap. 

Fox's contract alone could come in at between $7 million and $9 million per year depending on what the Colorado Avalanche and Cale Makar come to terms with this summer. Makar, an RFA, was the runner up to Fox for the Norris Trophy last season. If Drury doesn't have the money to keep these players, then everything this organization and its fans went through the last four years will be for naught. The key to his success will be how well he manages the resources he has.

The wrong fit: Even without the neck injury and with a salary cap that isn't flat, Eichel is the wrong fit for this franchise. He does nothing to address the team's most glaring needs. If anything, he's a younger version of Zibanejad with a higher price tag and a slightly less imposing shot. If Drury were to trade for him, he'd have to give up assets that would weaken other areas of the team - I'm guessing Filip Chytil, K'Andre Miller, either Vitali Kravtsov or Kakko and a number one draft pick. That is simply too steep a price to pay.

Instead of trying to replicate the Toronto Maple Leafs, an organization that has been an unmitigated disaster in the postseason, Drury should borrow a page out of Lou Lamoriello's playbook. There isn't one player on the Islanders with a contract over $7 million, and they were one win away from the Stanley Cup finals. With a few maneuvers this off-season, the best GM in the business is positioning his team to, once again, contend for the Cup. And with a healthy Anders Lee, they might just win it.

I'll say it again: The way the NHL is currently structured, teams that are overly laden with talented players simply don't succeed. What you need is a healthy balance between talent and grit. The Lightning have some of the most talented players in hockey, yet it was their foot soldiers who were responsible for them winning back-to-back Cups. Don't take my word for it; just go to the video tape, as an old New York sportscaster was fond of saying.

The Rangers have some talented players of their own. Maybe not on the same level as the Lightning, but hardly chopped liver. After they buy out Tony DeAngelo's contract, they will have around $23 million to spend, minus the $3 million or so they will need for performance bonuses. Drury has the 15th pick in Friday's Entry Draft. He can either keep it or include it in a package for a player or players that can help this team become a legitimate playoff contender. For instance, Tampa doesn't have a number one pick this year. Would they consider trading Anthony Cirelli and Ross Colton for Chytil, Kravtsov, Zac Jones and the Rangers number one pick? It's certainly worth a phone call to find out. 

In Seattle, after a less than impressive Expansion Draft, it's obvious that Ron Francis needs help at center. Given he's got enough left handed defensemen to start an army with, I'm sure a trade could be worked out. Perhaps Strome straight up for Carson Soucy. The Kraken get a solid pivot man and Drury gets the sturdy defenseman he needs on the third pairing along with $1.75 million in cap relief.

And then there's the free agent market. As we've already seen, Drury isn't hesitant about going that route. While Goodrow was a nice beginning, as Larry Brooks writes in The New York Post, he needs to be surrounded with "complimentary players" in order to be effective. The Rangers didn't sign Nick Fotiu here.

The point is, Drury has options available to him. What he can ill afford is to tie up 12 percent of his salary cap on a one-dimensional, albeit, star that'll light up the score sheet against the Devils and Sabres but get pushed around by the Islanders and Bruins. He already has an abundance of those types of players.

Which direction will he go? We'll know soon enough.

Drury's on the Clock

With his head coach and assistants in place, Chris Drury turned his attention to next week's Expansion Draft. But before he submitted his list of players he was going to protect, only one of whom - Kevin Rooney - was unexpected, he managed to swing a couple of deals, one of which could end up being the springboard that transforms this team of cream puffs into a team with some spine.

In a move that took most people by surprise, Drury traded a 7th round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for UFA Barclay Goodrow. You might ask why would Drury waste a pick on someone who's going to be a free agent in 10 days? Because he now has exclusive rights to negotiate a deal with Goodrow BEFORE he hits the open market, that's why.

The other move was equally surprising and provides some closure on one of the worst trades in Rangers history. Drury unloaded Brett Howden - acquired in the now infamous Ryan McDonagh / J.T. Miller deal -on the Vegas Golden Knights for a 4th round pick and defenseman Nick DeSimone, who's also a pending UFA but will likely sign elsewhere. The fact that Drury got anything north of a used puck bag for Howden was a bonus. While McDonagh has been a major cog for a Lightning team that has won back to back Stanley Cups, Howden has been a huge bust, scoring a paltry 49 points in three seasons in the NHL.

But getting back to Goodrow, Drury cannot afford to let him test the free agent waters. At 6' 2", 203 pounds and only 28, he's just what the doctor ordered for a team that looks at driving to the net the same way vampires look at sunrises. Though he played mostly left wing for the Bolts, Jon Cooper often relied on him to take important draws. His 50 percent win ratio would instantly make him the Rangers best face-off man. Don't be shocked if Gerard Gallant uses him at center. Imagine Goodrow and fellow Lightning line mate Blake Coleman out there killing penalties and making life a living hell for opposing teams best offensive lines. 

A while back I wrote that Drury needed to target both Goodrow and Coleman during the off season. If he were to sign Goodrow before the 28th, he would be half-way home. How hard do you think it would be to entice Coleman to come to New York with Goodrow already inked? I'm guessing not that hard at all.

The question is how high does Drury go? The last two seasons, Goodrow made $925,000 per. Clearly, having played a not-so insignificant role in this year's Cup run, he's due for a substantial pay raise. Word is Goodrow is looking for a six-year contract at $3.25 million per, while Drury would prefer a four-year term at $2.5 million per. I'm thinking split the difference: five years at $3 million per. That's $15 million over half a decade. More than fair, and it gives Drury the flexibility he needs to go after Coleman and retain his own RFAs, plus add a physical defenseman to play on the third defensive pairing. Perhaps Ryan Suter could be had for $1.5 million.

Let's not forget that while the Rangers have $23 million in available cap space to play with this offseason, after next year, they will have several players who will be seeking huge pay increases. Mika Zibanejad, who's currently making $5.35 million, will be a UFA, and Adam Fox, fresh off his Norris Trophy win and making only $925,000, will be an RFA. Even if Zibanejad were to take a home-town discount, you gotta think he's going to get somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 million per over six years. As for Fox, assuming the Rangers opt for a two-year bridge deal, that's still going to translate to at least $5 million per. And then there's Ryan Strome, who's signed to a team-friendly $4.5 million this upcoming season. If Drury decides to retain him, he too will come with a hefty price tag. If he trades him, whoever he gets in return will not be cheap.

Welcome to today's NHL, where the salary cap is expected to stay flat for quite some time. Money just doesn't go as far as it used to. Now you know why I was so against the Rangers trading for Jack Eichel. Not only is he the wrong player for this franchise, his $10 million cap hit would cripple the team's ability to make the changes necessary to become a contender for the foreseeable future. Ask the Edmonton Oilers how it feels to have two players tie up over $20 million in salary cap space. The same Edmonton Oilers team, mind you, that has won exactly one playoff game the last two seasons. Or how about the Toronto Maple Leafs, who haven't won a playoff series in seventeen years and blew a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens? With three players combining for $33 million in salary and $75 million already committed next season, they don't have enough cap space to sign their two best checking forwards, Zach Hyman and Nick Foligno. That's called incompetence, people.

Drury cannot allow that to happen to the Rangers. He knows he'll only get one shot to get this right. He has all the chips he needs to make the right moves. What he can't do is panic just for the sake of making a splash. His counterpart on Long Island wrote the book on extracting maximum value from players, and he has the championship rings to show for it. Love 'em or hate 'em, right now the Islanders are closer to winning a Stanley Cup than the Rangers are. Only a fool would bet against Lou Lamoriello, or think he can be upstaged. This about it: while Drury was getting the negotiating rights to Goodrow for a seventh rounder, Lamoriello got the Arizona Coyotes to take Andrew Ladd and his $5.5 million cap hit off his hands for two second rounders and a third rounder. Who do you think had a better day?

The bottom line? Drury's on the clock. This is his make or break moment.