Rangers Have Their Fil

You wanna know how serious Chris Drury is about building a core that will endure? Since he became President and GM of the Rangers in the summer of 2021, he's managed to lock up his top three centers without paying a single one more than $8.5 million AAV. 

Read it and weep. Mika Zibanaejad: $8.5m x 8; Vincent Trocheck: $5.625m x 7; and now Filip Chytil: $4.4375m x 4. All three key contributors on a team that is considered by many to be the deepest in the NHL heading into the playoffs. In a league where top heavy contracts are the rule, the Rangers have only one player - Artemi Panarin - who's making more than $10 million per season. And that is a tribute to Drury who has managed to navigate the treacherous waters of the flat cap era without being devoured.

It's no secret the Rangers were facing a daunting task trying to retain all three of their RFAs this summer. Last July, yours truly wrote that they needed to "lock up Alexis Lafreniere ASAP." The concern was that once he hit the free agent market, a rival GM - Jeff Gorton, for instance - would sign him to an offer sheet that Drury couldn't match. Goodbye number one draft pick, hello humiliation.

Well, scratch one RFA from the list. With Chytil having a breakout season, the question wasn't whether Drury would re-sign him - it was obvious he couldn't afford to let him walk - but whether he could get him to accept a team-friendly deal that would afford him the opportunity of also keeping both Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller. Mission accomplished. $4.4375m is approximately a million under market value for a player with Chytil's stats and ceiling. Making the deal even sweeter for the Rangers, Drury was able to buy out two years of arbitration rights on Chytil, as well as two years of free agency.

Contrary to popular belief, centers who can score 20 or more goals do not grow on trees. With Zibanejad, Trocheck and Chytil, the Rangers have three of them. Wanna know how rare that is? The Rangers are the only team in the NHL that can say that. I'd say that's pretty rare, wouldn't you? 

Last summer, there were those who thought that when Ryan Strome bolted for the Anaheim Ducks, the Rangers should've just given the 2C job to Chytil and used the cap savings to lock up all three RFAs to long-term deals, like the Tampa Bay Lightning did with Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev. Drury wasn't comfortable giving Chytil that much responsibility so he signed Trocheck to fill Strome's spot.

As it turns out, Drury made the right call. After a slow start, Trocheck has become a solid 2C, and Chytil, centering the "kid" line, has come into his own. As a result, the Rangers are now set down the middle for the foreseeable future. If he can bridge Lafreniere and Miller, the Rangers, regardless of what happens in the postseason, should be in good shape cap wise going into next season.

Play Ball!

Even if you don't think baseball is America's national pastime, you gotta admit there is something special about the start of the season that brings out the optimist in all of us.

Unless you're a Mets fan. For the Flushing faithful, optimism, to paraphrase the late, great John Prine, is a word we seldom use. That's because the boys in the blue and orange, with a few noteworthy exceptions, typically crush our hopes by mid June.

That is until last year. In 2022, the Mets were one of the best teams in all of baseball. And had it not been for a rough patch in September, where they lost some games they probably should've won, they would've run away with the National League East.

As a team, the Mets were second in batting average at .259; sixth in RBIs with 735; seventh in ERA at 3.57; second in fewest errors committed with 67; and tied for third with the Atlanta Braves with 101 wins.

Individually, Pete Alonso tied Mike Trout of the L.A. Angels for third in HRs with 40, and tied Joe Judge of the Yankees for most RBIs with 131; Jeff McNeil led the majors with a .326 batting average; and Buck Showalter was named NL manager of the year.

But as they used to say in Manhattan years ago, that and a subway token will get you a ride on the 7th Avenue Express. 2023 is a brand new year, with brand new expectations. And as good as the Mets were last season, none of that will matter in the slightest if they struggle out of the gate this season.

So how good is this team? Losing Edwin Diaz is huge, I won't lie. Next to Alonso and Francisco Lindor, Diaz was the most valuable Met last year. He was about as automatic as they come among closers. His 32 saves and 1.31 ERA will be next to impossible to replace. Look for Jeremy Hefner to lean on David Robertson, who had 20 saves and a 2.70 ERA last year for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, to pick up some of the slack. If he isn't up to the task, the Mets might have to look outside the organization. 

As for the starters, Jose Quintana being out until mid July shouldn't be that big of a deal. That's because starting pitching is one of the few areas on this club that has enough depth to withstand an injury. David Peterson can hold down the fort until Quintana returns. With Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander - Jacob deGrom's replacement - Kodai Senga - signed during the offseason - and Carlos Carrasco, the Mets have arguably the best - if somewhat top heavy - rotation in the National League.

If there is any concern - other than the bullpen - it is the bottom half of the batting order. Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Lindor, Alonso and McNeil form one of the better 1 thru 5's in baseball. It's 6 thru 9 that's the problem. Daniel Vogelbach is an adequate DH who can't hit lefties. Mark Canha is a good left fielder who had an inconsistent year at the plate. And while Eduardo Escobar is a solid third baseman who hit .321 over his last 30 games, there's no guarantee he can replicate that over a full season.

Now you know why Steve Cohen wanted Carlos Correa. His .291 batting average and 22 homers would've made this lineup a lot more potent, as well as solidified the infield. When the deal to sign him fell through, Billy Eppler was never able to locate that extra bat. That failure could prove costly.

The Mets may have the highest payroll in the major leagues at $340 million, but what most people don't understand is that a good chuck of that payroll went to re-sign players who otherwise might've left or to sign players that replaced the ones who did. The fact is, even before the Diaz injury, this team, on paper, was only marginally better than last year's wild card team. With Diaz out for the season, there's no telling where they may finish.

The optimist in me would like to think they'll find a way; the realist in me has been burned too many times.

Prediction: 90-72, good for third place in the NL East, and the third wild card.

Boyz II Men

If the key to winning a championship is depth up and down the lineup, then the New York Rangers are blessed to have what many consider to be the deepest roster in the NHL. Because on a night when Mika Zibanaejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox were held without a point, the Kid Line of Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko took charge. Each scored a goal and added an assist Saturday to propel the Blueshirts to a 4-3 win over the Putty Tats in South Florida.

It's time to state the obvious: these are no longer "kids." They're much more than that. Throughout much of the season, whenever head coach Gerard Gallant has put them together, this threesome has been, by far, the most consistent and cohesive unit on the team. That doesn't mean they've been the most dominant on the score sheet - that distinction belongs to the above mentioned fab four. But on numerous nights, when the core didn't have quite enough in the tank, the "kids" picked up the slack.

There was the game against the Maple Leafs at Toronto where Chytil scored both goals for the Rangers in a 3-2 OT loss; the game against the Calgary Flames at the Garden where Lafreniere scored the OT winner; another thriller at the Garden against the New Jersey Devils where Chytil helped set up the game-tying goal by Kakko and then scored the winner in OT. And in what has to be considered the best come from behind win of the season, Kakko and Lafreniere each scored in the shootout against the Oilers at Edmonton.

It is now abundantly clear that last year's playoffs were no anomaly. The talent is there; as is the work ethic. Almost without exception, every time they take the ice, something good happens. Even when they don't score, they keep the opposing team hemmed in their own zone. Yes, it's taken a while for the rose to finally bloom - Chytil is in his fifth full season, Kakko his fourth and Lafreniere his third - but success, regardless of what the Twitterverse may think, isn't measured on an assembly line basis. 

Face it, not everyone is Sydney Crosby or Connor McDavid. Since their arrival in New York, Kakko and Lafreniere have been under a constant microscope. Kakko is often compared to Jack Hughes, the number one pick in the 2019 draft; while Lafreniere, the number one pick in the 2020 draft, gets compared to Tim Stutzle, the player taken two picks later. Neither is a fair comparison, in my opinion.

For starters, in 2019 no one doubted that Hughes was the better player; the only concern was whether, at 175 pounds, he was durable enough to play in the NHL. And while a low-grade MCL injury ended his season last year, for the most part Hughes has been a regular in the Devils lineup. Regarding the 2020 draft, Lafreniere was the consensus number one pick. It wasn't even close. To say otherwise is the rankest form of revisionist history.

But secondly, and perhaps most importantly, both Hughes and Stutzle have from day one played in the top six for their respective teams, with both spending considerable time on the power play. By comparison, Kakko and Lafreniere have been mostly relegated to the third line, and until recently, gotten virtually no time on the power play. Did you know that going into this season, Lafreniere had more even-strength goals (31) than Stutzle (22)? Just imagine how many more goals Lafreniere could've scored if he were on the power play. Then factor in the built-in advantage top six players traditionally have on most teams and it's reasonable to assume both Kakko and Lafreniere would have better stats than they currently do.

As for Chytil, he had the curse of being the third center on a team that already had two pretty good ones. Contrary to popular opinion, Jeff Gorton didn't really tear down the Rangers. What he did more closely resembled a retool than a formal rebuild. He kept some of his key players like Zibanaejad, Kreider, Ryan Strome and Henrik Lundqvist, and then he signed Panarin. This meant that Chytil, along with Kakko and Lafreniere, had little chance of getting substantial ice time. Consequently, the growth of all three players was stunted almost from the very first shift they took as Rangers.

All that is water over the dam. Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere have become key cogs on this team. As deep as the Rangers are, any hope they have of capturing their first Stanley Cup since 1994 will depend in no small part upon the contributions these three former kids, now men, make.

Rangers Rolling Towards the Playoffs

Sometimes all you can do is sit back and enjoy the show. And what a show it's been.

Over the last two games, the Rangers have shutout the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators 6-0 and 7-0 respectively. Remember when we were concerned about this team's ability to jell? Well, guess what? Mission accomplished as far as the jelling is concerned. Just look at these numbers.

K'Andre Miller: 2 goals, 4 assists

Artemi Panarin: 3 goals, 2 assists

Mika Zibanaejad: 2 goals, 3 assists

Jacob Trouba: 1 goal, 3 assists

Vincent Trocheck: 3 assists

Chris Kreider: 2 goals

Vladimir Tarasenko: 1 goal, 1 assist

Filip Chytil: 1 goal, 1 assist

Patrick Kane: 2 assists

Adam Fox: 2 assists

Tyler Motte: 1 goal

Barclay Goodrow: 1 assist

Kaapo Kakko: 1 assist

Jaroslav Halak: 1 assist

As you can see, the scoring was pretty well distributed throughout the roster. Line one had twelve points; line two had seven points; line three had three points; line four had two points; and the defense had a whopping twelve points. Even the goalie had an assist. The three forwards Chris Drury acquired at the trade deadline are making their mark. Tarasenko has five goals and eight assists in nineteen games; Kane has three goals and four assists in nine games; and Motte has two goals and two assists in twelve games. Gerard Gallant has been looking to roll four lines since his arrival. Now he can.

The last time a team scored six plus goals in consecutive shutout wins was 1977 when the Philadelphia Flyers accomplished it. Beginning in the third period of that first home game against the Penguins - a 4-2 win - the Rangers have scored fifteen unanswered goals, the most by a team this season, and the most for the franchise since 1973. When you have to go all the way back to the '70s to find a comparable performance, you've done something pretty damn special.

And speaking of special, going into last night's game, the Rangers had scored power play goals in five of their last seven games, going 6 for 20 over that span for a 30 percent conversion rate. Conversely, they'd killed off 22 out of 24 penalties in their last eight games for a 91.7 percent kill rate. That's about as elite as it gets. FYI: teams that get that kind of performance from their special teams in the playoffs typically go deep.

But as impressive as this recent onslaught was to behold, even more gratifying was the performance in net from Igor Shesterkin and Halak. Both made huge saves early in their respective starts to keep the game scoreless until the offense got going, and later on to preserve the shutout. It cannot be overstated just how critical it is for this team to have both their goaltenders in top form going into the postseason, especially Shesterkin. Put succinctly, they will go only as far as Igor takes them.

It was only a few weeks ago that yours truly was sounding the alarm over last year's Vezina trophy winner. Shesterkin's overall numbers were already off from last season, that was obvious. But since the All-Star break, they've been particularly bad. In February, his goals against average was a season-high 3.71 and his save percentage was a woeful .863. Pucks that he routinely turned away were now getting past him. 

Since the beginning of March, though, his numbers have improved considerably. His GAA is 2.10 and his SV% is .928. Over his last four starts, they've really taken off. He's allowed only six goals on 129 shots for a .953 save percentage. And Halak in his last two starts has allowed only three goals on 57 shots for a .947 save percentage. Now that's what I call a dynamic duo.

Having a reliable backup goaltender, in what promises to be a long and grueling playoff tournament, will give Gallant the option of resting Shesterkin a game or two. Last postseason, he had no choice but to ride his number one goalie pretty much the whole way. This postseason, he'll have Halak in the bullpen should he need him. Among the top teams in the East, only the Boston Bruins have a better tandem.

And now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Are the Rangers a legitimate contender? Yes, they are. Mind you, they still have a few kinks to iron out on defense, where they still give up a few too many scoring chances, but I suspect that will improve dramatically once Ryan Lindgren returns; hopefully in the next few games. As of right now, I'd rate them as the second best team in the conference behind only the Bruins. They're better and deeper than last year's team and they have the goaltending to go all the way. 

The Rangers are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, five points behind the New Jersey Devils and six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes. It is not inconceivable that they could catch both teams. They play the Canes in a home and home Tuesday and Thursday, followed by the Florida Panthers Saturday on the road, the Columbus Blue Jackets next Tuesday at the Garden and the Devils the following Thursday in Jersey. A sweep of all five games could potentially catapult them into first place in the Metro division.

Like I said, sometimes all you can do is sit back and enjoy the show.

Drury's LTIR Gamble Is Coming Back To Bite Him

As the Rangers begin a five-game home stand tonight against the Washington Capitals - a home stand in which they play the Pittsburgh Penguins back to back - they are a healthy team, with one notable exception. Ryan Lindgren will miss his eighth-straight game with a shoulder injury.

It's time to admit the obvious: Chris Drury made a mistake by not placing Lindgren on LTIR and using his $3 million cap hit - less $100k - to acquire another depth player like Sam Lafferty or Nick Bjugstad. Yes, such a move would've meant that Lindgren's regular season was ostensibly over and that the earliest he could've been activated was game one of the playoffs. Given that at the time of the injury the Rangers still had 23 games left on their schedule, that would've meant going the rest of the regular season without their most trusted and reliable defenseman. From what we've seen over just the last seven games, it's obvious how much he means to this team. Adam Fox hasn't been the same without his partner on the left side, and regardless of how you feel about Niko Mikkola, it's clear he has no business being in the top four. At best he's a slight improvement over, dare I say, Patrik Nemeth.

It is inconceivable that Drury didn't know how badly Lindgren was hurt. We all saw the hit he took in Washington. This is a player who rarely misses a shift, let alone a game, and there he was being helped to the locker room, his left shoulder slumped, clearly in pain. Terms like "upper-body injury" and "day to day" may cut it for the beat writers, but for those in the front office, the prognosis had to be far more grim. Why else would he be unable to play during what is undoubtedly the most critical part of the remaining schedule?

And if in fact Lindgren is unable to play, it's only fair to ask why the hell isn't he on LTIR? The NHL created the LTIR specifically to give teams the cap flexibility they needed to avoid being shorthanded. Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning has used it so many times, the league should rename it the BriseBois IR. Why on Earth Drury didn't avail himself of this precious resource is a legitimate question that demands an answer. 

Simply put, there was no excuse for Gerard Gallant not to have a full compliment of 18 skaters at his disposal against the L.A. Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. None. The Rangers are the only playoff team in the Eastern Conference to be carrying only 21 players on their active roster while every other team is carrying 23. That difference has severely limited Gallant's ability to rest some of his players down the stretch. And given the gauntlet the Rangers are likely to face in the postseason, that is a burden that could easily have been avoided.

Look, I have defended Chris Drury since he was named President and GM of the Rangers almost two years ago. On the whole he has done good job; his moves at last year's trade deadline got this team to within six wins of its first Stanley Cup since 1994. Managing to land both Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane without having to give up the better of his two first round picks is quite a feather in his cap, if I do say so myself.

But this decision of his to not place Lindgren on LTIR is not only bizarre; it now threatens the success of the entire season. Barring a complete collapse, the Rangers will make the playoffs. The only question is where they will finish: in third or as a wildcard. It's worth noting that if they go just 9-7 in their remaining 16 games, the Penguins and Islanders would have to go 12-4 and 13-1 respectively to catch them. That isn't likely to happen.

The real threat begins on game 83, where the Rangers will go up against teams that are well rested and ready to go. Load management, for all the negative press it has garnered in the NBA, is a necessary evil in sports today. It gives coaches the flexibility they need to prepare their teams for the marathon that is the postseason. It was clear from last season that the Rangers, having been extended a full seven games in each of their first two playoff rounds, ran out of gas against the Lightning. 

Should they be fortunate enough to beat both the Devils and Hurricanes this postseason, that fate almost certainly awaits them against the Boston Bruins, a team that is on track to finish with more points than the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. Appearing in two consecutive conference finals might be enough for most teams, but given the talent on this roster, it will be a bitter disappointment, not just for the fans but for a certain owner who, let's face it, has had an itchy trigger finger over his tumultuous tenure.

My point is this all could've been avoided had Drury simply done the right thing and immediately placed Lindgren on LTIR. Now his gamble is coming back to bite him and his team.

Giants Lock Up Their Franchise Quarterback

In the end, Joe Schoen didn't have much choice. Either he was going to bite the bullet and give in to Daniel Jones' demands, or he was going to slap the franchise tag on him. The latter meant two things: 1. Saquon Barkley would likely be signed by another team with no compensation coming back to the Giants; and 2. The entire $32.4* million owed Jones under the franchise tag would be guaranteed and would be applied in full to the 2023 salary cap. Neither was acceptable to Schoen.

So he did the only thing he could: he waited until the 11th hour - 3:59 PM Tuesday, to be exact - to agree to a four year, $160 million contract - $82 million guaranteed. Doing that allowed him to franchise tag Barkley for $10.1 million. But more importantly, it meant that the first year of Jones' contract - thanks to the way it was written - would only count $19 million against the cap. And if Schoen can somehow get Barkley to accept a two-year, $25 million deal, that 10.1 million cap hit would be lowered by $1 or $2 million. Only in the NFL can $40 million equal $19 million. If Jones played hockey instead of football, he and his agent would be up a creek.

Now before you skewer Schoen for overpaying for Jones, it's important to understand just how hamstrung he was regarding the salary cap. While not quite as hard up as some of his fellow GMs, Schoen was nonetheless facing a daunting task: how to field a team next season and still be cap compliant. Nobody, with the exception of Jones, his family, a handful of friends and his agent, seriously believed that coming off a year in which he had only 15 touchdowns and threw for 3205 yards, he was worth $40 million per year. And keep in mind, Jones' agents were reportedly asking for $46 million. If Daniel Jones is worth $46 million, Patrick Mahomes is worth $75 million. Even $38 million was pushing the envelope. $35 million seemed a more reasonable figure.

But reason and reality rarely intersect in professional sports. If they did, the Mets payroll would be $200 million instead of $370 million. Schoen knew with the clock ticking, he didn't have the leverage to play hardball. Give him credit at least for turning a shit sandwich into a Big Mac. Once the Giants buy out Kenny Golladay next week, they will have about $25 million in available cap space. And if they can somehow get Leonard Williams to renegotiate his contract, they could pick up another $5 million. Now you know why John Mara hired an assistant GM instead of a Director of Player Personnel to run his franchise. The latter may be a good talent evaluator, but the former knows how to crunch numbers. Schoen is still digging out from the debris left by his predecessor.

But there was another reason for keeping Jones. His ceiling is still unknown. I have long felt that Jones' biggest problem is between his ears. He obviously has the arm strength and the wheels to play in the NFL; it's his pocket presence and decision making that has so often tripped him up. If Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka can continue to mold him, there's a very real possibility that this contract could pay for itself in two years. If not, if Jones never develops into the quarterback the Giants envisioned him being when they drafted him, Schoen can simply cut him after the '24 season with only an $18 million dead cap hit on the books.

Feel better? You should. Joe Schoen knows what he's doing. Just take a look at the Buffalo Bills. In two years, the Giants could be where they are.

Who wouldn't want that?

* An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that Jones's franchise tag would've been $36.2 million had the Giants not signed him to his four year contract. The actual amount was $32.4 million. I have made the correction. Sorry for the confusion.

The Knicks Are Building Something Special

On December 3, the Knicks record stood at 10-13. They had just lost to the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden, and it was becoming all too apparent that this season was starting to look eerily similar to last season when they finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with a woeful 37-45 record.

Over the last last twenty-two years that's been pretty much the story. One woeful season after another. With a couple of notable exceptions, there hasn't been much for Knicks fans to celebrate. There was the 2012-13 season in which they beat the Boston Celtics in the first round before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals; and there was the 2020-21 season in which they lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. That's pretty much it for the highlight reel.

Then something incredible began to happen. Since that loss to the Mavericks, the Knicks have gone 29-14. With Sunday night's win over the Celtics in Boston, they are now 39-27, a game out of fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They have won nine in a row: the second time this season they have put together win streaks of eight or more games. The last time a Knicks team accomplished that feat was during the 1972-73 season. They have the second-best road record and the 7th best point differential in the NBA. Since January, both the Knicks and Celtics have identical 19-9 records.

Something special is happening at the Garden, and for the first time in a very long time it doesn't involve the hockey team. These Knicks aren't just for real, they're starting to turn some heads, which given how many stomachs they've tuned over the last two decades I guess is only fair.

They're 3-1 against the Celtics; 2-2 against the Sixers; 2-0 against the Heat; and 2-1 against their likely first-round opponent, the Cavaliers. They've proven they can beat anyone in the league, and while it may be a bit premature to start referring to them as a contender, one thing is certain: whoever ends up playing them in the postseason will have one helluva battle on their hands.

The credit goes to Team President Leon Rose and G.M. Scott Perry. Their decision to sign Jalen Brunson over the summer has turned out to be the most consequential signing this franchise has made since Amare Stoudemire in 2010. Brunson has finally given this team what it has lacked since the days of Latrell Sprewell: someone capable of ball distribution. For the last couple of seasons that duty has fallen to Julius Randle. While a gifted - if somewhat inconsistent - scorer, bringing the ball up court was never Randle's forte. With Brunson as a legitimate point guard, the Knicks offense finally looks cohesive.

The addition of Josh Hart at the trade deadline has given coach Tom Thibodeau much needed depth. Indeed, with Hart, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks have one of the deepest benches in the league. Quickley scored a season high 38 points against the Celts on Sunday standing in for the injured Brunson.

It's been fifty years since the Knicks last won a championship. That team was coached by the great Red Holzman, and it had Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl "the Pearl" Monroe in the backcourt, Willis Reed at center, Bill Bradley at small forward and Dave DeBusschere at power forward. By all accounts, it was the hardest working team of its day. Every time I see this Thibodeau-coached team take the court, it reminds me of that great Knicks team. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying Jalen Brunson is Clyde Frazier, and Mitchell Robinson sure as shit ain't no Willis Reed. But the way these players bust their asses night in and night out is a throw back to a time when perspiration meant something besides BO.

Can they win it all? Probably not. They're still an elite player away. But like I wrote above, I'd hate to be the team that has to show them the door.

Supply and Command

"That's why I think Drury isn't going to make a big splash at the trade deadline; not unless the price is just right. And with several more teams looking to improve their playoff fortunes, that scenario might be next to impossible to achieve. Translation, no Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko." 

- Peter Fegan, February 8, 2023.

Gee, that aged well, didn't it? Less than a month after yours truly predicted Chris Drury wouldn't make any big splashes at the trade deadline, he did the exact opposite - twice! I've already addressed the Tarasenko trade so no need to rehash that. The Kane trade, however, deserves a full-throated mea culpa.

But before I do that, let's get something straight. The idea that acquiring Kane was in the Rangers plan all along is patently absurd. If you seriously believe for a moment that last year's runner up to the Jim Gregory award would allow his head coach to go almost an entire game with only four defensemen available to him and would go through the most bizarre cap gymnastics we've seen in the salary cap era, all as part of some master plan to land arguably the greatest American ever to lace up a pair of skates in the NHL, you must think he's an idiot.

The fact is Kane was never in the Rangers plan. Once the Tarasenko deal was done, Drury moved on to address his fourth line. Reacquiring Tyler Motte from Ottawa with no salary retention was the first step in a two-step process; the second step was likely going to be either Nick Bjugstad or Sam Lafferty. Both players are natural centers and would've allowed Barclay Goodrow to return to the wing where he's better suited. By all accounts, both Drury and Gerard Gallant were fine with Jimmy Vesey on the first line. The fact that Drury made no provisions to take on a large contract is proof that nothing big was imminent.

There's only one reason why Patrick Kane is a Ranger today. He insisted on it. With just days left before the trade deadline, he ostensibly backed his G.M. into a corner. Broadway or bust. And Kyle Davidson, rather than lose him for nothing, wisely chose Broadway. Credit Drury for not ceding the leverage he had. He got Kane without surrendering a first round pick, a single player off his roster or any of his prized prospects. The return haul - a couple of low-level prospects, a conditional '23 second round pick, a '25 fourth rounder, and a '25 third rounder to Arizona for acting as a third-party broker - is less than what he gave up to acquire Andrew Copp a year ago. If that's your idea of an idiot, you need a new dictionary.

But even with all that going for him, Drury still could've said no. Having Bjugstad or Lafferty center the fourth line would've made the Rangers a much better checking team. And make no mistake about it: checking is what wins championships. The Boston Bruins - the runaway Presidents trophy winner - are notoriously good at checking their opponents. While the Rangers may have solidified their top six, the Bruins solidified their bottom six as well as their D by acquiring Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov. The Tampa Bay Lightning may have overpaid for Tanner Jeannot, but they now have arguably the toughest bottom six in the league, not to mention the best money goaltender in the game.

Let's not kid ourselves. Drury is taking a huge risk here. If these elite players don't jell, if they continue to cough up the puck in their own end, and if Igor Shesterkin doesn't regain his Vezina trophy form, this "all-star" team will be shown the door but fast come playoff time. The New Jersey Devils, by landing Timo Meier, are now considered the favorites to beat the Blueshirts in their first-round matchup.

Look, is this a better team than last year's. In a word, yes. Wouldn't you much rather have Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Vincent Trocheck, Jimmy Vesey and Niko Mikkola than Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp, Ryan Strome, Ryan Reaves and Justin Braun? Of course you would. But being better on paper is one thing; being better on the ice is quite another. Kane was having an off year before he got hot over his last four games, and Tarasenko hasn't exactly lit up the scoring sheet since his arrival. There's a lot riding on both these former Stanley Cup champions.

This will be Gallant's toughest test as a coach. How well he handles it will go a long way towards determining whether Rangers fans celebrate in June or cry in April.

We Need to Talk About Igor Shesterkin

As a rule, I'm not one to overreact. Being in sales for a quarter century has taught me many things. Chief among them is that things are never as bad or as good as they seem. The truth lies somewhere in between.

Of course, in the Twitterverse, overreaction isn't just par for the course, it's a prerequisite for membership. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time a Rangers fan lost his shit over Gerard Gallant juggling his lines, or Jacob Trouba taking a stupid penalty, or Artemi Panarin having another one of his ill-advised cross-ice passes intercepted, my wife and I would have enough money for a one-week stay at the Halekulani in Waikiki. Referring to Twitter as a social media platform is the very definition of an oxymoron.

That being said, we need to talk about Igor Shesterkin. Last season's Vezina trophy winner is clearly in a slump. His save percentage in February is an ominous .865. To put that in perspective, in all of 2022-23, the lowest save percentage he posted was .916 in March. In fact, if we're truly being honest here, Igor is having an off year compared to what he did last season. Let's break it down, shall we?

Season 2021-22 2022-23 Mo. GAA / SV % GAA / SV % Oct   1.70 / .947 2.55 / .913 Nov 2.67 / .920 2.60 / .912 Dec 2.11 / .929 2.14 / .927 Jan 1.86 / .947 2.62 / .916 Feb 1.31 / .959 3.54 / .865 Mar 2.68 / .916 Apr 1.90 / .930 Average 2.07 / .935 2.59 / .912

The numbers don't lie. As I wrote back in November, Shesterkin "just hasn't lived up to his billing." The incredible saves he was famous for making last season have now become the questionable goals he's allowing this season. Monday night against the Winnipeg Jets he was outclassed by Connor Hellebuyck, who turned away 50 of 51 shots, while Igor gave up four goals on only 21 shots, three of which should've been stopped. Against the Edmonton Oilers, he surrendered four first-period goals. It was obvious he was having trouble picking up the puck. The Rangers eventually came from behind to win the game in the shootout. And against the Vancouver Canucks, he got beat on what looked like an innocuous third-period shot that turned what should've been an easy win into a nail biter.

The fact is Shesterkin has had too many games like that; games when he failed to come up with the one clutch save his teammates needed him to make. It's not that he's been terrible; it's just that he hasn't been the Igor we all know and love. And for a team that gives up a lot of high-danger scoring chances, that's a problem. Last season, the Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals primarily due to Shesterkin's brilliance in net. If this month's Shesterkin shows up in the playoffs, the Rangers will be lucky to win one game, much less two rounds.

Going into action today, the top five goaltenders in the NHL by save percentage with at least 30 starts are 1. Linus Ullmark, Boston (.937); 2. Jake Oettinger, Dallas (.927); 3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg (.926); 4. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders (.924); and Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa (.919). Shesterkin (.912) is number 12 on that list. No, that wasn't a typo. Igor Shesterkin, last season's best save percentage goalie, isn't even in the top ten this season.

If you're not concerned, you should be. Chris Drury has done a masterful job assembling what many consider to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. The additions of Vladimir Tarasenko and Tyler Motte have made this team deeper and tougher to play against. But no amount of tweaking can overcome substandard goaltending.

The good news is there's still plenty of time for Shesterkin to find his game. The postseason doesn't start for another seven weeks. Additionally, four of the Rangers next five games are against non-playoff teams. So long as they continue to generate scoring chances the way they've been doing this month, they should be okay.

Rangers Coming Into Shape

Chris Drury is apparently done making splashes. His latest move - re-acquiring Tyler Motte from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional seventh round pick and Julien Gauthier - is an indication that the GM believes his team's greatest need isn't the addition of another scorer like Patrick Kane to the top six, but a little sandpaper to his beleaguered fourth line. So Motte - who did a yeoman's job playing with Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves in last year's tournament - will hopefully have a repeat performance with Goodrow and a player to be named later. You don't think Drury would be stupid enough to go with Jake Leschyshyn as his 4C in the postseason, do you? Leschyshyn is merely a caretaker until his replacement arrives. By this time next week Nick Bjugstad, Sam Lafferty, or someone comparable will be donning the blue and red.

Face it: in a perfect world - one without a salary cap - Drury would jump at the chance to land Kane. Hell, with no salary cap, Timo Meier would already be a Ranger. Unfortunately, there is a salary cap and once Drury pulled the trigger on Vladimir Tarasenko, Kane became a luxury he could no longer afford. Yes, I suppose if Drury is able to find someone to take Leschyshyn and Vitali Kravtsov off his hands - a big if - that might free up just barely enough cap space to swing it, but that would mean Goodrow becomes the 4C, which would be a mistake. Goodrow is a winger, not a center.

Like it or not, Rangers fans, you're going to have to deal with Jimmy Vesey playing in the top six. While his inability to finish over the last few games is a concern that could prove problematic in April and May, even more concerning is the fact that Gerard Gallant barely played his fourth line in the third period against the Flames on Saturday. A coach who shortens his bench in the third period is nothing new in hockey; it happens all the time. What happened in Calgary, though, had nothing to do with a coach shortening his bench; it was a not so subtle hint from Gallant to his boss that he couldn't trust some of his players with the game on the line. Credit Drury for getting it. 

Let's be clear here. Motte is not a silver bullet. Like I pointed out above, he did a yeoman's job on the fourth line last postseason, but Bob Gainey he ain't. What he does bring to the table is a quality this team on too many nights still lacks: the ability to win the battles in the trenches. This team has plenty of elite-level talent; what it doesn't have enough of are foot soldiers. Motte is a foot soldier who isn't afraid to get his uniform bloodied. The Rangers are a better, slightly tougher, team now than they were on Saturday.

And they will need every ounce of that toughness if they have any hope of beating what is, without question, the toughest, most complete team in the NHL. The Boston Bruins are having the kind of season teams dream about. At 43-8-5, they're the prohibitive favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They can score, they can defend and they have the best goaltending tandem in the league. Besting them in a seven game series will be a tall order.

With the top six teams all in the Eastern Conference, whichever team makes it to the finals will have gone through three rounds of a track meet. If the Rangers are to be that team, Drury needs to make one more move on his chess board.

It's Time for Drury to Cut His Losses with Kravtsov

Look, I'm not going to make any excuses for the way in which Gerard Gallant has used Vitali Kravtsov this season - and for the record, he has a short leash with most young players - but it's time for Chris Drury to admit a painful truth: the Russian winger was a reach when then GM Jeff Gorton selected him with the 9th overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft, especially considering the Islanders took Oliver Wahlstrom two picks later.

Just take a look at his overall numbers. They don't exactly jump off the page. The year he was drafted, Kravtsov had 8 goals and 21 points in 50 games in the KHL. While at Hartford, he had 6 goals and 15 points in 39 games. The year he bolted for Russia after Drury tried to send him back down to Hartford, he had 6 goals and 13 points in 19 games in the KHL. In 48 games as a Ranger, Kravtsov has 5 goals and 10 points. Meanwhile, Wahlstrom has 32 goals and 61 points in 161 games for the Islanders. Of the 217 players selected in the 2018 draft, only six have fewer points than Kravtsov.

Maybe he's not Lias Andersson, but he's sure as shit ain't Alex Kovalev. And now that his camp has asked that he be traded, he's a declining asset that Drury needs to get something for while he still can. This is not a time for stubbornness. Drury may have gotten a first-round pick from the Dallas Stars for Nils Lundkvist, but that was different. Dallas had a need for an offensive-minded defenseman and the Rangers were loaded at right D. Everyone under the sun knew the Rangers were a little thin at right wing, hence the trade for Vladimir Tarasenko. If Kravtsov can't crack this lineup, that's a red flag. Drury doesn't have the leverage he thinks he has, trust me. The longer he waits, the worse the return will be. If he can get someone like Nick Bjugstad from Arizona to bolster his fourth line for Kravtsov and a sixth rounder, he should jump at it.

Look, it's clear that Kravtsov has no future with this team. Drury has to know that. Somewhere out there is a team willing to give him another shot, the same way the LA Kings did with Andersson. Drury may have inherited Gorton's mistake, but he's under no obligation to keep throwing good money after bad, not with the trade deadline three weeks away and the playoffs five weeks after that.

Beggars can't be choosey.

Drury Makes His Move

So much for not making a splash. Less than 24 hours after I confidently predicted Chris Drury would not make any huge moves going into the trade deadline, he reeled in one of the biggest fishes in the pond. Vladimir Tarasenko is now a New York Ranger, along with Niko Mikkola. The former is a member of the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, a six-time 30 goal scorer and a UFA at the end of the season; the latter, also a UFA, is a 6' 4", 209 pound left-handed defenseman who, based on what we saw in the game against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night, is Ben Harpur's replacement on the third pairing.

But while Drury may have gone Christmas shopping a bit early - the trade deadline is March 3 - he didn't overpay. To get Tarasenko and Mikkola, the Rangers gave up one of their two first-round draft picks (the lower of the two); a fourth-round draft pick; prospect Hunter Skinner; and Sammy Blais. Drury even got St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong to retain 50 percent of Tarasenko's $7.5 million cap hit. The next time I go shopping for a car, I'm taking this man with me.

Skinner is a prospect the same way I'm a participant in the triathlon. As for Blais, he never fully recovered from his torn ACL, and his $1.5 million cap hit was a luxury the team could no longer afford to carry. Not one single top-tier prospect or current roster player was even on the table. To put this trade in perspective, when the Rangers traded for Andrew Copp last season, Drury gave up two second-round picks, one of which became a first-rounder when the Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, a fifth-round pick in 2023, and a real prospect in Morgan Barron. So far this season, Barron has 5 goals and 12 points for the Winnipeg Jets, while Skinner has 3 goals and 8 points for Jacksonville of the East Coast League, the A Ball of professional hockey.

And here's the thing: Drury's cart may not be filled yet. That's because on the same day the Rangers consummated their deal with the Blues they put Libor Hajek on waivers. Yes, the last vestiges of that infamous Ryan McDonagh / J.T. Miller trade will soon be gone, along with his corresponding $800k cap hit. Meaning, Drury will have roughly $1.2 million left in the kitty to fortify his fourth line. Like I said, the man is a chess player.

Here's what the Rangers' postseason line-up could look like:

Panarin - Zibanejad - Tarasenko

Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko

Kreider - Trocheck - Kravtsov

Goodrow - Bjugstad - Vesey

Lindgren - Fox

Miller - Trouba

Mikkola - Schneider

Shesterkin

How's that for a playoff roster? Not bad. In fact, it's a better and deeper roster than the one that came within two games of dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Last year, Goodrow was hobbled by a broken ankle and Ryan Reaves was the right wing on the fourth line. Assuming Drury can land Nick Bjugstad, or someone with a comparable skillset, Gerard Gallant will have four lines at his disposal, all capable of putting the puck in the net. Just try checking this team.

There's just one tiny caveat. Tarasenko isn't exactly having a banner year. In 38 games this season, he has a paltry 10 goals and 29 points. Last season, he registered 34 goals and 82 points in 75 games. Over the last three seasons, he's battled the injury bug. If he's fully healthy and motivated, the Rangers may have pulled off the heist of the year; if he isn't, all bets are off.

We'll know soon enough. Tarasenko makes his debut tonight at the Garden against the Seattle Kraken. To quote the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan: "The house will be rockin'."

Drury's Trade Deadline Dilemma

I'll be honest with you. The prospect of seeing Timo Meier on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin is enticing. Just think of the possibilities. For the last two seasons, Gerard Gallant has been trying to assemble the perfect line. Last year, Chris Drury brought in Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp at the trade deadline in an attempt to do just that. It almost worked. Emphasis on almost. Know what? Meier, Zibanaejad and Panarin would be the perfect line.

Did you see the way Meier played last night? He almost single-handedly beat the Lightning, first by scoring the Sharks second goal of the game and then netting the overtime winner. In just 52 games this season, he already has 30 goals, the third time in his career he has cracked the 30 goal mark. And he's only 26. Just imagine what he'd do in a Rangers uniform over the next eight seasons.

Unfortunately, imagination is where this discussion will have to end. That's because as a pending RFA, Meier - who's in the last year of a four-year, $6 million AAV contract - is due for a considerable bump in pay from whichever team is the lucky recipient of his services. Think $8.5 million x 8 years. Meaning he's not a rental; he's a long-term lease.

Why is that a problem? Because the Rangers have three of their own RFAs to deal wth over the summer: Alexis Lafreniere, K'Andre Miller and Filip Chytil. The latter is finally starting to deliver on his promise. He scored two goals against the Flames Monday night and would've had a hat trick had he not passed up a golden scoring chance in the closing seconds of regulation; and the former scored the OT winner. The total price tag for all three will be considerably more than what Meier will command all by himself.

Bottom line: there's simply no way Drury can acquire Meier and keep him; not unless he decides to let Lafreniere and either Miller or Chytil walk - very unlikely - or he moves a large contract. And regarding the latter, the only contracts large enough to offset Meier's price tag all have NMCs attached to them. If you seriously think for a moment that Jacob Trouba - $8 million AAV - is going to just waive what his agent worked so hard to get him, you obviously have taken one too may pucks to the head. Long story, short, Meier isn't coming to Broadway, at least not in this lifetime.

But what about the option of just trading for him and letting him walk? The assets Drury would have to part with, both in draft picks and prospects, would make Meier the most expensive three-month rental in franchise history. And God forbid the Rangers don't win the Cup, it would have profound repercussions for years to come. Given this G.M.'s track record, it seems highly improbable he would be that reckless.

So where does that leave Drury? Ostensibly right where he was a year ago at this time. It should be noted that going into the '22 trade deadline, the Rangers were supposedly linked to several high-profile players like J.T. Miller, Mark Scheiflele and Claude Giroux? In the end, Drury passed on all of them and opted to go with role players like Copp, Vatrano, Tyler Motte and Justin Braun. All four were integral in the Rangers advancing to the Eastern Conference finals. Sometimes it's the trades you don't make that end up being the most consequential.

That's why I think Drury isn't going to make a big splash at the trade deadline; not unless the price is just right. And with several more teams looking to improve their playoff fortunes, that scenario might be next to impossible to achieve. Translation, no Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko.

Indeed, apart from Vitali Kravtsov - who seems to have worn out his welcome with Gallant - there isn't a single prospect in the organization Drury is willing to part with. Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann are all but certain to make the team next season; and now that they're starting to click, the Kid line isn't going anywhere. Who knows, a year or two from now that line might be among the best in the league. 

Jimmy Vesey, who was a PTO coming into camp, has looked pretty good playing on the Zibanejad line. He would've had himself a pair of goals Monday night were it not for two incredible saves by Jacob Markstrom. Gallant loves 200 foot players, and Vesey, along with Barclay Goodrow, who has found a home playing with Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider, are the ideal Swiss army knives. You can slot them anywhere and they contribute. Believe it or not, this year's team is better and deeper than last year's team.

So maybe Drury decides he likes the makeup of the roster and elects to shore up his fourth line. Perhaps Nick Bjugstad from Arizona could be had for a third round pick. With 11 goals, he'd be perfect centering Cuylle and Sammy Blais. And with Bjugstad making only $900k this season, the Rangers could re-sign him on the cheap, just like they did with Vesey and Ben Harper. The nice thing about Drury is that, like a good chess player, he's always thinking two moves ahead.

Look, in a world with no salary cap, Timo Meier would be a New York Ranger right now. So, by the way, would at least half a dozen other players. But if memory serves, before the NHL instituted a hard salary cap, the Rangers would spend money like a drunken sailor, and for their effort typically wound up with a nasty hangover.