2/19/2009

RANGERS SLIPPING


Earlier this season, the New York Rangers looked solid on top of the eastern conference, now they have slipped to number eight and are dangerously close to missing the playoffs. Anyone surprised? I didn't think so. The blueshirts have returned to their all too familiar inconsistant ways.

When scored upon, they get nervous and lose. When they win, they fail to generate momentum from the success and ultimately lose again. At their best they are a good team, not a great team, but at their worst they are awful. To be a great team, your worst has to be a lot better. When you can still win while performing at you lowest level you're on the right way.

So what is it about the Rangers that make them so inconsistant?

In my opinion, it's the organization. Over the years they have failed to create a solid foundation for the team to lean on. Take one look at a team like the Detroit Red Wings and you realize their success comes from years of solid draft choices, wise transfers, and a commitment to keep and maintaining the core of players that form the team in the long run. The Rangers don't have a Nicklas Lidstrom or a Pavel Datsyuk. But those two aren't just great individual players, they are also products of the Detroit system, they have been shaped, like all other skater who joins the red machine, to fit the program. The Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist, but that's not enough when the entire team and the organization lack direction. There is no Ranger system for players to fit into. Players come and go. In the early 90's, those who did, the core of the Edmonton Oilers' golden era, were good enough to win the Stanley Cup. That sure seems like a lifetima ago now.