First up, some veteran faces...
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| Hlavac | Holik | Jagr |
Holik and Jagr are reported to be the foundation around which Sather plans to build his new team so epxect to see them back next season. Hlavac has been working hard all season but has little to show for it. Still, he's relatively young, relatively inexpensive and has shown potential in the past. His hard work may help him retain his place on the roster, especially if Hoilik and/or Jagr advocate for him.
Let's ignore Messier for a moment as he will almost certainly retire this center. A look at some of our younger forwards then...
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| Jamie Lundmark (foreground) and Josh Green (background) | Garth Murray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conventional wisdom is that Jamie is going to have to break out soon if he's ever going to amount to more than a role player but we're all still holding out hope that he may develop into something special. I know very little about Josh Green other than that he played tenatiously in his first game with the rangers. Garth Murray finally seems to be over all of his injuries and folks who like hard nosed old school grinders have high expectations for him. Indeed, here's a bonus picture of him punching some guy:
Note the blurry, edgyness.
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| Dan LaCouture | Dominic Moore | Chad Wiseman |
Dan LaCouture has been less impressive this season than last but then, who hasn't been? Dominic Moore, who play a game or two with the Rangers early in the season, has had a somewhat disappointing year in Hartford but still shows good potential. Chad Wiseman has not seen much time with the big club but is leading the Wolfpack in scoring this season with 42 pts.
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| Josef Balej | Benois Dusablon | Jed Ortmeyer |
Balej is supposed to be the shit and may have a good chance at nailing down a regular spot on the roster next season. (Note how I keep assuming there will be a next season?) Dusablon was only up for a game or two and Wolfpack expert Heather has not had much to say about him aside from the fact that he's been injured a lot but he's got a cool name and, in this photo, he's clearing the slot so there you go. Ortmeyer, meanwhile, has been turning heads for a while now with his gritty play. He looks like the front runner for the Stephen MacDonald Extra Effort Award (as voted on by the fans) and blocks shots like it's fun. Rock on Jed.
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| Balej's first goal | Mike Green | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here's a shot of Balej getting his first goal. And look -- a Mike Green sighting!!! I think I just need McCarthy to complete my collection. (Though really, what are the odds that McCarthy returns next year? Especially after his comments that no one from management or the coaching staff has spoken to him since he was reacquired so he's just been going out on the ice and playing hockey because what else are you going to do?)
Our defense is now a mix of the old and the new. The most notable absense is Brian Leetch, though the last week also saw both Vlad Malakhov and Greg DeVries leave town. DeVries was a bit of a surprise as he had a couple of years left on his contract. Here's a sneak peak at the future of our defense...
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| Tom Poti | Boris Mironov | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Love him or hate him, Tom Poti will almost certainly be back next season. While Poti is not without his flaws, he is still young and his potential upside is great. Especially now that he doesn't have Brian Leetch around dragging him down ;) Boris Mironov will be a UFA at the end of this season and may or may not return.
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| Joel Bouchard | Darius Kasperitis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Like Dan LaCouture, Joel Bouchard was a young player who excited us all last season but has tailed off a little this year. Still, he's young and seems to be developing nicely. Darius Kasperitis, by contrast, was one of my least favorite players last season and really won me over the season with his rock solid play and winning personality. His injury was a real blow to the team and I look forward to watching him play next season.
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| Fedor Tyutin | Dale Purinton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fedor Tyutin has really been impressing folks with his play since coming to the Rangers and this maybe one of those rare cases where the player lives up to his hype. Dale Purinton will certainly face some tough competition at next seasons's training camp but he's still hanging in there. Unfortunately, the progress that we saw from him last season seems to have stopped and lately he's been playing undisciplined hockey and taking cheap shots all of which is losing him fans.
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| Bryce Lampman | Karel Rachunek (In net ;) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryce Lampman's been with Hartford all season and, from what I've seen of him since he came up, I like him. He does not panic and seems strong along the boards. He's made a few mistakes since coming up but hell, this team is a pickup squad at this point so... As for Rachunek, he's a young defenseman who's shown that he can play at the NHL level. He was a top 4 defenseman for Ottawa and, while many feel that he is uneven and has not fulfilled his potential, he's still very young and has plenty of time.
McAllister is BIG. A lot of folks are thinking he may be an upgrade over Purinton. Time will tell. Thjis is also a great shot of Jamie Mclennan playing in his first game as a Ranger. More on him below.
Holy crap but this kid is exciting! The Rangers signed Thomas PÖck out of UMass after his season had ended. After getting the call from his agent, he hopped in a car, drove to straight to the Garden and signed his contract 1 hour before game time. He scored his first goal in that game with a wicked shot from the blueline. PÖck is an incredibly good skater and seems remarkably poised for someone with no professional experience.
Meanwhile there's our goaltending sitaution. Dunham may or may not be back next season but I'm not picturing him here because I want to focus on our future.
Jason Labarbera has set an AHL record with 14 shutouts this season and recently picked up his first NHL win. Unfortunately, he let in 7 goals in his very next appearance but still, the future looks good for Jason.
Jamie Mclennan had a very impressive season with Calgary this year, essentially carrying the team through a long stetch when their top two goaltenders went down to injury. The young goaltender posted an impressive record and 4 shutouts during that time despite playing with an injury of his own. Jamie has expressed what seems to be genuine excitement for being part of this rebuilding effort here in NY. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.
Stephen Valiquette came over from the Oilers in the Nedved/Maarkenan trade. By all accounts he is a journeyman back up goaltender but he did manage to beat the Flyers in his first game with the Rangers so he get s a shoutout, nonetheless. That was only his 4th career NHL game so, who knows, maybe he'll be a late bloomer and turn into the Ranger goalie of the future and we can all look back at this page and remember when he was just some guy we thought was passing through.
Dan Blackburn has been out all season with an injury and, just as we thought he was improving, word has it that he may need surgery on his shoulder. One thing most people will agree on, however, is that when Dan returns he'll need some more time in Hartford honing his skills before he's ready to try playing at the NHL level again.
Meanwhile, the buzz on Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is extremely high.