Offseason tournament bracket.

Offseason tournament bracket.

As the offseason wears on, us and Matt Josephs of Blue Line Station (Twitter: 11Matt_Josephs8) will be running a tournament for the Best Ranger since the 2005 lockout. The first match in the tournament pits the tournament favorite (Henrik Lundqvist) against the trade deadline acquisition that most people would like to forget, Olli Jokinen. Here’s the matchup:

Henrik Lundqvist (Acquired – 2000 draft, round 7)

Hank is Hank. He’s a five-time Vezina Finalist, he’s won the award once. He’s been the backbone of the team, and the best goalie in the world. Not really much else to say here.

Olli Jokinen (Acquired with Brandon Prust in 2010 for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik)

In 26 games as a Ranger, Jokinen put together a line of 4-11-15, and helped the Rangers chase a playoff spot. Ironically enough, the big trade deadline acquisition is now best known for missing this shootout attempt, and causing the Rangers to miss the playoffs for the first and only time since the 2005 lockout. While Jokinen may best be remembered for that shootout attempt, the acquisition wasn’t a complete disaster. Prust came along in that deal, and the Rangers shed themselves of the Kotalik contract. It wasn’t all bad.

So who do you think is the better Ranger, Hank or Jokinen? Vote thumbs up for the higher seed (Hank), or thumbs down for the lower seed (Jokinen). Voting ends at midnight tonight.

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