Happy times.

When the Rangers’ season ended almost two weeks ago, my plan was to sit down and write a “thoughts” post to give some closure to the season. It ended up taking a little more time than I expected to put the year in perspective, but I’m going to give it a go this morning. Here are my final thoughts on the 2014-2015 New York Rangers.

  • I suppose I’ll kind of give this a go in semi-chronological order, so let’s start with the off-season. I agree with Kevin, that this past summer was not Glen Sather’s finest hour. To an extent he used the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” model. He had to cover the losses of key contributors in Anton Stralman, Brian Boyle and Benoit Pouliot, so bringing in depth was important when little cap space existed.

  • Some pieces stuck (Kevin Hayes, Matt Hunwick), and some did not (Ryan Malone, Mike Kostka, Chris Mueller, Lee Stempniak). I understand that Slats was in a difficult spot between little cap room and a very mediocre free agent cabinet, but it was still a fairly ill-conceived plan.
  • Might as well get this over with early. I honestly don’t know if I can take another season (much less two) of Tanner Glass. Despite the advanced (and not so advanced) statistics that should have told Glen Sather this was not a good idea, I can somewhat understand his thought process. Sather is an old school guy. Clearly have a physical presence in the bottom six is something he believes in from a roster construction standpoint. Since the passing Derek Boogaard, the Rangers have had scrappy but small enforcers in the form of Brandon Prust and Derek Dorsett. I can see the logic in getting a bigger body in there.
  • Of course we have all seen the end of that movie. Glass, despite being a seemingly great guy, is a terrible hockey player. His presence turned one of the Rangers’ biggest strengths (dominant defensive fourth line) into a huge question mark with his suspect positioning and hockey IQ. Please find someone dumb enough to take him, even if we have to eat half his salary.
  • Ok, no more Tanner Glass talk, I promise. Going completely in the other direction, the signing of Kevin Hayes was indescribably huge. The kid had one of the most visible maturation arcs at the NHL level that I can remember. Starting off as a big pile of talent and morphing into a semi-dominant power forward in his first professional season. The sky really is the limit for Hayes.
  • Martin St. Louis’ precipitous decline has been sad to watch. He was the guy who defied all the odds and was an offensive force well into his thirties. We all knew it was going to come at some point, but it doesn’t make it any easier when it arrives. Obviously, Marty cannot be retained at this point, but he had an absolutely outstanding career and should be respected for his contributions to the sport, as a whole.
  • Many of us felt a minor sense of relief when it was announced that Cam Talbot was signed to a 1 year/$1.45m extension because we knew we would have a solid backup going into next season. However, with Henrik’s injury and subsequent molten-hot run by Talbot, instead, we have a strong trade commodity.
  • Packaging Talbot and Klein together at the draft would immediately provide $4.35m of much needed cap space, and potentially frees up a spot on the blue line for Brady Skjei to get some sheltered minutes. I know people love Klein, but his phenomenal success this year was a mirage and he was downright terrible in the second half.
  • I really hope there is no long-term neurological trauma to Mats Zuccarello. He is an extremely important part of this team, and he needs to rest until he is completely symptom-free.
  • 2014-2015 was Derick Brassard’s coming out party. Hopefully there is much more to come.
  • I will be very curious to watch Derek Stepan’s contract situation play out. I sort of look at him like Ryan Callahan, in which you have a very talented player who may demand way more money than their production would indicate. I think he should be signed, as the Rangers aren’t exactly overflowing with offensive centermen, but a trade shouldn’t be completely off the table if he is going to play hardball.
  • Jumping around a little bit, I understand AV’s thought process when it came to trying to see what he had in his depth veterans before going to the kids. Once they faltered, the kids had the benefit of extra seasoning in the AHL and were ready to step in and contribute. I don’t think it’s a “one-size-fits-all” model for player development, but I think it’s good depth management when you are trying to find the right combination of players for a long season.
  • The development of JT Miller and Jesper Fast has been critical for the long-term outlook of the organization. Hopefully, not we can start to see more consistency from Chris Kreider.
  • If Carl Hagelin is the victim of the cap crunch, I will not be a happy camper. He is the type of luxury every true contender needs on the roster. He has become a swiss army knife to the extent he can be deployed in almost any situation (except the powerplay, because he stinks), and has the speed and hockey IQ to be a consistent disruptive force to breakouts and neutral zone possession.
  • Get well soon, defense.
  • Rick Nash. All the guy has done is score 89 goals in 188 regular season games as a Ranger (.47 GPG). He has been a consummate professional and teammate. Sure, he has struggled in the playoffs when the top defensive players from the league’s top teams create entire game plans centered around containing him. He has played a tremendous two-way game and has periods of flat-out dominance. It’s time to end the Rick Nash hate.
  • I will be very interested to see how Keith Yandle does with a full season in New York now that he has his feet underneath him.
  • I’d say the Ryan McDonagh captaincy has been an overall success. There were some hiccups along the way, but watching Mac skate on a broken foot in the playoffs, he has clearly embraced the role of grizzled vet and leader, at the ripe old age of 25.
  • What to say about Hank. After a rough start, he rebounded to almost exactly his career averages. He was a stud in the playoffs. I really, truly hope Henrik is not one of those athletes with every possible accolade except for a championship when all is said and done. There are still several years left in his window of elite play, but the past few years have culminated in a feeling of missed opportunity.
  • That said, I am extremely proud of this group. As much as the bitter contingent will bemoan any importance of a President’s Trophy, it is an impressive achievement. This team came one win from competing for the Cup (again). We didn’t get back to the promised land, but it was a fun year to be a part of and a group that could have gone all the way if they had gotten the breaks.
  • Looking toward the off-season, most of the heavy lifting will be re-signing RFA’s, but from a roster construction perspective, Slats needs to bring in some guys who will help drive possession. The counter-attack, transition strategy works great in the regular season it is important not to lose the focus on speed. However, as we saw, it has a hard time getting you consistent scoring in a clogged, playoff neutral zone. Interesting summer of moves, ahead.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers for spending the hockey season with us and making this site such a special place. Make sure you participate in our Off-Season Plan Contest to let us know how you would handle the roster this summer. Keep it locked here for full off-season coverage, performance grades, the Draft, and of course, my Pre-Season Top 30 Goaltenders list.

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