Taking Toughness Too Far?

Lets not discuss Ilya Kovalchuk here. Or the disgusting contracts the league keeps turning a blind eye to (next CBA anyone?). Lets also not discuss Simon Gagne here other than to say Steve Yzermans stellar first summer on the job continues. What I want to discuss here is an apparent change of emphasis in the Rangers organisation that continued with the minor deal to acquire Matt McCue on Monday.

Looking at the Rangers draft, at the Hartford Woldfpack, deals such as the one for Matt McCue and Boogaard’s signing all have me slighly perplexed. Why the sudden obsession with ‘out and out toughness’? The Rangers were easy to play against last year thats fair to say, they rarely established a forecheck, didnt fight for each other and that had to be addressed but this summer I feel Sather has over compensated.

Several draft picks were almost pure tough guys that appear to have very little chance at the NHL level. With all due respect Randy McNaught, Jason Wilson and now Matt McCue, you’re unlikely to be become Rangers. Were some of these moves therefore wasted draft picks? Call me naive but surely drafting is done with an intent on developing and improving the big club. Drafting an overager such as Wilson doesnt help that. With Brashear and Devin DiDiomete also in Hartford you have alot of ‘toughness’. You can add tough guy Justin Soryal to that group too; a prospect but a marginal one at best. You could even be very harsh and say that when the Rangers drafted Dylan Milrath their concerns over team toughness may have directed them to him instead of another need but we’ll give them a pass on Mcilrath because he was a genuine need and seems like a very good prospect.

However back to Hartford. Over the next 12-24 months the Rangers should have alot of young talented prospects coming through and they need a place to play. Having all these tough guys in Hartford may take up a few of the 50 NHL contracts and as well as that contract issue will there be places for the kids to play? Will talented kids be forced to stay in junior/NCAA for an extra year? 

I know its not that simple or that extreme; McNaught may be in the ECHL, Brashear will be gone etc. but there seems to be a knee jerk reaction to toughness in the organisation. This is just me thinking out loud so please tolerate me; maybe I am the one overreacting?