Oh No Marian Gaborik is 29! Henrik Lundqvist is also 29! Heaven help us, they’re close to retirement! People, get off the ledge. The Rangers organisation is not panicking. The players are not panicking and this is hardly a Ray Bourque end-of-career, must win situation. Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist are entering their prime, but most importantly they should still be nowhere near the end of their careers.
They both have plenty of contract left to play out and given the Rangers situation – good prospect depth, impressive young roster, stable ownership, great market to play in – there is no reason to believe that (Lundqvist in particular) they would want to bale on the organisation if the Rangers aren’t planning a parade within the next 24 months.
The Rangers are going in the right direction. The older players on this team are not approaching a point where they are getting long in the tooth. Yes, Gaborik needs to rebound from a below par season, but he is still an elite goal scorer, and even in the worst case scenario that he fails to rebound next year he would still fetch a quality return from a team desperate for skill.
This perception that the Rangers need to (start to) win now is pretty absurd. There is absolutely no need to panic as the team is being built from the back out with home grown players and some free agents. They are being built in the right way. The last thing the team needs is panic and an unreasonable level of impatience to set in amongst fans or media.
The fact that Lundqvist and Gaborik are among the older players on the roster says something. It is a good thing. The leaders on this team, the best players on this team also offer the most experience and that is a good thing. Looking at the Rangers core there is just one player in his thirties – newly acquired Brad Richards. Gaborik, Lundqvist, Callahan, Dubinsky, Staal, Girardi, McDonagh, Boyle and Prust – all core players going forward and the oldest of the bunch is 29. Get excited.
Share:
More About:State of the Rangers