2007-2008 NHL Season Preview - New York Rangers
New York Rangers
Notable moves and changes: Signed F Chris Drury and F Scott Gomez.
Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist.
Summary of last year: Picking up the troubled Sean Avery from the Kings in February was by all accounts the turnaround moment for the Rangers. Avery lit a fire under the Rangers’ collective butts and sparked the team to jump from 11th in the Eastern Conference to making the playoffs and sweeping Atlanta in the first round. Who knew the problem child in LA would turn into a team motivator in New York? Another savvy Sather move.
Prediction for this year: The fact the New York Rangers went on a free agent signing over the summer is not news. The fact they may have actually improved their team is. Gomez and Drury more than make up for the loss of Michael Nylander and Brad Isbister. Yeah, the Rangers did well. Shanny’s back, Jagr’s still firing on all cylanders, Avery’s mucking it up (and helping out on the scoresheet), and Henrik Lundqvist is hopefully primed to continue his amazing streak from last year. Defensively they’re a little suspect, but with the improvements made this off-season, who will notice?
UPDATE: Looks like I spoke too soon. Sean Avery is already heavily rumored to be on his way out of New York according to ESPN. Seems Avery’s displeasure at the Ranger’s comments at his arbitration hearing has not faded and the Rangers fear the old distracting Avery might show up for camp. Stay tuned.
New York Rangers, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Sean Avery, Michael Nylander, Jagr, Henrik Lundqvist
November 13th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
[...] All wasn’t rosy by the beginning of training camp either. [...]