Fourteen years later

June 14, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s June 14th, 2008. Alright. You can probably figure out where I’m going and to be quite honest, I don’t even know why other than I just don’t have much other thoughts regarding the Rangers offseason.

The season finally commenced officially the other night in Toronto and once again, no Ranger came close to taking home any hardware. It’s not like there were a bunch of candidates as only the team’s best player Henrik Lundqvist was actually up for something. Though you’d never know it considering how little love he got for the Vezina which was won by the opposite No.30 on the bitter rival out in Newark.

So, why do I feel like rehashing ancient history and mentioning that it’s 14 years later since that special night which most Ranger fans thought would never come at Madison Square Garden. Thankfully, this was before the worst professional sports owner Jim Dolan could get his hands all over the product and destroy every single aspect of what MSG used to stand for. Professionalism and two respectable contending franchises. Has anyone seen the Knicks lately? Never mind.

That hot June seems like a century ago because since then, the Blueshirts have managed to win just two playoff series. Remember when they “painted the town blue” according to MSG due to dismantling a garbage Atlanta team which had no chance? Exactly. More dopey Dolan propaganda. In order to paint a town blue, you have to do better than winning one round.

They sure had their shot against Buffalo last year. Then Chris Drury tied Game Five in the same 7.7 Valeri Zelepukin tied Game Seven of the ECF 14 years prior. Only with a much different and sadder end result.

When I look back on the end of that game and for all intensive purposes series on a phantom new NHL special which allowed Maxim Afinegenov to rescue the Sabres, why do I now believe that was the Blueshirts’ golden opportunity to win a fifth Stanley Cup and stop bitter rival fans from mocking an Original Six franchise which doesn’t have a good track record. Only the Chicago Blackhawks are worse. And these days, the Toronto Maple Leafs have no direction and don’t look to be winning any Cups making 1967 seem obsolete.

If one of our other contributors was reading this, he’d obviously take me to task as his beloved team has given him nothing but sweet sorrow. Maybe it’s something in the water at Niagara Falls. Though I know he’d at least take tremendous delight in Toronto’s continued misery.

When outstanding MSG broadcaster Sam Rosen uttered the words, “The waiting is over. No more curses. …,” at that time, if you rooted for the Rangers you believed anything was possible. Then Mike Keenan left for St. Louis and it really was all downhill after that even if the 1996-97 team featuring Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky somehow reached the Conference Finals before getting plastered by a bigger Flyer team led by Eric Lindros and Legion of Doom members John LeClair and Mikael Renberg.

We all know what’s transpired since. I’m not about to rehash the worst run of Ranger hockey. I’ll just cite some names instead. Valeri Kamensky. Theo Fleury. Stephane Quintal. Brian Skrudland. Mike Keane. Sylvain Lefebvre. Scott Fraser. Mike Dunham (Doneham). Petr Nedved. Heck. Even stars such as Lindros, Pavel Bure and former ‘94 hero Alex Kovalev failed miserably here.

Finally, the organization wised up and used the lockout year to retool. It helped that Jaromir Jagr was so motivated to prove the cynics wrong who all figured me including that the team would once again suck finishing near the bottom of the league. Sometimes, you get a reprieve. For this team, Lundqvist who once was a former seventh round selection was exactly that falling literally from the sky where he developed so well in Sweden playing for Frolunda that he soon became the heir apparent to Mike Richter. The first reliable No.1 goalie since No.35 went to the rafters in 2004. They couldn’t even win that night ruining a great Jagr game by letting the Wild skate circles around them.

Fast forward to the present and the team which got a measure of revenge against an overachieving Devil team bowed out in a close five games against the Pens. I could point out again how close that series was but once they blew Game One, the writing was on the wall even if a garbage call helped decide it. And by now, we all know Sidney Crosby was a stride offside on Marian Hossa’s series clincher. It is what it is. It happened so quick anyway. Truthfully, the Pens were a better team and that’s that.

So, what is there to celebrate these days? It’s so easy to reflect back and see Messier, a young Brian Leetch, Richter, Adam Graves, Kovalev and Sergei Zubov and wonder how the heck they didn’t win another Cup or two. That’s New York in a nutshell. The 1986 Mets were one of the most talented baseball teams but drugs, alcohol and other distractions ruined a potential dynasty which is why you see and hear a lot of bitter Met fans these days. Can you blame them?

So, is it going to get any better for the Rangers who ironically enough are a similar franchise which leaves their fans wanting more? I don’t see it getting any easier. Especially with the Pens now around getting ready to lock up Evgeni Malkin. Oh. And they’ll try real hard to bring back Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik. Don’t just assume they’re coming to Broadway when our GM has his own issues needing to figure out what to do with Jagr and Sean Avery.

Remember last summer when they landed Drury and Scott Gomez subtracting Michael Nylander and how it was supposed to improve the club? How did that really work out in Year One? The team again struggled before making the playoffs and didn’t come as close to the third round as the Spring prior.

That’s what bothers me most. How is it going to get any better? Everyone assumes subtract Marek Malik and Michal Rozsival and the team is automatically better. Perhaps. But you don’t just replace guys who log important minutes. Even if Big Bird fell out of favor. We now know Rozsival played hurt and recently had hip surgery which might explain how much slower he looked in a bad postseason. He stunk against his former team.

The good news is Marc Staal played well and will anchor the blueline. Dan Girardi is the second best defender with enigma Fedor Tyutin either really good or really disappointing. When does the Russian who got a hefty raise play like he’s worth it? We’re talking about consistency here.

In a conference where the Pens will be around a while and have to be dealt with, you have the improved Flyers with a nice core in place along with the Canadiens who should be back. Plus the Senators are always a threat even if the overrated Wade Redden walks. There’s also the Capitals led by Hart winner Alexander Ovechkin who will only get better.

In other words, this conference just got even tougher to win. And you can’t discount the Sabres who still played well without Drury and Daniel Briere, narrowly missing the playoffs. They should be improved too.

The Devils always seem to invent a way to remain competitive.

So, when are the Rangers going to deliver another deep playoff run where a Cup actually is a realistic possibility instead of a classic tease?

I have no clue. Yeah. I’m definitely not picking a 1994 rematch again for next year. I learned my lesson.

Expect nothing. I’m officially down on this franchise until Lundqvist wins a couple of rounds and the team proves it can go deep into the Spring.

It’s time for the Rangers to take the next step. I’m waiting.