Is Derek Stepan A Prime Candidate For Sophomore Slump?

The New York Rangers experienced what a sophomore slump can look like last season when Michael Del Zotto not only could not repeat his rookie performance, but declined considerably to the point he was sent to the minors on multiple occasions.  Over at Bangin Panger, Vance took a look at which 2010-11 rookies are most likely to have the disappointing follow-up to their rookie campaigns.  In his assessment Derek Stepan came out as one of the three players most likely to see his play drop next season.

2. Derek Stepan  - The Rangers Center situation suddenly got very crowded after July 1.  With Brad Richards and Brandon Dubinsky ahead of Stepan on the depth chart, and comparable statistics to Boyle and Anisimov, there won't be nearly as much ice time to go around, and it won't be with Gaborik or Callahan.

Where Derek Stepan plays this season could have a huge impact on the type of production he puts up offensively.  If the Rangers do decide to give him a chance to play with Richards and Gaborik, then he could have a tremendous year and take a huge step forward.  However, if he ends up seeing limited ice time due to the Rangers depth at center, then he could see a stagnation or decline in his numbers. We do have to remember that Stepan put up much of his numbers this season as a third line player, so remaining in the role does not automatically set him up for a decline compared to last year.

The difference between Stepan and Del Zotto is that you don’t expect that kind of decline in quality or confidence, though in fairness to Del Zotto you would not have predicted it for him last year either.  The summer after making it to the NHL and having success is huge and it will be so not just for Stepan, but McDonagh and Sauer as they move into their second seasons in the NHL.

h/t to SNYRangersBlog for finding this one

New York Rangers Honor Derek Boogaard's Legacy With Annual Hockey Scholarships

Al Bello/Getty Images

When it comes to sports people pick their favorite teams for many different reasons and the passion they have for those teams grows based on the players, possibly team success and the level of investment you have in the organization.  All you can hope for as a fan is that in times of adversity the organization you invest in makes you proud to call yourself a fan of them.  For New York Rangers fans this summer has been one to take pride in.  New York Rangers fans have always had a great deal of pride in the Blueshirts, but that pride should have grown more over the past few months in how the organization has handled the passing of Derek Boogaard.  Last month at the draft the Rangers had Derek’s brother Aaron announce their 2011 1st round selection in Minnesota.  

Today the Rangers have taken another step to honor the legacy of Derek Boogaard in announcing that they will present two hockey scholarships annually for the Rangers Summer Youth Hockey Camp to children of Defending the Blue Line.  Defending the Blue Line was a charity that was very special to Boogaard and to give scholarships to children from that charity in his honor is a tremendous gesture by the Rangers organization.  It is moves like this that make so many proud to bleed blue.

Official release:

NEW YORK, July 13, 2011 – To honor the legacy of former Rangers left wing Derek Boogaard, the New York Rangers have announced that they will present two scholarships annually for Rangers Summer Youth Hockey Camp to children from the Defending the Blue Line program. Defending the Blue Line is a nonprofit organization created by soldiers with the goal of making hockey accessible to children of our nation’s military heroes, a program Derek supported wholeheartedly throughout his hockey career. Throughout the 2010-11 Season, Boogaard donated four seats at every Rangers home game for military families to attend as part of a group which he dubbed “Boogaard’s Boogaardians.”

This year’s scholarship recipients are two 8-year old boys from New York City who each have family members currently serving in the military. The boys will be attending the week-long camp from July 18-22 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, NY. Current Blueshirt center Derek Stepan, also an advocate of Defending the Blue Line, and defenseman Michael Sauer will be visiting the camp on Friday, July 22^nd.

Rangers Youth Hockey Camp provides children with top-level hockey instruction with a focus on team participation and personal development. The Derek Boogaard Youth Hockey Scholarship will be awarded annually to honor Boogaard’s memory and continue the Rangers mission to help grow the game of hockey by making it accessible to all.

Boyle Not Resting On Last Year, Working Even Harder For Next Season

Coming off a career season and about to get a large increase in salary it would be easy for Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers to lost a little of the motivation that drove him last summer just to save his spot on the roster.  That is certainly not the case this summer based on what he told Blueshirts United.com yesterday during the Rangers Summer Youth Hockey Camp.

"It's great that we got Brad (Richards), and I'm super excited about that. But we all need to work even harder this off-season and be even better next season. We have to do this as a team, not rely on only one guy."

Having already begun his off-ice conditioning and restarted his power skating training with Barbara Underhill there is absolutely no relaxing for Boyle this summer.  While last season’s motivation was about proving he was an NHL player who could have an impact and deserved to stay, this summer is all about proving that last season was for real and not just a fluke. 

Boyle is absolutely right in terms of how every player on the team should be looking at the Brad Richards signing.  There should be a level of excitement to add a top quality player to the roster and the statement it makes from management about how close they believe the team is to competing for a championship.  Beyond that though it cannot be just about Richards as the Rangers do not stand a chance to compete if all the players who had breakout years last season, like Boyle, do not continue to have that same or even more impact next season.

Rumor: Rangers Negotiating With Sami Lepisto?

Per NHL Gossip, a Finnish Website is reporting that the New York Rangers are in negotiations with Sami Lepisto on a contract for next season. Lepisto, 26, spent last season with the Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets.  Last month Columbus decided not to tender Lepisto a qualifying offer and he became an unrestricted free agent. 

Obviously this is just a rumor and should be taken as such, but let us look at whether it makes sense for the Rangers.  Lepisto has shown offensive abilities in the AHL, but not to this point in his career at the NHL level so he would not fit the need of a puck moving defender.  While he does have 150 games in the NHL this would certainly not seem to classify in the realm of the veteran defender that many are hoping the Rangers sign this summer.  This could be a low risk type gamble for the Rangers as it should come with a low price tag, but there is not a whole lot to get excited about with the move if it happens.

Video: CT Whale Look At Prospect Development Camp Part 1

Brian Ring, media relations manager for the Connecticut Whale, tweeted this video which gives a behind the scenes look at Rangers prospect camp from two weeks ago.  In the first of two installments the video shows both interviews with potential Whale players Jason Wilson and Ryan Bourque, but also conversations with Rangers Assistant General Manager/Whale General Manager Jim Schoenfeld.  The conversations with Schoenfeld deal with the chances for Wilson, John Mitchell, and Chad Kolarik to make the NHL roster this fall while giving insight into how each player plays the game.

For all four of these guys the chances of making the club are slim because as Schoenfeld says they have to take someone else's job so the standard for them to win a roster battle is higher than a player who is already in the NHL.  Regardless all four of these players will look to leave an impression with the NHL coaching staff even if they fail to make the team so that in case of injury that impression is there when deciding which Whale player gets the call to help out in New York.


Excellent work by Brian and everyone at the CT Whale to put this together and give some spotlight to prospects and members of the organization that sometimes get lost in the discussion of bigger names.  Be sure to follow @CTWhale and @BrianRing to keep up with the latest things going on with the Rangers AHL affiliate.

Will Tortorella Loosen System To Allow Rangers Skill Players More Freedom

The 2010-11 New York Rangers team was one that lacked multiple elite offensive players and instead relied on a system that saw them focus on forechecking and outworking the opposition.  Given that the majority of the forward core consisted of grinding type players, the system was perfect for them.  The way the Rangers played in their dump and chase mentality allowed players to generate offense from their work in the opposition zone as opposed to having to rely on pure skill to create chances.  Whether New York was able to impose their will in a given game and establish the forecheck played a large factor in the success or failure of the club on a given night. 

The negative to the system was that it seemed to stifle the creativity of the more skilled offensive talents on the club.  While many other things contributed to the down season Marian Gaborik had last year, most notably Gaborik himself, the system did not seem to mesh with the things he does best.   The question now is whether with another elite talent like Brad Richards in the fold if Tortorella will loosen the leash on everyone playing the system and allow the higher skilled offensive players to use their creativity more freely.  Expecting a return to the old “safe is death” version of Tortorella is expecting too much, but there is no reason that he cannot have unique plans for lines to best use their abilities.  Every player on the team will obviously be expected to be defensively aware, but that does not mean it has to stifle the explosive talent certain players have.

No place was this more evident last season than the power play.  The Rangers utter lack of aggression on the power play was baffling especially given how aggressive they would play both at even strength and especially shorthanded by pressuring the opposition.  Some of this has to go back to coaching whether it be with Michael Del Zotto or even with an acquisition like Bryan McCabe.  McCabe came in and for his first few games was firing shots from the point with no hesitation but after a few weeks with the club he seemed petrified to let the shot go.  Adding Richards to the point on the power play gives coach John Tortorella someone he knows and trusts to handle the duties back there and should allow the team to implement a more aggressive approach both in terms of screening the goaltender and carrying the puck on entry instead of pure dump and chase, which often resulted in immediate clears by the opposing team.

Obviously the Rangers have a system they want to play which allows them to rely on their defense and Henrik Lundqvist to give them a chance each night, but that does not mean they cannot open up the offense a little more to take advantage of the skills Gaborik and Richards being to the table.  The combination of the grinding style for certain lines and the skill and creativity the new top line can have is what makes the Rangers dangerous next season, but that only works if coach John Tortorella is willing to allow for deviations from his system to put players in better position to succeed.

Rangers Close US Preseason Schedule Against Rival Flyers

While it has been known that the New York Rangers would play three preseason games stateside before playing three in Europe we did not know who the third game would be against or where it would be played.  Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly reports that the Rangers will play against the Flyers on September 26 in Philadelphia. 

This means the Rangers preseason schedule in the US will be:

Sept 21 against New Jersey in Albany

Sept. 23 against New Jersey in Newark

Sept. 26 against Philadelphia in Philly

Rangers Promote Gorton to Assistant GM, Maxwelll to Head of Pro Scouting

Today the New York Ranges made official what was reported last week in terms of changes within the front office.  Jeff Gorton goes from Assistant Director of Player Personnel where he worked closely with Gordie Clark on the draft and scouting side to Assistant General Manager.  In his new role Gorton will be working with Glen Sasther on player transactions and contract negotiations and has three big ones to get done in the next few weeks before arbitration hearings.

Gorton has experience in the top job as he was interim GM for the Boston Bruins in 2006 and during his tenure he played a role in the signing of Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard to free agent deals along with the trade that sent Andrew Raycroft to Toronto for Tukka Rask.  Beyond that the draft that year saw the Bruins select Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic, and Brad Marchand.  Those moves give Gorton a big stamp on what the Bruins accomplished this year as does his work with Gordie Clark the past four seasons in the Rangers rebuilding of the prospect system.  The Rangers are lucky to have Gorton as part of the decision making group of this organization and this was a smart hire to replace the departing Cam Hope.

Another move announced today was that Kevin Maxwell has taken over Director of Pro Scouting after being with the Rangers the past three years.

Does Boyle Line Remain Rangers Third Line This Season or Move Back Down?

Along with who will play on the other wing with Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards one of the most interesting lineup questions for the New York Rangers this fall might be the role of Brian Boyle and his line.  Last season he and Brandon Prust started together on the fourth line with a rotation of players to be the third member of the line.  Quickly, in part due to injury and lineup juggling, Boyle, Prust and Ruslan Fedotenko became the team’s third line and it remained that way for the rest of the season.  The question that lingers now is whether with the signing of Brad Richards whether Boyle is now relegated back to being the fourth line center again behind Richards, Anisimov and Stepan or if Boyle will once again play a third line role and attempt to prove his offensive production last season was no fluke.

The combination of Boyle, Prust and Fedotenko was a large reason the Rangers were able to overcome the massive number of injuries last season and still make the playoffs.  The line epitomizes the system that coach John Tortorella wants the Rangers to play in how they outwork the opposition, are good on the forecheck and play defensively responsible hockey.  The issue is not what this line can do with their minutes, but if the Rangers, at their best, are better with this as their fourth line instead of as a third line.  Last season they were phenomenal in the first half of the year in adapting to their increased roles and massively increased ice time, but Boyle and Prust especially seemed to fade in the second half from the extra work and responsibility.  Their work on the penalty kill was still excellent, but their impact offensively was significantly lower in the second half and the number of games where they looked worn out increased drastically.

This likely wont be decided until training camp when the answer to what happens on the first line wing develops as that is the domino that can change the look of the rest of the lineup.  If Stepan is moved up there then it leaves open the space for Boyle and company to be the third line again with Tortorella deciding on who will fill out the fourth line spots.  If not, then Stepan is likely going to spot in the lineup on that third line and push Boyle’s group down to the fourth line where they will see a reduced role in certain aspects of the game, but it could leave them fresher throughout the year than they were after the massive increase in ice time last season.

Veteran Defenseman: True Need Or Luxury Want For Rangers?

Now that the New York Rangers have seemingly solved their issues finding a top line center with the signing of Brad Richards the talk has shifted to the rest of the roster.  The addition of Mike Rupp and retaining of Ruslan Fedotenko leaves the Rangers with an excess of forwards once the remaining three restricted free agents get their contracts.  Beyond discussing what to do with the excess and which player is most likely out, the main conversation about the roster has been about the need for the club to bring a veteran defenseman.

This conversation is not much different than the one that went on leading up to the trading deadline in which the Rangers dealt for Bryan McCabe in order to help out the young defensive unit.  There is little doubt that heading into training camp Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and newly extended Michael Sauer will be the top four defenders for the club this season.  The questions arise in discussing the third pair in which John Tortorella failed to find combinations he was comfortable with in the second half in order to reduce the workload on his top four defensemen.

As the roster stands currently, beyond those top four you are looking at a competition between Michael Del Zotto, Tim Erixon, Tomas Kundratek, Pavel Valentenko and possibly Dylan McIlrath for the final top spots in the defense corps.  The concern is not about talent, but about experience and the overall age of the group. 

If Del Zotto and Erixon are the third pair to go with the assumed top four, the New York Rangers will start the season with Marc Staal (24), Dan Girardi (27), Ryan McDonagh (22), Michael Sauer (24), Tim Erixon (21), Michael Del Zotto (21) for an average age of 23.16 on the blueline.  Beyond the average age you would be looking at a blueline with four players who had below two full seasons in the NHL and a combined game total of only 927 games at the NHL level.

There is no doubt that is a concern for the Rangers to potentially be relying on a group that is that young and lacks NHL experience as a group to that extent.  However, that does not mean the organization has to sign or trade for someone just because they are older or have played a lot of games in the NHL.  That failed with McCabe.  Beyond that, at least with respect to the top four, Staal and Girardi regardless of age are veterans at this point while Sauer and McDonagh showed last season they can be relied on as a second shutdown pair regardless of the number of games of experience.

This is not to say the Rangers could not use another defender who has more experience to add to the young defense corps they have, but there is no urgency and it should be done either to deal off an excess forward or as a tryout in training camp as opposed to making a signing now.  As I suggested earlier in the weak, Erik Christensen would be a prime candidate for such a trade to bring in a bottom pair defender with a reasonable contract that has some NHL experience and swap out contracts/roster spots.

Unless there is real doubt within the organization about the ability of Del Zotto to rebound from last season or Erixon to make the transition to the NHL, adding a veteran defender is more of a luxury than a true need.  In essence that defender is an insurance policy in case of injury or struggle with the expectation that they will spend the majority of the year wearing a suit instead of a sweater on the ice.