Wade Redden - 2:30
Marc Staal - 9 seconds
Scott Gomez - 2:31
Chris Drury - 2:53
Petr Prucha - nothing
Lauri Korpikoski - 22 seconds
I'm not saying Prucha is the be-all-and-end-all of the New York Rangers. I'm not saying Korpikoski is worth the 2004 1st round draft pick. But Gomez has done nothing - in an incredible fashion - on the power play lately. Redden has done nothing the entire season, on the power play AND even strength. Drury - eh, nothing, at least Drury wants to play for the Rangers.
Could it really hurt the Rangers to put Prucha or Korpikoski on the power play? (Ryan Callahan played just over 2 minutes today on the PP). Korpikoski has 3G, 1A in the past 4 games and, along with Callahan, Prucha, Henrik Lundqvist, and Paul Mara, appear to be the only Rangers interested in playing past early-April.
Listen, I love Tom Renney. He will go down in history with Lester Patrick, Emile Francis, and Mike Keenan as the most important coaches in Ranger history. But, he has an over-reliance on these bums - for lack of a better word. Gomez and Redden don't perform. Why keep putting them out there?
I sincerely think that Renney won't get fired, because either GM Glen Sather is clueless, or he is out on vacation somewhere. He is an absentee GM, and because Jim Dolan will make money on the Rangers (and Knicks) regardless of how they finish, he has no need to change things.
It makes me angry just typing this. Redden either needs to refrain from showing his loyalty so much, or he needs to step away from the bench and move to a cozy office a few floors below ice level at MSG.
I don't know how you have loyalty to Renney. I realize it will take another 10 game losing streak if Slats ever realizes what's going on, but Renney road the coatails of Jagr and Lundqvist since the lockout. He was an ideal coach at that time because of his relationship with Jaromir and because he was able to work well with the young players.
ReplyDeleteBut Renney was restricted by Jagr, and later by Shanahan. I think that was the biggest reason we said goodbye to them over the summer. In October, he let the boys play hockey; and look what happened. What happened to Dubinsky... even Zherdev?
And it's hard to talk about Prucha's treatment. Not only does his excuses make no sense... it's like he's setting the kid up for failure. I was disappointed in Prucha's play last night; but in fairness, he's playing like he did in the beginning of the season, when he was at a low confidence-wise, and tried to play Renney's system, which does not work for him what-so-ever. Any confidence he developed from some good games in Dec and Jan have again disappeared.
I'm sorry to comment-spam your blog. I just had to say it. I want Renney fired, NOW.
There's probably pressure on Renney from above to play the stars. And if that's the case, it's a shame.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think about the era from 2005-2007, when the Rangers relied mostly on their young, hungry roster. After they lost to Buffalo in 2007, they suddenly became the Rangers of old and started buying everybody they could. Now, they're completely screwed cap-wise, they're not cohesive at all, and as much as Renney has done to mess things up, he never had a chance once Sather started splashing the cash around. AGAIN. You'd think they'd learn from the disasters that were Bobby Holik, Darius Kasparaitis, Theo Fleury, and a million others. You can't take 2nd and 3rd line guys, pay them 1st line money, and expect them to perform as such. The worst part is, once the cap starts to move down, the Rangers will be in even more trouble. You can't blame Renney for what will happen at that point.