No player or executive had a greater influence on what the New York Rangers would look like from 2021 to 22 than Tom Wilson of Washington Capitals.
Caps’ Enforcer gave his blue shirt black eyes in a match after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs battle last season.
Within seconds, Wilson finished the season with a goalmouth scramble to hit Pavelbuchnevic prone on the back of his head and later punching the shabby star Artemi Panalin into the ice.
In the next few days, the league fined Wilson $ 5,000. The Rangers defeated the NHL and were fined $ 250,000. After team owners disagreed with their approach, team president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton were fired and Chris Drury took over. Director David Quinn was also fired.
In the off-season, the Rangers decided to revamp their lineup to give them a more physical presence. They bought Enforcer Ryback Reeves from Vegas, signed the gritty Berkeley Goodrow as a free agent, and exchanged Buchnevic for St. Louis for another physical player, Sammy Bryce. Nonsense coach Gerard Gallant was hired.
The days when Rangers play four skill lines are over. No one is going to push them away anymore.
Rangers defense Jacob Trouba said, “Looking at the teams that have won in the past, I think there are stubborn players who can attack, but it’s difficult to play against them.” They set the tone and edge of a kind of game. They are just guys who aren’t fun to play against. We have played against them in the past, but they are the ones you want to join the team. “
The Rangers certainly have enough skill players for Panalin, Mika Jibanejad and Chris Crider. There is also a corps of young talents such as Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. The defense is led by the winners of the Norris Trophy, Adam Fox, Torva and Candre Miller. Goaltending is solid if Igor Sheschokin and Alexander Georgiev stay healthy.
Wilson downplayed his role in change, saying that it was the perfect storm that led to the change.
“They obviously wanted to play tougher. They wanted to bring in some grit,” Wilson said. In the first place, you shouldn’t be a man who is bouncing his back like Panarin. Its overall situation-I don’t talk much about it-but he shouldn’t feel he should have had to do it. “
Wilson called Panalin one of his favorite players in the league and added that he was a great player with a great personality.
“So I’m glad it’s a little behind. Obviously, they made some moves that they thought would make the team better,” Wilson said. “That is, it may have something to do with the toughness of the department, but I can’t believe it.”
With the retirement of the 30th jersey worn by star goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers will highlight the season in January: He retired in the off-season after missing last season due to heart problems.
New boss
Drury and Gallant are running the show in Garden after the team missed the playoffs with a record of 27-23-6.
Gallant is best known for leading Las Vegas to the Stanley Cup Finals during the 2017-18 expansion season. This will be the fourth team handled by the 58-year-old, including a tour with the Panthers and the Blue Jackets.
On the ice, Galan was a scorer who didn’t mind playing physical games. He expects the players to play two-way hockey and take care of their teammates.
Former Rangers captain Drury was in demand throughout the league. When owner James Doran was tired of waiting for the team to succeed, he was in the right place at the right time.
Fox Rise
Adam Fox has come a long way since it was acquired in a trade with Carolina in April 2019. He had 8 goals and 34 assists in 70 games as a rookie. The 23-year-old had five goals and 42 assists, plus 19 to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defense. He spent an average of nearly 25 minutes in 55 games.
If progress continues, the Rangers will shoot in the postseason.
Young children
The Rangers know they will score goals from Panalin, Jibanejad, Crader and Ryan Strome. They lost 20 goals in a deal with Buchnevic.
La Frenière, who ranked first overall in 2020, and parentheses, which ranked second in the previous year, need to win it this season, along with Chichill and Vitali Kravtsov. Last season, four people scored 31 goals.
After Lundokuvist
Sheschokin gave the Rangers what they wanted the year after Lundkvist was not resigned. Sheschokin advanced to 16-14-3 with an ERA of 2.62 and signed a four-year contract in August.
Georgiev was about .500 goalkeepers as a backup. Keith Kinkaid flashed the old form, going 3-2-1 at 2.59 GAA after joining the lineup due to an injury.
Special team
The Rangers were good with a special team last season, but maybe even better.
They finished 14th in power play, scored 37 goals and achieved conversions with 20.7% of their chances. The penalty kill was even better. They were in 10th place, scoring 8 short hand goals and killing 82.3%.
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AP hockey writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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Other APNHL: https: //apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
Rougher and tougher Rangers from 2021 to 22 after Wilson flaps | WGN Radio 720
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