New York, NY (WFAN) -- The Rangers are in the midst of a small crisis and missing their #1 and #2 pivots are an issue for any team.
The biggest issue I think facing the Rangers is their goaltending. There is a consensus in Rangerland that Henrik Lundqvist is John Vanbeisbrouck, a really good goalie who will not win you the Stanley Cup. There are too many holes in Lundqvist’s game and the tough part is now he is entrenched as a Ranger. While Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival get booed every night, the attention has never been shifted towards the goalie. Lundqvist gives the Rangers some great games but far too often for someone being billed as your franchise goalie he gives up a bad goal at a bad time or just has a bad game.
Find a team that needs a goalie as their last piece to winning the Cup. Is it Chicago, is it Detroit, is it Washington? Think about what you can get back from those teams in a trade if you moved Lundqvist now while he has good trade value. You’d need a goalie back; Steve Valiquette isn’t the guy to play 60 games for you. Let’s say hypothetically the Wings gave you Jimmy Howard back in the deal. Good goalie, can play in the NHL, has yet to prove himself as a #1 but certainly could be one (and he is an upstate NY kid). That gives you a season to see if he is your guy of the future or if you need to find a #1 but you certainly have the time to do it. Remember, this Ranger team is a good team but not a Cup contender so you are taking one step back to take three forward.
Lundqvist has been good for the franchise on and off ice and trading him could send some major shock waves through the team. He is a popular guy in the organization. He’s been the face of the team through good and bad and never backs down from the public in adverse times. However, his play at times could be the reason they have had some of those adverse times.
It is certainly food for thought. You have to determine if he is the guy who can win you a Cup. If he isn’t, why are you keeping him here?
There is a great scene in the movie Major League where play by play voice Harry Doyle is on the radio and says, “Well fans, in case you haven’t noticed and judging by the attendance you haven’t, …..”.
If the Islanders still had radio broadcasters (the radio broadcast is a simulcast of the TV broadcast) they could actually repeat those exact lines because much like the fictional Indians in the movie, the real life Islanders are quietly climbing the standings and playing good hockey. It was stated in this column about this time last season that if given time and some assets, Coach Scott Gordon would be successful in regrouping this battered franchise and get it back on track.
Gordon doesn’t have to make the playoffs to prove that. If the Islanders are playing relevant games in February that is a huge victory for a team that hasn’t had its #1 goalie in a year and a half and goes to game time every night with a roster that at times pales in comparison with the star power of other elite teams in the conference.
It brings me back to what TSN and NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said after the Islanders drafted John Tavares last June with the first overall pick. He said, “The Isles now have the fire power with Tavares, Bailey, Okposo, and Striet to go into Philly, Washington, Boston and the Garden and win games.”
Throw in Jack Hillen’s performance on the backline and dependable goaltending from NHL goalies and not the borderline AHL’ers they had in net last season and the Islanders have something. They might not have the depth to stay in the race all season and the return of Rick DiPietro in goal notwithstanding, the Isles could be headed back to the pack as the campaign wears on. However the winner here is Gordon who proved to himself and to the NHL that he can coach in this league.
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