May 29, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers players shake hands after game seven of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
4. New York Rangers
For any Islander fan that reads this and sees the Isles listed at five, I’m sure they’ll be even more upset when they see the Rangers ranked above them. However, it’s hard to count them out just yet.
The Rangers were the class of the Metropolitan division last season. They finished with a record of 53-22-7, and won the President’s trophy for best record in the NHL. Not only did they tie the Isles for the most goals in the division, they also trumped everyone for the least goals-against with 192. They were a league-leading plus-60 in goal differential.
Part of that was obviously due to Henrik Lundqvist‘s outstanding play, and Cam Talbot‘s ability to fill in and play at an elite level when called upon. But, they simply had a ton of depth and rolled four solid lines every night.
Like most teams in their situation, they found themselves with cap issues and aging players such as Martin St. Louis at season’s end. They clearly aren’t in a rebuild, but they do have a lot of re-tooling to do.
The Rangers acquired Emerson Etem from the Anaheim Ducks, but forfeited Carl Hagelin in the process. They also signed Brian Gibbons, former Pittsburgh Penguins stand-in and Columbus Blue Jackets gamble. Let’s face it, it isn’t a good sign when you’re signing Brian Gibbons this early in the offseason.
I still look for the Rangers to be tough to beat next season. They still have enough talent to finish in the top-four of the division and likely squeak into the playoffs. However, they won’t be anywhere near the juggernaut that they were in 2014-15.