New York Rangers 2013-14 Season Primer

• Team Outlook from McKeen’s Hockey Guide:With the addition of sniper Rick Nash, the Rangers looked like serious contenders for the Stanley Cup going into the 2013 campaign. Instead, the team struggled offensively despite a talented core of forwards and ended up limping into the playoffs. They were still able to edge past the Washington Capitals in the first round before being steamrolled by the Boston Bruins.

  That marked the end for coach John Tortorella, along with his emphasis on body-sacrificing plays, not to mention his fiery personality in New York. He was fired in favor of new head coach Alain Vigneault.

  That change should boost the team’s overall offensive output, but either way they still have three big question marks entering this season: Marc Staal, Brad Richards, and Chris Kreider.

  Staal injured his eye when he was struck by the puck and as recently as May he didn’t believe that he would ever fully regain the vision that he lost. By August, he was saying that he was ready for training camp even if his eye wasn’t completely normal. We’ll have to wait to see how he performs once he gets back into games before we can know if this injury will have a long-term impact on his abilities.

  Kreider is a far more traditional case. He’s a talented rookie that impressed during his debut in the 2012 playoffs, but struggled to get regular minutes with the New York Rangers last season. He was going to get chances this year either way, but the coaching change offers him a fresh opportunity to establish himself as a permanent presence on the team.

  The coaching change should also be good news for Richards, who fell out of favor with Tortorella during the 2013 playoffs. The Rangers opted not to spend their final compliance buyout on him last summer, but might after this season to avoid the potential cap penalty if he decides to retire before the end of his heavily front-loaded deal. In other words, this is something of a contract year for him, even if he’s signed through 2019-20.

  This is a good team led by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, but those three could be the difference between merely making the playoffs and seriously challenging for the Cup.

• Team Fantasy Outlook from Dobber Hockey’s 2013-14 Fantasy Guide – Over a 150 pages of fantasy goodness:Dobber’s lowdown on: Mats Zuccarello – Whether Zuccarello is a (new head coach) Alain Vigneault player or not, and I really have no idea, it doesn’t matter. Both Callahan and Hagelin are sidelined until November. So Zuccarello will get all the chances in the world to make his mark in the first month of the season. If he falters, if he ends up with nine points in 21 games and those two wingers filter back into the lineup, then Zuccarello will fade completely off the fantasy radar. An injury that takes him out for a couple of weeks during that key month will also do it. He’s 26 years old now and undersized, with almost zero track record. The coach will feel no inclination to play him in key situations if he only has a handful of points and Callahan and Hagelin are back in the lineup. The first month will dictate whether he tops 50 points or just 35.

  Richards saw between 20:20 and 23:25 in each of the first nine games. He rewarded his coach with six points. After that, his ice time was closer to that of a normal first-liner, occasionally dipping to 14 minutes but usually around 18 or 19. He also led the Rangers in power-play ice time. Yet he managed just 34 points in 46 games. In the playoffs he had one point in 10 games and was scratched from the last two games. It’s weird because he had 11 points in six games to end the season. A new coach could mean a fresh start, but the emergence of Stepan could hamper things.

  Stepan had nine points in 18 games before exploding for 35 in 30. He was treated as the No.1 center by the final month of the season and clicked with Nash. In fact, Nash could be an 85-point player – finally – this year thanks to Stepan.

  Girardi had nine points in the 21 games that Staal played, but just five in the 25 without Staal.

  Brassard had 11 points in 13 games once he joined the Rangers. Then he led the team by a wide margin the postseason with 12 points in 12 games. He makes for a fine sleeper, but is dependent on power-play time (seven of those 23 points were on the PP) and linemates. And with a new coach that’s tough to pin down.

Follow link for more info and stats

Additions: D Conor Allen, D Troy Donnay, D Justin Falk, D Tommy Hughes, D Aaron Johnson, F Michael Kantor, F Dominic Moore, F Josh Nicholls, F Benoit Pouliot, D Danny Syvret.

Subtractions: F Ryane Clowe, D Sean Collins, D Steve Eminger, D Matt Gilroy, D Roman Hamrlik, F Danny Kristo, F Kris Newbury, D Jyri Niemi, F Nick Palmieri, D Logan Pyett, D Michael Sauer, D Brandon Segal, F Christian Thomas, D Mike Vernace.

Promotion candidates: RW Danny Kristo, LW Marek Hrivik

Player salaries: $65,226,666 (24)
Cap Number: $62,881,667
Bonuses: $762,500
Cap Space: $2,180,833
Forwards: $35,916,667 (14)
Defensemen: $18,790,000 (8)
Goalies: $8,175,00 (2)
Source: CapGeek

Forwards
Carl Hagelin – Derek Stepan – Rick Nash
Chris Kreider – Derick Brassard – Ryan Callahan
Mats Zuccarello – Brad Richards – Brian Boyle
Benoit Pouliot – Dominic Moore – Derek Dorsett
Taylor Pyatt – Aaron Asham

Defensemen
Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Marc Staal – Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto – John Moore
Justin Falk

Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist
Martin Biron

2013 New York Rangers Draft Results 

New York Rangers Top Prospects

2012-13 New York Rangers Player Stats

Some info, stats and video taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30 series.