New York Rangers Daily Poll 9/6/14
By Kenny Belvin
Hello New York Rangers fans and welcome to today’s addition to the daily poll! Today’s question takes a look at the upcoming season and the Rangers divisional opponents. The question is who do you think is going to be the toughest opponent for the Rangers in the division this coming season?
Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins have been one of the best teams in the division, even the Eastern Conference for a few years and will likely continue to be so for a long time coming. They’ve got Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, two of the leagues best players and a strong supporting cast on offense to go with it. They lost Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen to free agency, but picked up former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. The Penguins have always had minor defensive issues that’s covered up by strong offense but can Ehrhoff really carry the load of Niskanen and Orpik? We’ll certainly find out. Marc-Andre Fleury is on the final season of his contract and this will be a year where he has to prove himself, particularly in the playoffs where he is notorious for meltdowns.
Philadelphia Flyers: Namely, the Flyers added former Rangers defense-man Michael Del Zotto, former Edmonton Oilers defense-man Nick Schultz, and then trading Scott Hartnell to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for R.J. Umberger. Not really the best cast to bring in on defense, and it can be argued that Hartnell is vastly superior to Umberger. The Flyers as always were very tight to the cap ceiling so there was never really a lot of room for them to work with anyway. However they have a very powerful offense and seem to have finally found their man in net with Steve Mason so it’ll be interesting to see how things work down in the city of Brotherly love.
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Columbus Blue Jackets: The team that just a couple of months ago won its first playoff game in franchise history is poised to be a threat this season. Trading for Hartnell, and picking up Jerry D’Amigo and Brian Gibbons they added solid depth to their offense. In my opinion there are some question marks on defense but maybe there’s something in the works to fix that. Sergei Bobrovsky, the former Vezina Trophy champion took a bit of a tumble last season but should be able to work his magic in net again this season. Also to note, the Jackets have yet to come to terms with forward Ryan Johansen, and the two sides seem to be very far off on a deal. If the Jackets have to start the season without their leading scorer it will not be a smooth start. Also, will these guys name Brandon Dubinsky their captain so we can all stop wondering who it will be? Sheesh.
Washington Capitals: I would like to start by saying that Orpik and Niskanen are two very capable defense-men, Orpik is getting a little old but still capable, however they are so overpaid it causes me pain. Also, seriously how could they trade away Jaroslav Halak to the Islanders knowing that the only replacement they had for him was Braden Holtby? Well, their defense improved, their offense is always powerful especially being led by Alex Ovechkin and they’ve got a new bench boss so maybe things will work out. The Capitals should contend this season for a return to the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils: Martin Brodeur is gone and the era is over, Cory Schneider has always been a good goaltender but has never had the number one job so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the pressure. The devils have always had a stagnant offense, but the additions of Mike Cammalleri and Martin Havlat should help in that aspect. They’re always an air tight team defensively, and that’s the biggest advantage and they really know how to play it.
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New York Islanders: The Islanders made some headlines in the off-season, adding Halak and Chad Johnson, they greatly strengthened their goaltending core. Namely, they added Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin on offense. However it’s the same recurring theme year in and year out. Look, as a Rangers fan the Islanders can stay poor for as long as they want, but seriously if these guys don’t add some real defense soon I’M going to lace up the skates and play. Halak certainly has his work cut out for him.
Carolina Hurricanes: Tough times down in Raleigh, the Canes didn’t really do anything that wowed me this season. They hired Don Waddell, former GM in Atlanta and who didn’t really help prevent the end of hockey as we know it in Atlanta. However it’s the same old same old down south, how will Cam Ward play this season? Eric Staal? Is 2006 coming back any time soon? However I’ll give Anton Khudobin the benefit of the doubt, maybe he’ll be a magician.
So Ranger fans, who do you think the toughest division opponent for the Rangers will be? Vote in the poll below!