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New York Rangers: Tanner Glass is Not the Answer to the Team’s Needed Toughness

By John Williams

Feb 14, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers left wing Tanner Glass (15) and Philadelphia Flyers center Ryan White (25) fight during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers left wing Tanner Glass (15) and Philadelphia Flyers center Ryan White (25) fight during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Sunday, the New York Rangers recalled veteran forward Tanner Glass in an attempt to add toughness to an overall soft lineup. Glass does not bring the toughness the team needs, though.

Have you ever seen the game where you have a board with three shapes, a circle, a square and a triangle, cut out, and you have to plug the isolated shapes into the correct slots?

The New York Rangers needed toughness in the form of an agitator who could get under the other team’s skin, but also contribute within the team’s speed predicated system and score to fill the round slot. By calling up Tanner Glass yesterday morning, the team is attempting to shove the square peg down the round hole.

An Extinct Style

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Tanner Glass represents the kind of toughness that is not needed in today’s game.

We have seen this movie before. Glass is not a great skater and we have seen him have a hard time keeping up with this team’s speed in season’s past. The troubling thing here is that this Rangers team is much faster than they’ve been in previous seasons, so Glass is going to stick out like a sore thumb.

Glass can throw the body and deliver a monster hit every now and again, but like Derek Stepan said at practice Sunday via an article in the New York Post–in a quote not directed at the call-up, I should add–that’s not the kind of toughness that this team needs.

"“I wouldn’t sit here and tell you that we have to completely change our face and be a gritty team but there certainly is a playoff-atmosphere game. Whether you’re a gritty team, or maybe a speed team — whatever your team is, you still have to adjust to the playoff style. I don’t expect guys to go out and run guys through the walls and stuff like that. There is a way of playing hard without doing that. We have to play a physical game, but you don’t have to run guys through walls and have big hits and fight every single night. I would just call it a playoff-type mindset.”"

Trade Deadline Blunder

Perhaps the Rangers biggest mistake at the trade deadline was not going out and acquiring an Antoine Roussel type player; a player who can skate, play with skill and add much-needed sandpaper to the lineup.

Since the team didn’t go out and make a move for a guy like that, it left the door open for a situation like this to occur.

And for all the fans and bloggers wishing for that first Wid Card slot, do you still want it? The team finished the season series with the Canadiens with an 0-2-1 record. Now that the Canadiens added all the sandpaper that they did, they are going to be an incredibly tough matchup for a Rangers team with no snarl.

Next: Comparing Matt Puempel and Brandon Pirri

That’s where Glass comes in, and that is just another area that will lead to the Rangers quick demise in the first round for the second consecutive season. And if you don’t believe me, just watch…

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