New York Rangers New Year’s resolutions
By Steve Paulus
With 2020 in the rear view mirror, some New York Rangers resolutions for 2021
New Year’s Eve means it’s time for resolutions. Let’s go through the New York Rangers with some achievable goals for the new year. Please forgive the snarky ones. Here we go.
The New York Rangers team
- To follow all of the COVID-19 protocols so that the team stays healthy and intact all season.
- To play hard and fast and learn from mistakes.
- To get the goals against number lower and into the top 12 in the NHL (they were 23rd).
- To get the penalty kill into the top 12 in the NHL (they were 23rd).
- To win as many games as possible in the toughest division in hockey.
- To win 12 of 16 games against the Islanders and Devils.
The players (in alphabetical order)
Morgan Barron: To play regularly in Hartford to be ready for an important role in 2021-22.
Tony Bitetto: To be the second best Long Island native in the top six defense on the team.
Colin Blackwell: To get at least a few starts against the Bruins (he’s a native of Lawrence, Mass.)
Pavel Buchnevich : To stay out of Coach Quinn’s собачьей упряжке (doghouse in Russian)
Filip Chytil: To end the season as the center on the second line and in the process, “improve” to a faceoff winning percentage of 40% (it’s 38.4%)
Tony DeAngelo: To get 50,000 Twitter followers (he has 28k)
Phil DiGiuseppe: To win a taxi squad role
Adam Fox: To have a better season than Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes
Julien Gauthier: To get one NHL goal, just one to release the floodgates.
Alexandar Georgiev: To get 20 starts.
Brett Howden: To earn and keep a job on the fourth line as a checking center who can win faceoffs.
Jack Johnson: To play like an all-star eight times against the Penguins
Kaapo Kakko: To earn a job on the second line and to keep it.
Vitali Kravtsov: To win the Gagarin Cup with Traktor and then come back to New York and play on the top nine.
Chris Kreider: To be consistent the whole season and to be named team captain.
Alexis Lafreniere: To live up to expectations and more.
Brendan Lemieux: To start over with the NHL referees.
Ryan Lindgren: To keep making Adam Fox look good or even better.
K’Andre Miller: To either win a top six job and if not, play a full season in Hartford.
Artemi Panarin: To get a starring role with the Rockettes when Radio City re-opens
Tarmo Reunanen: To get a job with the Rangers so the spelling of Reunanen will torment sportswriters (and tongue tie Sam Rosen).
Kevin Rooney: To enjoy playing for a team that has a stable management
Yegor Rykov: To win the Gagarin Cup with CSKA and then return to New York and play regularly on the top six defense.
Igor Shesterkin: To finish with a 16-0 record against Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Samsonov.
Brendan Smith: To make no mistakes in the defensive zone
Ryan Strome: To have an even better year and make the playoffs so he won’t be traded.
Jacob Trouba: To relax and forget about the big contract and all of the pressure of being the top blueliner
Mika Zibanejad: To pick up where he left off when the regular season ended last March.
And for the management staff:
John Davidson: To stay the course and to be realistic about expectations for playoff success.
Jeff Gorton: To figure out how to deal with five right shot blueliners named Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Lundkvist and Schneider.
David Quinn: To let the kids play and not overuse veterans in an attempt to make the playoffs.
Jacques Martin: To instill a defensive system that limits shots and drives possession.
And the rest
The NHL: To keep the players healthy and safe.
The NHL on NBC: To not over hype the regional rivalry angle this season.
Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti: To stay healthy while traveling with the team
The MSG Network studio team: To continue to give fans the best analysis of the team.
Rangers fans: To have patience with this team as it continues to grow
Blue Line Station: To provide the best coverage and opinion about the greatest team in hockey.
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