2011-2012 Season
 

Well this pretty much tells the whole story...2 games in and still no season thread, so I figured I'd start one. I don't want to get down on them yet, but 3 goals in 2 games and starting 0-2 was not the way I expected to start this season.

Upside...the first line could be a legit threat if Tortorella keeps them together. Tim Erixon has looked good. And Lundqvist has started strong.

Havent been really into following with football starting and the Yankees in the playoffs. Now that the Yanks took a dive I'll follow the Rangers more closely. Why did they send Avery to the minors? Never heard a reason why.

Because he has served no purpose in the last few seasons and his contract is too big to be a healthy scratch every night.

The whole Europe thing is BS to me. The team was barely able to squeak in quality practice time. It has to be extremely tiring to the team. We'll see how they look once the season really starts on Long Island this saturday. Im going to be there, anyone else?

I agree, I hate the whole playing in Europe deal. Stupid Micheletti needed to point out that the last 3 Stanley Cup champs started the season in Europe...but what hes forgetting is that the Rangers have begun their season in Europe a few times already. I wish they would stop doing it, but this is Sather and Dolan running the show so I'm sure every time they are asked, they will go.

I disagree. I think he served no purpose the way Torts was using (or not using) him. I like Avery and he could contribute if he was given a real chance. When he played regularly and played without his hands tied he was a damn good player for the Rangers. He hustled and played damn harder than many of the other stiffs the Rangers have had.

I agree with you, he wasn't given a chance. It is obvious that Tortorella doesn't want he on the team. He said that there are better players than Avery on the Roster. Really, is Stepan, Fedotenko, Zuccarello and Wojtek really better players?

Well, I like Stepan and Feds but the other two can go jump! I loved Avery sans the Marty Brodeur incident, that is the guy I want on the ice even if it causes a few boneheaded penalties but you guys are right about Torts not liking his style, that and the anger management equals a player that is no longer useful on this team.

I think I used the "sans" comment wrong I meant I loved what he did to Brodie. Anyway, Avery is down on the farm and who knows we might yet see the guy again.

Look, I hate John Tortorella, and yes he did in a way handcuff Avery, but it's different than saying he handcuffs enforcers. The fact is that once Sean is on the ice, the coach has no control over him, he can still play his game. The old Sean could get 2 shifts and impact the entire game...HE stopped doing that. If he was being a pest and not taking stupid penalties he would have been out there. He was also scoring in his first go around with the team. The problem is when you are doing nothing on the ice and still being a problem off the ice and in the locker room, cutting ties is better. Word is out around the league...Matt Cooke is a problem, Jarkko Ruutu is a problem, but these guys don't get paid like Sean, and Cookes teammates seem to like him...Averys teammates hate him.

You can't really deny that Stepan and Fedotenko are better players and bring more to the team...Zuccarello has potential, but the jury is still out and well, I think Wolski is the next guy to be thrown into a deal for nothing or waived, he is nothing but wasted talent.

You can't really deny that Stepan and Fedotenko are better players and bring more to the team...Zuccarello has potential, but the jury is still out and well, I think Wolski is the next guy to be thrown into a deal for nothing or waived, he is nothing but wasted talent.[/quote]

I like both Stepan and fedotenko, I just think that Avery is a more complete player at this point. Those two will score more but they also play on lines that help them. When Avery is playing his game, he creates scoring chances for his linemates, forechecks better, is good in the corners. But, you can't overlook the fact that he doesn't seem to popular with his teammates and that is very important as well.

Yes, but have you seen him do that in the last 2 seasons? Because I havent. No matter what line hes been on(and hes played on every line) or whether he gets 3 minutes or 15 minutes he just hasn't done it. Again if he did, he would either still have a spot over a guy like Wolski or Christensen OR would have been picked up on waivers. We can't live in the past with this guy. Messier was the catalyst for bringing us the Cup, but if he came out of retirement, the last team I would want him on is the Rangers.

He hasn't been the same since Torts became coach, that I will agree with, which makes me wonder, is it Avery or the Coach? Either way, he is gone now, I did enjoy watching him play because of the excitement he provided. You can never tell what was going to happen when he was on the ice.

Tortorella played a role in it for sure, but also he has a contract and as it has been shown since Sather took over as GM, ultimately things aren't always in the coach's hands, so the behind the scenes antics probably played a huge part. He seems like the type of guy that is happier at a fashion show than on the ice. This team is bad enough, they don't need a bad attitude to bring them down even more. I liked him at one point, now I hate him and hes gone.

Let's move forward because the reality of all this is that Sean Avery, whether on the team or not, will not be the reason they either win or don't win the Cup.

Two games in and this idiot is already changing up the lines...unreal.

They need Staal back. The defense is a joke right now