Deprecated: Automatic conversion of false to array is deprecated in /var/www/hockeybuzz.com/classes/clsBlog.php on line 243 HockeyBuzz.com - Jan Levine - Rangers defeat Panthers 5-3, Kenny Albert, De Haan comments
The Rangers in Game 81 completed their first comeback from a multi-goal deficit to win a game, defeating the Panthers 5-3 on Monday. Part of the victory should be discount due to it coming when New York is no longer in playoff contention and Florida resting and without several key players. Bigger news was Calvin de Haan finally deciding enough was enough and his frustration boiled over prior to the pre-game skate yesterday, adding more fuel to the dysfunctional fire that has been the Blueshirts. The 2024-25 nightmare of a regular season mercifully ends Thursday against Tampa Bay.
A few thoughts:
1) The game in itself was kind of window dressing. Both teams are playing out the string in different manners. New York will be heading home after Thursday's contest. Florida is locked in as the three seed in the Atlantic Division and will face Tampa in round one. The Panthers were without Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand; Matthew Tkachuk;Mackie Samsokevich, Niko Mikkola, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen against the Rangers, so the victory has to be discounted somewhat.
2) The two positives were: Matt Rempe, who tallied a goal and an assist and continues to make strides, and Mathew Robertson, who made his NHL debut six years after being drafted. Rempe has quieted the noise surrounding him, going from a player viewed as a sideshow to someone who can be counted on as a key member of the bottom six.
3) Monday, it was reported that Kenny Albert will replace Sam Rosen as the TV voice of the Rangers for next season. Joe Micheletti returns as the analyst. When unavailable, Alex Faust will slide in from his new role as the Rangers voice on radio, to fill in for Kenny.
Albert replacing Rosen is not a surprise. I believe Eddie Olcyzk reported that way back in October, though yesterday it was confirmed. We know that Micheletti is not everyone's cup of tea, but expecting a complete change in the booth was clearly not going to happen. I would love to see Dave Maloney in the booth at times
4) On to what drew everyone's attention, Calvin de Haan's comments. If you can't understand his frustration, then you are kind of out of touch. You have a player who goes from a regular role on a playoff contender to being traded for a blueliner who that team thinks is a better option despite his decline in play. De Haan arrives in New York and the team goes 2-0-1 in his three starts and then is benched for 18 straight games. His numbers were not elite, a point he noted when he arrived, stating he is not someone who won't put up big stats, but he is solid when on the ice.
His blowup has to put in question the level of communication from management, including coaches, to players. The dichotomy of comments by some players praising the level of communication to what we believe to be the case when it comes to several players is fairly striking. What de Haan's comments represent is clear discord and a potential toxicity that exists within the organization.
He is at least the fifth player to speak out. Barclay Goodrow and Jacob Trouba were disappointed in how their exits and possible exits from the organization were handled. Kaapo Kakko clearly was not happy after being benched, viewing it as a punishment for younger players. Zac Jones rightfully spoke out after riding the bench for broad stretches. Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey had pointed comments after being traded with Vesey also not happy after sitting. The organization needs to look in the mirror and figure out what's caused this level of animosity that appears to exist within the room and in the fanbase.
#NYR Calvin de Haan walked past us as he was about to get on the ice and commented on how it’s all finally over.
He said something to the effect of, ‘How about the way I’ve been treated here? It’s fucked.’
We asked if he wanted to talk, he said yes and that he would be “very…
Going to get ahead of this now… I was hoping that I would have been able to express in a scrum setting versus a quote as I was going onto the ice and having it on the Internet 30 seconds later. I said what I said because I am frustrated , and any competitor who says that they would be happy in this position would be lying to you. After playing 3 games for the team and going 2-0-1 , I thought I maybe would have got an opportunity to jump into the lineup and help win some games Did I help win those games I played, maybe? Maybe not? But we still won and collected some crucial points to climb the standings. I understand the youth movement in the nhl, and I’m getting older in hockey years and I may not play every single night. I feel like I can still contribute and help teams win. I know I’m not going to play 20 minutes a night in the role I’ve been in the past few years , but again I feel like I can still keep up and help a team in certain facets of the game. I’m not trying to be the villain or gain attention or throw shade on the organization , I would have preferred a scrum setting to chat about how my time with the rangers has gone. As a player you have to respect the lineup decisions whether you like them or not, it’s just been frustrating not being able to compete and do what I love to do. I hope everyone understands.
The NHL Network discussed the situation (if someone has the embed code post, please send it to me as not coming up for me) but the general tone is that the team lacks alpha dogs in the room. JT Miller brings that edge but Michael Rupp's view is that the remainder of the lineup and locker room needs more of that quality. Rupp's opinion is not that surprising as the perceived softness of the lineup has been mentioned previously; you could view the east-west rather than north-south play as evidence of this. Ther question, which has been raging for months, is who returns and who is dealt to satisfy that need for more alpha dogs and who is brought in that fills that quotient.
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