Fire Sale?

After yesterday's blowout at MSG at the hands of the Islanders, rumors abound concerning the Blueshirts.  Elliotte Friedman said on "Hockey Night in Canada" that the Rangers are entertaining offers for their UFA's, specifically Grabner, Nash and Desharnais, but are also making it clear that contract players like Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello are available.  Friedman said that the Rangers are looking for a "Derek Stepan" type of deal...current talent for future assets.

The loss to the Islanders was probably the most disheartening game of the season.  The effort was minimal and every Ranger was outplayed as the Blueshirts were dominated by a injury-ridden Islanders team. Frankly, it was an awful effort and if the team puts on the same kind of display tonight in Pittsburgh, look for the calls for Vigneault's head and for a fire sale to become deafening.

The team has been a smoke and mirrors effort all season.  The last time it was such a dire situation was the Vegas game and even in that game, the Rangers were down 4-2 after two periods before rallying for four goals and the win that jump started their season.

Tonight, the team will be without Kevin Hayes and possibly McDonagh, due to injury.  It doesn't bode well of the Rangers, facing a Pittsburgh team that is showing signs of life.  The Rangers lack of offense is just killing them and for his lack of offensive production alone, Rick Nash should be the first one on the outbound train.  Face it, the Rangers are paying $7.8 million a year for a top goal scorer, not a two-way defensive specialist.  The way he is going, they are paying him almost a half million dollars a goal.

It's ironic that the team is talking about a sell-off when they are four points out of second place in the Division, with three games in hand. If they win their two games in hand on the  Capitals, they would be six points out of first place.  Then again, they are also only one point out of last place.

As previously documented here, it has been a strange NHL season.  Since the New Year , Tampa, the best team in the league has lost by scores of 5-1 and 6-3 to inferior teams. The Wild beat the Jets, the best team in the Central, 4-1.  The Penguins shut out the Isles 4-0 and beat Philadelphia 5-1, butl ost to the Hurricane 4-0.  Boston shellacked the Islanders 4-1.   In the world of NHL parity, there is no such thing as a sure win.

I cannot see the Rangers making a dramatic move until after their upcoming west coast swing. After Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Buffalo they go on a four game road trip in Colorado and California.  If they display the same effort as they did against the Islanders, it will be time to start planning for 2018-19.  Until then, don't go out and buy any team jerseys because there is no way of knowing who will be on the team next season.