The New York Rangers Downgrade

Replacements For Jagr, Avery and Others Don’t Measure Up The core of the Big Apple's favorite hockey team is a little more rotten than it was last season. The New York Rangers have undergone more roster changes than the cast of "ER" this offseason. Gone are offensive leader Jaromir Jagr, emotional leader Sean Avery and shooting percentage leader Martin Straka, along with steady defenseman Fedor Tyutin. The foursome has been "replaced" via trades and free-agent acquisitions by general manager Glen Sather. Nobody is really sure how this massive makeup overhaul is going to affect "the Blueshirts," but on paper it looks like the team took a skate backward. Here is my take on the old Rangers versus the new Rangers: Jagr or Markus Naslund: One is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who was the Rangers’ best player in last season’s... [read full story]