The beginning of the end?

But the moves the Rangers made at the trade deadline are a good start at moving toward the future. Getting rid of Mike Keane's and Brian Skrudland's salaries is a positive in and of itself; getting a solid, young winger like Todd Harvey is even better. And getting Bob Errey, who in his first three games as a Ranger showed more heart and gumption than half of the guys that were in New York all year, was a quiet great pickup as well. He has a lot more left than one might think.

Mike Eastwood didn't do a bad job for the Rangers in his limited duties; whenever he got his chance, he won faceoffs, hit people, worked hard (usually), and occasionally potted a goal or two. But in Harry York, the Rangers get a big, young center with an ability to score the odd goal himself. His first four Ranger periods (before he succumbed to the Blueshirt jinx and slightly hurt his shoulder) were marked by a slew of fearless hits, something sorely lacking this season in Rangerland.

And by moving Jason Muzzatti and Ryan VandenBussche, who were unlikely to see much if any action in New York, the Rangers acquire a pair of young defensemen in Ryan Risidore and Rich Brennan, shoring up an injury-plagued defense corps and getting deeper in what was their thinnest area.

There's a long way to go for the Rangers; they're still pretty slow up front, and Alex Kovalev is still the closest thing they have to a "sniper" winger (though his recent great performance makes one wonder...). It's clear Colin Campbell wasn't the problem with this club; Neil Smith should have another off-season to prove he isn't the problem, either. With a few more moves, getting younger on defense and pulling a little more dead wood out of the forward ranks, the Rangers could be on their way back to respectability. Harvey and York give them a start on the future; giving a chance to young players like Marc Savard, Daniel Goneau, Vladimir Vorobiev, Lee Sorochan, and Dan Cloutier could mean that this isn't necessarily the beginning of the end of the era that saw New York win the 1994 Cup. It could just as easily be the end of the beginning.

Anchored the boring homepage, March 28-April 26, 1998