Will recent push by Rangers’ players put the For Sale sign away?

The New York Rangers. Come on, Original Six, Henrik Lundqvist, and only four points out of the playoffs. It’s New York, a world city, and darn dysfunctional recently. You are either in or you are out. The players themselves have many reasons to be proud of their season, yet it seems Rangers team management is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Maybe a little too much locker room business spilling out into our world of social media. Hype and s#i! talkers are being taken seriously. But that public letter to the fans that put a bunch of great guys out on the curb like a yard sale was impossible to mute. And, hey, now go out and play pro hockey like you want to win! To me, pro hockey is the most mental sport there is due to the speed of the game. What’s a player to do, go out and lose all confidence and prove them right? Go out and win and prove them wrong and make yourself worth more?

Fortunately, my opinion has been supported by the chatter on @siriusxmnhl so I feel good about saying New York is shattered. Didn’t we all learn from the Eli debacle? That didn’t go well. But, just like the Rangers, Eli stood tall. Good old-school New York pride came through and the Rangers won the next two games. The following two losses were to hot teams, so, all in all, the Rangers’ players gathered their courage and played with heart.

Listening to hours of NHL talk radio, quips such as “How can you trade your captain who deserves his C?” Or “McDonogh, Nash and Zuccarello are all good players.” Or, “What were they thinking with this letter?”

Watching these men speak to cameras after the past few games, I was struck by several quotes that sure prove their worth to me. Ryan McDonagh handled himself with grace and gave it to us real: “We’re the ones that gotta go out there and play and represent this team and try and focus on winning one hockey game.” After one of their losses, Rick Nash fully accepted responsibility for a mistake early in the game and stood as a man besides his comrades. But watching Mats Zuccarello suffer through a long interview after the loss to the Islanders yet still keep his pride, broke my heart.

As a fan, these men stand as warriors fresh out of battle in front of cameras and microphones and defend both their wins and their losses. It is easy to send a letter, trade a guy on paper and not think how it affects his drive to win. The pride and effort that I saw out of the Rangers after the letter incident makes me want to give it up for the guys that make us hockey fanatics.

All I can say is my hat is off to the New York Rangers’ players who rallied to the opposition and took no prisoners. Lets GO Rangers!