Day: October 6, 2010

For those who’ve been following, I’ve been responding to a post on the OTG message boards that asked why we should be optimistic. In Part I of my response, I focused on what other teams have done in the Eastern Conference, and how many of those teams have questions two.

In Part II I turned my attention back to the Rangers to show that the improvements they’ve made are actually a little more substantial than first look would suggest, and that the Rangers were actually a lot closer to being a good team if they could get a few more bounces to go their way.

Earlier today I put together reasons why I felt you could be optimistic about the upcoming Rangers season. In Part I, I applied a critical viewpoint to each of the teams in the Eastern Conference and highlighted questions that could be raised about almost every team.

That’s not to say all those questions will remain unanswered, and that every one of those weaknesses will remain unresolved. After all, young players can emerge, veterans rebound and spare parts or acquisitions and coaching staff can all have impact. Sometimes it can be as simple as luck and the state of mind that winning can instill in a team.

One of our regulars over in the forums posted a question that is more than fair in valid, and I’ll paraphrase it: Why should I be optimistic about the upcoming season? The team is largely the same one that finished the year last time around, and the few new additions seem to have as many question marks as certainties around them.

While the prevailing opinion tends to trend toward the positive right before a season opens, it has not been unusual in the past to have a handful of jaded Blueshirt faithful express these very same doubts.

Less than 24 hours until the NHL season gets under way now, and just under two hours before teams have to submit their NHL rosters for the start of the season, it’s almost time for games to actually count.

I had to wait a little later to submit this profile, because I wasn’t sure whether he’d still be part of the team or not, but as of an hour ago Todd White cleared waivers and for the moment, will remain with the organization.