It has taken me three days to figure out how
to put my thoughts on this past season and the way it ended into words…but here
it goes.
Starting with the reaction of the hundreds of
fans packing Hudson Station the moment Alex Killorn scored the opening goal and
ending when I got on the E train outside of Madison Square Garden just before
midnight, I witnessed all five stages of grief.
Denial
Was it really over? Did the Rangers really
decide that putting in any type of effort was really too much for them in a
game seven that would allow them to return to the Stanley Cup Final? It was incredibly hard to believe in that
moment. This team had overcome so much
since the start of the season.
It started when Derek Stepan, one of the most
consistent performers over the last few years, broke his leg in training
camp. Then it seemed like the defense
couldn’t catch a break, or maybe caught too many breaks in their bones,
muscles, and egos. Finally, come
December, the ship seemed to take a right turn and everything was working out. We all know what happened next, Captain
Murder took his first victim. McDonagh’s
accidental lifting of the plastic guard allowing Brad Malone’s shot to hit
Henrik Lunqdvist and it seemed right there that the season was over. The magic started very soon into Cam Talbot’s
reign as starting goaltender. On the way
to the President’s Trophy, the team seemed destined for victory.
The series against the Penguins wasn’t as
easy as a five game victory would seem, but once again luck was on the Rangers’
side. Then Captain Murder struck a
second time and shot a puck right at Zuccarello’s head. Many people wrote the team off again because
they did not believe the Rangers could beat the Capitals without
Zuccarello. The doubters seemed to be
right as the Capitals were manhandling the Rangers into a 3-1 deficit. No problem.
The luck of the Rangers and dominance of Lundqvist led to a series
victory.
With all this luck, how could anything have
gone wrong? Game one against the Lightning
made it look like the series would end quickly and it would be time to get
another shot at the Stanley Cup. As the
series progressed, the Rangers showed their faults. I don’t want to pretend that I know more than
I do because I watch games and know the rules, but I didn’t see a team that
wanted to win. It hurt to watch games
five and seven. My heart and soul were
poured into this team, but none of theirs were on the ice.
That’s why when it ended, no one seemed to
want to believe it.
Aggression
There was yelling. There were people walking down 35th
Street that looked like they were reading to start punching walls and kicking
street signs. People were yelling at
each other. Why shouldn’t everyone be
angry? The team didn’t perform for the
fans…or for themselves.
On top of that, there’s the anger caused by
just glancing at social media. There are
Rangers fans who are taking the loss so badly that they are saying whatever
comes to mind. Then there are fans of
the other teams who seem to pathetically get joy out of the loss. I honestly wish that I could get so much joy
out of hating something. The reactions
out of people who are fans of teams who didn’t even come close border on
hilarious to me. These people take to
social media so that they will get attention for their cheering of the
loss. There are two ways that this call
for attention works: first, acceptance from others who also get more joy out of
hate than anything else and second, they want to get responses from fans of
that team just in an attempt to knock them down. This is seen on all forms of social media
whether Facebook statuses or going and finding the Rangers’ instagram account
just to leave comments. Regardless, I
think it all borders on pathetic.
Bargaining
This is the fun one. Throughout the season, I love mocking people
for thinking they know more than general managers. Or maybe I mock them for believing that their
whining and opinions will actually have some type of influence on the future of
any NHL team.
Of course I believe 100% that keeping
Stralman and not signing Boyle would have been hugely different (not even
taking into consideration that he saved at least two goals off the goal line
during the Conference Final).
Others are looking ahead to the off
season. Fans are deciding what moves
should be made to make the team better and find a way to get to the Cup next
year. Sure, it can be fun, but there’s
definitely a line. When you cross over
from “I hope this gets done” to “this will happen because it’s the best and
only option,” you truly overvalue yourself.
Acceptance
Most of us haven’t reached this point
yet. Some people did right away
though. Maybe because there was a sixty
minute game that seemed to imply it would end the way it did. I’m not sure I have hit acceptance yet. It’s kind of funny, I still have a horse in
the race. My other favorite team is very
much alive with a chance to win their third Cup in five years. However, I wasn’t elated when the ‘Hawks were
eating the Ducks alive early in their game seven. Instead, I wished that the Rangers put forth
that kind of effort.
Eventually though, everyone should reach this
point. Accept that the season ended and
try to be excited for the future. This
is a Glen Sather/Jeff Gorton world. You
never know what the team will look like.
Say whatever you want about the lack of first round picks and the lack
of depth in the system…they are never afraid to make a trade and often, it’s
one you won’t expect. Don’t try to
predict anything. Sit back and watch the
show and just hope that next spring, the season doesn’t end so soon.
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