Mark Messier was a guest on The Michael Kay show before Thursday’s game against Washington and said some of:
On this Rangers team, “I have to say that I picked the Rangers to win their division this year. It was a bit of a sentimental pick, emotional pick, obviously, because like you said, no one really expected them to be having this kind of season. I liked a lot of the moves they made in the offseason, I think everybody is recognizing that Shesterkin is a Superstar in this league, they have a Norris Trophy winner on defense and it’s starting to remind me a little bit of the team in 94 with Richter in the net and Leetch on defense. They have some skill up front and supplemented them with some guys that can play a hard and grinding, heavy game and they are an easy team to like. I love watching them play, I love Gallant and the job he is doing. They have great energy, it seems, when you watch them, they seem to be playing for each other and there is a lot to like about the Rangers and the only thing, maybe, that they are missing at this point is some experience with some of the younger players, but that unfortunately takes time, but I expect them to continue on and have a great end of the season and hopefully be able to do some damage and gain some much needed experience in the playoffs.”
Who has impressed you the most, “I think the totality of the team, to be honest with you. Obviously Shesterkin has emerged as a monster, his statistics are just unrivaled, they are incredible, to be honest with you. You look at the Rangers, I expected them maybe to score a little more at 5-on-5 and the goal differential to be a little bit higher, as you see some of the better teams at the top of the standings are, +50, +60 in goal differential, the Rangers are starting to creep up their now, starting to score more at even strength. To me, K’Andre Miller is just scratching the surface of his potential and Trouba has played incredible. I don’t think anybody thought that Trouba was going to be able to play the kind of hockey and provide the leadership that he has this year. I’m really liking a lot about the Rangers and their young defense. Schneider coming in, he’s going to play 15-years and be that rock steady guy that you can trust game in and game out. The Rangers have a lot of pieces that they put together and they’ve got some heaviness and grit and some experience down through the lineup which has really rounded out their team.”
Should the Rangers move some of their young players before the deadline or stick with their group, “Those are always the decisions that management has to make and one of the great things about the Rangers is that they do have assets and a stable of young players that aren’t currently on the Rangers and were pretty high draft picks and sought after players. Not all of those players are ever going to play at the same time anyway, so if you can package something up and fill a hole and not a rental player or something like that, obviously, but someone that can come in and give you 5-6-7 years as a good young player or a good veteran player. One of the biggest things the Rangers are missing now is playoff experience and they are going to learn that the regular season is a lot different than the playoffs, which we have seen in the past with many teams. They will not be any different from teams that have had great seasons and realized that playoff hockey is much different. I think they are a team that can withstand, I think they have a goalie that can withstand the pressure, a defense that is mobile and strong, players up front, but if you really look at their roster, other than Goodrow and a couple of other players, there isn’t a lot of playoff experience there, so if they did bring in somebody my guess is that it would be a rock-solid guy, good leader, someone with playoff experience that can add to their already dynamic team.”