Rangers Consider Name Change

In the NHL the Calgary Flames are the epitome of low scoring tough defensive hockey. With the overhaul that their team has experienced in New York this season some are advocating for the "Rangers" moniker to be changed to "Flames" in order to reflect their style of play.

The team has even gone into researching possible logos. The one above was leaked by an insider in the marketing department.

The New York Rangers exited last season with a team full of young snipers, weak but promising defence and an average goaltender. The team lost in the final of the Toilet Bowl but were cash strapped and had to move several young exciting players. The transformation has been remarkable.

The team started off with a brutal record and 3 of the top 6 defenseman have been replaced. The biggest change has been the addition of Wade Redden on defence. He's been a rock on defence but has been absolutely snakebit on offence. Despite 30 shots on net in only 8 games since coming to New York he has yet to record a goal. With that kind of output it should only be a matter of time until he starts to find the twine.The team's currently is currently 4th in Goals against per game - allowing only 2.82 goals - a stat which has been falling over the last 10 games or so. The team is 25th in scoring, however, with the exact same goals for per game.

"They're a frustrating team to play against," said Sergei Samsonov of the Montreal Canadians after a 2-1 loss to the air tight Rangers. "They definitely cut down on your space in a hurry out there and they play and hit hard the whole game."

Adding to the team’s upswing of late has been their focus on discipline. Several undisciplined players have been moved in favour of more level headed players and the teams penalty minutes per game has dropped from 24-25 minutes to 17.5. They've played two games recently where they didn't take one penalty.

Team captain Mike Ribeiro acknowledged the change in approach his team has undertaken. "Yep. We're not going to blow anyone out but teams are going to have a real tough time scoring on us. We relish our roles as agitators and frustrators. We play like a boa constrictor. We try and squeeze the life out of the other team. It’s not that we don’t have offensive talent - We've got plenty of guys who can bury the puck if they get a chance so we don't need that many chances to score. When we get ahead we just start to squeeze."