Voros has recorded just one, I repeat, just one point in fourteen games played this season. That right there is indicative of the fact that Voros has been contributing close to nothing while in the lineup. Now I understand that goal scoring is not his area of excellence, but I also know that he is supposed to be a physical force out there on the ice for the Rangers. Before Tuesday night's fight with Matt Bradley in which Voros opened up Bradley's face, the former Minnesota Wild had not won a fight all season and that streak may even stretch to 08-09. Suddenly an image of Cam Janssen beating the living tar out of Voros in St. Louis appears in my mind. If you do not recall the pathetic occurrence, the one-sided fisticuffs can be viewed HERE.
That fight is actually quite comical because while Janssen is launching hay makers onto the head of Voros, it looks as if Aaron is saying "C'mon, C'mon" like what Janssen was doing wasn't good enough for him. Anyway, that is two "X's" down the column of possible areas of the game that Voros may have half of a clue as to what he is doing.
Byers, on the other hand, recorded his first career NHL goal in just the first game he played up with the Rangers this season. Byers actually arrived in Minnesota and got to the arena just fifteen minutes prior to gametime and stood out as one of the Rangers best players in the tilt. Also, Byers is a rough and tough type of hockey player. Just from watching him play in five games, you can see that the 6-3, 199 pound winger goes hard to the net, is not at all afraid to throw the body around, and was willing to defend Lundqvist in the crease down in the defensive end of the ice, something the defense has not been too successful at this year.
Down in Hartford, Byers has put up five goals and six assists for 11 points in 14 games played. Not to mention that he is on a seven-game point scoring streak according to Laurie at Beyond the Blueshirts. These stats prove that he is used as one of the better goal scorers on the Wolf Pack squad, and has been scouted and labeled as a future third-liner at the National Hockey League level. The 23-year-old forward, in my opinion, has more skill than to be called an "enforcer" but he can mix it up when need be, hence the 28 penalty minutes he has registered in that fourteen game span.
Byers clearly is a superior all-around player to Voros and will more than likely make a difference in the lineup with the Rangers. Like I said, Voros has contributed nothing. Just his one assist in fourteen games...Woop De Doo! Him and his one-point production should be shipped down to Hartford, and Byers should be brought up to play on a line with Brian Boyle and Donald Brashear.
The fourth line, as Tortorella always states, is a part of the team that he feels should contribute on the offense, not just be there to enforce. In all honesty, the Blueshirts fourth line has failed to execute either, let alone put pucks in the net. Part of the problem may be Donald Brashear, who has been putrid, but that is a whole other conversation that I do not feel like getting into right now.
That being said, what is it that is blinding Glen Sather and John Tortorella from seeing the same things we do? Do they really feel that Aaron Voros is more valuable than Byers? Unfortunately, I cannot answer for them as I do not read minds, but for about a season and half now, Voros has been on the list of top five players that fans want off of this roster. When that is the case, obviously something is not going right for that specific individual. Voros, this year at least, is being payed $1.2 million for, well, absolutely nothing. He belongs in Hartford and Byers belongs in New York, we can all agree on that, but whether or not Sather or Tortorella have even considered the swap remains a mystery.
(Image courtesy of Reuters Pictures)
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3 comments:
Thank you! This is such a one-sided argument based upon the facts you recited and others. I begin to wonder if there is not some hidden fact or relationship to justify continuing Voros on the roster. If he is a decent guy, he should be called in, advised that he will be put on waivers, that he no longer fits into the NYR plans, and that if he or his agent can strike a deal elsewhere he will be recalled and exposed. FYI there is a tough center down in Hartford who might be of use here also just in case Brashear is injured as I suspect. We don't need thugs; we need rugged, western Canadian style players who stick up for each other and will fight when necessary. Our lineup is soft from top to bottom. This will be a start on fixing it. Callahan should not be leading the team in hits.
Agreed. It still bothers me trying to figure out why the heck they want to keep Voros in the lineup. Like you said, he is a thug, and a wanna-be fighter, but he never will be. He never will be an offensive threat either. He needs to go.
you are absolutly rite but after i watched that vidoe i realized dat alot of the current rangers wouldnt be yelliong cmon cmon after those punches and would probably fall down on purpose to make it stop also most of them would tear up or cry now i know voros has to go but give him some respect for not being a coward for example brashear wouldnt say cmon cmon and he would " accidently" stunble to make the referees break it up and he is the so called " toughfest guy oin the team" p.s excuse my spelling and grammer im in a rush..
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