Martin St. Louis’ final NHL season is a jarring testament to how quickly someone’s window can close in sports.
After years of being an underrated point producer and consistently defying age, it almost felt like a switch flipped for St. Louis; he looked very much like a 40-year-old during the final stretch of his career.
The New York Rangers need to do whatever they can to avoid a parallel fate.
Granted, the Rangers aren’t rife with older players. Aside from Dan Boyle (who’s 39), the Rangers are well-stocked with prime-age players. Life is pretty good when you’re worried if your 33-year-old superstar goalie can remain the star that Henrik Lundqvist is.
Still, there’s a risk that they could decline. Despite winning a Presidents’ Trophy with two teams this decade, head coach Alain Vigneault can be a little polarizing.
On top of that, there is the possibility that Lundqvist may finally hit a wall. That’s a scary thought for a team that still depends heavily upon their goalie.
Heck, the Rangers may also miss St. Louis, after all.
One would expect to see the Rangers as at least a playoff pick for most prognosticators, but what do you expect from a team still shooting for a Cup?
[polldaddy poll=9041374]