by Paul West
Happy March! The Hub has been quiet of late, mostly due to coaching duties and other life events; but I’m back, dear readers, with another installment of PDub’s Observartory, submitted for your approval. As always, I hope you find my musings of a reasonable critical standard.
Chris Drury kept his cool
New York Rangers GM Chris Drury was under a lot of public pressure to make a big move at the deadline; fortunately, the Rangers were frugal and smart with their deadline moves. With Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic, they got two things they needed: depth up the middle, and guys who can play all over the ice. Roslovic isn’t shy about shooting the puck–an attribute the Rangers could use a bit more of–and he’s a skilled passer who’s played with top-line wingers like Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau. Wennberg is more of a roleplayer type, but he’s also played with skilled wingers–spending time on the Seattle Kraken’s top line, next to players like Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle. He’s got both power play and penalty killing experience, as well. Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel adds defensive depth and penalty killing, rounding out a deadline haul that addressed current needs without breaking the bank or giving up rising talent. The Rangers have positioned themselves nicely to make a deep playoff run and stay relevant in seasons to come.
The Angels of the NHL?
Long-time sports fans are familiar with the phenomenon of teams whose sum just doesn’t seem to equal their parts. The ‘Run-TMC‘ Golden State Warriors come to mind, with their trio of future Hall of Famers and middling records; there are others, but a glaring recent example is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whose middling record persists through the astounding career arc of Mike Trout—and the addition of the somehow more astounding Shohei Ohtani. The Angels added secondary stars like Anthony Rendon, along with promising power arms and other young talent–but just can’t seem to seriously contend. The tragic death of Tyler Skaggs only seemed to lengthen a shadow that’s seemed to hang over the franchise for decades, and now that Ohtani has left for greener pastures it seems to many just a matter of time before Trout does the same. The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers might be following a similar narrative. Like Trout, Connor McDavid made his way into ‘potential best ever’ conversations early in his career–and also like Trout, the ‘is his team wasting his best years’ talk has grown in scope.
Like the Angels, the Oilers have tried to build around their superstar. They have Leon Draisaitl, a top-ten player for years now who’s on many people’s in top-five lists; they have high-scoring power forwards in Evander Kane and Zack Hyman; they have an All Star-level, all-zone roleplayer in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins; they have a great scoring defenseman in Evan Bouchard and good two-way defensemen in Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm; they have talented depth players like Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, and Derek Ryan…and, to be fair, at times they’ve looked as elite as all that sounds. But they sometimes defend like a pickup team; they often have to shuffle their lines and get torrid late in games to win; and their goaltending has wandered between game-changing good and game-changing suspect. Will we eventually see the breakup of one of the NHL’s most feared two-headed monsters because their team can’t make a serious title run? Time will tell, but the clock’s been ticking for a while.
The Mets could easily bounce back to 90 wins
Last year was a resounding disappointment for Mets fans, as a 101-win team plummeted to 75 wins and fourth place. After the departures of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, a team that looked ready for title contention is widely seen as short of a playoff threat. But rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated (which, by the way, is not quite what Mark Twain actually said).
The loss of two aces notwithstanding, it bears noting that deGrom and Scherzer were injured for much of 2024, and neither fared as well as expected in big games. Other injuries were equally consequential: Starling Marte struggled with an ailing groin that eventually required surgery; Francisco Lindor was banged up all season, though he was able to piece together a good statistical year; and closer Francisco Diaz was lost early to an achilles injury, causing a ripple effect throughout their bullpen. All three look healthy this year, meaning top of their lineup and the back of their bullpen look like that of 2023’s 101-win team. They’ve gotten stronger up the middle, as Francisco Alvarez has settled in as a major leaguer and Harrison Bader will give them a more complete outfield defense than they’ve had in years; and Brett Baty and Mark Vientos will have their chance to compete for third base, while DJ Stewart can embrace the designated hitter role with Daniel Vogelbach gone. Kodai Senga‘s tired arm ailment is a concern, but not a huge one because the Mets pitching staff looks balanced and capable of keeping them in games, in front of a bullpen that was strengthened this offseason. Senga won’t have to be rushed back prematurely, as the Mets have been wont to do in recent years.
The Mets will be returning with most of their 2023 core, minus two pitchers whose 2023 contributions fell short of their long-term credentials–and with stronger roleplayers and more experience in their rising stars. Look for them to surprise their biggest doubters in 2024.
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