Upgrading skill at the sacrifice of toughness remains the right decision, despite frustrating results

The additions of skilled players like Rick Nash give the 2013 Rangers a higher ceiling John Tortorella was a deserving Jack Adams Award finalist in 2011-2012 because he squeezed every ounce out of an under-talented, overachieving group.  The Rangers made it to within two games of the Stanley Cup Finals well ahead of their anticipated window for contention because Tortorella got virtually every soldier on the roster to buy into the Black & Blueshirts mentality.  It was a tremendous achievement, but in the end it still fell well short of the ultimate goal. So rather than continuing forward with a group that simply didn’t have the firepower to go all the way, the Rangers spent the offseason upgrading their skill.  Rick Nash was the big prize, but it could be argued that both Taylor Pyatt and Arron Asham have been upgrades offensively as well.  The influx of youngsters like Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller and Christian Thomas has only continued the organization down that path. The early ...