You basically summed up Ryan McDonagh in 2010-2011. He became our best defender by the end of the season.
Skjei is better than Staal already. Staal can barley move on the ice and is trapped in our zone the whole game.
No he didn't become our best defender by the end of the season. It took him at least two years to become our best defender. It took injuries to Marc Staal to do that. Marc Staal use to get all the heaviest assignments. McDonagh took time as well to develop his offensive game. His half year or so in Hartford there was almost no offense. Without Staal being there to take the heavy assignments McDonagh might not have developed into the all around defenseman he is now.
.....and it's absurd to say Skjei is a better defenseman than Staal after watching him play in 4 ****ing NHL games. It pretty much speaks to the agenda a lot of people have here--I could name any number of d-men from any number of mediocre to ****** NHL teams and there will be loads of people on this forum saying they're better than Marc Staal, Girardi and even Boyle and yet the teams they'll play on throughout their careers will never ever contend.
What Skjei is is a very promising player at the beginning of his career. He's fit in well enough when he's got the chance but he's got no big game NHL experience. Watching him against the Sabres yesterday is not going to be nearly the same as watching him against the Islanders or the Capitals a couple months from now.
Preparing for the playoffs is what is up now--not experimenting with guys who haven't gotten the team to where it is. If the Rangers felt Skjei was ready for NHL playoffs he'd be a regular right now. Staal and Girardi have been through a lot---and for a coaching staff they'll always prefer personnel they know and think they can depend on over personnel they don't know or unsure about. This year has been Skjei's introduction to pro hockey. He's gotten a taste of the NHL and that should help him to take the next step but unless there are a bunch of injuries that next step is next year.