Confirmed with Link: Rangers sign Benoit Pouliot (1 year, $1.3M)

[NYR Viper]

It'd certainly be nice if he could find that next level in his game that most thought was there when he was drafted, but if we can get 35 points out of him I'd be really happy with that.

I think 30 points would be a very solid contribution from him. I am more looking for him to add another big body physical presence who can hit and protect the puck. His skating is very good for a player his size. His balance is lacking a bit though.

 

[Mikos87]

Well I disagree about him not being sheltered. He will be one of the better players on the ice when the bottom six of each team is out there, and for the Rangers that's a good thing, as it would be for any team.

Not having followed him too deeply, my assumption is that he either doesn't play a full 82 with a high compete level, or that he plays softer as the stakes get higher. Something to cause him to move around a bit.

Some guys don't find themselves until they hit their late 20s, and my guess is that he gives the Rangers the type of minutes that Anisimov did, but without the offensive production, all of which is mixed in with a major slump mid-season.

 

[NYR2007]

Watching some highlights of Pouliot, he literally scored all of his goals this season from below the hashmarks. He goes to the front of the net and he can finish.

I remember a lot of players that would play like this prior to joining the rangers , for some reason they stop playing like that when they come here.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Just to follow up my previous post about Pouliot's ES scoring prowess, here are some players that Pouliot has been more effective than at scoring over the past three seasons:

Pouliot has scored 2.14 P/60 5v5.

Henrik Zetterberg: 2.12
Eric Staal: 2.12
Brad Richards: 2.10
Jarome Iginla: 2.09
John Tavares: 2.08
Alex Ovechkin: 2.05
Matt Duchene: 2.02
Loui Eriksson: 2.01
Patrik Elias: 2.01
Marian Gaborik: 2.01
Logan Couture: 2.01
Nicklas Bäckström: 1.96
Derek Stepan: 1.91
Jeff Carter: 1.87
Joe Thornton: 1.85
Ryan Getzlaf: 1.82
Zach Parise: 1.81
Ryan Callahan: 1.64
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 1.57

Hockey is mostly played 5v5. The team that carries 5v5 play wins most games. PP production is fickle, it is dependent upon a functional 5 man unit as well as getting actual PPs.

Pouliot hasn't scored below 2.0 P/60 in any of the three previous seasons.

I'm not saying Pouilot is going to be the MVP of the Rangers next year, but I do believe that his contributions over the past three seasons have been underrated and getting a player of his calibre at only $1.3M is looking like a steal at the moment.

Although Moore's Law will probably ensure someone digging up this post in January when Pouliot only has managed something like 3 assists while being -14...

 

[Mikos87]

Just to follow up my previous post about Pouliot's ES scoring prowess, here are some players that Pouliot has been more effective than at scoring over the past three seasons:

Pouliot has scored 2.14 P/60 5v5.

Henrik Zetterberg: 2.12
Eric Staal: 2.12
Brad Richards: 2.10
Jarome Iginla: 2.09
John Tavares: 2.08
Alex Ovechkin: 2.05
Matt Duchene: 2.02
Loui Eriksson: 2.01
Patrik Elias: 2.01
Marian Gaborik: 2.01
Logan Couture: 2.01
Nicklas Bäckström: 1.96
Derek Stepan: 1.91
Jeff Carter: 1.87
Joe Thornton: 1.85
Ryan Getzlaf: 1.82
Zach Parise: 1.81
Ryan Callahan: 1.64
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 1.57

Hockey is mostly played 5v5. The team that carries 5v5 play wins most games. PP production is fickle, it is dependent upon a functional 5 man unit as well as getting actual PPs.

Pouliot hasn't scored below 2.0 P/60 in any of the three previous seasons.

I'm not saying Pouilot is going to be the MVP of the Rangers next year, but I do believe that his contributions over the past three seasons have been underrated and getting a player of his calibre at only $1.3M is looking like a steal at the moment.

Although Moore's Law will probably ensure someone digging up this post in January when Pouliot only has managed something like 3 assists while being -14...

Someting about Pouliot gives me the feeling that he is the Brian Pothier of wingers.

 

[Thirty One]

Pouliot hasn't scored below 2.0 P/60 in any of the three previous seasons..

Only current Ranger who can say that.

 

[Graves94]

I really like this signing, especially at $1.3Mn. I predict he will score 15 goals and get about 35-40 pts playing with Richards on the 3rd line.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Just to follow up my previous post about Pouliot's ES scoring prowess, here are some players that Pouliot has been more effective than at scoring over the past three seasons:

Pouliot has scored 2.14 P/60 5v5.

Henrik Zetterberg: 2.12
Eric Staal: 2.12
Brad Richards: 2.10
Jarome Iginla: 2.09
John Tavares: 2.08
Alex Ovechkin: 2.05
Matt Duchene: 2.02
Loui Eriksson: 2.01
Patrik Elias: 2.01
Marian Gaborik: 2.01
Logan Couture: 2.01
Nicklas Bäckström: 1.96
Derek Stepan: 1.91
Jeff Carter: 1.87
Joe Thornton: 1.85
Ryan Getzlaf: 1.82
Zach Parise: 1.81
Ryan Callahan: 1.64
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 1.57

Hockey is mostly played 5v5. The team that carries 5v5 play wins most games. PP production is fickle, it is dependent upon a functional 5 man unit as well as getting actual PPs.

Pouliot hasn't scored below 2.0 P/60 in any of the three previous seasons.

I'm not saying Pouilot is going to be the MVP of the Rangers next year, but I do believe that his contributions over the past three seasons have been underrated and getting a player of his calibre at only $1.3M is looking like a steal at the moment.

Although Moore's Law will probably ensure someone digging up this post in January when Pouliot only has managed something like 3 assists while being -14...

Wow, this is quite a surprise to me. Some very good names on that list. Liked the signing. Like it even more now.

 

[Tawnos]

During that time, how many fewer minutes did Pouliot play than those players? Given that he hasn't played much of a top 6 role anywhere, I would guess that increasing his minutes and the quality of his opponents has led to a drastic decrease in effectiveness when it's been tried.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

The sad part is this guy might be our 2nd best LW we have, that shows you how bad our LW depth is. and I'm not against this signing at all, I'm just pointing out LW is atrocious unless Kreider really breaks out.

 

[Vitto79]

The sad part is this guy might be our 2nd best LW we have, that shows you how bad our LW depth is. and I'm not against this signing at all, I'm just pointing out LW is atrocious unless Kreider really breaks out.

agreed they need a top 6 LW. At this pt Nash 1 then Hageln 2. Pouliott /Zuke can fight for time. Boyle likely hits the wing too with Moore at C

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

agreed they need a top 6 LW. At this pt Nash 1 then Hageln 2. Pouliott /Zuke can fight for time. Boyle likely hits the wing too with Moore at C

Nash should have been playing LW when we had Gaborik smfh.. anyway, Torts was adamant about Nash playing RW, unless AV puts him back on the LW.. If he does, then the Rangers LW depth actually becomes good and the RW depth takes a hit, but at least Callahan is a capable top 6 player.

 

[RangerBlues]

Lets hope the brain has caught up with the body. Breakout career year written all over it.

 

[Zynbanejad]

Sather made some really solid signings this summer. Pouliot is great and will definitely be a fan favorite.

 

[94now]

Just to follow up my previous post about Pouliot's ES scoring prowess, here are some players that Pouliot has been more effective than at scoring over the past three seasons:

.

You cannot project a bench player stats into starter. I made that mistake once with G named Chad Johnson and this short memory board still remember.
Anyway, what number will he wear?

 

[aufheben]

You cannot project a bench player stats into starter. I made that mistake once with G named Chad Johnson and this short memory board still remember.
Anyway, what number will he wear?

What do you mean by 'bench player'?

 

[Blue Blooded]

You cannot project a bench player stats into starter. I made that mistake once with G named Chad Johnson and this short memory board still remember.
Anyway, what number will he wear?

You decided that Chad was a potential starter after 1 NHL game. I'm declaring that Pouliot is looking like a potent ES scorer after over 3000 ES minutes accrued over 291 NHL games. Or if we are going by the three seasons sample I was using earlier; 2000+ ES minutes over 187 NHL games.

Regarding your comment of a "bench player", he put up his 2.08, and 2.07 seasons playing with Darche, Desharnais, Kelly, and Peverley. Hardly prominent scorers at those points in time. This year in Tampa he got the chance to play with Lecavalier and St. Louis and his scoring increased, indicating that he is able to handle a top-6 role. He even outscored Lecavalier at ES. In any case, getting 2+ P/60 from a 3rd liner being paid $1.3M is incredibly valuable. If he can keep those numbers up in a more prominent role then we have our own version of Jiri Tlusty. I'm honestly going to be seriously impressed if he can keep his level of scoring up on the offensively challenged Rangers regardless of his role and will be more than satisfied if he can produce ~1.8 P/60 from a 3rd line role.

 

[NYR2007]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70fcGI7NkVQ

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Several posters have spun a wonderful story using statistics. The only problem is that Pouliot has never lived up to his potential--every NHL team he's played for has given up on him. How many 26 year olds (drafted 4th overall) have been UFAs not once, not twice, but three times?

I'm not saying it's a bad signing and maybe Pouliot will finally find "it" on the ice and have a great year. But, given his track record, it's probably better not to expect too much, unless you want to be disappointed.

 

[Zil]

Several posters have spun a wonderful story using statistics. The only problem is that Pouliot has never lived up to his potential--every NHL team he's played for has given up on him. How many 26 year olds (drafted 4th overall) have been UFAs not once, not twice, but three times?

I'm not saying it's a bad signing and maybe Pouliot will finally find "it" on the ice and have a great year. But, given his track record, it's probably better not to expect too much, unless you want to be disappointed.

He's a great pickup for what he is: Excellent depth for the bottom six.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Several posters have spun a wonderful story using statistics. The only problem is that Pouliot has never lived up to his potential--every NHL team he's played for has given up on him. How many 26 year olds (drafted 4th overall) have been UFAs not once, not twice, but three times?

I'm not saying it's a bad signing and maybe Pouliot will finally find "it" on the ice and have a great year. But, given his track record, it's probably better not to expect too much, unless you want to be disappointed.

It is probably just me that you are referring to.

I'm NOT trying to sell Pouliot as some kind of saviour that will score 65+ points, but I'm merely bringing to light that he has been a potent ES scorer and that he is looking like a valuable addition that may even adequately plug the top-6 LW hole we currently have. And if not, can at least provide consistent bottom-6 scoring.

Teams giving up on him is a definite red flag, I've mentioned this in almost every post I've written in this thread. And I guess we'll find out soon enough why teams have been giving up on him. But my theory is that his QO's have been deemed too expensive for the role he has been filling on those teams. Questionable defensive effort is another possibility, but he has been a very good +/- player in addition to his good possession numbers.

 

[Ola]

Blue Blood- Yeah, I agree. Pouliot is pretty talented and skilled. He is a talented hockey player, and this team really needs skill after having a coach obssessed with players that can work the boards for 3+ years.

But I just think we gotta wait and see how he performs when he comes here. Unless he can get into a strong top 6 role in the NHL, he will in the long run not become a very good player. Like, if nothing else, you need to play in a role to learn it. To have faith to keep pushing yourself 110%.

And while BP is a good player, the competition for a top 6 role in this league is tough and BP will need to really push himself and put it more together to be that good.

We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[KreidertheGlider]

Is there a chance AV will use him in the shootout? I'm really impressed by some of his shootout goals on YT

 

[Doctyl]

Is there a chance AV will use him in the shootout? I'm really impressed by some of his shootout goals on YT

i assume he would. nash and zucc are the only guys we have. torts used beaver for no reason and he missed the net just about every time. Boyle over richards would be an improvement

 

[Blue Blooded]

i assume he would. nash and zucc are the only guys we have. torts used beaver for no reason and he missed the net just about every time. Boyle over richards would be an improvement

Richards was amazing in the SO in Dallas, but he has sucked at it from the moment he put on a Rangers jersey. It's both astonishing and infuriating.

25/60 (41.67%) pre-Rangers.

1/12 (8.33%) as a Ranger.