Confirmed with Link: Zibanejad+2018 2nd for Brassard+2018 7th | Part II

[MarkStone]

If melnyk can afford Kopitar I'm for it.

Yeah, but the depth is gonna suck.

 

[SlyDawg]

Been doing my hiatus during summer with hockey and some news keeps dropping that drags me back.

First reaction to this: Huh. Interesting. I was never a huge Zibby fan myself as he seemed to disappear 3/4 of the games but he had potential. But the more years I've seen him, the less I felt like this 'potential' could be reached. Call it maybe immaturity because he simply enjoyed the young man's life of partying, DJing and whatnot, but something never clicked with me on this guy. Brassard is proven, in his prime, and makes us better immediately. Could it backfire and Zibby finally gets going? Yeah, but so be it. Didn't hate this deal from the start.

Second reaction: ...wtf do I do with my Zibby bobblehead that was given to me.

Further down the road, a week later, third reaction: *Sees someone link Brassard's picture and Zibby's bobblehead...looks eerily similar* Well..okay then. I guess it 'kinda' fits still..

(I have odd priorities, I know.)

 

[Hutz]

Yeah, but the depth is gonna suck.

What are you talking about? That's amazing depth at centre! Looks like this:

A. Kopitar
A. Kopitar
A. Kopitar
A. Kopitar

You have a top 10 centre in the game on ALL 4 LINES! Who else can boast that?

 

[topshelf15]

So...
MacArthur is tougher to play against than Alfie?NO
Hammond is tougher to play against than Lehner?Lehner hasnt shown anything more than Hammond did, so a maybe here??
Ryan tougher to play against than Silfverberg? Yes,Silf is slow and tissue paper soft and produces far less
Brassard tougher to play against than Zibanejad (this one I can maybe buy into)?Yes

Answers in bold for me,think we are better.By how much i guess we will see

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Brassard maybe tougher to play against than Zib but its pretty marginal . His possession / playmaking game is where we improve more significantly than toughness

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Brassard maybe tougher to play against than Zib but its pretty marginal . His possession / playmaking game is where we improve more significantly than toughness

Rangers fan seem insistent on how Brassard has quite the pest in him.

 

[Micklebot]

Answers in bold for me,think we are better.By how much i guess we will see

He was talking about being tougher, not better (ie a culture change whereby we seek out tough players that are good rather than just highly skilled players), though perhaps he equates the two.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Rangers fan seem insistent on how Brassard has quite the pest in him.

well that's not very quantifiable. He may be a bit more a pest but overall not much tougher to play against. We are not talking Marchand / Gallagher / Ken Linesman type pest here.

 

[Micklebot]

well that's not very quantifiable. He may be a bit more a pest but overall not much tougher to play against. We are not talking Marchand / Gallagher / Ken Linesman type pest here.

I'm guessing he maxes out as a Smith without the fighting type of pest, or maybe Kadri?

 

[Do Make Say Think]

well that's not very quantifiable. He may be a bit more a pest but overall not much tougher to play against. We are not talking Marchand / Gallagher / Ken Linesman type pest here.

Certainly.

But those kinds of comments lead me to think that he will be tougher to play against than Zibanejad who was very passive.

 

[aragorn]

He was talking about being tougher, not better (ie a culture change whereby we seek out tough players that are good rather than just highly skilled players), though perhaps he equates the two.

Tougher was probably the wrong word to use, I think they play with a little more grit but I was wondering if management were looking to make the team a little harder to play against with some of these changes we are seeing. It's something I would like to see a much grittier team & much harder to play against.

 

[aragorn]

Brassard maybe tougher to play against than Zib but its pretty marginal . His possession / playmaking game is where we improve more significantly than toughness

Agreed, but don't you also think that Brassard plays with more passion or intensity, that he plays a much grittier game than Zibby who to be was more of a fly by player who would hit occasionally. Watching Brassard especially in the playoffs he seems to be much harder to play against than Zibby at both ends of the ice, a bit of a never quit attitude which I like a lot, a very hard worker.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Agreed, but don't you also think that Brassard plays with more passion or intensity, that he plays a much grittier game than Zibby who to be was more of a fly by player who would hit occasionally. Watching Brassard especially in the playoffs he seems to be much harder to play against than Zibby at both ends of the ice, a bit of a never quit attitude which I like a lot, a very hard worker.

I think he plays with passion/intensity more consistently and elevates his game in the playoffs. I would not say much harder to play against due to a pest/tough style of play. I would say somewhat harder to play against..

 

[Micklebot]

Tougher was probably the wrong word to use, I think they play with a little more grit but I was wondering if management were looking to make the team a little harder to play against with some of these changes we are seeing. It's something I would like to see a much grittier team & much harder to play against.

That's how I interpreted it, but I don`t see how any of the replacement guys were grittier than the Swedish guys (save Brassard vs Zibanejad.

 

[RedWhiteBlackGold]

Who needs 2nd round picks when we draft Hoffman in the 5th and Stone in the 6th?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Who needs 2nd round picks when we draft Hoffman in the 5th and Stone in the 6th?

Gagne and Dahlen say hi

 

[Cosmix]

well that's not very quantifiable. He may be a bit more a pest but overall not much tougher to play against. We are not talking Marchand / Gallagher / Ken Linesman type pest here.

I remember Ken Linesman! Bobby Clarke was a tough to play against centre too. Real nasty at times.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Zib was absolutely not hard to play against in any sense. In that respect Brassard is a massive upgrade.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

I remember Ken Linesman! Bobby Clarke was a tough to play against centre too. Real nasty at times.

Clarke was definitely hard to play against.

 

[topshelf15]

Clarke was definitely hard to play against.

Jesus i guess,i liked the Flyers and i wanted to kill him.

 

[umma gumma]

Zib was absolutely not hard to play against in any sense. In that respect Brassard is a massive upgrade.

I agree with this.

 

[Tundraman]

Clarke was definitely hard to play against.

Clarke was a top level player and captain but also had some Cooke in him. Hacking and serious slashing seemed quite acceptable at the time in the NHL especially if you had the muscle behind you to protect you. Ask the Russians about that.

I doubt Brassard rises to that "hard to play against" level as Clarke but he has to be an improvement in that regard since Zib has many strengths but he's never been described that way. I've seen Zib turn away from an ugly-stare-down quite often and his play also reflects that. I don't know where the NYR GM got his info.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Clarke was a top level player and captain but also had some Cooke in him. Hacking and serious slashing seemed quite acceptable at the time in the NHL especially if you had the muscle behind you to protect you. Ask the Russians about that.

I doubt Brassard rises to that "hard to play against" level as Clarke but he has to be an improvement in that regard since Zib has many strengths but he's never been described that way. I've seen Zib turn away from an ugly-stare-down quite often and his play also reflects that. I don't know where the NYR GM got his info.

I agree completely that Zib is not hard to play against...

I really like the trade and stated so immediately, but IMHO I grant that Brassard is harder to play against than Zib but I do not think Brassard is particularly hard to play against either. I can't imagine going oh crap its going to be a tough game to play going up against Brassard. I think the "Massive" improvement comes from his consistency, and his play making vs the dogged determination of a physical on the edge type of pest.

I think part of the difference of opinion is in what exactly does it mean to be hard to play against. A good player that can drive possession and is hard to knock off the puck would be hard to play against too.

 

[SixthSens]

Who needs 2nd round picks when we draft Hoffman in the 5th and Stone in the 6th?

Acquire all the 5th's and 6th's?

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

Acquire all the 5th's and 6th's?

And 7ths! It's our evil plan! Win with late round surprises...