Confirmed with Link: [ARI/NYR] Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta for 7th overall and Anthony DeAngelo

boyko10

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Apr 27, 2017
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I've seen him in a few chicago games, every rangers game. And I've seen him live in finland and on TV when he was over there actually.

I live close to Finland :).

55 GP with the Rangers, around 15 with the Hawks. Probably 5 or so games in Finland. And I've seen him play for team Finland as well.

That's around 80 games in total.

Those couple years before he left for NA.. Any Finns remember the level he was on? He wasnt hot, he was smoking. Seriously I had been following liiga for 25+ yrs and if it wasn't for Tim Thomas' first season I'd say AR put out the single best performance for a goalie.. For two consecutive seasons night in and night out.

What has he ever done to prove he's no starter? Played two bad games in a row? Any chi/nyr thoughts on this?

edit:

2012 38gp 0.933
2013 45gp 0.943 (won championship on a 'nameless' team)
 
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FinnishCoyote

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Jan 3, 2017
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Those couple years before he left for NA.. Any Finns remember the level he was on? He wasnt hot, he was smoking. Seriously I had been following liiga for 25+ yrs and if it wasn't for Tim Thomas' first season I'd say AR put out the single best performance for a goalie.. For two consecutive seasons night in and night out.

What has he ever done to prove he's no starter? Played two bad games in a row? Any chi/nyr thoughts on this?

edit:

2012 38gp 0.933
2013 45gp 0.943 (won championship on a 'nameless' team)

He won something like 15 last games in a row at the end of regular season and dragged his team in to playoffs in 2013.

Also he was a beast the whole playoffs. In finals he was in god mode.
 

Levitate

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Jul 29, 2004
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I agree, I know why the Coyotes did this deal, but if you have a 1C, you have to find room for him some how. Maybe, they feel they have someone they can promote to take Stepans place.

The Rangers traded Stepan for a variety of reasons but ultimately yeah it does hurt them down the middle for sure.

One reason is it's possible they think that Zibanejad can take over as their true 1C. It's a gamble but he's young and has a higher offensive potential than Stepan. Really unfortunate he broke his leg last season because it makes it hard to tell where he really was in his value and development and whether it's reasonable to expect him to step up to the 1C role.

A second reason is his contract, and for a variety of reasons. While it's not a terrible contract it is large enough that if he trends downward at all during it then it starts really impacting a team that usually spends to the cap like the Rangers. They're probably looking down the road at players they need to sign and how to work out their cap space. Also, since his NTC would have kicked in, it was a valuable asset they had to move by a certain date in order to try to fill some other holes in their lineup.

Which leads into the third reason, overhauling their defense, prospect pool, and trying to acquire a power play quarterback. This was before Shattenkirk signed, obviously, but they still were obviously overhauling their defense on the right side with Girardi being bought out, Klein retiring (it was reported he was considering it before the draft and the Rangers had to have known as well), and it's been a constant refrain that they needed a PP QB. It's also known that they've been interested in DeAngelo since he was with Tampa, so they see the opportunity to grab a dynamic young offensive defenseman that they have liked for awhile, along with a top 10 draft pick, so that checks off a few boxes.

On top of that the Rangers have talked about shaking up their core a bit over the past few years, so while I don't think they necessarily wanted to do it just for the sake of a shakeup, I think they were more willing to make a move like this once they've decided they need to make more than minor tweaks to the team.

And finally...more speculation than anything, but they could be worried about Stepan's game declining. His numbers last year were on par with his usual but he had a poor playoff performance and is not a fast skater to begin with so they could be concerned that as he approaches 30 his effectiveness might decrease. Again this is more speculation than anything though. Also possible that they kept hoping he'd take the next step to be a 60-70 point guy instead of 50-60 and have waited long enough.

That said, yeah it leaves them with a hole down the middle. Their defense is a whole lot better and they have some promising pieces at center for the future now (their recent draft picks including Andersson they drafted with the 7th overall) but it's perhaps a role of the dice as to whether Zibanejad and Hayes can step up into the 1-2 roles and they can fill the bottom 2 center spots effectively.

I hope DeAngelo can continue to improve and be a good player for the Rangers...he's not going to be thrown into the fire now that they have Shattenkirk and Smith on the right but he'll have some competition with some other players in the system so he'll have to keep on his toes. Developing into a good PP QB and offensive defenseman down the road while Shattenkirk's contract expires is probably the hope.
 

Matias Maccete

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Wait..... Levitate why did you do that? One doesn't just post informative, well thought out posts. It's all about absurd hot takes and talking up your team's players while talking down everyone else's.

Seriously though, very good info about the Rangers side of things. You guys will absolutely love watching DeAngelo play.
 

Levitate

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Jul 29, 2004
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I've always liked Stepan a lot and while he's a bit of a weird player in how un-flashy he is, he gets the job done most of the time. I always felt like he could crack that 60 point mark and be between 60 and 70 points but it always felt like something prevented that...an injury, a long cold streak, etc. Seems like he goes on at least one real long cold streak per season but otherwise is pretty consistent.

I think Rangers fans wanted/expected more than a draft pick and a defenseman out of the deal because they were worried about that center depth, but perhaps underestimated the value of the 7 OA and a prospect the Rangers really liked. Then of course as soon as a guy is traded he's terrible at this or that and blah blah blah.

Stepan isn't a fast skater but I don't really think he's as slow as some people think. He's gets to where he needs to be. His wrist shot isn't bad when he has some time to get it off, his one timer is pretty blah though and I know this because he was like the only right handed shot on the Rangers for awhile so they'd set him up for the right hand one timer on the power play and it was unimpressive. He looks pass first a lot of the time, sometimes to a detriment (if he's on a 2 on 1 he'll almost always pass even if it's a tough one to get through). His passing in general is good though and he's a smart player.

He also used to get a lot of tough assignments and play well, though I think his analytics took a dip these past couple of years, but the Rangers intentionally haven't really been a possession team lately.

I think he'll do just fine on the Coyotes if his linemates are skilled guys too. He's probably not going to make a checker into a scorer or anything but he can certainly help enable skilled players. He's also played with some fast guys before and does OK.

Re: Raanta, dunno how he'll do as a full time starter but he has the talent in general. Consistency will just have to be the thing, can he bring it game after game, etc. He sometimes has his games where everything just looks off for him but that's not uncommon for goalies in general. Like I said I can't say if he's ready to be a full time starter, but I think he has the talent for it.

What're we really getting with DeAngelo? My impression is kind of a hot shot puck mover, great skating, moves the puck well, good shot, great in the offensive zone, but sometimes sloppy defensively and undisciplined in the defensive zone. Gonna guess his neutral zone play isn't notable either, but with the right minutes and usage can be a guy who grades out with a positive corsi type rating because he can move the puck out and spend more time in the offensive one.

e: I guess my question is really is he a guy who really needs more AHL time or is he on that cusp of NHL ready but needs the proper minutes to continue developing and not ready in the sense of "sure just give him top 4 minutes and responsibilities!"
 

Toadie

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Mar 24, 2015
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5 or 6 pairing this year. Great for the power play but keep him off the ice against other teams top lines. He will create excitement for the fans. Hope he keeps his head with the New York Media spot light :) He is really fun to watch
 

Matias Maccete

Chopping up defenses
Sep 21, 2014
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I think DeAngelo's D is underrated, he's not a shutdown guy or anything but he's not bad. He also plays way bigger than he is. My only concern would be his temper on the ice and how he handles the all the media attention he's going to get off of it.
 

Levitate

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Jul 29, 2004
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I think DeAngelo's D is underrated, he's not a shutdown guy or anything but he's not bad. He also plays way bigger than he is. My only concern would be his temper on the ice and how he handles the all the media attention he's going to get off of it.

The NY media market isn't that big for hockey to be honest. Sure he'll have some stuff written about him and if he gets into trouble on or off the ice, Larry Brooks will write a scathing article about him, but NYC is a baseball, basketball, football town first and hockey a distant fourth. It's not like Montreal or Toronto where the media will hound players and the team.

He's gotten a bit of attention for being a somewhat local player but the spotlight isn't that bright for hockey players in NYC. I think several have even gone there from other markets like Canadian markets and said "it's kind of nice being able to take the metro or walk around and not have people know who you are"
 

The Feckless Puck

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What're we really getting with DeAngelo? My impression is kind of a hot shot puck mover, great skating, moves the puck well, good shot, great in the offensive zone, but sometimes sloppy defensively and undisciplined in the defensive zone. Gonna guess his neutral zone play isn't notable either, but with the right minutes and usage can be a guy who grades out with a positive corsi type rating because he can move the puck out and spend more time in the offensive one.

I'm going to give you an answer that you may not like as a Rangers fan - DeAngelo is like a hotheaded, young Keith Yandle.

He's got offensive instincts for days. His outlet pass is tremendous. And he's got a nose for the net. But he's also undisciplined as hell, not just in the defensive zone, but in general. Right now he's got a five-cent head when it comes to hockey smarts, and his coaching staff is going to need a LOT of patience with him to allow him to develop properly.

That said, the only reason why he should go to the AHL is for behavioral issues. His skill set is NHL-ready and if your team is having problems moving the puck, he is going to be a BIG help in that area. In short, he's a project player with tremendous upside if you can find a way to mature him in some key areas.
 

Levitate

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Jul 29, 2004
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I'm going to give you an answer that you may not like as a Rangers fan - DeAngelo is like a hotheaded, young Keith Yandle.

He's got offensive instincts for days. His outlet pass is tremendous. And he's got a nose for the net. But he's also undisciplined as hell, not just in the defensive zone, but in general. Right now he's got a five-cent head when it comes to hockey smarts, and his coaching staff is going to need a LOT of patience with him to allow him to develop properly.

That said, the only reason why he should go to the AHL is for behavioral issues. His skill set is NHL-ready and if your team is having problems moving the puck, he is going to be a BIG help in that area. In short, he's a project player with tremendous upside if you can find a way to mature him in some key areas.

I liked Yandle on the Rangers and didn't think he was as poor defensively as some Rangers fans like to pretend he was ;)

He'll probably be competing for the 3rd RD spot behind Shattenkirk and Smith, and also get 2nd PP time behind Shattenkirk unless they want to run two right handed defensemen for some reason. He doesn't have to play any big minutes so they should be able to bring him along carefully.

Some people question if he'll make the team out of camp but I think he definitely has the inside edge considering they traded for him, he has NHL experience, etc.

Thanks for the info, hopefully he works out well in NY. They seem to be really moving to a faster puck moving defense and he should fit that perfectly.
 

Ebb

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That said, the only reason why he should go to the AHL is for behavioral issues. His skill set is NHL-ready and if your team is having problems moving the puck, he is going to be a BIG help in that area. In short, he's a project player with tremendous upside if you can find a way to mature him in some key areas.

I don't know if he's ready for a full season at the NHL level, but I could see him playing roughly 54-55 games while he adjusts to the new system. He may have slight attitude issues, but they probably won't be as heavily criticized by (or offend) NYC fans. He's kind of "guidoesque," if you'll pardon the un-PC nature of including the term (I lived in Northern NJ for 5 years and can't think of a better term to describe him based on my club/bar "observations" while residing in NJ).

He largely gets a bad reputation because of his Twitter account (I still feel those should be restricted for all professional sports players making as much money as they do--since I know it could negatively impact my career if I had one and posted certain thoughts/opinions). Now, he did have 2 minor "incidents" (one bumping/pushing a referee--I can't remember the other one). Perhaps he's learned his lesson, especially since he will live closer to where he "grew up." Of course, that could be a negative thing as well
 
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Matias Maccete

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Sep 21, 2014
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The NY media market isn't that big for hockey to be honest. Sure he'll have some stuff written about him and if he gets into trouble on or off the ice, Larry Brooks will write a scathing article about him, but NYC is a baseball, basketball, football town first and hockey a distant fourth. It's not like Montreal or Toronto where the media will hound players and the team.

He's gotten a bit of attention for being a somewhat local player but the spotlight isn't that bright for hockey players in NYC. I think several have even gone there from other markets like Canadian markets and said "it's kind of nice being able to take the metro or walk around and not have people know who you are"
That's probably a good thing. We're a bit split here on DeAngelo, as you can see. I disagree and wouldn't say he has a 5 cent head hockey IQ wise like TFP. I wouldn't argue that he has some temper issues and probably some off ice decision making problems too, but on the ice I think he's a pretty smart player.

I'd bet that DeAngelo easily makes the team. I haven't seen much of the Rangers outside of last year's playoffs, so I'm not going to say he'll be better than Smith (because I've barely seen him play), but it wouldn't shock me if he moves up on the depth chart pretty quickly as well. The caveat to all of this is he needs to keep his anger in check and not do anything dumb, which isn't a guarantee.
 

_Del_

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Jul 4, 2003
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As someone who didn't like the trade to get him from Tampa, I thought he was much more NHL-ready than advertised. Needs some polish to be sure, but I didn't think he was as big a liability as it was made to seem reading some of the posts here. YMMV
 

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