Brady Sjkei - does he bounce back this year?

[Ghost of jas]

Well a 2nd pairing defenseman is a very valuable asset and not someone we should be complaining about saying they suck. I think they see him as a 3/4 on a bad team not a contender, I think he is on the higher end of second pair defensemen in the league. I see a lot of Rangers fans saying he sucks, is a dumb player, the only thing he's good at is skating, etc. I think he was the best defenseman on our team last year, neck & neck with ADA. I think he's a very strong all around defenseman who fits the direction the NHL is going perfectly.

This team has LH 2nd pairing Dmen out the wazoo. He’s going to get lapped in the very near future.

 

[Leetch3]

well he is making 5.5 a year that’s not exactly fourth dman money

thats fine for a 2nd pair guy on a good team which we hopefully will be one day

 

[Leetch3]

This team has LH 2nd pairing Dmen our the wazoo. He’s going to get lapped in the very near future.

thats highly likely and he'll get traded when that happens but still a ways to go before multiple guys jump in

 

[Ghost of jas]

thats highly likely and he'll get traded when that happens but still a ways to go before multiple guys jump in

It’s going to happen faster than most here think.

 

[Leetch3]

It’s going to happen faster than most here think.

but it might be slower than you think lol...need to get staal out to have more than 1 other guy in the lineup to even have a shot...and guys like miller and robertson won't even be in the mix for another year.

I feel pretty safe saying that he won't be here for the rest of his contract, but also feel pretty safe saying he'll be here the next 2 years during the transition phase at least.

 

[Inferno]

I think skjei will eventually be pushed out...but not till his current deal nears it's end.

 

[egelband]

In general the Rangers are developing an identity, which really helps point these players in a direction. It's going to help Brady and virtually everyone in the organization.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

He was fine from January on. Playing with Trouba wil give him more support and will allow him to focus on his own game.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

I fear he has peaked. If K'Andre, Robertson and any of the other LD remotely pan out, he's out immediately.

He can easily get us a 1st rounder at any deadline. I think he sticks around for 2 more years, until it's clearer what the pipeline actually amounts to.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

well he is making 5.5 a year that’s not exactly fourth dman money

Actually, it is. There are 3 huge problems with how Skjei is often viewed which leave people thinking he is bad.

1. The fact that he had a pretty good rookie year and thus expectations were set beyond what they should have been.

2. The fact that the cap has gone up and that 2nd pairing D-Men now cost between 4-6 million. People still see those contracts as being top pair worthy (I'd call it the Redden effect). Top pair D-Men now command 8-11 million (Karlsson, Subban - soon to be Trouba, etc.).

3. He is playing first pair minutes when he's not a first pairing D-Man.

He is a fine second pairing D-Man. His contract is decent, especially considering it will eat up much of his prime. If he performs more or less at the level of last year, I'm fine with that. I just hope one of these prospects can become a legit first pairing guy, allowing Skjei to thrive where he belongs, in secondary matchups.

 

[Ghost of jas]

but it might be slower than you think lol...need to get staal out to have more than 1 other guy in the lineup to even have a shot...and guys like miller and robertson won't even be in the mix for another year.

I feel pretty safe saying that he won't be here for the rest of his contract, but also feel pretty safe saying he'll be here the next 2 years during the transition phase at least.

Again, I think that depends on the players coming up. And, I think Gorton is willing to take advantage of the right opportunities as they arise.

 

[Blue Blooded]

He'll never exceed his rookie point total if that's what you're wondering.

I think he'll bounce back somewhat next year compared to 2018-19, but I'm also among the few who lean towards 2017-18 being his best season to date.

 

[Kovalev27]

No one is coming for his job until kAndre is ready to be a top guy and that realistically could be 3 years from now so we’ve got some time.

Staal is the guy immediately in trouble over the next 2 seasons Rykov and Hajek are coming for his mins

 

[Mikos87]

He'll be fine. I thought Brady settled down after a very rough start. At the end of the season, he was the only player I thought he Rangers had who was a legitimate top 4 defender.

That number is up to 2 now with the Trouba deal.

Fox can and most likely will make it 3.

The question in my mind is if a Hajek can push for a spot.

Still not an ideal situation, but until K'Andre arrives, there isn't a better player on the left side than Sjkei, and I think he'll be fine playing 22 a night.

 

[The S5]

Good Lord, so many asinine takes on this player.
Brady was not good first half of last year, as was the case with most of the team. He played much better in the second half. To think that he won't return to that level on a better team is silly.
Seems like many Ranger fans pick their favorite players and they can do no wrong, while others can do no right?
Let's sit back and enjoy watching the young guys develop. Hopefully, they are as good as advertised and we can surround them with the right type of secondary players.

 

[Kovalev27]

He'll be fine. I thought Brady settled down after a very rough start. At the end of the season, he was the only player I thought he Rangers had who was a legitimate top 4 defender.

That number is up to 2 now with the Trouba deal.

Fox can and most likely will make it 3.

The question in my mind is if a Hajek can push for a spot.

Still not an ideal situation, but until K'Andre arrives, there isn't a better player on the left side than Sjkei, and I think he'll be fine playing 22 a night.

You didn’t think Tony DeAngelo was a topn4 player last year? He was outstanding

I gotta say Adam Fox to me is getting a ton of love but he’d be lucky to ever be as good as DeAngelo in my opinion. Fox is a lousy skater and nowhere near the defender DeAngelo turned out to be last year. He’s not even close to that level. I think he’s got a lot of work to do but wouldn’t have signed here if he wasn’t basically guaranteed a roster spot ala Vesey.

 

[Mikos87]

You didn’t think Tony DeAngelo was a topn4 player last year? He was outstanding

I gotta say Adam Fox to me is getting a ton of love but he’d be lucky to ever be as good as DeAngelo in my opinion. Fox is a lousy skater and nowhere near the defender DeAngelo turned out to be last year. He’s not even close to that level. I think he’s got a lot of work to do but wouldn’t have signed here if he wasn’t basically guaranteed a roster spot ala Vesey.

I like Tony D, but I don't see him as a 22-24 minute a night guy. Can he get there? Sure. But I see a few flaws in his game that need to get corrected, which imo are all based on his decision making.

• Lots of turnovers. Defensemen who handle the puck a lot are prone to this, but he needs to cut down on the long bombs that miss, or the passes up the middle that got turned over
• Neutral zone D- he's not in sync with his partner at times in managing the gap control. Just has to stay patient and controlled, he's gotten beat wide due to some over aggressive checking attempts
• Loooong offensive zone pinches. Stops moving his feet and floats in the offensive zone while a forward has to cover for him, and he's not contributing to the forecheck. Puck often goes the other way. This has got to stop. He needs to dart in and out. If he can do this at even strength, without zoning out, or spacing out, then he's going to pad the stats and become a better 5v5 player.

Fox I would say is a much smarter player, more controlled, decisive, and craftier with the puck. I'm sure there will be a learning curve for him, but I don't expect it to be a long one.

 

[will1066]

He will definitely bounce back this year, as will the spelling of his surname.

 

[GregSirico]

Hot take: He had a good year.

 

[NYSPORTS]

He’s safe if he plays well yet is going to hear footsteps really quickly by 2020/21 if he doesn’t play well.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

well he is making 5.5 a year that’s not exactly fourth dman money

This is just fundamentally incorrect. That’s exactly what second pairing defensemen make.

 

[Deleted member 23124]

I think he comes back better. He had a year to de-program the AV system and hopefully with Ruff out now, we can get someone who knows what to do with good clay besides flinging it like monkey poo.

Ruff is gone? When did this happen?

 

[Sayba]

If we want to compare him to prime McDonagh then he isn't that. He is a very good skater and if paired with someone like Trouba I think he will shine. To use Jay Bouwmeester example, perfect compliment to a Pietrangelo or Parakyo.

 

[chosen]

He’s safe if he plays well yet is going to hear footsteps really quickly by 2020/21 if he doesn’t play well.

Like every other player.

 

[eco's bones]

Part of Brady's issue to me is that after McD was moved I think he tried to step up and replace him and Brady's really a second pairing not a top pairing guy and trying to be a top pairing guy meant doing too much. Trouba IMO is better suited to take on that kind of responsibility or at least share and take some of the pressure off Brady.