Devils or Rangers: Who has the better future?

[elitepete]

Rangers. Not even remotely close at all.

 

[BomaLightDevils]

But here’s the thing... when you focus on the ice right. 1 incident ON THE ICE imploded your front office. You had the most iconic player in your teams history come out and call EVERY single player on the roster soft. And days later, your GM is gone. But you right, definitely not a coincidence.

i would love to see that

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Rangers had a chance to runaway with thiserivalry in the upcoming years but they've seemed to have drafted busts with their picks with Laffy , Kakko and Kravtsov.

Neutral fan here : ill vote Devils , AINEC

Busts after one or two years? Is the whole 2019 and 2020 draft busts?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

first stage is denial hahahaha

Its amazing that rags fans can root for that team for so long and not understand how Dolan operates.

He told you the truth of the situation as someone who watches the team play regularly and you said he’s wrong because it hurts your entertainment value to have the truth be different than what you’d find more exciting.

 

[JimEIV]

You’re wrong, the Rangers haven’t failed miserably in this. You’re thinking of the pre cap era to define the Rangers. Since the cap era, the Rangers have been one of the most successful teams in the NHL whereas the Devils have been a laughing stock.

Rangers have certainly been better - But not as much as your are trying to portray.

The Devils were much better than Rangers from 2005 to 2012 - Post 2005 Lockout those Devils teams had the 4th most wins in the Entire league behind Detriot, San Jose and Vancouver and a .609 Win% NHL Stats The Devils also won the Division 4 out of 7 of those years (
2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10)

Now when you add the last 8 years the Devils fall down to 20th --- But still the difference isn't that large - Devils have 600 wins over that time .544% - The Rangers have 652 wins and .579 win percentage since the cap era (2005 lockout). It is about 3.5 wins more per season from the 2005-06 season until 2021
NHL Stats

Not sure that constitutes "Laughing stock" but maybe?

 

[Gnome17]

Your argument is based on your opinion of the character of guys you never met.... ok.

What an annoying reply. Yes, it is. I also never met Epstein or Hitler and I have pretty strong opinions about them too.
Fans, media people, experts, everyone discuss character, often about players theyve never met.

 

[BlueBaron]

Up until a few weeks ago I might've said Rangers, but seeing Drury in action as GM has me feeling pretty good about NJ's chances.

Having a top defenseman to match up against Fox was a glaring hole for NJ which they've seemingly solved with Hamilton. Having Luke Hughes in the mix also helps a ton. Rangers still need to find a long-term solution for their issues at center. I give NJ a slight advantage.

Is Z no longer a Rag? Is he not in their plans?

He's a solid c

 

[HyperX]

Capitals Enter 2020-21 Season With NHL’s Oldest Roster

Rangers did

no you didn't and honestly, who cares?

awesome

is this an example of being proven wrong but refusing to acknowledge or accept it?

I think so.. woof. Imagine bringing up age and then, when proven wrong, saying 'who cares' lmfao

Check back in later on when youve settled down; by then maybe the Rangers still wont be younger than the Devils

 

[NYSPORTS]

is this an example of being proven wrong but refusing to acknowledge or accept it?

I think so.. woof. Imagine bringing up age and then, when proven wrong, saying 'who cares' lmfao

Check back in later on when youve settled down; by then maybe the Rangers still wont be younger than the Devils

I’m happy with the Rangers and believe their future is bright even if that bothers people.

 

[HyperX]

I’m happy with the Rangers and believe their future is bright even if that bothers people.

I mean... okay?

you can think that and not have to make things up or lie when confronted on it

Rangers Devils rivalry will be strong in the 2020s, but as of right now if the Rangers keep down this path of losing talent for grinders.. it wont last as long as it should.

Chris Drury STINKS as GM and he hasnt even been employed for half a year yet

 

[Auto Pilot]

Is Z no longer a Rag? Is he not in their plans?

He's a solid c

He’s a PP accumulator that doesn’t do much 5 on 5. They’d be smart to get rid of him given what he will probably command. But Drury seems relatively bad as a gm so far, and dolan is messing with the team which is bad.

 

[NYSPORTS]

I mean... okay?

you can think that and not have to make things up or lie when confronted on it

Rangers Devils rivalry will be strong in the 2020s, but as of right now if the Rangers keep down this path of losing talent for grinders.. it wont last as long as it should.

Chris Drury STINKS as GM and he hasnt even been employed for half a year yet

there is a bit more in this thread and i don’t believe Drury stinks at all. He added $1.1 million for a ton of grit. I’m thrilled with the roster

 

[smoneil]

He’s a PP accumulator that doesn’t do much 5 on 5. They’d be smart to get rid of him given what he will probably command. But Drury seems relatively bad as a gm so far, and dolan is messing with the team which is bad.

Like...taking 20 seconds to check before posting would have prevented you from looking ridiculous. You know that, right? Last season, Zibanejad had 50 points (14 on the pp). The season before? 75 points (27 on the power play). The season before that? 74 points (23 on the power play). Over the last three seasons, that's an average of about 32% of his production coming on the power play vs. 68% coming at even strength. Over the last three years, he was 40th, 31st, and 50th in even strength scoring, league wide.

For comparison's sake--the top ten scorers and the percentage of their production that came on the power play last year: McDavid (35%), Draisaitl (38%), Marchand (26%), Marner (21%), Rantanen (36%), Matthews (20%), Kane (33%), MacKinnon (38%), Scheifele (27%), Crosby (35%). Six of the top ten scorers were bigger "PP accumulators" than Zibanejad.

 

[Lua]

Like...taking 20 seconds to check before posting would have prevented you from looking ridiculous. You know that, right? Last season, Zibanejad had 50 points (14 on the pp). The season before? 75 points (27 on the power play). The season before that? 74 points (23 on the power play). Over the last three seasons, that's an average of about 32% of his production coming on the power play vs. 68% coming at even strength. Over the last three years, he was 40th, 31st, and 50th in even strength scoring, league wide.

For comparison's sake--the top ten scorers and the percentage of their production that came on the power play last year: McDavid (35%), Draisaitl (38%), Marchand (26%), Marner (21%), Rantanen (36%), Matthews (20%), Kane (33%), MacKinnon (38%), Scheifele (27%), Crosby (35%). Six of the top ten scorers were bigger "PP accumulators" than Zibanejad.

I think the "Zib is a PP specialist" narrative is a relic of his 2019-20 breakout season, where he popped the f*** off and all of a sudden the Rangers sniffed top 5 in PP% for the first time since 2006-07 when Jagr was running it. I recall at least one very vocal HFNYR poster who beat that "PP specialist" drum in plenty of Zib discussions.

Even if we assume that narrative is true, the timeline of his huge breakout directly coincides with the transformation of the Rangers' PP's from middling at best to legitimate threat, and I can't for the life of me understand why some Rangers fans count his potency on the PP as it supposedly relates to his even strength production as a demerit rather than something to cling onto for dear life.

In the very likely scenario that the Rangers move on from Zib, they are not only losing their #1 center, they are losing the most dangerous PP shooting threat the franchise has had in a very, very long time.

Anyway, I confess Panarin coming over might also have something to do with the Rangers' PP success in that 2019-20 shortened season. Maybe DeAngelo too, but I prefer to forget I ever rooted for him.

Going forward, at least on paper, they have a candidate that excels in every traditional PP role. All of them are locked up long term except Zib.

Kreider
Panarin - Zib - Kakko/Laf/Strome
Fox

Kreider is a very sturdy netfront presence, and Joe Michaletti isn't likely to let us forget that he is consistently among the league leaders in deflection goals, screens that lead to goals, rebound chances, etc etc

Panarin can control and dish the puck from the halfboards as well as almost anyone in the league, and he has the rare talent of forcing defenders to back off, refusing to be trapped with his back literally against a wall

Zib has a lethal shot—as I said, he's the most dangerous shooting threat on the PP the Rangers have had almost in living memory

Kakko has struggled to produce, but if there's one thing he does well it's grinding along boards, maintaining possession and coming away with pucks. He hasn't shown the kind of playmaking ability at this level to thread passes cross ice, but he will always have the option to defer to:

Fox, who has superhuman poise and vision and is honestly a godly, galaxy-brained hockey player. He can also carry the puck up the ice and get it into the zone without making it an adventure. Fans of other teams might not appreciate how much of a relief and breath of fresh air that is for us. The Rangers' signature red line drop pass to the trailer to try to enter the zone through every player on the ice was ineffective and so unbelievably frustrating to watch. Compounded with the fact the Rangers are a perennially terrible faceoff team, (I understand that faceoff wins/losses generally aren't a possession driving event) it was almost a given that we would lose 20 or 30 seconds off our PP.

Laf and Strome are the other options for that wing opposite of Panarin. Strome held that job the last two years and he didn't embarrass himself, but it seems like we're banking on one of Laf/Kakko to develop into the kind of beast that can actually create space and make plays rather than push the puck along the perimeter

Also, to actually address the topic of the thread, I've been a Rangers fan long enough to know that no matter how good they might look on paper, or how exciting their most recent offseason makeover is, the Devils have an annoying habit of managing to find ways to mercilessly punk them and play the worldbeater and make impressive amounts of noise. As blasphemous as this might be, I have a grudging respect for the Devils franchise and I absolutely prefer a world where both clubs are equally competitive, and i'm glad that they are both on the upswing and appear to have exciting futures with almost equal amounts of talented core young players and prospects. But I reserve the right to change my tune on that midseason, as I often do

 

[LOFIN]

I mean... okay?

you can think that and not have to make things up or lie when confronted on it

Rangers Devils rivalry will be strong in the 2020s, but as of right now if the Rangers keep down this path of losing talent for grinders.. it wont last as long as it should.

Chris Drury STINKS as GM and he hasnt even been employed for half a year yet

What talent has been lost for grinders? Buchnevich wasn't traded to make room for Goodrow or Reaves, how many times does this have to be stated so people understand it? It was made to promote Kakko and Kravtsov, this has been stated by the GM even.

And if you are referring to talent as in Howden, Di Giuseppe and Blackwell, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[markog]

Trading away one 26 year old player derailed the rebuild?!?!

Nope, signing 50 players that can't play did so that they don't get pushed around.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Rangers. Not even remotely close at all.

As a nyr fan, their front office has been so consistently inept for so long I worry they'll f*** this up. They already might have cap wise when looking at the future.

They don't win the lotto twice and they're f***ed

Edit: 3 times if you count fox as the unreal luck that it was

 

[The Crypto Guy]

As a nyr fan, their front office has been so consistently inept for so long I worry they'll f*** this up. They already might have cap wise when looking at the future.

They don't win the lotto twice and they're f***ed

No they haven't...only stupid thing over the last decade was getting rid of JD and Gorton.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

No they haven't...only stupid thing over the last decade was getting rid of JD and Gorton.

Yes they have. Gort sucked. Where would we be if we hadn't hit the lotto twice?

Out of the playoffs without kakko and laf to hang our hopes on

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Yes they have. Gort sucked. Where would we be if we hadn't hit the lotto twice?

Out of the playoffs without kakko and laf to hang our hopes on

Okay.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Okay.

Where would they be without winning the lotto twice (now and going forward)? Especially if they grab yet ANOTHER lias type bust instead which isn't crazy to think. Though you'd HOPE they'd have made a sensible, on the board pick that's currently progressing nicely

Unless it's defense though, we haven't exactly been knocking in home runs

Actually we had three lotto wins. Fox had nothing to do with gortons skill.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Where would they be without winning the lotto twice (now and going forward)? Especially if they grab yet ANOTHER lias type bust instead which isn't crazy to think. Though you'd HOPE they'd have made a sensible, on the board pick that's currently progressing nicely

Unless it's defense though, we haven't exactly been knocking in home runs

Actually we had three lotto wins. Fox had nothing to do with gortons skill.

Gotta be good to be lucky tho

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Gotta be good to be lucky tho

There's that old phrase about opportunity and preparation. The Rangers did prepare to be failures that's for sure lol. It was what gort excelled at. Idk what they prepared to get fox though

 

[HABitual Fan]

Gotta be good to be lucky tho

Actually you need to be bad to be lucky, if you are looking at winning the draft lottery

 

[FourRings]

He’s a PP accumulator that doesn’t do much 5 on 5. They’d be smart to get rid of him given what he will probably command. But Drury seems relatively bad as a gm so far, and dolan is messing with the team which is bad.

I’m really pulling for a mega contract for Zib.