Dylan Mcilrath Part III

[Raspewtin]

Don't think you'll see the Rangers trust Mcilrath over Klein to the point where that is an open competition. Klein will be given time to get back into form, if he's ever really lost it. He wasn't great but he wasn't terrible and NHL coaching staffs with trust a vet with 500 games and a year and a half in the same system over a kid who's trying to crack the lineup.

What form? His 3 months, 15% SH% form? Because that's long gone and probably never coming back.

The month before Klein broke his arm he was regressing heavily to what he's always been. Does nobody remember that?

Mcilrath will get his games here and there but it won't be enough volume for the Rangers to trust him going into the late season and into the playoffs unless someone gets hurt. If someone gets hurt you are going to need to hold onto Klein. For Klein to be traded with Mcilrath taking his spot its going to have to be a perfect sequence of events that lead to it.

The "if someone gets hurt" argument is so tired. Why did we buy out Richards? Stepan or Brassard might've gotten hurt at some point. The logic doesn't work. Injuries happen and that'll probably be the only time McIlrath realistically gets his chance, but if that injury is to someone like Boyle or even Girardi we're ****ed with or without Klein.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Klein playing bad and McIrath playing well are not mutually exclusive. 1 has nothing to do with the other. Klein has been putrid, can you not argue otherwise?

The trading Klein so that McIrath can play is another story.

klein is a vet. he gets leeway. he gets the benefit of the doubt. especially in preseason. he's not flashy. he's not creative. he's dependable, affordable and av trusts him. again, its preseason.

he was an integral part of a presidents cup winning team. a guy who played very well when others last season **** themselves for long stretches. he's the kind of guy good team have on the 3rd pair.

mcilrath has looked steady and composed this preseason. as I've said. he's been what he needed to be. he hasn't cost the team and he's stepped up and done his job. do far, so good with the kid.

its not anyones fault that this team is stacked 1-6. dylan is in a tough spot looking for minutes and not able to be sent down to play 25 mins per night in the A.

i just disagree that removing kk and adding dm makes us better in any way. right now, it does not.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Sorry, but your last sentence makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk it right now? Klein can take care of the role your envisioning in the beginning of your post. If he falters, if someone gets hurt, McIlrath gets his shot. Thats how things work.

Too much risk, right this second, to hand McIlrath the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

Yeah i don't get it. No NHL team hands a kid an NHL D spot with 3 games under his belt unless you are rebuilding or he's Erik Karlsson. They always talk about the process young players have to go through, and a lot of what I'm reading about the McIlrath/Klein situation is totally disregarding that.

If you really want the kid to succeed you won't want him rushed into this thing, and thats what a lot of people are suggesting here.

 

[Kaapo Cabana]

putrid play ?

dude broke his arm. remember. then he came back in a playoff run.

and lets not forget... its preseason. thats the narrative for kevin hayes so far, right ? not for kk though.

mcd was bad most of last winter and while mcd was stinking up the joint - remember the "is being captain too much for young ryan" crap.... kevin klein was quietly our best defender many nights.

the hate for kevin klein here is completely driven by the "mcilrath must succeed crowd". many of the same posters who tear klein apart oddly are the most vocal mcilrath supporters.

the whole, klein is probably better than mcilrath thing is so transparent. he's not probably, he is.

Im on the trade KK bandwagon, but I don't hate the guy. I actually think he is pretty good, and he was great for us last year.

McIlrath will go through growing pains and yes Klein is the better option short term, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Getting McIlrath NHL time early and often will help him be able to solidify his game by the end of the year. Couple that with the cap savings, and the benefits of trading Klein outweigh the risks IMO.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

McIlrath, even when he's trying to rein in the physical play, is by far our most punishing defenseman. He keeps the opposition forwards honest anytime they get close to the red line. Once he figures out his timing at this level, he's going to straight up annihilate a few guys. He's extremely good at closing the distance when he commits to a hit.

I've been waiting for a guy like this, my entire time as a Rangers fan. I had a single glimpse of it in the first shift Ryan Clowe played for us. When he drilled a Pens d-man almost through the glass.

The Wrath brings exactly what we were lacking all these years. A true mean big beast that can actually play (from what I've seen this PS).

Had great pinches yesterday. Almost made a goal happen if he had kept his balance. But I like his speed.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Yeah i don't get it. No NHL team hands a kid an NHL D spot with 3 games under his belt unless you are rebuilding or he's Erik Karlsson. They always talk about the process young players have to go through, and a lot of what I'm reading about the McIlrath/Klein situation is totally disregarding that.

If you really want the kid to succeed you won't want him rushed into this thing, and thats what a lot of people are suggesting here.

exactly. playing defense in the nhl is pretty much the hardest position imo. you get exposed. alot.

lets wait for the first injury to one of the top 6 and see how dylan does in real games, on the road, in hostile buildings facing top talent.

lets not throw him to the wolves prematurely by moving kk now and make it harder than it already will be.

 

[Ghost of jas]

lets not throw him to the wolves prematurely by moving kk now and make it harder than it already will be.

Why? If anything, this the time to do just that. You have five months to evaluate his play, as well as give him time to get acclimated. He may or may not be better than Klein right now. But, I wouldn't bet against him being better than Klein come playoff time.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Why? If anything, this the time to do just that. You have five months to evaluate his play, as well as give him time to get acclimated. He may or may not be better than Klein right now. But, I wouldn't bet against him being better than Klein come playoff time.

2 reasons.

1. you don't hand a starting job on THIS team to a kid with 3 nhl games under his belt. you just don't. and then we end up with mcilrath and diaz 6 and 7. remember last season ?

2. if you really want to maximize value for kk, you wait.

lets see how mcilrath does in real games and then, if he's outplaying or even playing to the same level that say a kk or a dan boyle is, you give him more games (lets not forget injuries) and then look to move kevin klein to the first team that suffers a serious d injury to their top 4.

then you maximize value an restock with a pick or 2.

there.
is.
no.
rush.

 

[Mikos87]

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hockey/rangers-mcilrath-creating-roster-puzzle-1.1422782

If this team ditches McIlrath because Glass sticks around, I may lose my mind.

I'd read into it the other way around. Keeping McIlrath makes Glass useless.

Look they are smart enough to know that waiving Glass isn't saying goodbye to Glass, no one will claim him, on hockey skill alone, let alone that contract.

So they can recall him if needed.

 

[OverTheCap]

Sorry, but your last sentence makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk it right now? Klein can take care of the role your envisioning in the beginning of your post. If he falters, if someone gets hurt, McIlrath gets his shot. Thats how things work.

Too much risk, right this second, to hand McIlrath the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

Yup, that's exactly how McDonagh got his shot to stick around full-time - Rozsival got injured and that provided McD the opportunity to prove himself. I'm assuming something similar will happen with McIlrath, there's no way the D stays healthy the entire season. Considering how banged up our D was last year with multiple defensemen being out at one time, the prudent course of action would be to start the season having substantial depth on defense. There's no rush to trade Klein at this juncture before the team has even played a regular season game.

 

[TheTakedown]

I'd read into it the other way around. Keeping McIlrath makes Glass useless.

Look they are smart enough to know that waiving Glass isn't saying goodbye to Glass, no one will claim him, on hockey skill alone, let alone that contract.

So they can recall him if needed.

he's actually the best option for a 14th forward... his contract is so ugly, and he's so awful at hockey, that the team has the liberty to send him up and down as much as they want, and he probably won't be claimed...

Which is fantastic, because Lindberg, Stoll, Etem, McIlrath, and Diaz all need regular time up here...

Not sure how anyone else feels about this, but I don't think the cap talk with 8 defensemen was actually ever an issue--I just think that AV was trying to scare some of these guys into putting in solid performances

 

[Levitate]

exactly. playing defense in the nhl is pretty much the hardest position imo. you get exposed. alot.

A forward can try to beat a defenseman and fail over and over all night long and then pull one highlight reel move out and score a goal and change the game. They fail far more often than they succeed.

A defenseman can spend all game playing perfect D and giving the other team nothing and then one small mistake could end up in the back of the net and they're being blamed for losing the game. They succeed far more often than they fail, but are always remembered for the failures.

Tough position to play

lets wait for the first injury to one of the top 6 and see how dylan does in real games, on the road, in hostile buildings facing top talent.

lets not throw him to the wolves prematurely by moving kk now and make it harder than it already will be.

Right, even if McIlrath makes the roster it'd serve the Rangers much better to start the season with him as the 7th and use him if there are injuries, etc. If he then shows he should stay in the regular lineup, you think about moving someone like Klein or whatever.

 

[Ola]

Sorry, but your last sentence makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk it right now? Klein can take care of the role your envisioning in the beginning of your post. If he falters, if someone gets hurt, McIlrath gets his shot. Thats how things work.

Too much risk, right this second, to hand McIlrath the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

Sorry, but all sentences but the first makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk keeping Klein right now if it will hurt McIlrath's development? McIlrath can take care of the No 6 role now, not next summer if he has been this years Justin Falk and have had his development process severely hurt. We -- will -- probably loose Klein next summer anyway, we cannot "snooze" McIlrath until then. Thats how it is.

To much risk, right this second, to hand Klein the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

 

[Ola]

Right, even if McIlrath makes the roster it'd serve the Rangers much better to start the season with him as the 7th and use him if there are injuries, etc. If he then shows he should stay in the regular lineup, you think about moving someone like Klein or whatever.

Id look to deal Klein within the first month of the season.

McIlrath can probably only sub for G, Boyle and Klein, can't see him at LD nor really any of our RDs moving over to be honest. Maybe for the odd game.

The thing is, we all know this, a blue line is not like a the 4 lines. The 13th forward can easily get a little ice here and there. Almost all teams have a forward or two that its not biggie to make a healthy scratch here and there. Its 12 forwards that can get hurt, as opposed to 6 Ds. Girardi can break a bone in his foot in the coming week and it will be no issue. But what if he doesn't during the month of October while Boyle and Klein also survives October? And November. Right then and there you have McIlrath having sat on his *** for 9 weeks in a row. What do you do then? Healthy scratch Klein and play a super-cold McIlrath who of course can't step in in December and play well when being super cold when everyone else is up and running??? Before you know it its January. Ok McI gets 2 weeks assignment in HFD. But his season is over right then and there, even if someone gets hurt then he could never recover having sat on his *** for most of the year being mega cold when he gets the chance to play. This kid if anyone needs to play.

Klein and Boyle will not want to miss any time with McIlrath in the stands. They will play until they can't stand on their skates anymore before they take some time off. I've seen that before, when you have competition everyone suddenly stay healthy.

I wouldn't have run a business like that.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Klein has had a rough preseason but with Boyle gone next season and Girardi in his 30's I do not know if it is wise to trade a reasonable contract in Klein. There will be times we need, Boyle, Klein, and Dylan this season.

 

[GAGLine]

Sorry, but all sentences but the first makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk keeping Klein right now if it will hurt McIlrath's development? McIlrath can take care of the No 6 role now, not next summer if he has been this years Justin Falk and have had his development process severely hurt. We -- will -- probably loose Klein next summer anyway, we cannot "snooze" McIlrath until then. Thats how it is.

To much risk, right this second, to hand Klein the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

Because the primary goal of the Rangers is to win the Stanley Cup. Developing McIlrath into a better player is on the list of things to do, but it's pretty far down the list.

Klein isn't being handed anything. He's the incumbent. The spot is already his. If McIlrath wants that spot, he'll have to earn it. And no, he hasn't done that yet. Looking good in a handful of preseason games is a far cry from playing in the regular season and playoffs.

Let him make the team first, then AV can figure out how to best divide up the time.

 

[Wolfy*]

I just don't see the need for McIlrath if they decide to keep Glass. One physical player with limited hockey skills is enough.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Because the primary goal of the Rangers is to win the Stanley Cup. Developing McIlrath into a better player is on the list of things to do, but it's pretty far down the list.

Klein isn't being handed anything. He's the incumbent. The spot is already his. If McIlrath wants that spot, he'll have to earn it. And no, he hasn't done that yet. Looking good in a handful of preseason games is a far cry from playing in the regular season and playoffs.

Let him make the team first, then AV can figure out how to best divide up the time.

Well said. Only thing Ill add is I dont understand this line of thinking that the McIlrath's development will be stunted if he isn't thrown into action immediately. That's bogus and what the whole argument seems to be based on.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I just don't see the need for McIlrath if they decide to keep Glass. One physical player with limited hockey skills is enough.

Mcilrath certainly does not have "limited hockey skills".

 

[broadwayblue]

Sorry, but your last sentence makes everything moot, because we just don't know if thats true. Nobody does. Why risk it right now? Klein can take care of the role your envisioning in the beginning of your post. If he falters, if someone gets hurt, McIlrath gets his shot. Thats how things work.

Too much risk, right this second, to hand McIlrath the 6th spot. The Rangers aren't being forced to go that route so why should they?

No need to risk it. But I would like to think they will at the very least give him the #7 spot out of the gate, and allow him to earn a nightly top 6 role going forward.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

No need to risk it. But I would like to think they will at the very least give him the #7 spot out of the gate, and allow him to earn a nightly top 6 role going forward.

I think that's the plan.

Although, again, I think it'd be wise to keep 8D out of the gate. McIlrath and Diaz give the team a lot of versatility if something unforeseen happens in the top 6.

 

[broadwayblue]

I just don't see the need for McIlrath if they decide to keep Glass. One physical player with limited hockey skills is enough.

Well for starters they play different positions. And I'm not sure what your definition of limited hockey skills is. Is a stay at home dman considered to have limited skills?

 

[rangerrat]

This is true. and if they explore trading Girardi and/or Staal next offseason, Klein will be critical to the defense at that point especially on the contract he has... It would be feasible for McIlrath to step up to the 2nd pairing with Yandle...

McDonagh-Klein/McIlrath/UFA
Yandle-Klein/McIlrath/UFA
Skjei-Klein/McIlrath/UFA

Obviously that's if they ship out Staal, which I don't see happening next offseason, but perhaps the following one... Skjei gets the same treatment as McIlrath next year

On top of that, letting Diaz walk and shipping out Glass will provide all the cap relief we need. That's nearly $2M in cap space there

Girardi locked in for years to come, Diaz has out skated/outplayed this kid this pre season. Sent him back to work on skating and defensive play, Diaz should be your number #7 D man ,Anyone remember Cam Fowler?????

 

[offdacrossbar]

I just don't see the need for McIlrath if they decide to keep Glass. One physical player with limited hockey skills is enough.

even i would disagree with that one.

tanner glass has limited hockey skills but mcilrath has more than adequate hockey skills to play right now just not over our top 6 right now.

if he were in edmonton or buffalo or carolina or even toronto, he would play. alot.

 

[Wolfy*]

Well for starters they play different positions. And I'm not sure what your definition of limited hockey skills is. Is a stay at home dman considered to have limited skills?

That's his problem. He wasn't anywhere near the goals during pre-season, and AV wants the D to contribute up front.

The positive things I see about McIlrath is the physical element (can be replaced by Glass), and some size on defense, which is always a good thing.