Jesper Fast

[Sirius Vivace]

I have a theory about "Glass, the Media, & You" ... but I'll keep it to myself. It would come off as conspiracy theory.

But yeah...the media is like gov't; they think they know what's good for you better than you do, but are generally wrong.

 

[GordonGecko]

I don't know about that. There's definitely a disconnect between HFboards and the real world. I usually attribute it to a lot of immature people on the internet. I wouldn't assume that the consensus on here has anything to do with reality. It might or might not

 

[Edge]

Does anyone else think that the hockey media in NY thinks that Rangers fans are stupid? That would explain their attitude towards the fan base hating Glass. I just heard something along the lines of "unfortunately Messier's finals years weren't as successful as he wanted them to be in NY, but the fans didn't care they just wanted Messier back". Since when? Most people were pissed at those teams, including Messier. Seems like this is just microcosm of what the media thinks of the fans. Completely illogical fan boys and girls that are very simple and like the high profile players no matter what. Seems like this answers why the hockey media sometimes comes off as patronizing, they think Rangers fans are morons and not on their level.

I would respond with a couple of points:

1. As a whole, the sports media in NY is amongst the best in the U.S. That's not so much a compliment, so much as the sad reality of the state of sports media in our country.

2. A lot of NY sports fans are passionate, but I would not call them knowledgeable. They are a very involved lot, but many can't really have much beyond a surface conversation.

3. This board doesn't represent the casual Ranger fanbase. It also has several quirks of its own.

4. There is a big difference in the medium one is talking about. Print journalists tend to have a deeper understanding of the game, while broadcast tends to inject more "entertainment" into their approaches. Radio often is the most over the top because they know how to get under people's skins so that they keep listening. It's why sports talk radio more often closely resembles the WWE than the actual sport they are discussing.

 

[Nanaki]

I would respond with a couple of points:

1. As a whole, the sports media in NY is amongst the best in the U.S. That's not so much a compliment, so much as the sad reality of the state of sports media in our country.

2. A lot of NY sports fans are passionate, but I would not call them knowledgeable. They are a very involved lot, but many can't really have much beyond a surface conversation.

3. This board doesn't represent the casual Ranger fanbase. It also has several quirks of its own.

4. There is a big difference in the medium one is talking about. Print journalists tend to have a deeper understanding of the game, while broadcast tends to inject more "entertainment" into their approaches. Radio often is the most over the top because they know how to get under people's skins so that they keep listening. It's why sports talk radio more often closely resembles the WWE than the actual sport they are discussing.

This. When I come across someone who is a "Rangers Fan" in a pub or on the streets they usually don't really know that much about hockey. If they do they follow only the Rangers and can't really hold a conversation about any other team or the NHL as a whole. Added to that the casual fans usually hang out of the main boards. We have a bunch of NYR fans who are just as bad as the rest over there too. No fan base is immune.

 

[Blueshirt13]

Not sure if anyone reads the Business forums here but....

Game 7 against the Caps got a 9.3 share in NYC, which beat out our Cup finals ratings. The game peaked with a 12.6.

With every other sports franchise in the NYC area dysfunctional, this is definitely a year where hockey can continue to grow out its fanbase here dramatically. The ratings speak for themselves and the fair weathers are on board. NYC has always loved a winner. Hopefully the media will use this interest to the advantage of the Rangers.

 

[Edge]

NYC has always been a strong market for NHL.

I always felt you could argue it one of two ways:

1. The Rangers aren't mainstream, but are successful because of the sheer size of NYC.

2. The Rangers are mainstream, but still aren't the "must-see" activity because of the sheer size of NYC.

Personally, I've always leaned towards the latter belief.

 

[GordonGecko]

Not sure if anyone reads the Business forums here but....

Game 7 against the Caps got a 9.3 share in NYC, which beat out our Cup finals ratings. The game peaked with a 12.6.

With every other sports franchise in the NYC area dysfunctional, this is definitely a year where hockey can continue to grow out its fanbase here dramatically. The ratings speak for themselves and the fair weathers are on board. NYC has always loved a winner. Hopefully the media will use this interest to the advantage of the Rangers.

Jim Dolan needs to be a smarter businessman and put 10% of the games on Broadcast TV. The Yankees & Mets have their RSN too but you can always find a couple dozen games carved out for channel 9 and channel 11. That would increase interest in people tuning in MSG for other games, not take away

 

[The Mouth]

I will never be convinced that there isnt enough interest or buzz in the tri-state area to
cover the Rangers on a daily basis on WFAN. Fans like us our starving for continual hockey coverage on Radio. But the problem is two fold.

All the present radio hosts weakest suit is hockey. The dont know the history,t he prospects. they frankly cant pick up the things that a well honed fan can see. They have no expertise in the field and the last thing they want is back and forth with callers and guests, when they have no skill set for dialogue when it comes to Hockey.

Secondly PR moron John Rosasco has all but alienated every media outlet in New York under Glen Sather's direction. Glen Sather doesnt need WFAN, his building is sold out every night. The same thing for Dolan. He and Sather despise critics and find them not worthy of even daring to question a move.

I'm not tooting my own horn here. But if a rinky dink internet radio show like mine can get a half a million listens in 5 years. Imagine what a broadcast station could do ? I will never buy that there isnt an audience out there. There is.

 

[GordonGecko]

I will never be convinced that there isnt enough interest or buzz in the tri-state area to
cover the Rangers on a daily basis on WFAN. Fans like us our starving for continual hockey coverage on Radio. But the problem is two fold.

All the present radio hosts weakest suit is hockey. The dont know the history,t he prospects. they frankly cant pick up the things that a well honed fan can see. They have no expertise in the field and the last thing they want is back and forth with callers and guests, when they have no skill set for dialogue when it comes to Hockey.

Secondly PR moron John Rosasco has all but alienated every media outlet in New York under Glen Sather's direction. Glen Sather doesnt need WFAN, his building is sold out every night. The same thing for Dolan. He and Sather despise critics and find them not worthy of even daring to question a move.

I'm not tooting my own horn here. But if a rinky dink internet radio show like mine can get a half a million listens in 5 years. Imagine what a broadcast station could do ? I will never buy that there isnt an audience out there. There is.

At the very minimum, there should be a one hour Rangers show every week. It would easily be appointment radio and get higher ratings than anything they could throw up there randomly

 

[gardenparty]

NYC has always been a strong market for NHL.

I always felt you could argue it one of two ways:

1. The Rangers aren't mainstream, but are successful because of the sheer size of NYC.

2. The Rangers are mainstream, but still aren't the "must-see" activity because of the sheer size of NYC.

Personally, I've always leaned towards the latter belief.

I would say historically it's been more of #1, but is now morphing over to #2. However, with several more years of winning consistently and **fingers crossed** a Stanley Cup, it could turn into more 'must see' mainstream - especially during a Cup run, given what's happened in Pittsburgh in Chicago - now both strong hockey markets.

We were on that path in '94, then the lockout just killed the momentum and the spark that was lit with the win and the parade was quickly extinguished.

 

[Sirius Vivace]

Today...when asked by the Press about Jesper...AV said the following:

""He's got two things. He's got tremendous hockey sense, both defensively & offensively; he can read the game real well. And he works like an SOB...he works and he works and he works...he just doesn't stop; and that makes him a real effective player.""

I italicized the one section in the middle, because AV had a different tone when he spoke those words. It was a tone of sincere admiration/appreciation for the guy. You generally get a pretty straight response from AV when asked about players. Little about his tone reveals how he truly feels; but not this time.

So..... Jesper's 3 year contract expires at the end of the season. He made 900k this year and had a cap hit of 784k. What type of contract do you think Jesper is offered in the off season? What type of Cap hit and for how long? Do you expect maybe 1.5 mil a year for two years? Less?

Interested in your thoughts.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Today...when asked by the Press about Jesper...AV said the following:

""He's got two things. He's got tremendous hockey sense, both defensively & offensively; he can read the game real well. And he works like an SOB...he works and he works and he works...he just doesn't stop; and that makes him a real effective player.""

I italicized the one section in the middle, because AV had a different tone when he spoke those words. It was a tone of sincere admiration/appreciation for the guy. You generally get a pretty straight response from AV when asked about players. Little about his tone reveals how he truly feels; but not this time.

So..... Jesper's 3 year contract expires at the end of the season. He made 900k this year and had a cap hit of 784k. What type of contract do you think Jesper is offered in the off season? What type of Cap hit and for how long? Do you expect maybe 1.5 mil a year for two years? Less?

Interested in your thoughts.

Less, since Fast isn't eligible to go to arbitration--would bet the Ranger offer is somewhere around $2.1-$2.4 million for two years. Wouldn't be surprised if it were even less--with the organization arguing among other things that Fast made the team twice out of training camp but failed to stick and really hasn't proven the ability to play at this level over the course of a full season yet. But, over all, I expect it to average over $1 million per year.

 

[Edge]

Fast's hockey sense and instincts are really good, it's just a question of what kind of offense he brings to NHL.

Right now he's a plug and play kind of forward, but at some point the Rangers are going to have to start figuring roles for him (and Miller).

It's almost easy to forget that this team still has 3 or 4 forwards who are finding their stride at the NHL level - Kreider, Miller, Hayes and Fast. And that doesn't include a guy like Lindberg who figures to be battling for a Dominic Moore type role in the NHL.

 

[Raspewtin]

"There's no doubt that since I put that line (Kreider-Stepan-Fast) together it's been very effective against the other team's good players," Vigneault said.

A big reason for that is Fast, who created the turnover that led to defenseman Ryan McDonagh's overtime goal in Game 5 against Washington.

As usual, Fast was in the right place to make a play. He had good enough hand-eye coordination to knock down Curtis Glencross' pass in the neutral zone, took the puck into the offensive zone, feathered a pass across the ice to Stepan, who faked a shot and passed it back to McDonagh for a one-timer that beat goalie Braden Holtby.

Fast got an assist on that play, and had one on the Rangers' first goal in Game 6, when he noticed Kreider ready to bust out of the zone and smartly chipped the puck up the ice and off the right-wing wall, letting Kreider chase it down and go in 1-on-1 against defenseman Matt Niskanen.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=767840

Good article that pretty much reiterates what we are all thinking. Fast has decent physical tools, but his brain and his highly uncanny ability to out think half the players on the ice has made him super effective.

 

[cwede]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=767840

Good article that pretty much reiterates what we are all thinking. Fast has decent physical tools, but his brain and his highly uncanny ability to out think half the players on the ice has made him super effective.

also today's NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/sports/hockey/ranger-known-for-speed-rises-to-the-second-line.html

"Compile the defining images of the Rangers’ comeback from a three-games-to-one series deficit against Washington into a scrapbook, and there would be Ryan McDonagh’s overtime winner in Game 5 and Chris Kreider’s beauty of a backhander 40 seconds into Game 6 and, of course, Derek Stepan’s rebound in Game 7 that lifted the Rangers into the Eastern Conference finals.
Just out of frame in those moments would be a player who made those goals possible. That player, Jesper Fast (YES-puhr FAHST), a native of Sweden playing in his first full N.H.L. season, began the playoffs as a fourth-line mucker. He now thrives on the revamped second unit, which accounted for 13 points — including 9 in the team’s last three victories — against the Capitals.
Without Fast’s awareness, the Rangers might not have created the turnover that produced McDonagh’s goal. Without Fast’s strong play along the boards, the puck might have remained in the Rangers’ zone instead of being freed to a sweeping Kreider. Without what Kreider called Fast’s expert hockey sense, the sequence that produced Stepan’s game-winner in overtime — a sequence steeped in a fortuitous carom, yes, but also hours of strategizing — might never have happened"

 

[BBKers]

He came outta left field. Fast

 

[Raspewtin]

He came outta left field. Fast

Yah, if you told me Fast would be our best forward in any playoff series, I'd probably have laughed.

Eye opening playoffs, for sure.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

The rise of Fast makes it so much easier to replace injured players if necessary. He can fill any role and has a very high hockey IQ.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

I'm really sorry, guys. I messed up and accidentally merged the sports media talk thread into this one. It is going to be next to impossible to unmerge all the posts. Instead, I'll be creating a new sports media talk thread and a new Jesper Fast discussion thread.