those guys completed their team and put them over the top because they complimented the skilled top end players which is what we are talking about. the prior year tampa had all the same skilled players and got their doors blown off by columbus in a 4 game sweep. being part of the winning formula isn't the same as being the reason they won.
lack of physical players. this has to change. not a playoff style of team, if they make it
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those guys completed their team and put them over the top because they complimented the skilled top end players which is what we are talking about. the prior year tampa had all the same skilled players and got their doors blown off by columbus in a 4 game sweep. being part of the winning formula isn't the same as being the reason they won.
- Jan 18, 2012
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Palat, Gourde and Killorn are integral pieces to Tampas success. We simply don't have those players.
It also helps having great skating 2 way centers in the top6. Once again, hopefully Chytil and/or by a longshot, Kravtsov can help.
It also helps having great skating 2 way centers in the top6. Once again, hopefully Chytil and/or by a longshot, Kravtsov can help.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
Uhh, what? This too is the opposite of reality. AV's Rangers were a GREAT 1st period team. In fact, the Kings series was a match of a great 1st period team vs a great 3rd period team.
During AV's tenure, the Rangers had the 7th most wins leading after 1 and 7th in p%. They had the 9th most wins and were 3rd in p% when leading after 2.
3rd best winning percentage in 1 goal games. 3rd best winning % when scoring first. 9th most amount of times scoring first (which also means 9th least amount of times trailing first). 8th in 1st period goals for. 8th in 1st period goals against.
That was not a mentally soft, or unprepared team.
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LionsHeart
Registered User
Getting players with grit is absolutely a part of building the team, and I bet Gorton and JD would say the same thing.
Jaromir Jagr
Registered User
90% of the team does not even finish their checks. It’s just a matter of time before someone takes out fox or the bread man. That being said Strom and Buch have to go..
if the players don't finish their checks. that is on the players and should be benched. you don't hit or take a hit to make a play well you should get benched. I think Torts did this when he was coaching here. they should be figure skaters if they don't like any contact. this is hockey.
Harbour Dog
Registered User
I think we're mostly in agreement that this particular group is too soft, but until we see what Lafreniere, Kakko, Kravtsov, and Chytil are going to bring as they edge closer to their primes, I'm not sure if I would concern myself with trying to do anything immediate.
Neither of those four guys play soft, and they're young and due for a TOI bump next season.
Neither of those four guys play soft, and they're young and due for a TOI bump next season.
WojtekWolski86
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So now we're asking Fox or Panarin to hit people or ride the pine? That dinosaur mentality doesn't work. You need your physical players to play that aspect of the game so the finesse players can play their game.
Maybe pulling a Keenan and telling a 160 lb Jeremy Roenick to throw a check everytime he hits the ice or he will be stapled tot he bench works in 80s but it won't get you very far nowadays. The team lacks grinders that can open up space for our skill guys.
n8
WAAAAAAA!!!
I'm all for adding physicality to the team but it needs to be the right type of physicality. Adding a 4th liner who can hit and fight isn't really what they need. What they need are guys who can slot into the top-9 and bring a different element to each line. I think that transition will start this off-season. The Rangers simply have too many skill guys in their top-9.
That being said, what the team really needs is another way to win games. You can see that the team suffers in tight-checking contests where they can't generate speed through the neutral zone to generate chances. That's not going to be solved purely by adding players who like to play a physical game. It's about your key players buying into the notion that you're not going to extend your highlight reel every night. That sometimes chipping the puck by the D and winning a race is the better option instead of trying to force a miracle pass across the ice.
I had really, really hoped to add Bennett to the team but sadly DeAngelo was just too toxic for Calgary.
That being said, what the team really needs is another way to win games. You can see that the team suffers in tight-checking contests where they can't generate speed through the neutral zone to generate chances. That's not going to be solved purely by adding players who like to play a physical game. It's about your key players buying into the notion that you're not going to extend your highlight reel every night. That sometimes chipping the puck by the D and winning a race is the better option instead of trying to force a miracle pass across the ice.
I had really, really hoped to add Bennett to the team but sadly DeAngelo was just too toxic for Calgary.
cmdevisser
Registered User
I think this is the reason why the Rangers never win a Cup. Fans and the media are all clamoring for a total gutting of the current team because they aren't going to make the playoffs in the hardest division in hockey in a year when everyone expected them to be a lottery team. Now, because they did well the last few weeks but couldn't get it done the sky is falling.
Inevitably, management will over react and trade the farm, Kravstov included, for Eichel and his 10 million AAV contract with a flat cap.
You know why the Spurs were able to be a consistent championship contended for 2 decades? They never did that when they lost in the playoffs or had down years.
Can you imagine if the Lighting blew it all up after getting swept by Columbus?
NY fans and NY media don't understand how to build a winner in anything but baseball. Some sports you can't just solve every problem on the way to being a championship team by trading for an all-star or rushing the process.
Inevitably, management will over react and trade the farm, Kravstov included, for Eichel and his 10 million AAV contract with a flat cap.
You know why the Spurs were able to be a consistent championship contended for 2 decades? They never did that when they lost in the playoffs or had down years.
Can you imagine if the Lighting blew it all up after getting swept by Columbus?
NY fans and NY media don't understand how to build a winner in anything but baseball. Some sports you can't just solve every problem on the way to being a championship team by trading for an all-star or rushing the process.
Unpredictable1
Registered User
Living in Calgary and knowing he was available, somewhere in a previous GDT or Post GDT I mentioned how we needed a guy like that. This was before he was traded to FLA. Would have loved to see him in Ranger blue, he would have become a fan favourite I'm sure. (actually had a great tilt late in a game with Trouba when he was on the Jets)
It's not having a lineup full of fighters, just some players sprinkled in with some Torts sandpaper & JAM.
Gets everybody playing with their chests puffed out a bit and gets them in on the action too.It's having guys that finish that check, vs peeling away and waving a stick (the latter which 90% of our roster currently does)
Always loved Fast, and I seriously miss his hustle and physical play.
Unpredictable1
Registered User
That is so lost on some people in this forum.
I'm not concerned with players being soft or not playing like Tom Wilson. Some of the past Stanley cup winners weren't what you would call the Broadstreet Bullies. There is one really glaring issue to me on this team and it's more apparent every time I watch them play. Their centers can't win a draw to save their lives.
Can one of these shitty centers win a draw? Has Zibanijad been able to win one draw all season and get the puck to Panarin? I may have seen it once. They have to be the worst in the league by a long ways.
Can one of these shitty centers win a draw? Has Zibanijad been able to win one draw all season and get the puck to Panarin? I may have seen it once. They have to be the worst in the league by a long ways.
I agree but if you are a natural center. Wouldn’t you want faceoffs to be a better part of their game.
Grinders to play on which lines? The top two lines with our most skilled players? If so - at the expense of playing time for which of our developing young forwards?
leetch99
Leetch66 Joined 2007
The Rangers are not in the winning phase yet. They need to build the platform/structure with the cutting edge skill guys now, that is Laf, Kakko, Fox, Chytil, Miller, Jones etc (and Panarin isn't going anywhere). Tampa had that platform in place when they added the grit and physicality. The real question for this organization now is what to do with Zib, Strome and Buch, how to build the platform going forward, and if Quinn has the competency to do so (doubtful).
leetch99
Leetch66 Joined 2007
Lets give McQuaid a bit of slack here....he was just about cooked when he arrived here .A McQuaid like defender in his prime years would fix a lot that is currently flawed with our young club ...He was a decent 5th -6th Dman in Beantown for them and a very valued member of their club. Those types are winners and part of the fabric that weaves clubs together in these divisional battles . Hockey is a violent sport ....gladiator like play is always going to be a requirement in the heat of battle to some degree .
Off Sides
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Yet that is part of the issue in the Rangers getting those types, they are not available until they are basically done. Or they are on the market and get contracts of those who would play top4D, or top6F.
The best solution is to draft them, or trade for them while they are sill prospects/young, which is what my post was more about.
Lindgren was a trade for a prospect who had that trait, it made sense. They tried it with Lemieux too with lesser results, but still a good try.
Someone like Rooney makes some sense as his contract was as close to as cheap as possible, and he also can be okay 5on5 and PK.
I think they have some of this element in their system finally, yet they should be replenishing that continually.
Thats how Tampa did it, but it isn't how some of these other teams have done it.
I don't think that the timing really has to line up in order to start adding these types of players. I wouldn't pay out the nose for one (They better not try to sign Cizikas this summer because he's going to get a terrible contract, hopefully from the NYI) but the 3 players in the bolded are guys I wouldn't mind shipping out. No this doesn't mean OMG LETS GET EICHEL!! but there is a clear push that is lacking with this group. Some of it is certainly experience, some of it is not having the proper guidance behind the bench, but it'd be silly to ignore the roster construction, which is just a big a factor as the other 2.
GAGLine
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We need more ugly. More ugly goals, more traffic in the crease, batting in rebounds. The top 6 is highly skilled and effective against the bad teams, but all those east-west passes aren't going to work against the teams with good defensive structure unless we catch them in transition, which usually only happens off good defensive plays in the neutral zone/defensive blue line. Teams like the Islanders are happy to dump and chase, pound us in the corners, and then make us go 200 feet through their defense to try to generate offense. Our top 6 really isn't capable of playing that type of game, not consistently.
The line with Kreider, Chytil and Kakko plays more of a grinder game. They get the puck in deep and go to work. With one or two key moves, and progress from Kakko, Chytil and Laf, this team can become dynamic enough to compete regardless of how the other team wants to play. Skilled enough to trade chances off the rush and hard-nosed enough to cycle in the offensive zone and grind the other team down.
The line with Kreider, Chytil and Kakko plays more of a grinder game. They get the puck in deep and go to work. With one or two key moves, and progress from Kakko, Chytil and Laf, this team can become dynamic enough to compete regardless of how the other team wants to play. Skilled enough to trade chances off the rush and hard-nosed enough to cycle in the offensive zone and grind the other team down.
this is something that needs to be kept in mind...a big part of the solution here is simply patience and giving the kids time to mature physically and as players. chytil, kakko, laf and kravtsov are all gonna be big bodies when they fill out. and I will have the ability/willingness to work the boards on forechecks and cycles.
WojtekWolski86
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Strome and Buch. I love Buch and how much he has grown but we all recognize we have too many finesse guys and not enough trench diggers.
Swap Strome with a more physical two way forward, Chytil will offset the offensive production.
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