I missed the first 2 periods. Caught the 3rd, where we were seemingly on the powerplay the entire time.
Noticed Diaz with Staal on a shift or two, wasn't really looking at pairings in general, but that stuck out to me.
If Moore is healthy/ready... who goes?
The TOI chart on snyrangersblog shows that 4 rangers defensemen played over 20 min - Girardi, McD, Staa, Stralman.
Diaz played around 15 and Klein around 12/12:30.
Is Klein **** out of luck here too, now? He seemed to have stabilized Moore when he was healthy. But with the emergence of Diaz... I wonder if Klein will be removed in favor of Moore.
Again, if Diaz continues to play like this, I don't see how he's not the guy paired with Staal next year. He entirely fits the bill of AV's game plan. We need more points from the blue line and he can provide them.
As for the bottom pair defense next year... I think that we don't retain Stralsy. And I think that Klein is retained until someone like McIlrath or Allen pushes him out, at which point he'll be traded for a 2nd or 3rd... or whatever he can get.
We seem to have some defensive depth that will last us a while. McD and G signed long term. Staal likely signed long term this summer. Diaz resigned. Moore and Klein for the bottom pairing to start next year. Allen, McIlrath, and Skjei all ready to come up in the next few years. By all accounts, Skjei is turning into a player that can fill in the same mold as McD, and that's really ****ing exciting.