Roster Building Thread VI (2022-23): Offseason edition

[eco's bones]

What's frustrating about Panarin is he started off great but each succeeding year he's been a little bit worse......and he has a massive contract.

Sometimes I think the team gets too swept up in his chase for a 100 point season. I'm hoping that Laviolette takes charge of his ice time because his overextending shifts sometimes bites us in the ass. He's also predictable at times. The curl and pass after entering the offensive zone gets picked off too much for breakaways going the other way. Also he becomes predictable when he decides he's not going to shoot anymore.....something that seemed to go on for weeks at one point last year and if he's not shooting at all he becomes a lot easier to defend when defenses know he's going to keep on making the pass. If he goes into one of those periods next year I'm hoping Laviolette first takes him aside and if he continues that he starts benching him.

He also sometimes decides to dump the puck wherever instead of taking a hit. I have doubts about our ability to move him but I can live a little happier with him if he cleans some of these things up.....play smarter and play a little bit grittier as in take that hit to make the right play.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Honestly, I didnt want to make that pick. IF the option was even there to make a 1 for 3+5 i would have done that bc while i thought laffy would be a very good nhl player i didnt think he would be SO good that it would make up for this org's glaring issues up the middle and the options that were there after him. IF the 3+5 was there i would have made it, hoped stuz fell to 3 but happily taken byfield, and then probaly would have traded back from 5 if there was a good offer that kept you in the top 10 to still take lundell.

sanderson looks like a great pick but i didnt know enough about how his offense would grow at the pro level. i would not have wanted drysdale with fox already here. we knew they also had interest in holloway and guhle. I think the other parts would have worked themselves out based on the players the org was interested in. i understand WHY they didnt want to trade out of 1oa based on history and this kind of being justification to the whole letter, and i also understand WHY they took laffy bc if they passed on him the pr for the team would have been awful in the short term and also in the long term if laffy did establish himself in those first 3 years.

I understand your thoughts but who did you actually say we should pick at #1 since we were using the pick? I only know of one major scout that didn't say Laf. He said Tim who wwnt number 3. There were some rumors that Detroit would have gone Tim but at that time Laf was pretty close to a unanimous choice. I was concerned about his skating but barely saw him play (5 minutes). I just figured so many pro scouts must have seen a lot more than I did.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I understand your thoughts but who did you actually say we should pick at #1 since we were using the pick? I only know of one major scout that didn't say Laf. He said Tim who wwnt number 3. There were some rumors that Detroit would have gone Tim but at that time Laf was pretty close to a unanimous choice. I was concerned about his skating but barely saw him play (5 minutes). I just figured so many pro scouts must have seen a lot more than I did.

Same here.

Didnt see many minutes of his other than the worlds and figured that since the entire hockey world and scouts had him at the unanimous #1, there wouldn't be too many holes in his game, if any.

Regardless of who you think there is to "blame" in all of this, the player or the organization - to me its just as much of an indictment of scouting, power rankings and any predictions in general.

 

[UnSandvich]

I think the single biggest issue with Panarin is his reluctance over the last season + (since the Wilson thing basically) to drive the net & play between the circles. It makes him WAY easier to defend. If he can add that back into his game, at least to the point where his fakes are believable, we’ll be a much more dangerous team 5v5.

Even moreso if he also starts forechecking again the way he used to

 

[bhamill]

I’m seeing everyone arguing how good Panarin is in the regular season, despite the decline in his play there as well, but it’s not an argument that moves the needle on the problem most people here have with him: HE’S MIA IN THE POST SEASON. Until he plays as well in the playoffs as everyone is pointing out he’s played n the regular season, he is going to be a disappointment. At his cap hit his playoff disappearance is unforgivable. Sorry. That’s just how it is.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The point was the bumper works better for RH in our setup. Zibanejad is a RH shooter.

I'm fully aware.

You can have a RH bumper and Kakko in the unit. I don't think throwing a lefty into the mix throws stuff off that much. We did it with Kane and the PP operated at the same percentage that it did before Kane (he didn't make it better, but he didn't make it worse.)

 

[NickyFotiu]

Same here.

Didnt see many minutes of his other than the worlds and figured that since the entire hockey world and scouts had him at the unanimous #1, there wouldn't be too many holes in his game, if any.

Regardless of who you think there is to "blame" in all of this, the player or the organization - to me its just as much of an indictment of scouting, power rankings and any predictions in general.

I agree. I dont blame anyone for saying Laf but I do think that one single scout who had Tim number one despite everyone else earned some points.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I think the single biggest issue with Panarin is his reluctance over the last season + (since the Wilson thing basically) to drive the net & play between the circles. It makes him WAY easier to defend. If he can add that back into his game, at least to the point where his fakes are believable, we’ll be a much more dangerous team 5v5.

Even moreso if he also starts forechecking again the way he used to

I've seen a few people try to connect the Wilson thing and Panarin's downfall. I don't see the connection.

Getting dumped on your head has no impact on losing your feet. He cannot separate anymore. Thats the issue. I'm sure he'd love to cut to the middle of the ice but his feet won't allow what his mind wants to do.

He would be best served extending plays by using his teammates in the OZ and letting them do more of the work. If he can't create separation via his mobility, the best way for him to do it is to either play with someone who is going to create a f*** load of turn overs and generate odd man rushes/ instances where the other team is in scramble mode (because he used to be this guy and is not that guy anymore), or to feed into a game plan that focuses on puck possession and fatiguing the opponent where he'll be able to get space from the fact that the other team is exhausted.

When he gets space he can still do things but he's been his worst enemy in the playoffs as he won't do the things that will allow space to open up for him and instead defaults to panic mode and does all of the stupid shit.

Will that make him worth his contract? No, the player that was here in 2019 doesn't exist anymore but they really just been him to be "good" when it matters instead of a trash can.

 

[NYR Viper]

Honestly, not changing PP1 makes sense. It hummed along very well last year. What DOES make sense is just equalizing some of the playing time. Someone needs to tell Panarin, Zibaneajd, Kreider and Trochek that they can't take a 2 minute shift on every PP. 1-1:15 and get off. PP2 needs some time.

Also, Kaako better be a primary PKer this year. No excuse.

 

[GAGLine]

Honestly, not changing PP1 makes sense. It hummed along very well last year. What DOES make sense is just equalizing some of the playing time. Someone needs to tell Panarin, Zibaneajd, Kreider and Trochek that they can't take a 2 minute shift on every PP. 1-1:15 and get off. PP2 needs some time.

Also, Kaako better be a primary PKer this year. No excuse.

PP1 changed quite a bit after the deadline.

 

[SA16]

What's frustrating about Panarin is he started off great but each succeeding year he's been a little bit worse......and he has a massive contract.

Sometimes I think the team gets too swept up in his chase for a 100 point season. I'm hoping that Laviolette takes charge of his ice time because his overextending shifts sometimes bites us in the ass. He's also predictable at times. The curl and pass after entering the offensive zone gets picked off too much for breakaways going the other way. Also he becomes predictable when he decides he's not going to shoot anymore.....something that seemed to go on for weeks at one point last year and if he's not shooting at all he becomes a lot easier to defend when defenses know he's going to keep on making the pass. If he goes into one of those periods next year I'm hoping Laviolette first takes him aside and if he continues that he starts benching him.

He also sometimes decides to dump the puck wherever instead of taking a hit. I have doubts about our ability to move him but I can live a little happier with him if he cleans some of these things up.....play smarter and play a little bit grittier as in take that hit to make the right play.

Why would you expect a player to be as good at age 31 as he was at age 28?

 

[Avery16]

Let’s not forget Panarin’s complete dissipation following the bogus sexual harassment/assault claim.

 

[Fitzy]

Panarin isn’t a problem IF you have a coach gutsy enough to lower his role at times in key situations if he isn’t working well.

Torts wouldn’t shy away from doing that with Gaborik, question is does Laviolette have the guts to demote Panarin in key situations if someone like Laf or Kakko or Chytil is playing better

 

[will1066]

Panarin isn’t a problem IF you have a coach gutsy enough to lower his role at times in key situations if he isn’t working well.

Torts wouldn’t shy away from doing that with Gaborik, question is does Laviolette have the guts to demote Panarin in key situations if someone like Laf or Kakko or Chytil is playing better

Torts didn't like Gaborik, so that didn't make it hard for him to demote the Slovakian. I think Lavi will have to dance the tightrope. The organization has placated Panarin for as long as he's been a Ranger.

 

[Tob]

how is the roster building going?

 

[Crease]

Panarin plays better when he does the high kick after goals. He should go back to high kicks.

 

[Irishguy42]

Panarin plays better when he does the high kick after goals. He should go back to high kicks.

He turned 30 last October. He can't do high kicks anymore. My body can confirm this.

 

[Alluckks]

I think that Lafreniere was being put into a completely wrong role of trying to make him some pseudo net front guy like Kreider on PP2

 

[n8]

I think that Lafreniere was being put into a completely wrong role of trying to make him some pseudo net front guy like Kreider on PP2

IIRC he was a left point PP QB in the Q

 

[egelband]

Since the Rangers got Max Scherzer, what line would he best be used? Skating may not not be great, but he might be a fit with Vesey and Wheeler. LOL

**tomato**

 

[kovazub94]

Honestly, not changing PP1 makes sense. It hummed along very well last year. What DOES make sense is just equalizing some of the playing time. Someone needs to tell Panarin, Zibaneajd, Kreider and Trochek that they can't take a 2 minute shift on every PP. 1-1:15 and get off. PP2 needs some time.

Also, Kaako better be a primary PKer this year. No excuse.

PP1 doesn’t “systemically force” extra icetime - it’s not like they lose possession of the zone at 1:10 and then they go for another reentry. Normally, it’s a result of continuing to control the puck in O-zone.

 

[kovazub94]

Panarin’s shifts overextension as well as tendencies for too high risk options were exacerbated by our D time and time again freely giving up blue line thus giving opposition ability to create high danger chances against. Hopefully Laviolette addresses both issues - Panarin picking his spots more carefully and D protecting the blue line(s).

 

[KOVALEV022473]

No way Kane gets back to even last years form after that surgery and at his age. Do not want.

That’s funny. I heard the same thing about Eichel.

 

[SA16]

I think that Lafreniere was being put into a completely wrong role of trying to make him some pseudo net front guy like Kreider on PP2

I’ve never seen a top prospect before that is talked about like he can only play one role. So Laf can’t play RW, he can’t play net front, he can’t play less than 16 minutes/game, he can’t play with non top six players on his line. It’s just excuse after excuse like if he’s not played in a first line left wing role with other all star caliber players and play on the top PP but also on the left circle of the top PP so he can control the play then he’s not being put into a position to succeed and the failure is on the organization. How specific of a role does this guy need?

 

[KOVALEV022473]

Also sorry to get OT but that edgy f***ing X makes me wanna eat my own eyeballs.

Elon Musk got beat up in high school.

Maybe, but he’d still take your lunch money.