Confirmed with Link: [TBL/NYR] Namestnikov, Howden, Hajek, 1st rd pk, con. 2nd for J.T. Miller & Ryan McDonagh

[Rschmitz]

Howden with his first nhl goal tonight

 

[Sky04]

Howden with his 1st assist too

 

[DFC]

Tony DeAngelo with nowhere near his first moment of idiocy.

 

[Ori]

I miss JT is he that lazy in Tampa? JT Miller used to have some stupid penalties which was dumb back in the days, but still..

And both Howden & Libor H. looked great this year - he was also very good in pre season. So even though Namestnikov struggled with only 4-5 pts. in 19 games or something - he got an assist on Rangers 4th line earlier this evening.

 

[JoVel]

Tony DeAngelo with nowhere near his first moment of idiocy.

What did he do?

 

[Iceman]

Point is a freak, in our current set up he is definitely our best 2-way center and face off specialist.

Face off specialist? He sucks at the dot. That’s where he needs to improve.

 

[Rschmitz]

Face off specialist? He sucks at the dot. That’s where he needs to improve.

I didn't say he was good at them, quite the opposite actually. Since he's the guy we are sending out there to shut down opposing teams top lines, he's going to be the one taking the most important draws.

 

[The Macho King]

I didn't say he was good at them, quite the opposite actually. Since he's the guy we are sending out there to shut down opposing teams top lines, he's going to be the one taking the most important draws.

Eh - I hear face off specialists I think a guy like Konopka.

 

[Rschmitz]

Eh - I hear face off specialists I think a guy like Konopka.

I guess a little ambiguous/confusing on my part. To modify what I said, Point is the guy who will be taking important draws....not a faceoff specialist. The line of conversation I was making is that we don't have a guy like a Barkov/Kesler who can win draws, board battles, and shutdown the opposing team. Point is our defacto faceoff guy because that is his role as the shutdown center

 

[DFC]

I didn't say he was good at them, quite the opposite actually. Since he's the guy we are sending out there to shut down opposing teams top lines, he's going to be the one taking the most important draws.

Johnson's probably the closest thing we have to a faceoff specialist. He's the guy who threw a tarp over Bergeron in that regard.

 

[FinnLightning26]

Namestnikov already fighting for a roster spot

Boy am I glad that we didn't pay him. He fit in well with Stammer and Kuch but they were already cooling off before Vlad was traded. He is essentially what he was before last year, a 30-40 point third liner.

 

[ultra63]

Howden, Hajek may be the best pieces the Rags got back

 

[JT Kreider]

Howden, Hajek may be the best pieces the Rags got back

Hajek definitely is. I think his value has even increased since the trade with his showing with Regina at the Memorial Cup. He probably is our top prospect outside the 4.

 

[Sky04]

Hajek definitely is. I think his value has even increased since the trade with his showing with Regina at the Memorial Cup. He probably is our top prospect outside the 4.

Remember when the Ranger board was blowing up over these "no name prospects"? Both were surefire NHLers, Howden with a lower ceiling but Hajek has done nothing but improve since his draft. Tampa was extremely high on Hajek, traded DeAngelo to move up in the draft for him.

 

[JT Kreider]

Remember when the Ranger board was blowing up over these "no name prospects"? Both were surefire NHLers, Howden with a lower ceiling but Hajek has done nothing but improve since his draft. Tampa was extremely high on Hajek, traded DeAngelo to move up in the draft for him.

It was foolish but there was like a five minute window where it was announced that Miller was also in the trade and what we were getting. We all let our imaginations run wild and was so sure that Point or Sergachev had to have been coming back.

That definitely led to the disappointment. Not one of our fanbases finer moments.

Edit: personally I got even more pissed with the trade when it was reported that AV had pretty much chased Miller out of town. I was beyond done with AV at that point and figured he would be fired by the end of the season. It made no sense that AV won out there. In the end it worked out because I wanted no part of the contract Miller got. Keep in mind Yzerman/Tampa tax is good for $1 million in discounts. Miller was one of favorites but if we were looking at $6 million+.. yikes.

 

[DFC]

Well, to be fair, when we heard Miller was involved in the deal, we got pretty scared too.

 

[JoVel]

Out of the players we lost to Rangers, losing Namestnikov definitely hurts the least.

 

[Master P]

Out of the players we lost to Rangers, losing Namestnikov definitely hurts the least.

Tell that to Kuch

 

[JoVel]

Tell that to Kuch

We still have a couple of Russians for him and more possibly coming.

 

[God King Fudge]

We still have a couple of Russians for him and more possibly coming.

Erik Karlsson's long lost cousin, Erik Karlssonov

 

[The Gongshow]

We still have a couple of Russians for him and more possibly coming.

Yeah ones Panarin comes to TB and becomes Kuch's new best friend Names will be nothing but a forgotten memory

 

[Dijock94]

Rangers fan here. Just stopping in to see how Miller and McDonagh are playing for you guys

 

[Sky04]

Yeah ones Panarin comes to TB and becomes Kuch's new best friend Names will be nothing but a forgotten memory

If I'm JB I watch Miller closely this season before his NTC kicks in. If he doesn't look like he's going to improve we could package him for Panarin at the deadline, even if Panarin doesn't re-sign we eleviate cap for potential Karlsson signing and free up a contract for the expansion draft.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Rangers fan here. Just stopping in to see how Miller and McDonagh are playing for you guys

Miller's had some ups and downs, but overall has been a good acquisition.

McDonagh did not impress at first when we got him, but has been much better since he's had a full training camp with the team and has been paired with Strålman. The two of them make a very solid shutdown pair. Mac has also been getting some PP time this season in place of Sergachev.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Miller looks good when hes on and a train wreck when off. Dont know how he can right that. I have liked McDonaghs play so far. He looks better this year.