This is a good team

tradenashnow

Registered User
Feb 17, 2018
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I won't commit to saying this is a good team yet but it is a team that should be over .500. They were completely screwed by the gutless officials in the Oilers game who refused to call an obvious mugging on Hayes and then made up a call on the Rangers a few seconds later which cost the Rangers at least a point. They had about 2-3 games early on where they dominated and didn't finish. A lot of bad luck in the those games. This team is a couple of bad calls and some bad luck away from being 8-6-2. It takes some time to play a new system. All things considered, they are doing a good job.
 
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Crease

Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
Jul 12, 2004
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I love how the team has two regulation wins in 14 games and we're all pleased that they're exceeding expectations.
 
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NCRanger

Bettman's Enemy
Feb 4, 2007
5,426
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The Rangers should become buyers at the deadline.

Because that's exactly what I said...NOT.

All I'm saying is that, while it is ridiculously early, nobody in the division seems to be a standout team. Let it play out and see where the Rangers are at 40 games in, 50 games in.
 

tradenashnow

Registered User
Feb 17, 2018
949
459
Av got way too much credit. People fail to look at the big picture. Torts was a stubborn mule who refused to change so the offense never grew. However, he taught the entire team how to block shots and play defense. AV has no clue how to get a team t0 play defense. The farther and farther the players got away from Torts teachings, they worse and worse defensively they got under AV. That can't be disputed. It's early but Quinn seems to have a good mix of offense and defense. Only thing he is doing which annoys me is playing worthless McLeod and Lettieri over Andersson. It's just dumb.
 
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True Blue

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Feb 27, 2002
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Would have been nice to get a real coach before gutting the roster but hockey is different here.
Oy, vey. Ok. I'll bite. What would a "real" coach do? Oh, wait. I know. A real coach would have benched Staal immediately. But you know, reality is different here, so there is no way that a move like that would have had repercussions in the locker room. What else? Oh, wait. I know. There would simply not be any accountability and players like ADA or Buch would have never been scratched. But you know, reality is different here so I am sure that there would be absolutely no feelings of entitlement or the need to work hard and do what your coach demands in order to be in the line up. What else? Oh, wait. I know. The starting line up would be entirely dictated by Corsi and /60.
 
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True Blue

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I have to laugh about the "great coaching" stuff for a team that that has 2 regulation wins with a goalie standing on his head. And this is not a shot at Quinn -- I think he's doing a fine job. Seems to me this is a cheap shot at the last coach without nearly enough evidence to back it up.
With this roster and this level of defense, the combination of Scotty Bowman & Toe Blake would hard pressed to produce better results.
 

Crease

Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
Jul 12, 2004
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25,013
Torts and AV get a lot of crap, but which of their teams underachieved? Maybe the 2014-15 team that lost to Tampa in the Conference Finals.
 

SA16

Sixstring
Aug 25, 2006
13,287
12,577
Long Island
I don't understand why Staal can't be benched?

Karl Alzner has been a healthy scratch most of this year after being their big FA signing.
Andrew MacDonald had been demoted to the AHL and a healthy scratch
Brendan Smith had been demoted to the AHL
Jay Bouwmeester was a healthy scratch earlier this year.
Jason Spezza was a healthy scratch several times last year.
I'm sure there are plenty more I haven't though of off the top of my head.

It is kind of the way things go when players get older and are less effective. They don't need to keep running him out there day after day.
 

Edge

Kris King's Ghost
Mar 1, 2002
34,749
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Amish Paradise
Would have been nice to get a real coach before gutting the roster but hockey is different here.

I think, at best, this would've been exactly what Gorton talked about last season --- the dreaded middle.

McD would still be forced to be a first pairing defenseman, Howden isn't here, and I'm not sure the old guard buys into the system as easily.

Miller and Lundkvist aren't in the system and depending on how far back we want to go, we can also scratch Andersson and ADA.

I think you're talking about a whole different set of problems, with very little in the way of the future at this moment.

So yeah, maybe we're a bubble playoff team this season. And then what?
 
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True Blue

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Feb 27, 2002
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I don't understand why Staal can't be benched?
That is not what I have been saying at all. My point was that a rookie head coach was not going to bench the team's well respected elder statesmen before the first game of the regular season. That moment may well come, but will take 20-25 games.
 

NCRanger

Bettman's Enemy
Feb 4, 2007
5,426
2,103
Charlotte, NC
I won't commit to saying this is a good team yet but it is a team that should be over .500. They were completely screwed by the gutless officials in the Oilers game who refused to call an obvious mugging on Hayes and then made up a call on the Rangers a few seconds later which cost the Rangers at least a point. They had about 2-3 games early on where they dominated and didn't finish. A lot of bad luck in the those games. This team is a couple of bad calls and some bad luck away from being 8-6-2. It takes some time to play a new system. All things considered, they are doing a good job.

There are a lot of positive signs with this team.

14 games in and only one real dog**** performance in Chicago. Those types of games happened every 5 to 6 outings under the last regime.

There are pieces to build around here and talk about shipping everyone out for picks is a bit premature. Let's see how the next two months play out.
 

ReggieDunlop68

hey hanrahan!
Oct 4, 2008
14,441
4,434
It’s a rebuild.
They are not good. And when we sell half the team by February, they will be even worse. Hughes should certainly be a possibility.

At the very least, Kakko, Cozens, Dach.

Fair enough, but at least you can give them credit for making sure that the team is out of a top 3 pick by mid November.
 

Crease

Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
Jul 12, 2004
23,975
25,013
I think that give the talent level that Torts had, he extracted blood from a stone

The only playoff performances I was disappointed in were the 2014-15 loss Tampa and the 2016-17 loss to Ottawa (although that 2016-17 team IMO wasn't great and would've gotten trounced in the next round anyway).
 

ReggieDunlop68

hey hanrahan!
Oct 4, 2008
14,441
4,434
It’s a rebuild.
We will be good in a couple years

Unload
Georgiev

Staal
Smith
Shatty
McQuaid

Zucc
Names
Spooner
Hayes
Vesey
McLeod

In
Shesty

Hajek
Miller
One of Rykov/Lindgren/Lundkvist
UFA, own prospect or trade

Lias
Hughes (or other Top 5 pick)
Kravtsov
Panarin
UFA, own prospect or trade

Add numerous draft picks and prospects acquired through trades
Looks decent
Decisions will be made on Kreider and Zib before next season as well. They might bring back that D we so much long for

If this is what we have after the rebuild, we might as well spend the time looking for a militia to burn down the Garden.
 

ReggieDunlop68

hey hanrahan!
Oct 4, 2008
14,441
4,434
It’s a rebuild.
Give me break. Quinn has already done something our previous three coaches couldn't do. He's gotten the meatheads on this team to shoot the puck. Hopefully, Gorton will actually fully commit to the rebuild, bring Hajek and Andersson up. Release McLeod and find someway to get either Smith or Staal off of this freakin team. Staal is still better than what a lot of teams use on their 4-6 defensman. See the Devils who have an AHL defenseman squad. If they retain on Staal they should be able to move him.

Have you noticed a slight difference in the roster between now and lets say 2015/2016 ?
 

ReggieDunlop68

hey hanrahan!
Oct 4, 2008
14,441
4,434
It’s a rebuild.
More like this ISN'T a BAD hockey team. They aren't necessarily all that good, but nowhere near bottom 5 bad, to most of this board's chagrin.

Montreal will be an interesting contest on Tuesday.

Then two very winnable road games over the weekend in Detroit and Columbus. Win these next three, and maybe it's time to re-think the season goals.

Rethink the season goals?!?
 

NCRanger

Bettman's Enemy
Feb 4, 2007
5,426
2,103
Charlotte, NC
I think, at best, this would've been exactly what Gorton talked about last season --- the dreaded middle.

McD would still be forced to be a first pairing defenseman, Howden isn't here, and I'm not sure the old guard buys into the system as easily.

Miller and Lundkvist aren't in the system and depending on how far back we want to go, we can also scratch Andersson and ADA.

I think you're talking about a whole different set of problems, with very little in the way of the future at this moment.

So yeah, maybe we're a bubble playoff team this season. And then what?

The problem some of us had about gutting the roster (not speaking for the OP here, just me) is that last year's team WAS a playoff team if Kreider didn't get disabled and Shattenkirk wasn't damaged goods from day one. Were they Cup contenders? No, but they were were probably a second round squad, even without buying at the deadline (which I would have been vehemently opposed to). And that's all with AV as coach.

Reality was the roster was gutted. There's a coach who seems to get more out of players than AV did and doesn't play favorites. The players now work harder and there's a lot more structure. We have to let this play out a little longer to see exactly what we have. The fear I have is that the moves made have put this team INTO the dreaded middle. There's too much talent and too many prospects for this group to bottom out, but there is no top level talent to actually take this group out of the first round, at best.
 

ReggieDunlop68

hey hanrahan!
Oct 4, 2008
14,441
4,434
It’s a rebuild.
Not enough evidence? You're freakin kidding right? For starters Hank came out and said he could go back to playing the way he used to because things were different in front of him with the new system and coaching staff. That alone is enough evidence. Vets and young players are being scratched fairly where as moron AV never benched certain dogs. The team under AV refused to shoot the puck for years where as Quinn has already changed the mentality to a shoot first team. There was almost no shot blocking under AV where Quinn has players sacrificing to block shots when it makes sense. Physical, stay at home defenseman like McQuaid are given legit chances to win jobs on the team where AV wanted to play nothing but small, pucking moving defenseman who were poor defensively. Under AV, Skjei was a disaster last year. He kept regressing from his first year. He's just now starting to find his game again. There is a ton of evidence.

@Bleed Ranger Blue It doesn't take much.
 

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