Speculation: What Is Needed for a Cup Run?

[TheTakedown]

i think they are good to back up what you see, and to make you think twice if you think someone sucks but is posting good stats.

but some fancy stat players this year are going completely opposite of what youd expect.

Klein being the poster boy.

i felt like Grabovski would be a helluva pickup, but hes sucked this year.

As did I.... one of the few players that actually overachieved under Adam Oates.... who would have thought

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I don't think you can deny the validity of Fenwick Close as it pertains to team performance.

But on an individual to individual basis, I don't like them as much. Tom Gilbert has had excellent fancy stats but hes a terrible hockey player.

 

[Mikos87]

High average is a good player. Are you suggesting that he's elite?

Are you also saying the Rangers have been pinned in their zone lately? Are you referring to October or the beginning of December until today?



Again, if he's a top four, there has to be many players who fit that mold, so the love affair is most likely due to fancy stats.

He could help the team. I don't like J.Moore, but it's still an odd infatuation for a non-marquee player.

Oh I don't want him having to play over McD or Staal against top 6 competition. I want him on the 3rd pair for a cup run. Don't get me wrong, he's a luxury, but one that would push this team's defense core into the best in the league. He is an A+ upgrade on that JMoore slot.

The infatuation comes from the nerd stat community.

Just like someone highlighted Tom Gilbert's nerd stats, the Habs defense has been a rotation outside of their top 3. Is Tom Gilbert a top 4 option on a winning team? Doesn't look like it.

Did Tom Gilbert put up nice fancy stats on bottom feeders for years on end? You betcha.

A lot of fancy stats are a result of coaching decision and dispersion of icetime along with marginal statistical differences from the norm. I'm not someone that gets horned up over the a 51 CF vs a 49 CF.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Oh I don't want him having to play over McD or Staal against top 6 competition. I want him on the 3rd pair for a cup run. Don't get me wrong, he's a luxury, but one that would push this team's defense core into the best in the league. He is an A+ upgrade on that JMoore slot.

The infatuation comes from the nerd stat community.

Just like someone highlighted Tom Gilbert's nerd stats, the Habs defense has been a rotation outside of their top 3. Is Tom Gilbert a top 4 option on a winning team? Doesn't look like it.

Did Tom Gilbert put up nice fancy stats on bottom feeders for years on end? You betcha.

A lot of fancy stats are a result of coaching decision and dispersion of icetime along with marginal statistical differences from the norm. I'm not someone that gets horned up over the a 51 CF vs a 49 CF.

I agree that Sekera would be an upgrade over J. Moore, but as I figured, the infatuation with Sekera is due to #fancystats. That being said, it would be great if we could further solidify any weakness in the team, but it seems a lot of fans are parroting that Sekera is the piece we need. I'm sure there are multiple options that could be employed to benefit the team. It's all a matter of what we have to give. If your going to dump assets and go all in, we may as well go for a bang instead of over-paying to potentially solidify the ass end of our D corps.

 

[jay from jersey]

forget sekera

sekera is a nice player but not worth the price and a FA to boot. klein has proved to be a beastand added offense to his game. move him up with staal move boyle down to third pair PP specialist. he is 38 for god sakes keep him fresh for playoffs, and trade for a guy like McQuaid from boston or some 3rd pair bruiser that can clear the crease, keep players honest and let boyle do his thing. in an ideal world it would be mcilrath but AV hates him for some reason. no point paying a kings ransom and getting into a bidding war for sekera. trade john moore and a 2nd or third round pick to boston or somewhere else for a player of his ilk.
McD Girardi
Staal Klein
McQuaid Boyle
Hunwick

go to war.

 

[Chaels Arms]

Ever since I've been on these boards everyone on here has been screaming for MOAR JAM and OMGZ THIS TEAM DOESN'T STAND UP FOR ANYBODY, NEED MOAR SIZEEEE and here we are, with the best team we've had in decades and it's built on skill and speed.

So just for some nostalgia: we need at least two goons, an agitator, and like 10 lbs of sandpaper.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

sekera is a nice player but not worth the price and a FA to boot. klein has proved to be a beastand added offense to his game. move him up with staal move boyle down to third pair PP specialist. he is 38 for god sakes keep him fresh for playoffs, and trade for a guy like McQuaid from boston or some 3rd pair bruiser that can clear the crease, keep players honest and let boyle do his thing. in an ideal world it would be mcilrath but AV hates him for some reason. no point paying a kings ransom and getting into a bidding war for sekera. trade john moore and a 2nd or third round pick to boston or somewhere else for a player of his ilk.
McD Girardi
Staal Klein
McQuaid Boyle
Hunwick

go to war.

McQuaid and Boyle would be the slowest pairing of all time.

 

[tjs252]

A two way bottom pairing defenseman (basically upgrade Moore) and a face off specialist that can shift to the wing, ideally with enough offensive touch to stick on special-teams.

 

[TheDave1022]

Someone who can win faceoffs. When you lose so many draws like last night, you spend a lot of time in your own zone

 

[RangersFan]

Faceoffs is really gonna bite this team in the ass. Don't kid yourselves, it needs to be addressed in time for the playoffs.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Faceoffs is really gonna bite this team in the ass. Don't kid yourselves, it needs to be addressed in time for the playoffs.

With the way the team is playing, if Rick Nash puts the ****ing puck in the net this playoffs, we could just let our opponent have the biscuit at the whistle.

 

[NYRangerFan*]

Can we sign Drury to win faceoffs?

 

[Raspewtin]

We need a defenseman a lot more than a faceoff winner.

 

[offdacrossbar]

this place......

we win 12 outa 13 games. we dominate really good teams in their building. we have shown the ability to start slow and build momentum and win games. we hold leads late. we shut down opponents. we look like a team thats really dangerous and were coming together. the team is building unity and dare i say... chemistry. to a man, they all speak of the same things.

speed
passion
energy
focus
execution

this is a very fast team. opposing coaches are commenting on this teams speed. guys like miller and hayes have stepped in and played great and both have added speed and size. nash and msl are leading as vets should do. step has matured into a true top line pivot.

this team is becoming well..... a team and everyone here wants to make trades. this place is bi polar.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/sto...r-glass-analytics-win-streak-henrik-lundqvist

"Almost every Rangers player has seen boost in their possession numbers over the 13-game span. John Moore (65.3 CF) has been particularly good, though he only played in seven of the games".

there he said it. john moore has played well of late, like the entire team. all have played well, other than tanner glass who's been pretty bad.

everyone is trying to replace moore. and hunwick. and move marc staal. or hags or fast....

enough. this team finally has mojo and were trying to blow it up.

this place....

 

[NYRFAN218]

Faceoffs at even strength don't really concern me which is why I'm not bothered by Hayes at center. The issue is faceoffs on special teams because a lost draw there could kill anywhere from 15 seconds on of a PP and a lost draw on a PK could have you pinned in the zone for an extended period of time. The only guy who could really win draws is Dom on the PK. We could acquire a 4th line guy to play wing alongside Moore and take draws like Boyle did last year to help the faceoff issue on the PK side of things but realistically, there's no way to help the PP side of it. We're just going to have to bank on Stepan and Brassard winning more draws because they're not acquiring another top 6 player that's going to get PP time.

So to me, faceoffs aren't really something that should be focused on. I think it's just something that has to be improved upon internally.

 

[EEDAWGZ]

What's Mike Eastwood up to these days

 

[Raspewtin]

Faceoffs at even strength don't really concern me which is why I'm not bothered by Hayes at center. The issue is faceoffs on special teams because a lost draw there could kill anywhere from 15 seconds on of a PP and a lost draw on a PK could have you pinned in the zone for an extended period of time. The only guy who could really win draws is Dom on the PK. We could acquire a 4th line guy to play wing alongside Moore and take draws like Boyle did last year to help the faceoff issue on the PK side of things but realistically, there's no way to help the PP side of it. We're just going to have to bank on Stepan and Brassard winning more draws because they're not acquiring another top 6 player that's going to get PP time.

So to me, faceoffs aren't really something that should be focused on. I think it's just something that has to be improved upon internally.

The problem with acquiring a 4th line guy for faceoffs, is is the player in question better than what else we have? I wouldn't put in an inferior player to win a few extra faceoffs.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Someone who can win faceoffs. When you lose so many draws like last night, you spend a lot of time in your own zone

The Rangers out chanced and out attempted the Sharks last night. I know they were under siege the first 8 minutes of the game, but things slanted the other way afterwards (while they continued to get mauled on face offs, imagine that.)

 

[Raspewtin]

The Rangers out chanced and out attempted the Sharks last night. I know they were under siege the first 8 minutes of the game, but things slanted the other way afterwards (while they continued to get mauled on face offs, imagine that.)

Impossible.

Faceoffs are definitely important but some people are reading way too much into them.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Impossible.

Faceoffs are definitely important but some people are reading way too much into them.

Sure, no ones arguing that outwinning your opponent btw the dots has any correlation with winning games, but as you say, they are important and should not be underestimated.

What would the Rangers do if Dominic Moore were to be injured after the trade deadline or in the playoffs? Who would take all those important SH draws and DZ starts? Your 1a and 1b centers? Certainly not Kevin Hayes with all of his ~60 DZ starts and ~33 FOW%.

Looking at the all the stats, the Rangers might be the most reliant team upon one guy for faceoffs in the entire league. This is where losing Boyle really hurt.

All comes back to depth, especially at the center position. If Dom Moore were to go down, we would be in a lot of trouble, IMO.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Sure, no ones arguing that outwinning your opponent btw the dots has any correlation with winning, but as you say, they are important and should not be underestimated.

What would the Rangers do if Dominic Moore were to be injured after the trade deadline or in the playoffs? Who would take all those important SH draws and DZ starts? Your 1a and 1b centers? Certainly not Kevin Hayes with all of his ~60 DZ starts and ~33 FOW%.

Looking at the all the stats, the Rangers might be the most reliant team upon one guy for faceoffs in the entire league. This is where losing Boyle really hurt.

All comes back to depth, especially at the center position. If Dom Moore were to go down, we would be in a lot of trouble, IMO.

You can say that about almost every team though.

I'm not against getting Vermette if the price isn't too much and management feels hes the best fit for a run. I may not agree with that (well, I don't) but they know more than I do and he is one of the few guys who will be available who provides a solid upgrade on what we already have.

 

[TheTakedown]

Impossible.

Faceoffs are definitely important but some people are reading way too much into them.

yeah I mean if faceoffs are our biggest problem............................

Every team has it's flaws, and I'm aware that faceoffs can be a problem, but let's not fill 1 hole and create another...

Right now the three worst players on this team are:

Hagelin (Hands of stone)
Stempniak (just all around average)
Girardi (WOAT puck handler)...

those are 3 players that most teams would LOVE to have as their worst players...

I'd only move Hagelin if it was an upgrade who was in his prime, and signed past this year... Hall comes to mind, but more salary has to move... I'd consider Hagelin + Glass + Prospect. Beyond that, **** no. move on, keep the guy here through 15-16

I'd move Stempniak if it was a CLEAR upgrade from that spot at a price we can afford... Stempniak may not be a world breaker, but he could also be one of those playoffs performers that knows what to do when in a tight playoff game... Need I mention his cap hit of a mere $900k.... Please tell me who can replace what he brings at that price.

Girardi is signed long term, and has recently improved his play. No moves here...

Beyond this, who else is tradeable? Dom Moore is a precious piece, Kreider and Miller are untouchables, Nash and MSL are not going anywhere this season and the former is most definitely staying here for awhile

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Teams with center depth like BOS, LA would not be affected by losing Campbell/Richards like the Rangers would in losing Moore.

Again, people might fail to realize how heavily Moore is leaned on for defensize zone/SH draws. I have yet to found another centerman who is. It only takes 35 lost SH DZ draws on average to yield a goal (http://statsportsconsulting.com/main/wp-content/uploads/FaceoffAnalysis12-12.pdf). That adds up in a playoff run.

 

[NYR713]

In terms of FO's, Hanzal would be a welcome player if ARI would move him. Glass would have to go back as a salary dump on top of any paid price (3.1M per 3 years left - Hanzal).

Stick him at C on 3rd line and move Hayes to RW. Those two big boys(Hanzal 6'6" 230) plus Hags speed; Hanzal about 57% FO's and can score. Stemp becomes 13th forward and Fast moves to 4th with Miller and Moore.

 

[wolfgaze]

A more experienced and stronger bottom 6 forward group I would say.... But I'm content with the way that the team is and I don't advocate spending any valuable draft picks or prospects to swing a trade..... Fine with rolling the dice....