255 thoughts on “Rangers Lose Oscar Lindberg to Vegas Golden Knights”

  5. I think a ton of fans are going to be shocked by their selections in general. Not what I predicted. Except for the clear no brainers (Methot, Neal, MAF) I think their best picks may have been from FL.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Would be pretty interesting if that were the deal, Eric. Don’t really understand Winnipeg asking Enstrom to waive his No trade and then cutting a deal to keep him anyhow.

    Like

  10. I don’t see Stepan going to Minny, actually. They’re kinda loaded at center. Unless we were getting Koivu back and it was a bigger deal.

    But when they were under the gun for expansion purposes…could’ve seen it.

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  34. James agreed on Grabner. It’s not just the goals. The world class speed, smarts, pk, replace Hags quite well and we missed Hags dearly the year before.

    I would have been fine if Fast was selected, less so for the other 3. Grabner and Raanta would have bothered me the most. In Raantas case it’s based on concern on how Henrik will be after knee issue during the world championships. I feel very comfortable with Raanta in net.

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  45. –http://ingoalmag.com/slider/winner-bunny-larocque-trophy-backup-goalies/

    raanta gets 2nd place in the backup award behind darling

    Goaltenders must have started (not merely played in) between 15 and 30 games. Below this, and the significance of their contribution is hard to measure. Above it, the goaltender is moving into tandem territory, sharing starts rather than truly backing up.

    – Goaltenders must be true backups, not career starters who fall into the appropriate range of games started because of injury.

    – Goaltenders will be judged by the significance of their positive impact on the team. Did they make a real difference with their play?

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  51. Travis Yost‏Verified account @travisyost

    Hard to imagine a team having a tougher exodus of talent than the Coyotes with Datsyuk and Pronger back to back.

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  55. Vegas is all about picks and 2018 and beyond. It’s not about them winning next year. Some of these players maybe methot be elsewhere tomorrow.

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  59. Boy that AV, helluva coach, made it in the top 5….umm my bad. Top 10 is still really good….oh ummm.

    Apparently the people that vote on the Jack Adams award don’t believe in the participation award like most ranger fans/av apologists.

    Liked by 1 person

  61. Just tuned in to the shenanigans. Clarkson will flourish in Vegas, lol.

    Also, to reiterate what others have astutely pointed out, holy Kathryn Tappen.

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  70. The reason I asked what you would pay for C on the various lines was to guage how much you think Step is overpaid for the line that he should (or ultimately will) be on over the next four years. Are you trying to move the guy to avoid 1M in cap hit? 2? 4? And with salaries always rising what will a 3rd line C be pulling down three years from now? It may be worth keeping the devil you know, even at a price, unless the right deal is there.

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  72. Johnny hockey winning the lady purse I mean byng award “and I’d like to thank all my teammates” for fighting all my battles for me.

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  74. vegas has same problem we do in all lefties

    Scott Cullen‏Verified account @tsnscottcullen

    VGK added 14 d-men, including three right-handed shots, two of which (Miller and TvR) are rumoured to be on the move. Engelland’s the one!

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  75. its the talent level to or lack thereof wicky

    The Rangers received votes for the following awards at tonight’s NHL Awards:

    Norris Trophy: Ryan McDonagh – 17th, 5 points = 0-0-0-1-2
    Calder Trophy: Brady Skjei – 10th, 1 point = 0-0-0-0-1
    GM of the Year: Jeff Gorton – 11th , 2 points = 0,0,2

    The Rangers did not receive any votes for the Selke, Lady Byng, Vezina or Hart.

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  80. “Lindberg is one of my favorite picks. He’s an intangible guy and was good in a bottom-six forward role for the Rangers. He’s versatile; he can play center or the wing, can win faceoffs, can play on the power play and the penalty kill and can score. Lindberg is not a first- or second-line center, but he’s a perfect depth center.”
    .
    yup

    Liked by 1 person

  83. Wicky re the talent

    read yours and many others comments throughout the year including my own. It’s a lot more a function of lack of talent than it is coaching. Those votes say it all.

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  84. Thank you Oscar, you have been solidly unspectacular but reliable. Off to Vegas you go and we all hope Gorton doesnt think Brandon Pirri is worth an extension to replace you

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  85. Even with 30 players the LVGK are still spending less than the Blackhawks against the cap. But everyone thinks Bowman is a genius? go figure – he has to reconstruct everything but his top lines every season

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  88. Unfortunately I think those subsequent deals are set. Would’ve liked TVR, and that Colin Miller kid from Boston is a nice talent. But Carolina and Toronto seem to be the predetermined destinations, respectively.

    Why do I get the feeling that we’re making moves and we’ll all be kind of underwhelmed…

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  89. Oscar was a great pick for them. The non-NY media and blogosphere is still wondering if we “made a side deal” to keep Raanta.

    Maybe we traded a 2nd so we can keep Raanta and flip him for a 3rd

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  91. Grabber!! 2nd leading scorer back at $1.65M. Now THAT is good news.
    .
    NYR Stats over the last 3 seasons:
    5v5 pts/60:
    Step: 2.02
    Haze: 1.93
    Oscar: 1.82
    Zika: 1.76
    .
    PP pts/60
    Step: 4.55
    Oscar: 4.01
    Zika: 3.99
    Haze: 3.92
    .
    At first blush the Step lovers with scream that he is the leading point getting but he also has the most favorable TOI and linemates. Can anyone remember Lindberg’s linemates? Fast?? Glass???
    .
    Step with $6.5M cap hit generating .07 pts/60 more than Haze; 5.6 pts/season. What would a replacement make or should the question be what is the value of a younger replacement on the upside who has a Cap friendly contract.
    .
    Let’s face it; Uncle Glennie was under some serious pain killers when he signed Girardi, Staal, Step and Henk during/after the 4 year run culminating with a Cup loss and we are only out of one of those deals now. Need to clear a couple of more.

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  92. SN – We sure do need to clear one or two of those. Hank we live and die with, regression or not. I think that getting the right defensemen in front of him (or at the very least, removing the wrong defensemen in front of him) extends his window.
    Unfortunately, since we went the buyout route with Girardi, that’s kind of off the table for the others, unless we really want to be under water in dead cap for the next few years. So Gorton needs to get creative.
    I’m happy to keep Stepan, but if he’s the piece that needs to move in order to address other needs, so be it. We can fill his hole with a free agent signing if necessary, at least as a stopgap.
    Staal…lets just say if it cost the Isles a R1 to get out of 2 years of Grabovski, we didn’t have what it took (even if Staal waived his NMC) to get Vegas to do us a solid. But I will say – now that Girardi is gone, I can live with Staal on the 3rd pair.

    So in terms of cap – it really comes down to trading Stepan to fill other needs.

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  94. Heh – didn’t say a replacement wouldn’t cost us. But if Zibenejad is going to play a full season as our defacto 1C, and Hayes is expected to pick up some more slack – we don’t necessarily need to target Joe Thornton or anything. Sam Gagner and Nick Bonino could probably be had for ~3M. If you really want to go bargain bin…Jiri Hudler is a guy.

    Are we slowing talking ourselves into realizing just how important Stepan is to this team? 🙂 Had me at Hudler.

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  95. I’m going to go through the contest submissions over the next couple of days to determine the winner. I have to say, though, that I think McPhee got a pretty underwhelming return to not take players, especially with respect to the Wild and the Islanders.

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  97. Alex
    Re talent…ok, got it.

    There was more than one coach on that list that had less “talent” than the participation award guy.

    Besides, you read the posts here and this team has one of the top 5 centres in the league on a bargain contract in Stepan, the Norris winner for the next 10 years in skjeL, all world player Hayes, and HOF shutdown D man staal.
    (S)

    Yes, I’m being facetious but the system is crap and that is on the coach.

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  98. Fwiw, I think 5 years ago the system might have been something, now…it’s like at least half the other teams in the league (the half that don’t play the trap) and every team in the league minus LA and Vegas are fast teams.

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  103. To me the question is, ‘Does Step have any upside?’ Me thinks we have seen the ceiling and with the speed issues, the future doesn’t look too bright at this cap hit.
    .
    Is there a younger $4M 2C/3C center to provide 20% less production at 40% less cap hit (salary is even higher!!)

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  108. Interesting comment from Zipay about van Riemsdyk trade: “Another young D to blueline-heavy Carolina. Could increase possibility of previously speculated Faulk-to-NYR? “

    Liked by 1 person

  109. Did anybody else feel really bad for Zucc who had to watch Hagelin hang out with his new BFF Crosby all night?

    I cry myself to sleep most nights thinking about Zucc, Hagelin, and Brassard tbh

    Liked by 1 person

  110. I think if we have an opportunity to pick up a #2 dman, we need to make sure we’re actually getting someone who can be immediately be a #2 dman. Connor Murphy in Phoenix…really nice young player with a great cap hit…if he’s going to be that #2 guy, he’s 2 seasons away. TVR…not sure he’s that guy. Colin Miller…a few seasons away. Michael Stone…not the guy.

    So if we’re going to do it, we should just do it. Faulk, Trouba, Dumba, Ellis…lets just dive in.

    Now, if we need another RD for the 2nd/3rd pairing…I’m all for Stone or the others.

    (Unless we’re getting more in a deal…such as Stepan for Murphy + Strome)

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  119. Wicky – It depends on how the rest of the chips fall. If dealing Skjei for Duchene leads to Stepan for Faulk (even out the deal however necessary – within reason) might be a go, but I would still like to know what the plan is for the other four d-men.

    Liked by 1 person

  120. On second thought, the Rangers couldn’t make those deals. Stepan’s cap hit is $6.5 million and Skjei has one year at $925,000. Faulk has two years at $4.8 million and Duchene has one year at $6 million and becomes and UFA. Galchenyuk is a RFA now so I don’t know how that factors into the cap picture. The Rangers might have to overpay in order to make my scenario work because the Avs and Canes would have to retain salary and in Duchene’s case he is going to get a much bigger deal that Stean.

    Liked by 1 person

  121. The reason I ask is both mtl and Colorado need D…all the insiders talk about how they need D.

    Mtl needs lefty D specifically…now if you believe some of the posters here, skjeL is the best D in the planet and untouchable.

    I don’t buy that, I think skjeL can be a very good 2nd pair lefty D man in the NHL, But certainly not untouchable especially on a team that is very deep with lefty D like the rangers are.

    I also think neither team would trade those players straight up for skjeL. But I would send him packing as part of a deal for either in a heartbeat.

    If he was a righty, I’d be less inclined to do so.

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  130. Gravy
    Simple really, stepan needs to move before his nmc kicks in and we are deep on left D and we didn’t buy staal out like we should have so he isn’t movable. Mcdonut is the last D man I’d move so the best leftyD man “chip” to trade with the most “value” to get some thing we really need is skjeL.

    Like I said, simple really.

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  131. The Eberle for Strome trade, for me, was just a shoulder shrug trade. Eberle is very overrated. Product of Canada media. I think Strome still has some upside.

    Liked by 1 person

  133. Eberle did not have impressive playoffs and not very visible during games i caught…guessing Isles think that will change playing with Taveres but he did have pretty good support in Edmonton

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  141. John had just come from the Barbershop with his Pop. He told a few Yolks and he Raved about the Chutney while we Rapped for a while. Reggae Jackson stopped by our table and the entire bill was Tenor twelve bucks.

    Liked by 1 person

  154. Don’t get your hopes up boys 5th in Metro! Without an upgrade on D this cotton candy crew is toast! MacKinnon, Duchene, won’t make any difference you know I’m right.

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  156. You really can’t trade Sjkei for Duchene because of the contracts – there is a $million difference plus Matt needs a new deal, Unless you move Stepan for a good young (and cheap) d-man, the salary structure is out of whack.

    Liked by 1 person

  160. If we are excluding salaries, yes as long as I have a deal to move Stepan for a d-man of equalish value to Skjei. If I don’t get a d=man back then I am not making my team stronger.

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  162. Wicky disagree with you on Skjei. We’re not that deep on left side being how you and many others savage staal and holden. So 2 deep is not overly deep.

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  165. Honestly boys I think Gorton is going for broke. If he was going to bring in anything short of a no question top pair Dman he probably would have done it by now. He’s looking for the guy

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  167. Day, ruenannen (sp?), skjeL, smith, graves, Holden, staal.

    All lefties some closer to NHL than others but 5 could be in opening night lineup with other 2 couple years away perhaps.

    I’m calling that fairly deep on LD.

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  168. i’m talking this yr

    mcd and skjei.

    smith is not signed yet and can easily play right side.

    you can’t have it both ways in savaging holden and staal and then say we are deep on left side. if they’re the stiffs you think they are why would we trade our 2nd best dman regardless of side.

    day and graves who knows. i’d think ahl for both for starters.

    unless you view this as a rebuilding year in which case all bets are off.

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  169. I have looked over the contest entries and I believe Alex is the winner with 12 correct selections. As far as I saw, nobody else was even in double digits. If you think I’m incorrect, you’ll have until noon tomorrow to correct me, at which point I will officially declare Alex the winner.

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  170. Alex
    As far as savaging staal…well, I don’t want to speak for others but in my case it’s all about performance vs cap hit. I think staal has for the most part played like a 2nd pairing guy and got worse in the post season (I’d rather have a player that steps up when it matters more).

    $6 mil just seems crazy for a guy that offers nothing more than poke checks. He doesn’t produce points, he doesn’t make guys keep their head up, he gets lost in the d zone a lot, doesn’t win wall battles often.

    The return on investment of staal seems very very poor. I’d pay a guy Holden money to be that ineffective in all areas.

    Speaking of Holden, I haven’t been “savage” on him like others, but he was pretty bad as the playoffs went along. Question with him is was it his partner or not.

    Similar to skjeL, if Holden is a righty, I wouldn’t be adverse in the least to keeping him at his cap hit, but he’s a lefty.

    right now this team has zero regular NHL RD, they need two imo.

    Liked by 1 person

  171. Alex
    Just to be clear, you are saying organizational depth doesn’t matter? Ok, got it.

    Talk about wanting both ways lol!

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  176. Wicky

    organizational depth matters a lot. just as easy to trade an ahl / college/ junior forward or a dman like Graves for a righty dman.

    I also proposed an over the top deal for dumba for the righty top pair dman we need. i believe it included miller and a 1st

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  177. Doodie
    I counted 14 correct selections on cccp’s entry from the other post?!

    You don’t like Ukrainians or something?

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  180. Alex
    I’m not saying you don’t want a righty D man. I’d be fine with dumba depending on price paid for him.

    I think graves can play in the NHL now. He was better imo in the preseason than skjel (I believe there were others that also had that opinion here).

    I don’t dislike skjeL and it’s asinine to think I do because I suggested he is a very good asset to move to address a need in another area.

    I’d have bought out staal over Girardi for at least 3 different reasons but the reality is he is a lefty NHL D man just like Holden, mcdonut, skjel, smith, and mcdonut.

    Yes I am aware smith is not signed at this time.

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  181. Yes also to skjel for duchene or Galchenyuk without hesitation.

    Probably no re mcdonut in the same scenario.

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  184. Alex
    Just to follow up for you…
    Let’s say rangers don’t sign smith, you still have NHL lefty D men in mcdonut (who is probably as close as not going anywhere ranger skater you can get), staal (just can get rid of him due to nmc), Holden with a favourable contract, and skjeL also in last year of favourable contract (all rookie team btw).

    That’s 4 NHL lefty D men (again without the currently unsigned smith). You then have a lefty d in graves with a wicked shot and good mobility and size that has been in your system for a couple of seasons.

    Now if I was in charge, I’d want to see what I have in graves at the NHL level next season especially with a couple of other lefty D that the organization seems high on with Day and ruannen (sp?) in the pipeline. I’ve already got too many NHL lefties and not enough NHL righties so where can I try to balance that out?

    Staal…nope stuck with him (apparently)

    Mcdonut…not moving him unless the deal makes the sun come up

    Holden…yep, with his contract I’d try to address a roster need and add him in a deal.

    SkjeL…yep, going to get a new contract next season and the Girardi buyout penalty jumps up. I’ve already got $11 mil tied up in two lefty D. I sell high, he was just named to the all rookie team. I absolutely see if I can use him to improve other areas.

    Graves…sure, if he’s the add that gets an improvement to the club, but I see what he’s got next season if he isn’t dealt.

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  188. Wicky

    Smith also plays right side. I know you know that.

    biggest thing in Staal vs Girardi is Staal is a few yrs younger and Staal’s buyout would be 8 yrs. plus many ranger fans would freak if Girardi is anything but 3rd pair 10 min.

    I’d trade Stepan + for Duchene

    I guess Mcd is so good you named him twice.

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  189. Ilb
    Speaking of radulov, Montreal radio today one of the guys said he would not be shocked in the least to see the rangers sign him lol

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  191. Radulov would be a good signing for us. He’s skilled, emotional (something this asystole of a team needs), does have leadership qualities…all that said… 6y 7 mill per he can go puck himself.

    Liked by 1 person

  192. Alex
    I didn’t realize I listed mcdonut twice.

    I hope the organization isn’t making decisions based on fans freaking. And if they are, they missed the boat with Eric.

    Re staal vs Girardi
    I’m obviously wrong here since the rangers did not do this but Girardi played better than staal in my opinion. A few years age difference is not that big of a deal to me, 10 years in the NHL is, 3 is not.

    Girardi contract allowed for easier movement of him without any penalty going forward.

    Staal contract does not (that I am aware of). You are stuck with him for the duration of it.

    So if you could buyout staal in the future you now have two buyout penalties to deal with.

    You buyout staal now and move Girardi within the next year with no cap repercussions.

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  193. Frank Seravalli‏Verified account @frank_seravalli
    Replying to @frank_seravalli

    #NHL studied 4 playoff games closely and found btwn 60 to 110 slashes per game. “There’s definite flavour to clean that up,” Campbell said.

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  194. Alex
    Ok, so if Edmonton says I’ll trade you draisitl for skjeL straight up you don’t do it?

    Or if Winnipeg says I’ll trade you laine for skjeL straight up you don’t do it?

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  195. Alex
    Wait, so the D is a mess with mcdonut, skjeL, the two guys you accused me and others of “savaging”?

    So in your opinion apparently 1/3 of the D being bad constitutes the D as being a mess?

    I’m just trying to clarify what “having it both ways” means to you because you like to quickly criticize others about things yet seem to do the very same things you criticize others for.

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  196. Wicky

    lockout in 3 yrs so 4th yr of Staal won’t happen.

    We can’t predict the future but Staal does have several concussions. You never know the one that puts him on long term injury where we then trade him to the landing pad for those guys in Arizona.

    I don’t see Staal lasting until the end of the contract.

    I can see him bought out in 2 yrs if injuries don’t get him first.

    One year of bigger double dip with Girardi by then but cap should grow enough to cover it. It would have grown more but they’re trying to reduce escrow to single digits which takes some of the league revenue growth out in terms of significant cap growth this year.

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  198. Wicky

    be real and don’t compare Duchene or Galchenyuk to those guys. There are issues with both of those guys. Issues I’d live with if the price is Stepan not killing the weakest part of our lineup and making it even worse.

    I don’t think Staal or Holden is top 4 on a true cup contending team. Staal due to age and several concussions. But unlike at least one (not you) I won’t make up a silly nickname for him. I just think the buyout hurts more at this time than paying and playing him. The buyout is not a get out of jail free card.

    Holden is not a 2nd pair dman on a cup contender either.

    I’m perfectly willing to trade a forward for a comparable dman in age, ability and salary. Not the other way around.

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  199. Ok, I would absolutely deal a lefty D man (not named mcdonut unless…) for 1st line forward talent (something this team desperately lacks) or an equal or better righty d man.

    So we can agree to disagree re that.

    I do agree with you re stepan

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  201. Wicky

    a comparable dman from the other side is a different story . I don’t mean like zubov for samuelson where they were totally different types. one of worst deals in rangers history just those 2 guys alone never mind the forwards involved.

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  202. Greg Wyshynski‏ @wyshynski

    NHL taking about giving a minor penalty to teams that lose a coaches challenge on offside challenge. Colin Campbell: “you better be sure”

    __________

    Time to retire, Colin. Why can;t the just get rid of this stoopid rule and that’s it.

    Liked by 1 person

  204. CCCP

    they are doing their best to ruin a great game with idiotic rules like that. yes lets cycle the puck for 20 secs and score and then………….

    i don’t think it will stop a lot of challenges. the chance to overturn a goal is too big an incentive.

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  205. So then let’s give a penalty shot to the team that was incorrectly called offsides on a potential breakaway and the play was whistled dead. Either live with the bad calls or not, but don’t randomly choose which bad calls they can question. OR better yet, penalize the damn Ref who makes a bad call!

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  223. Good morning, boneheads!
    1st round pick. They haven’t seen it since 2012. I guess we’ll find out how Gorton intends to use it. Easy to say they have to draft someone and not use for trade purposes. But I imagine that, considering Hank’s age, if Gorton sees an opportunity to improve the team right away, he won’t hesitate.

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  225. Good morning Boneheads welcome to Friday! Let’s hope JG doesn’t make the pick out of need but takes the best player available. And please fix the D!

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  227. I’m anxious to find out if they trade Stepan, and what he may bring back. On the other hand, I would be perfectly happy if they did not trade him.

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  228. Wouldn’t rely on the Henk ‘window’ to make TEAM decisions for short/long run. That is a fool’s errand.
    .
    I believe Cam had as many playoff series wins as Henk this season and one more win…

    Liked by 1 person

  229. The main reason for not trading Step is believing Haze is not a top 6 pivot as much as they try to play him there. In fact, he may be slower than Step with poorer D but better O potential. Haze seems like a productive 3C but an inconsistent 2C.
    .
    Could trade a center for a center, it happened last summer (Brass/Zika) so there is hope.

    Liked by 1 person

  231. I don’t believe they want to trade Stepan for center. I has to be a Right side Dman. Maybe you take back a Right side Dman who is young and unproven, and you believe he becomes a top pair guy. In that case, you can ask for a center to put in the deal.

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  232. Picking out of need gets you guys like Jessiman, Sanguinetti and McIlrath. Let’s face it, unless a guy is a top 5 pick he’s not seeing the NHL for 3 or 4 years. By that time your needs have changed. One of the reasons why I don’t really follow the NHL draft is where the Rangers pick, they’re not getting somebody that they can put in the lineup right away. It’s not like football or basketball in that draft picks are expected to play and contribute. It’s closer to baseball where you draft on potential and hope he develops into an NHLer in a few years.

    Liked by 1 person

  234. Well at least it is worth watching Round 1 for a change. Unfortunately, no reason to watch Rounds 2 or 3. Good thing this is a weak draft. Maybe Gordon can package a couple later round picks and get into Round 3. I would imagine that if Stepan is leaving, we will find out this weekend.

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  236. I wouldn’t be opposed to Demers at all. He’s not really the answer to our “get someone to play with McD” question, but he would fit in for sure on the 2nd pair, if we don’t get Smith to resign. He might actually be a decent compliment to Staal, if our 2nd and 3rd pairings split ice time.

    Demers, though, kind of has that “I came here to get Trouba or Barrie or Dumba and all I got was this stinking Demers” t-shirt vibe. How disappointing would it be to sift through all those rumors, most of which KIND of make sense, and we wind up trading Stepan for Jason Demers and a 4th. We’d all be crushed.

    Also, his name sounds like a fart in a bathtub.

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  237. Yes to Skjei for Duchene, ignoring contracts.

    As usual, the other team’s guy is being really overvalued. Duchene 0.73 PPG, Stepan 0.70 PPG. He’s much better on faceoffs, and I like the guy, but let’s not pretend they need to give up Stepan and 10 other pieces to get him. Contracts are virtually a wash until after next season when he’ll be looking to get paid as a UFA.

    Kathryn Tappen also overrated.

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  238. I would be opposed to Demers. If that’s the kind of Dman they are at, well then just go ahead and play Graves, Pionk, the Russian they signed, and Day. Don’t waste anymore time with retreads.

    Liked by 1 person

  240. Trouba, dumba, Murphy, Barrie, vatannen…a couple of those would be great.

    Of course gorton will probably get us garrison and demers lol.

    As far as the draft, I’d love to see us get foote or vesalainen in the first if either is still available. Really like the forward vesalainen.

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  241. CCC – You went for the missed picks. How about drafting for need and bringing in Skjei, Miller, Kreider in the first round and guys like Richter (2nd) and Lundqvist (7th). You have to project out what your needs are now and will be in the future. It almost sounds like you are saying the Rangers should just deal off their first round picks unless it is a Top 5-ish pick.

    Think of all the picks the Rangers have traded over the years – and I don’t mean just the 1st rounders. Maybe we wouldn’t have to sift through the likes of Jason Demers if we had our 2013 and/or 2014 1st round picks and that guy had his 3-4 years of development.

    Most NHL teams don’t think about putting their 1st round pick right into the lineup unless they are a star player. When do force someone you end up with a situation like Manny Malhotra who probably should have gone back to Juniors rather than make the jump. Then he became a pawn in the Neil Smith-John Muckler feud.

    With all of that said, you can never go wrong drafting goalies, scoring forwards and right-handed shooting defensemen because those seem to be the commodities that teams are always looking for.

    Now watch Jeff Gorton take a goalie in the first round 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  244. Wicky – You are right about Oettinger. Still has three years of college plus whatever seasoning in the minors. Keith Petruzelli will be a freshman at Quinnipiac – big goalie (6-6) and the Finnish kid is big as well (6-4).

    The one “knock” on Igor Shestyorkin is that he is only 6-0 and the trend seems to be bigger goalies. Last year, I think only one or two goalies under 6-2 were drafted.

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  247. I want to keep Skjei as I think he will develop into a very good defender and one that can score. Find another way to get the righty dman. Agree on bringing up Graves to give him a spin a few games and assess where he is developmentally.

    Just some stats for you: Looking at the past two seasons, Dmen who played 82 games and scored 70 pts: 20R/16L out of a pool of 74R/107L. Extending to 123 games over three seasons and 105pts, 17R/14L out of 75R/107L. (the same type of split for the past season gives you 23R/21L)

    Skjei definitely has a shot to be one of the top L defenders. Dump him in a trade for an R and you’ll be moaning by the end of the year you need another L.

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  248. Anthony – What I was saying was two things. One – go for the best player available because if you go for a need in 2017 and the guy doesn’t play in the NHL until 2021, by then you might not need him. Look at drafting McIlrath because they needed a physical guy. By the time he got to the NHL, they needed guys that are puck movers. That’s all I’m saying is don’t force a pick based on this year’s needs.

    The other is that I, personally, don’t really follow the draft because 1. I don’t watch or follow junior hockey 2. Even if you read up on the players available in the draft it’s going to be a few years before they reach the NHL, if at all.

    I never said that the draft doesn’t matter or that they should trade away all their draft picks.

    Also, “Kathryn Tappen also overrated”
    Blasphemy!

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  250. Seems like we hire ex tough guys as D coaches, yet they get precious little of that across to our ‘defensive stalwarts.” If the league has really changed that much, why don’t we just give up and hire ex defensive prima donnas who are familiar with and can teach that style of play? As things stand, we do neither method well.

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