GDT: #11 - 02/08/21 | islanders @ RANGERS | 7:00 - MSG, NBCSN

[Edge]

This is an interesting way to look at it for sure.



This is overall fair but kind of lacking context of Miller's NYR "floor" still being pretty damn good. Miller was 24 years old and had 96 pts in his last 145 games here (54 pt / season average). That is rarified air for an NYR home grown forward. I don't think the org fully appreciated what they had in Miller for whatever reason.

The perception of Miller is that he's a bit of a different cat. He's not necessarily a bad locker room guy, but he's not someone who strengthens it either.

As a player, I see him as someone who accumulates. In other words, when you look at a stat sheet you say to yourself, "Wow, this guy posted 25 goals and 60 points."

But then you realize that a lot of his play is really all of the map. And he's not a driver. And he's not necessarily a big game player. And he's not a power forward, but he's not a skilled finesse guy either. And you wonder if the 25 goals and 60 points makes up for the deficiencies, or aloofness to other aspects of the game.

I think that's what Tampa found out pretty quickly as well.

Personally, I think Tampa arrived at the same conclusion the Rangers did, and one that Vancouver hasn't caught on to yet:

Miller probably isn't a guy you win with in a starring role, or with a ton of money committed to him long-term.

He's a guy who feeds off very good talent. He's a guy whose stat line looks good. But at 28, he also doesn't look like a guy who helps you win a 2-1 game in the playoffs.

He's probably the guy you trade for two players with less eye-catching stat lines, but who help round out your team.

Right now, Miller's best attribute is that there are no other options for Vancouver and he does very well with their centers.

He's a better version of Strome.

 

[bl02]

Just because Howden plays for them doesn't mean the deal was worth it. Howden and Hajek are both pretty bad and Lundkvist isn't in the NHL yet. He looks great but nothing is guaranteed.

After watching the last group of high first rounders ABSOLUTELY nothing is guaranteed for sure. Keep expectations low (sadly) and Hope some of our prospects perform like K'Andre is right now.
Maybe a Pajuniemi type surprises us in the next year or two and can actually put the puck in the net. Or maybe Chytil can stay healthy and perform like he was in the small sample size at the start of this year?!

 

[Fitzy]

this is a perfect game that Tony D would have made a difference in

By getting walked by Barzal again? Or by taking a minor penalty earlier in the game

 

[will1066]

Very worried about the pp. With Mika shooting blanks and with no one at the point who can accurately get the puck on net how is this team gonna score on the pp? Dirty goals in front of the net? I wish.
Some others have mentioned maybe give K'Andre a look on the second pp. He doesn't seem to hit as many shin pads as Trouba.

The philosophy of the PP has morphed, in my view. They've tried Mika in the Ovi role and as the bumper. They've tried Panarin in the Ovi role and as the bumper. But the PP is being set up for slam dunks down low. Deflections and screens, the main reason why Kreider is on the unit, do not seem to be a part of the plan anymore. There are almost no shots from the point being taken until after the initial setup breaks down into a scramble play. I said it last night, you need to take point shots in order to break down the PK box and do the cross-ice passes you crave. The last (?) PPG was a tip by Kreider from a Fox wrister.

 

[will1066]

The perception of Miller is that he's a bit of a different cat. He's not necessarily a bad locker room guy, but he's not someone who strengthens it either.

As a player, I see him as someone who accumulates. In other words, when you look at a stat sheet you say to yourself, "Wow, this guy posted 25 goals and 60 points."

But then you realize that a lot of his play is really all of the map. And he's not a driver. And he's not necessarily a big game player. And he's not a power forward, but he's not a skilled finesse guy either. And you wonder if the 25 goals and 60 points makes up for the deficiencies, or aloofness to other aspects of the game.

I think that's what Tampa found out pretty quickly as well.

Personally, I think Tampa arrived at the same conclusion the Rangers did, and one that Vancouver hasn't caught on to yet:

Miller probably isn't a guy you win with in a starring role, or with a ton of money committed to him long-term.

He's a guy who feeds off very good talent. He's a guy whose stat line looks good. But at 28, he also doesn't look like a guy who helps you win a 2-1 game in the playoffs.

He's probably the guy you trade for two players with less eye-catching stat lines, but who help round out your team.

Right now, Miller's best attribute is that there are no other options for Vancouver and he does very well with their centers.

He's a better version of Strome.

Is the organizational culture and in the locker room too vanilla to contend and win in the future? Miller had a bit of an edge. That rankled AV. DeAngelo had an edge. He went too far obviously. There's very little snarl with this team outside of Lemieux and Smith. Lemieux got along with DeAngelo great, like brothers from another mother. No one complained when DeAngelo skated up to the entire Boston bench and chirped them or when he knocked Okposo out with one punch.

 

[Edge]

Is the organizational culture and in the locker room too vanilla to contend and win in the future? Miller had a bit of an edge. That rankled AV. DeAngelo had an edge. There's very little snarl with this team outside of Lemieux and Smith. Lemieux got along with DeAngelo great, like brothers from another mother. No one complained when DeAngelo skated up to the entire Boston bench and chirped them or when he knocked Okposo out with one punch.

I think this team will need to get more assertive, but I also think they have guys who can help with that.

Lindgren has that mindset. Schneider has that mindset. Cuylle has that mindset. My guess is that was part of the appeal for someone like Bennett. So I think the Rangers recognize that, but at the same time it's not necessarily something you can force either.

I feel like it will be something they monitor and pursue as the opportunities arise.

 

[will1066]

I think this team will need to get more assertive, but I also think they have guys who can help with that.

Lindgren has that mindset. Schneider has that mindset. Cuylle has that mindset. My guess is that was part of the appeal for someone like Bennett. So I think the Rangers recognize that, but at the same time it's not necessarily something you can force either.

I feel like it will be something they monitor and pursue as the opportunities arise.

With Lindgren, he's got toughness. I'm referring a bit more to agitation. Literally the word you chose for your handle. It's an unquantifiable but a real part of winning.

 

[ZiGOODejad]

Let’s hope KK and LAF can develop that assertiveness.

 

[TominNC]

You new here?

Not really. It just seemed nicer than saying what a bunch of whiny bitches you all are. (Not you directly)

 

[Leetch3]

There was no blue chip guy to be had.

We can wish it all we want.

We can demand it all we want.

We can pretend it existing all we want.

We could go over some alternative packages that were on the table - names like Bracco come to mind.

But there was no golden parachute deal out there to be had. And frankly, had we taken some of the other deals, we actually would've ended up with less than we got from Tampa.

McD was quickly becoming, and currently is a second pair defenseman who really struggled to stay healthy. His saving grace in Tampa is that he gets to play behind Hedman, on a high scoring team, and that the season took a multi-month hiatus last year. Otherwise, he was once again on the shelf and/or banged up heading into the playoffs.

Other teams were very well aware of this. Thus the reason there were no blue chip offers on the table.

nonsense. everyone knows that tampa wanted to give us point, sergachev and 2 1st for mcdonagh and JG refused and demand lesser players, make the picks conditional and that they would take miller too lol

 

[will1066]

Going back to last night. They will win more games than lose them if they play that way. It's not often you see five Rangers within frame consistently. Hell, I even saw Strome on the backcheck. Lots of puck support last night, which is encouraging. It might restrict offense now, but since most of our top six offense is east-west, I don't mind it, because last night is the type of games they'll be playing as a contender in the playoffs, where there is no east-west. I'd rather see them play well defensively. And honestly if Varlamov wasn't so good and we converted a couple last night, especially with the man advantage, we wouldn't even be claiming that Jacque Martin's hand prints are choking out the offense.

 

[Edge]

nonsense. everyone knows that tampa wanted to give us point, sergachev and 2 1st for mcdonagh and JG refused and demand lesser players, make the picks conditional and that they would take miller too lol

We want to win every trade and nail every pick. That's understandable. Frankly, that should be the goal. Just like we want to win every game.

The reality is that we're not going to win every trade. We're not going to nail every pick. Not everyone is going to make it, and some fan favorites will be traded.

But, our success is going to come down to having as high of a winning percentage as possible. That is going to be key.

 

[tailgunner]

By getting walked by Barzal again? Or by taking a minor penalty earlier in the game

no by setting up and scoring a PP goal

 

[will1066]

We want to win every trade and nail every pick. That's understandable. Frankly, that should be the goal. Just like we want to win every game.

The reality is that we're not going to win every trade. We're not going to nail every pick. Not everyone is going to make it, and some fan favorites will be traded.

But, our success is going to come down to having as high of a winning percentage s possible. That is going to be key.

I think people don't think in terms of the real world, because this is sports, it's our mental getaway from the real word stuff, so all deals are supposed to be there for the taking, for the other party to be fleeced. But running a pro sports organization is very much a real-world business.

 

[Machinehead]

I'll be honest. I like Shesterkin, his best saves rank with any of Hank's career but it feels like he can't finish games. He still has 0 shutouts in his career.

People forget that Hank wasn't HANK as we remember him until like 2011.

Early Hank had a lot of the same problems in terms of giving up late goals and he was mostly bad in the playoffs until that 2011, 2012 range.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

People forget that Hank wasn't HANK as we remember him until like 2011.

Early Hank had a lot of the same problems in terms of giving up late goals and he was mostly bad in the playoffs until that 2011, 2012 range.

That's true, I remember in his first couple of seasons the Rangers and Hank giving up a bunch of 3rd period leads.

 

[NYRangers0723]

Maybe they should have passed on Lafreniere and drafted Lundell?

No

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

The trade we should all be regretting right now is the Trouba trade, not the McDonagh one.

What kind of high paid veteran in his mid 20's needs to consistently be bailed out by a rookie? And he's gonna be here long term too

I don’t regret the McDonagh trade but I am disappointed in what Howden and Hajek are as players at the NHL level. I’d still make the trade thought and Lundkvist seems to be worth it on his own.

I still think Howden absolutely sucks and Hajek is even worse. They’re still young but there’s little to be encouraged by. Howden looks worse now than he did 3 years ago. Hajek couldn’t crack the NHL lineup on a team starved for left D.

 

[Edge]

Howden looks worse now than he did 3 years ago.

Huh?

 

[JimmyG89]

Strome might have had his worst night as a Ranger last night. He was putrid during that game. Zibanejad looks like he is getting close. His skating is better, conditioning is better, just not where he was last season. I think he'll break out of this slump soon.

They really need to figure out the 3rd pairing. It's been a thorn in their side all season. All the good the top 4 is doing is being undermined by whoever is on the 3rd pairing. I think in all due time, Reunanen is going to get the call to fill in a spot on the 3rd pair.

 

[Machinehead]

Zibanejad did have good analytics last night FWIW

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Strome might have had his worst night as a Ranger last night

The worst part about this is we say this every other game lol

I know he’s expansion bait at this point but giving him the second year was so dumb

 

[TominNC]

The third pairing did ok. For placeholders on a rebuilding team they're ok. Take a look at the top prospects list. The Rangers have loads of potential on the way. They just need two of about 5-6 guys to hit and their D is set. Patience. The letter wasn't that long ago.

 

[will1066]

Strome might have had his worst night as a Ranger last night. He was putrid during that game. Zibanejad looks like he is getting close. His skating is better, conditioning is better, just not where he was last season. I think he'll break out of this slump soon.

They really need to figure out the 3rd pairing. It's been a thorn in their side all season. All the good the top 4 is doing is being undermined by whoever is on the 3rd pairing. I think in all due time, Reunanen is going to get the call to fill in a spot on the 3rd pair.

Can you explain further? You do realize that it was Strome hustling on the backcheck on Lee while Bailey carried the puck and tried to feed Lee was the reason why the puck got to Miller who then gave Panarin that great pass for his breakaway, right? You also do realize that Trouba (top 4) was pyloned on a partial breakaway? And Miller, as good as he's been, is not free of mistakes and that he's relied on his long reach to recover on his mistakes?

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Huh?

Maybe that’s an exaggeration but I’m extremely down on Howden. He’s in his 3rd season in the NHL and he still struggles. His lack of basic NHL skills is extremely frustrating. He is seemingly incapable of cleanly handling a pass even when it’s on his tape, flubs basically every shot he takes, loses the puck when stick handling, constantly falling down and finding himself out of position.

And I’m not sitting here expecting Howden to be more than he is or anything, I’m not mad because he’s not a 2C or something. I’m endlessly frustrated watching a player, in his 3rd NHL season under a coach who’s given him tons of opportunity, who can’t reliably do basic things we need even our 4th liners to do. What does it say about Howden when scrap heap fringe NHL guys like DiGi, Rooney and Blackwell all come in and are all better than he is?