Confirmed with Link: Brassard re-signed (5 years, $5M per)

[Nyrvana]

The easiest example is how would a line do against McD/Girardi and Staal/Stralman? Would that same line do better or worse against Klein/Moore? Assume that other teams' equivalent of McD/Girardi and Staal/Stralman went up against Stepan's and Richards' lines. That leaves the equivalent of other teams' Klein/Moore defensive pairing against Brassard. I think it's natural to expect that with the same amount of minutes the production would decrease as the forward line moves up to play against tougher defensemen. It should be a bit of a concern since Brassard is mostly out there to put up points.

Staal/Stralman was one of the best second pairings in the league. I don't think the jump from 3rd line defenders to 2nd line defenders is extreme enough to warrant a significant problem. Beyond that, this is assuming that their line last year only went up against 3rd line pairings.

Zuke went up against similar competition (marginally tougher competition and marginally tougher zone starts) and put up near 60 points. Brass did well against his competition, but not well enough that i'm confident he'll flourish in 2nd line situations.

Brassard will still have MZA on his line. I guess Brassard didn't help Zuccarello score those points? I would be surprised if Brassard didn't score 50+ points this year. If he does that he would've rank 35th among centers in points last year.

 

[Nyrvana]

I've posted similar numbers, however, I do note that those numbers really are if many things go right. That is my biggest problem with next season. A lot needs to go right to match last season's team. Again, it's not that any one number is unreasonable; if you're putting numbers on a paper, I think those are numbers that are good numbers and in a couple cases I think you can even go higher, it's just that when you look at the top six on this team, the Rangers need all those number to break even from last season and it's career highs, or numbers not seen in a while, so a lot has to go right.

I agree, I just don't see many reasons why it won't occur. Assuming health, those are all attainable goal totals.

 

[McDonagh27]

Plus it also says there is no coach on the other bench. Numerous times in a game match ups change due to who is bringing it that game and who is not. This 3rd line competition crap is just an excuse for somebody to make up invalid reasons why it can't work. If this was the case, Brass and Zucc would not have put up points in the playoffs where the hotter players are matchup better

Also, I would assume that giving Brass the extra PP time that Richards had would actually make for easier competition for him since it is a 5 on 4 or 3. No matter who's on the ice for opposition, getting that additional TOI on the PP will boost his numbers alone!

 

[THE BIG WHISTLE]

Also, I would assume that giving Brass the extra PP time that Richards had would actually make for easier competition for him since it is a 5 on 4 or 3. No matter who's on the ice for opposition, getting that additional TOI on the PP will boost his numbers alone!

I agree

 

[offdacrossbar]

St. Louis has never been strictly a pass first kind of player.

MSL has averaged 27 goals a year over the last 6 seasons and that includes 17 goals in 48 games.

Nash is a finisher, MSL is a hybrid that can finish, and Krieder is going to be a finisher this season.

fair enough.

msl didnt look like a finisher in the reg season but im giving him a pass as he was truely snake bit. in the playoffs, he was money. he is the one guy i see as a legit shooter.

nash im so-so on. he needs to score. contrary to many here, his playoffs were brutal. his shot disappeared. hes still an enigma to me.

kreider as a finisher ? i dont see that just yet. hes not intuitive enough. he needs to go to the front and score from the X more. when he starts to do that, thats when hell be an effective goal scorer. right now, hes big and fast and dangerous on the edge. not much more.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Poo was also an idiot who took horrible penalties.

yup. he was perhaps the most flagrant, stupid penalty magnet in the offensive zone as i have seen. ever.

he was, at times, beyond dumb.

he still brought alot of game every night, including some timely goal scoring.

 

[pld459666]

fair enough.

msl didnt look like a finisher in the reg season but im giving him a pass as he was truely snake bit. in the playoffs, he was money. he is the one guy i see as a legit shooter.

nash im so-so on. he needs to score. contrary to many here, his playoffs were brutal. his shot disappeared. hes still an enigma to me.

kreider as a finisher ? i dont see that just yet. hes not intuitive enough. he needs to go to the front and score from the X more. when he starts to do that, thats when hell be an effective goal scorer. right now, hes big and fast and dangerous on the edge. not much more.

With Nash, his shot did vanish and then he was getting looks but some very unlucky deflections. I started feelign bad for him as no matter what he did, the puck was not going in. That said, Nash is a scorer and will get 30 again.

As for Kreider, I think we are going to see a much more confident player next year. I think he's going to start trusting his shot and I can see 23-28 goals from him.

I think the big key here is getting Stepan to 20+, Zuccs over 20 and Brassard to 20

Nash - 30
MSL - 25
Kreider - 23
Stepan - 20
Zuccs - 22
Brass - 20

Those numbers are attainable from each player.

Then we add in the 15-18 from guys like Hags and Stempniak

I think the Rangers are going to be fine this year.

Better than fine if the PP actually becomes a weapon

 

[Trxjw]

poo had perhaps one of the 2 or 3 best shots on the team last year in terms of efficiency.

same for the playoffs. he was top 5 there as well.

his shooting % was top 5

tied for team lead in ppg @ 7

and all this while lagging 2 mins toi

ck 17 g 15:44 atoi 6 ppg 12.5 %
hags 17 g 15:32 0 ppg 11.8 %
brass 18 g 15:48 7 ppg 11.3 %
zuke 19 g 17:08 4 ppg 11.2 %
poo 15 g 13:26 7 ppg 10.6 %

i would say he will be missed and yes, i would say he was a pretty decent finisher.

If Pouliot was indeed a finisher, he would have come closer to living up to his potential. In reality, he's just an inconsistent player with a decent shot. Hagelin sure as hell isn't a finisher, and he's carrying a better shooting percentage.

The truth is we'll probably miss his size a whole hell of a lot more than his alleged finishing ability.

 

[offdacrossbar]

If Pouliot was indeed a finisher, he would have come closer to living up to his potential. In reality, he's just an inconsistent player with a decent shot. Hagelin sure as hell isn't a finisher, and he's carrying a better shooting percentage.

The truth is we'll probably miss his size a whole hell of a lot more than his alleged finishing ability.

he was the "shot" on that line imo. he did and does have a very good shot.

what does it say about us as a whole when poo is one of our better shooters ? to me it says... we cant shoot.

i liked his overall game. his combination of size, skating, scoring and some grit was fun to watch. he will be missed.

 

[haohmaru]

I went ahead and did this:

Sources:
http://www.rotowire.com/hockey/player.htm?id=2558
http://www.extraskater.com/player/246/derick-brassard
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/brassde01.html

Brassard scored 45 points in 2013-14 in total, therefore:
He scored 27 points at ES, and 18 points on the PP in 2013-14 in 81 games this year.

Average TOI is 15:48/game, therefore:
Average PPTOI is 3:23/game
ES time is 12:25/game, which is a total of ~1006 ES minutes.

The result is ~0.027 Points/ES minute, meaning Brassard scores 1 ES point per 37 ES minutes.

I hope this math is correct. That is a bit startling

I will say this... Both Stempniak and Lombardi look like they will be better finishers than Pouliot was.. and I'm excited for that. I can see those stats rising.

Interesting. Thanks for the work. I'm curious what the line pairings are going to be for the upcoming season.

Nash - Stepan - Kreider
MZA - Brassard - St. Louis

If that's the top 6, you'd really have to imagine that St. Louis will elevate Brassard's ES #'s quite a bit.

I wouldn't be surprised if Brass (if he stays healthy) puts up close to 60 points if those are his linemates.

 

[Jim Ramsay]

he was the "shot" on that line imo. he did and does have a very good shot.

what does it say about us as a whole when poo is one of our better shooters ? to me it says... we cant shoot.

i liked his overall game. his combination of size, skating, scoring and some grit was fun to watch. he will be missed.

Maybe his percentages were good, but he was still outscored by every person in the top 9 forwards last season. I think his size and grit will be missed more than his shooting percentage

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Still don't understand why people feel the need to take either Nash, MSL, or MZA off their natural wing to create the illusion of a better top 6 -- especially considering how AV deploys his lines.

If you stack the top 6 with our 3 best RW's, it makes the 3rd line look even worse. I think we'll see:

Kreider - Stepan - Nash

then the following 2 lines

Hagelin - Miller - MSL
Stempniak - Brassard - MZA

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Still don't understand why people feel the need to take either Nash, MSL, or MZA off their natural wing to create the illusion of a better top 6 -- especially considering how AV deploys his lines.

If you stack the top 6 with our 3 best RW's, it makes the 3rd line look even worse. I think we'll see:

Kreider - Stepan - Nash

then the following 2 lines

Hagelin - Miller - MSL
Stempniak - Brassard - MZA

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

Agreed. Although, if they do go the other route, Hagelin-Miller-Stempniak seems like a pretty good third line.

 

[Placid]

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

Yeah, last year we were rolling 3 second lines and a fourth line (or, if you want to be generous, a first line, two second lines, and a fourth line).

As long as AV has the player material to do that, im sure that he'll keep rolling the lines fairly evenly, and keep ice time relatively equal for everyone in the top 9.

That was certainly a major ingredient to our success last year.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Still don't understand why people feel the need to take either Nash, MSL, or MZA off their natural wing to create the illusion of a better top 6 -- especially considering how AV deploys his lines.

If you stack the top 6 with our 3 best RW's, it makes the 3rd line look even worse. I think we'll see:

Kreider - Stepan - Nash

then the following 2 lines

Hagelin - Miller - MSL
Stempniak - Brassard - MZA

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

I agree. I'd rather have a very good 1st line and then two 2.5 lines, like last year.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I agree. I'd rather have a very good 1st line and then two 2.5 lines, like last year.

If Miller is going to win a center spot, I like the idea of a savvy veteran like MSL tied to his right side.

And I can see the Brassard/MZA tandem driving the other line.

Hagelin - Miller - Stempniak looks pretty rudderless to me.

 

[haohmaru]

Still don't understand why people feel the need to take either Nash, MSL, or MZA off their natural wing to create the illusion of a better top 6 -- especially considering how AV deploys his lines.

If you stack the top 6 with our 3 best RW's, it makes the 3rd line look even worse. I think we'll see:

Kreider - Stepan - Nash

then the following 2 lines

Hagelin - Miller - MSL
Stempniak - Brassard - MZA

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

How is left-handed shooting Rick Nash a "natural (right) wing"? He's not. He's certainly capable of playing on the left side and it would probably help his perimeter style game and get more shots through. He might prefer the right side, but LW is certainly a possibility.

Kreider - Stepan - Nash (Kreider and Nash are both left handed shots)
St. Louis - Brassard - MZA (both MZA and MSL are left handed shots)
Hagelin - Miller/Lombardi - Stempniak (Hags is lefty, Stemps is righty)
Glass - Moore - Fast (not really a 4th line type)?

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

How is left-handed shooting Rick Nash a "natural (right) wing"? He's not. He's certainly capable of playing on the left side and it would probably help his perimeter style game and get more shots through. He might prefer the right side, but LW is certainly a possibility.

Kreider - Stepan - Nash (Kreider and Nash are both left handed shots)
St. Louis - Brassard - MZA (both MZA and MSL are left handed shots)
Hagelin - Miller/Lombardi - Stempniak (Hags is lefty, Stemps is righty)
Glass - Moore - Fast (not really a 4th line type)?

How is he not?

Most left-handed shooting wingers are natural RW because they have a better shooting angle from the off-wing.

Nash has had success throughout his career on both wings. He played LW for a good portion of his time in Columbus actually.

Nash will be the LW with Brass and Zucc, because AV isn't going to split up Kreider and Stepan.

Kreider Stepan St. Louis
Nash Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

We didn't acquire St. Louis to hold a rookie 3C's hand. St. Louis is here to play with our top players to make them better and vice versa.

Hagelin and Stempniak have already proved their capable of playing smart, two-way hockey while chipping in offensively. That's what you want from your third liners. It's now Miller's (or Lindberg's) chance to prove he can be counted on to do the same.

 

[haohmaru]

How is he not?

Most left-handed shooting wingers are natural RW because they have a better shooting angle from the off-wing.

Nash has had success throughout his career on both wings. He played LW for a good portion of his time in Columbus actually.

Nash will be the LW with Brass and Zucc, because AV isn't going to split up Kreider and Stepan.

Kreider Stepan St. Louis
Nash Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

We didn't acquire St. Louis to hold a rookie 3C's hand. St. Louis is here to play with our top players to make them better and vice versa.

Hagelin and Stempniak have already proved their capable of playing smart, two-way hockey while chipping in offensively. That's what you want from your third liners. It's now Miller's (or Lindberg's) chance to prove he can be counted on to do the same.

A "natural right wing" is traditionally described as someone plays right wing and shoots righty. When Alex Ovechkin, for example, plays right wing while shooting lefty he's playing his "off wing". Nash might be a better and more effective player on RW, but he's not a "natural right wing" - he's a guy playing his off wing.

Furthermore, it's much easier to defend and attack on your natural side because of your proximity to the boards. If you've played, it's really hard to clear the zone on your backhand if you're playing on your "off" side. It's hard to make a pass with your backhand. The biggest advantage to playing on your off side is having a better (closer to center) shot if you happen to be open in a scoring area like that. Nash isn't physical enough down low and routinely takes shots from the slot out on his off wing.

But, you've got MSL/Kreider/MZA/Nash as your top 4 wings and so do I. So someone is playing out of their preferred position.

 

[Fletch]

A "natural right wing" is traditionally described as someone plays right wing and shoots righty. When Alex Ovechkin, for example, plays right wing while shooting lefty he's playing his "off wing". Nash might be a better and more effective player on RW, but he's not a "natural right wing" - he's a guy playing his off wing.

Furthermore, it's much easier to defend and attack on your natural side because of your proximity to the boards. If you've played, it's really hard to clear the zone on your backhand if you're playing on your "off" side. It's hard to make a pass with your backhand. The biggest advantage to playing on your off side is having a better (closer to center) shot if you happen to be open in a scoring area like that. Nash isn't physical enough down low and routinely takes shots from the slot out on his off wing.

But, you've got MSL/Kreider/MZA/Nash as your top 4 wings and so do I. So someone is playing out of their preferred position.

some players are just better on their off wing; especially European players (call it finesse, call is side to side skaters instead of straight up and down). I remember Kovalev was really bad in NYC his second time around playing left wing. Previously he was successful on right wing in PITT, and subsequently on the right wing with MTL. If you've gotten used to one thing, it isn't always a forgone conclusion you can go the other way, even if it's the "natural" position.

 

[Raspewtin]

Still don't understand why people feel the need to take either Nash, MSL, or MZA off their natural wing to create the illusion of a better top 6 -- especially considering how AV deploys his lines.

If you stack the top 6 with our 3 best RW's, it makes the 3rd line look even worse. I think we'll see:

Kreider - Stepan - Nash

then the following 2 lines

Hagelin - Miller - MSL
Stempniak - Brassard - MZA

I hesitate to call those a 2nd and 3rd line because I feel like they will have a similar job and similar minutes.

MZA can play LW comfortably I'm pretty sure.

No reason to shift Nash or MSL though.

 

[Raspewtin]

If Miller is going to win a center spot, I like the idea of a savvy veteran like MSL tied to his right side.

And I can see the Brassard/MZA tandem driving the other line.

Hagelin - Miller - Stempniak looks pretty rudderless to me.

100% agreed.

 

[haohmaru]

some players are just better on their off wing; especially European players (call it finesse, call is side to side skaters instead of straight up and down). I remember Kovalev was really bad in NYC his second time around playing left wing. Previously he was successful on right wing in PITT, and subsequently on the right wing with MTL. If you've gotten used to one thing, it isn't always a forgone conclusion you can go the other way, even if it's the "natural" position.

Not disputing that. Just disputing what a "natural left/right wing" is.

 

[bubba5]

Completely disagree.

Without that 39 year old we lose in the 2nd round.

And we are still in the same place. Without a cup and now now less of a chance of getting a player that can help us for years to come. Instead we get to watch a 39 year old turn 40 and slowly drift into the sunset.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

And we are still in the same place. Without a cup and now now less of a chance of getting a player that can help us for years to come. Instead we get to watch a 39 year old turn 40 and slowly drift into the sunset.

Yeah, not like watching our team win three playoff rounds was an entertaining experience.