Injury Report: Derek Stepan (11/6: Will return Saturday)

[Machinehead]

why? They have like 7 centers still.

None of whom are NHL top 6 centers except Brassard.

 

[rangers1314]

Really unfortunate. Guess we'll see how the lines shake out as camp progresses. Potentially two rookie centers in your top-9 though? Yikes..

Brass and Moore will be top 3, at least in terms of total ice time.

 

[Thirty One]

Some comparative timetables:

http://rangersunlimited.com/2014/09/24/stepan-helped-off-ice-with-apparent-leg-injury/

Last season, Chris Kelly missed 50 days with a broken fibula. Obviously not all breaks are the same, but if Stepan were on the same timetable it would put his return around November 12th — 14 games into the regular season.

https://twitter.com/NYP_Brooksie/status/514839950060421120

In 03-04, Brian Leetch missed first month (9 games) with left ankle bruise he sustained when hit by Bobby Holik shot during pre-camp skate.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Johansen, Giroux, now Stepan.

Metro #1 centers be causin' problems.

 

[Thirty One]

That we're a .500 club at worst without Stepan.

I think we'd get eviscerated in the matchups game. None of our centers sans Moore have a real defensive game. I might be overestimating Stepan's impact, but I'm not sure we're a playoff team without him.

I think this is cray-cray.

 

[SixGoalieSystem]

Johansen, Giroux, now Stepan.

Metro #1 centers be causin' problems.

Final proof that Stepan is a legit 1C

 

[Ail]

People, RELAX.

Miller looks every bit like a guy taken 15 overall, he makes the team and contributes. And unless Mon was a mirage, Hayes has shown he already can play with the big boys, most of whom he is bigger than already.

AGAIN, LIKE I HAVE SAID FOR MONTHS NOW,
it is less important to get wrapped up on a label (1st, 2nd, 3rd line).
It is more important to maximize effectiveness of line by either complementary different skills, which is typical, or in the case where you have an extreme advantage coupled with basic excellence, to go for synergy.

So
Kreider-Hayes - Nash (unless/til we ship Nash out anyway just because of the salary cap).
______ - Brass - Zuc work very well
Hagelin - Miller - MSL = warp speed, up the wazu speed on the Ws.
______ - D. Moore/Lindberg -______ = solid 4th line pivots

Just have to figure out where to use Malone, if Glass is your 4th LW, Stempniak looks like the 4th RW.

Lol, bernmeister has an unexpected chance to prove all the stuff he has been posting for months about not needing Stepan is true.

 

[slipknottin]

None of whom are NHL top 6 centers except Brassard.

so you make do for a month or two.

Not like they had a legit top line winger when Nash was hurt last year to replace him with.

panic trades never work out for the panicking team

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

We're not a great team without Stepan, but we're still a playoff team, IMO. Do we not remember the days of Erik Christensen (and STILL being in the race/making the playoffs).

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

We're not a great team without Stepan, but we're still a playoff team, IMO. Do we not remember the days of Erik Christensen (and STILL being in the race/making the playoffs).

To be fair, I have to imagine the old playoff system would make that a little easier.

I agree, though. Losing Stepan for 20 games isn't crippling. The Rangers'll make the playoffs easily.

The problem will be if Stepan can come back and play like 2nd half of last year/lockout Stepan. I felt that would be guaranteed with a full training camp. Now, who knows.

 

[Jim Morrison]

We're not a great team without Stepan, but we're still a playoff team, IMO. Do we not remember the days of Erik Christensen (and STILL being in the race/making the playoffs).

So back to a season of no-mans-land?

 

[nevesis]

“@stevezipay: If eventual diagnosis for NYR's Derek Stepan (broken left fibula) is six weeks, he would miss nine October reg-season games.”

 

[Jim Morrison]

“@stevezipay: If eventual diagnosis for NYR's Derek Stepan (broken left fibula) is six weeks, he would miss nine October reg-season games.”

If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.

Sorry but, that tweet? Well, yeah?!

 

[GraveyTrain9]

this isn't the end of the world. Let's all just be thankful this wasn't an ACL/MCL type thing.

 

[Jim Morrison]

this isn't the end of the world. Let's all just be thankful this wasn't an ACL/MCL type thing.

It isn't. But it really dampens the expectations and the overall mood going into this season. We were already super-super-thin on C for a supposed cup-contender and then this **** happens? In pre-season?! Such bad luck and it leaves a real bitter taste.

Ugh

 

[slipknottin]

It isn't. But it really dampens the expectations and the overall mood going into this season. We were already super-super-thin on C for a supposed cup-contender and then this **** happens? In pre-season?! Such bad luck and it leaves a real bitter taste.

Ugh

They arent super thin at C. They may not have many top 6 guys, but they have a lot of NHL quality Cs. Probably 5-6 of them.

 

[Jim Morrison]

They arent super thin at C. They may not have many top 6 guys, but they have a lot of NHL quality Cs. Probably 5-6 of them.

Really? Who?

 

[Ola]

Had a minor fracture and he opened the fracture up by putting pressure on it...

It depends what you are looking for, but you can be skating/running in about a month. Playing competitive sports takes about a month longer than that.

Yeah, my point was more this.:

-A clean break puts you out 6 months or whatever. Maybe 4-5m if you are a fast healer.

-A hairline fracture puts you out 4-6 weeks.

I would have been extremely suprised if they gave Stepan the green light to start skating, and then it turned out that he had like such a bad crack in his bone that it made the bone break right off just by skating putting him out 6 months. I've never heard of anything like that.

But its not that unusual that they only notice a hairline fracture after a player starts skating when it starts hurting. Which puts him out 4-6 weeks. A hairline fracture is very small and cna be missed, but when you put pressure on it again it gets a bit aggrageted (it starts bleeding) and they can spot it.

 

[slipknottin]

Really? Who?

Brass, Lombardi, Moore, Miller, then guys who are close in Hayes and Lindberg, either of them may be NHL quality, we just havent seen enough of them

 

[slipknottin]

Yeah, my point was more this.:

-A clean break puts you out 6 months or whatever. Maybe 4-5m if you are a fast healer.

A clean break is about the same timeline as a hairline fracture, provided it isnt displaced. Still somewhere in the 2 month range

 

[Jim Morrison]

Brass, Lombardi, Moore, Miller, then guys who are close in Hayes and Lindberg, either of them may be NHL quality, we just havent seen enough of them

I read one top9-center and one really good 4th C. The rest of them, how could you possibly know that they're NHL quality?

 

[Doctyl]

Could play JTM in Steps spot. Hags-Lindberg-Fast would be a good shutdown line. I know we like to role 3 offensively capable lines, but I dont see how thats possible at the moment.

 

[Tawnos]

I'm waiting for a timetable, but my feeling is that if we maintain a .500 record for the period of time he's out, we will be fine. We are probably looking at a month of the regular season and not even a quarter of it.

 

[slipknottin]

I read one top9-center and one really good 4th C. The rest of them, how could you possibly know that they're NHL quality?

How could you possibly know they arent? Miller has been close for awhile.

Lombardi has shown that if he is healthy he is certainly capable of playing in the NHL

 

[silverfish]

I'm waiting for a timetable, but my feeling is that if we maintain a .500 record for the period of time he's out, we will be fine. We are probably looking at a month of the regular season and not even a quarter of it.

Agreed. If he misses, say, 15 games, if the Rangers go 6-6-3 in that time period or better, it's a huge success IMHO.