Have most of our biggest weaknesses of last season been addressed?

[JMan74]

Let Blais regain his form and stick Gauthier in Reaves spot and promote Rydahl .....that is 3 solid upgrades by season end . Pus Vesey will be steady and ready for the playoffs . I think that will hold us over for one more year until Othmann and Cuylee are ready and Kravs is heavier . Use a pick possibly to upgrade the D where help is needed . Trocheck will be a tremendous asset for us in the playoffs as will Laff and KK who each got some valuable minutes last season . I think we will be OK.....maybe a bit iffy on Halak??????? I will give him more time ...

Dannnnng and maybe Im wrong but Ohtmanns game also seems to be the kind that wont take 3-4 years to translate to NHL level either. Really excited about getting him in the fold... right now he seems to me that he'll become a better NHL scorer than either Kakko or Laffy.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

The short answer is no. Bottom 6 depth and third pair are still an issue.

 

[Lgrsean]

Strome to Trocheck - Upgrade

Copp to Kakko - looking like a Wash
Vatrano to Lafreniere - looking like a Wash

Rooney to Carpenter - Wash

Braun to Jones/Hajek - Downgrade
Motte to Vesey - Downgrade

It’s hard to look at comparisons like this for a few reasons. What point in last season are you using? Strome was hurt an ineffective going into the playoffs. The other guys we lost were only on the team for the last 15 games of the regular season. Then you have to consider how much kakko, laf, chytil, and Miller improved over the course of last season and what they could look like by the end of this one.

The roster we have today is definitely much better than this time last year. I think the young guys continue to improve through the season and drury adds some pieces at the deadline to improve the team even more.

 

[17futurecap]

Get a D-Man at the deadline that can legit move the puck, and play 20 minutes in a playoff game, not a Justin Braun.

Never play Ryan Reaves in any important game.

Don't run Trouba on PP 2.

Hope for injury free hockey as best as you can.

Profit.

 

[egelband]

Still very early but as I said before the season, the only thing stopping this team from winning a championship is health and playoff randomness. They've got all the ingredients.

Yep. Every year there are like 12-15 teams that can theoretically win the Cup. Then injuries and other random strife take out two or three of them. Then it comes down to health and momentum and luck and players developing unexpectedly into heroes. The Rangers are one of that group of contenders. I wouldn’t say they’re favorites, at all, but if things work out they could be right there. Last year things really did break well for them.

 

[gravey9]

Our top 11-12 guys are stronger than last year. For sure. Bottom of the lineup is similarly meh or inexperienced. Adding solid depth will be key. But the thing I keep getting tripped up on is great contending teams have multiple guys in the bottom of their lineup who can move into the top of the lineup in case of injury. Im not sure we have that kind of depth. To me, if we can actually find a way to accrue cap space again will be key to finding that middle six piece or middle pair defender that plays lower in lineup with us but can pop up higher in a pinch. Prime example is when the Lightning added McDonagh. Having a legit top pair defender who essentially never played above the middle pair put them over the top. Same with Blake Coleman or Gourde who were far lower in their lineup than they’d be on other squads. Colorado was similarly deep last season with Burakovsky, Nichuskin and Lehkonnen. When it comes to the war of attrition our reinforcements currently in house are not in that realm.

 

[IronBloodedLion]

I don’t love our Bottom 6 tbh.

 

[egelband]

This is a chat for February, or March. So much will happen in the mean time. Let’s see how things shake out.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Our top 11-12 guys are stronger than last year. For sure. Bottom of the lineup is similarly meh or inexperienced. Adding solid depth will be key. But the thing I keep getting tripped up on is great contending teams have multiple guys in the bottom of their lineup who can move into the top of the lineup in case of injury. Im not sure we have that kind of depth. To me, if we can actually find a way to accrue cap space again will be key to finding that middle six piece or middle pair defender that plays lower in lineup with us but can pop up higher in a pinch. Prime example is when the Lightning added McDonagh. Having a legit top pair defender who essentially never played above the middle pair put them over the top. Same with Blake Coleman or Gourde who were far lower in their lineup than they’d be on other squads. Colorado was similarly deep last season with Burakovsky, Nichuskin and Lehkonnen. When it comes to the war of attrition our reinforcements currently in house are not in that realm.

Chytil was playing like a top line center before he got hurt. That strengthens everything. The kids are getting prime minutes at 5v5, again stretched the minutes out, so we have 9 forwards rotating hard and not 6

 

[gravey9]

Chytil was playing like a top line center before he got hurt. That strengthens everything. The kids are getting prime minutes at 5v5, again stretched the minutes out, so we have 9 forwards rotating hard and not 6

Chytil was part of my top 11-12 count already. after him we don’t necessarily have anyone else in the bottom 6 that can be a legit scoring threat if moved up the lineup.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Chytil was part of my top 11-12 count already. after him we don’t necessarily have anyone else in the bottom 6 that can be a legit scoring threat if moved up the lineup.

Chytil was controlling play by himself that his line was a scoring threat with just him, feasting on third pair d.

Also how many teams can roll 3 true scoring lines now? The number is lower than you’re thinking.

 

[Machinehead]

We've objectively improved on #4.

People still have their minds in 2015 where teams combined for five decent chances.

Hockey is just about back in the 80's.

 

[McRanger92]

We've objectively improved on #4.

People still have their minds in 2015 where teams combined for five decent chances.

Hockey is just about back in the 80's.

Theyve definitely been a little sloppy defensively, but teams always improve there as the season goes on. Plus it helps to have Shesty who is like a cheat code against high danger scoring chances.

 

[Machinehead]

Theyve definitely been a little sloppy defensively, but teams always improve there as the season goes on. Plus it helps to have Shesty who is like a cheat code against high danger scoring chances.

He's one of those goalies who seems like he's actually worse on mid-danger (not literally, but relative to other guys). A lot of elite goalies in NHL history were like that.

You had a better chance of beating Brodeur on a dump-in than a breakaway.

 

[Kodiak]

It depends on what your view of our weaknesses was last year. I would say our biggest weaknesses were our over-reliance on goaltending and the PP. We would just hang on at ES and have Shesterkin bail us out time after time, and then get a timely PP goal.

This year, we are carrying the play much more at ES, and getting less than stellar (though still pretty good on most nights) goaltending. It's been a huge shift from last year to this year at ES, but there's still a long way to go.

 

[McRanger92]

He's one of those goalies who seems like he's actually worse on mid-danger (not literally, but relative to other guys). A lot of elite goalies in NHL history were like that.

You had a better chance of beating Brodeur on a dump-in than a breakaway.

Yeah its funny, theres obvious comparisons between Hank & Igor but they are so different in my view. Henrik was a brick wall; nothing got in when he was at the top of his game, which is why the Rangers were always winning 2-0, 2-1 games throughout his career. Igor is more of a "feel of the game" goalie. He will give up some goals that appear soft but when the chips are down, the opposition needs to be perfect to beat him.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

It’s hard to look at comparisons like this for a few reasons. What point in last season are you using? Strome was hurt an ineffective going into the playoffs. The other guys we lost were only on the team for the last 15 games of the regular season. Then you have to consider how much kakko, laf, chytil, and Miller improved over the course of last season and what they could look like by the end of this one.

The roster we have today is definitely much better than this time last year. I think the young guys continue to improve through the season and drury adds some pieces at the deadline to improve the team even more.

Thats essentially what I was doing. A lot of the media focuses on the fact that the Rangers are a contender, since they went to the conf finals.

I thought going into this year the roster was stronger than the one going into last season, for several reasons - but mainly due to the development of all the youth - players like Fox, Miller & Schneider included since they all banked some serious playoff experience of 20+ games

The fact of the matter is the team that took it that far had some key players that arent here anymore so I was just trying to match one for one. Its in an inexact science but the point you made at the end is what I arrived at as well, this team will need to add at the deadline.

 

[gravey9]

Chytil was controlling play by himself that his line was a scoring threat with just him, feasting on third pair d.

Also how many teams can roll 3 true scoring lines now? The number is lower than you’re thinking.

I'm not talking about regular season. Or even first two rounds of Playoffs. I'm talking about cup contention. Getting to win 16.

Look at the recent Stanley Cup winners. The depth on those teams was unreal. We are fine depth wise for the regular season and opening rounds of POs. But I would argue still too thin to get through rounds 3 and 4. To get to win 16, you need to ice a team wherein anyone in your top 9 can be relied upon in a top 6 role and provide a legit scoring threat. There's a big difference when your third line has Zuccarello, Brassard, Pouliot vs Sammy Blais or Julien Gauthier. (and I like both fine enough!).

So are we deep compared to the rest of the league, I mean i'd say we're top heavy and have some decent bottom 6 pieces. But there are likely less talented teams who are deeper. But I don't think that's important. Come playoffs, it's injuries, it's matchups. If you can't ice 3 lines that are legit offensive threats, then matchups become a nightmare in away rinks.

Look, there's nothing wrong with admitting we're not quite deep enough to win a cup at this very moment. It's no knock on where we're at. But in this moment we're just not as deep as recent SC winners. To get to win 16 what do we need? We need Chytil to be flanked by strong 200 ft players who can get inside the paint and be a legit threat to score when they're out there. Fourth line I'm less worried about. If we build out our middle six at the deadline, it pushes some guys down and likely leads to a solid 4th line. But I think we are 1-2 forwards short. And 1 middle pair D short.

Now if VK doesn't get healthy soon, he's going to force us to make a move that is going to further hurt our regular season depth. We are either going to have to trade him for next to nothing. Or risk losing another depth piece in waivers. Or, we stick with 23 and won't really be able to add anything at the deadline beyond adding a vet bottom pair D.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Really...he that bad 5v5?

No. His 61 even strength points last year would have led our team.

 

[Levitate]

It’s hard to look at comparisons like this for a few reasons. What point in last season are you using? Strome was hurt an ineffective going into the playoffs. The other guys we lost were only on the team for the last 15 games of the regular season. Then you have to consider how much kakko, laf, chytil, and Miller improved over the course of last season and what they could look like by the end of this one.

The roster we have today is definitely much better than this time last year. I think the young guys continue to improve through the season and drury adds some pieces at the deadline to improve the team even more.

Yeah, I think teams are always looking to add depth going into the playoffs, even those that are contenders. The regular season is kind of about finding out what you need and then getting it before the deadline. I wouldn't compare the team that played in the playoffs to the one starting this season, exactly. This team will change a bit, someone will likely be traded, some depth will be acquired, etc.

So far I think they're on the right track for a more sustainable season and success and hopefully more playoff success but they gotta keep with it.

I'm not talking about regular season. Or even first two rounds of Playoffs. I'm talking about cup contention. Getting to win 16.

Look at the recent Stanley Cup winners. The depth on those teams was unreal. We are fine depth wise for the regular season and opening rounds of POs. But I would argue still too thin to get through rounds 3 and 4. To get to win 16, you need to ice a team wherein anyone in your top 9 can be relied upon in a top 6 role and provide a legit scoring threat. There's a big difference when your third line has Zuccarello, Brassard, Pouliot vs Sammy Blais or Julien Gauthier. (and I like both fine enough!).

So are we deep compared to the rest of the league, I mean i'd say we're top heavy and have some decent bottom 6 pieces. But there are likely less talented teams who are deeper. But I don't think that's important. Come playoffs, it's injuries, it's matchups. If you can't ice 3 lines that are legit offensive threats, then matchups become a nightmare in away rinks.

Look, there's nothing wrong with admitting we're not quite deep enough to win a cup at this very moment. It's no knock on where we're at. But in this moment we're just not as deep as recent SC winners. To get to win 16 what do we need? We need Chytil to be flanked by strong 200 ft players who can get inside the paint and be a legit threat to score when they're out there. Fourth line I'm less worried about. If we build out our middle six at the deadline, it pushes some guys down and likely leads to a solid 4th line. But I think we are 1-2 forwards short. And 1 middle pair D short.

Now if VK doesn't get healthy soon, he's going to force us to make a move that is going to further hurt our regular season depth. We are either going to have to trade him for next to nothing. Or risk losing another depth piece in waivers. Or, we stick with 23 and won't really be able to add anything at the deadline beyond adding a vet bottom pair D.

I mean, I'd bet a lot of those cup winners weren't as deep as you're advocating for when it was 10 games into their season. I wouldn't make a big deal about it right now, I'd just keep an eye on how things shake out at the deadline

 

[bleedblue94]

Still very early but as I said before the season, the only thing stopping this team from winning a championship is health and playoff randomness. They've got all the ingredients.

Playoff randomness of the absolute best kind is what got them to the conference finals last year. I think people underestimate how many things broke right for them last year to get to where they did and most are just assuming that the conference finals is their starting point so they just need a little more to push past where they were last year. That is a fatal assumption to make when looking at this roster.

There are significant issues and this team when healthy will need 1 or 2 vet d men and 2 or 3 forward upgrades to really be in a position to contend. Relying on guys like Gauthier and hajek to in any way be contributors to a contending roster is madness, yet here we are with them being primary options in the event of an injury. Meanwhile, even when healthy the forwards are really only 8 or 9 deep right now unless you think kravtsov, reaves, carpenter, blais and vesey are slam dunk players you want to reply on over the course of a playoff run. Maybe two of those guys establish themselves as contributors so you're still looking for 1 or 2 forwards assuming the roster is healthy. We are so damn top heavy right now.