Waived: Jeff Halpern (Claimed by Montreal)

[16 To Stanley*]

You know your good defensively when you have 0 goals on the year and the fan base still likes you.

He's a waste

 

[Garv23]

I will only be satisfied with this move if somehow it creates room to acquire a mean D man or mean 3rd liner who play with pure hatred. This team needs more hatred. Someone like Bieksa or Clowe would fit the bill. I'm tired of this soft crap.

Hey a guy can dream right?

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Like who? Every player on the team who isn't playing well right now can to contribute more to the team than they are. Halpern might be playing okay, but okay is his ceiling at this point. The only one I'd agree with you on is Boyle, but his level right now is exactly the same as Halperns is, and that isn't Boyles ceiling.

I'm not sure if there is another move coming or not, but this really isnt something we should be wondering about.

So what kind of message does that send? Waive the guy thats playing as well as he can?

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Haleprn sucked and I said at the beginning of the season he wouldn't be on the team by the end of the year.

He was a little better than 50-50 and that's about it...the Rangers suck this year because they revamped their entire bottom six and everyone they brought in has sucked.

We have become one of if not the softest teams in the league in the blink of an eye. Every time you want to say Sather is doing ok...he royally fuk's it up again...hand over the organization to Gorton already....this league has passed you by.

Everyone claims that he is a master at trading...we got hosed on the Kundatrek trade and everyone brushed it aside as like we have so much defensive depth that we didn't need the kid...real smart given away an asset for nothing...he keeps falling for the same type of players...gives away Lauri for Lisen, gives away this kid for Bouchard, gives away Tyutin for Zherdev...gives up a lot for Nash even though he is worth it.

You know what a good GM is...I guy who trades away alex goligoski for James Neal and the throw in winds up being better that the guy you gave away, Matt niskanen or trades away Ryan Whitney for Chris Kunitz and he forced the ducks to add in Tangradi.

He could have righted the ship this year by claiming Frazer McLaren or signing Mark Fraser when he was dumped by the Devils last year. They could have acquired Keaton Ellerby for a 5th. Matt Kassian for a 6th.

If you think Mark Fraser, Matt Kassian or Keaton Ellerby fix this teams issues you're in for a huge wakeup call.

This garbage about the team being "soft" has to stop. The team can't score any ****ing goals. You can't beat goals out of your opponent. Should we get more toughness? Sure, why not. Is it gonna make us a contender? Absolutely not.

 

[*Bob Richards*]

The team was really tough last year. They were also really bad offensively in the post season.

 

[NYR Sting]

To anyone that thinks Halpern has been mediocre...what games are you watching? He's been exactly what you ask of a player in his role and cap hit.

Hes a very good defensive forward when he's on the ice. He's one of the three or four best defensive forwards on the team this year.

Boyle isnt even mediocre, he's plain bad. Pyatt comes alive once in a blue moon, but he's useless the vast majority of the time.

Obviously I dont know what goes in behind close doors, but I can't think of many players in the league who would be less likely to be a problem in the room than a quiet veteran leader like Halpern. There has never been a single report that would ever suggest that he is anything other than a boon in the room.

How do you waive a dirt cheap, useful veteran leader outperforming expectations over complete crap like Bickel, Pyatt, Or Asham, or an overpaid Boyle who does everything Halpern does...just worse, and for more than twice the cost.

Typical Rangers mismanagement of assets.

 

[sweranger]

Jesper Fasth was knocked out of the playoffs last night in Sweden. Just sayin'

 

[NYR Viper]

The team was really tough last year. They were also really bad offensively in the post season.

Yes, but that team was #1 in the East.

To anyone that thinks Halpern has been mediocre...what games are you watching? He's been exactly what you ask of a player in his role and cap hit.

Hes a very good defensive forward when he's on the ice. He's one of the three or four best defensive forwards on the team this year.

Boyle isnt even mediocre, he's plain bad. Pyatt comes alive once in a blue moon, but he's useless the vast majority of the time.

Obviously I dont know what goes in behind close doors, but I can't think of many players in the league who would be less likely to be a problem in the room than a quiet veteran leader like Halpern. There has never been a single report that would ever suggest that he is anything other than a boon in the room.

How do you waive a dirt cheap, useful veteran leader outperforming expectations over complete crap like Bickel, Pyatt, Or Asham, or an overpaid Boyle who does everything Halpern does...just worse, and for more than twice the cost.

Typical Rangers mismanagement of assets.

This. Exactly this. What were they expecting from him? Are you telling me the other players are living up to expectations? Why move out a center?

 

[Richter Scale]

Gorton was probably the one who was behind this move, considering Sather is sidelined right now...

I am aware of Sather's situation. Surgery is no fun, and I of course wish him the best. But that doesn't mean he wasn't involved at least in part -- prostate cancer is serious and the surgery for it no good, but it doesn't necessarily leave you completely incapacitated the day after to the degree that you can't take a phone call. I am just not convinced that Gorton would have done this on his own, or that with Sather's ego he wouldn't have required Gorton to run it by him and be rubber stamped before making the move.

Obviously all speculation and probably based in part upon my bias toward Sather. Just reeks of the typical dumb moves he, and this organization, have made throughout the years.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

If you think Mark Fraser, Matt Kassian or Keaton Ellerby fix this teams issues you're in for a huge wakeup call.

This garbage about the team being "soft" has to stop. The team can't score any ****ing goals. You can't beat goals out of your opponent. Should we get more toughness? Sure, why not. Is it gonna make us a contender? Absolutely not.

What did we lose from last years team. Rupp, Prust, Dubi, Bickel (he still sucks), Feds, Anisimov

All those guys, sans anisimov, had more grit and brought toughness. Toughness goes beyond the scoreboard. It brings a team together. It makes them feel more like a team. Knowing they can stand up and take on anyone. We don't have that this year. We have a bunch of softies. Halpern, Powe, Pyatt, Miller. None of those guys are tough. I'd argue the only one worth keeping is Miller.

You need to be tough and initimdating to play against. Look at the best teams in the league. We are pathetic this year. We have no grit in our lineup whatsoever. Who's our toughest guy? Boyle? I mean holy ****. EVery night i see the same thing. Players getting nailed and no one doing a thing. When was the last fight we had? I can't even remember. last year we led the league in fighting majors i think. If not, we were right up there. We were tough as ****.

Good riddance to halpern. You can't provide offense in the bottom 6, you damn well better be providing grit. He couldn't throw a hit on a figure skater.

Pyatt should be next. If he's not scoring he brings nothing. Can't PK, can't skate, he's good along the boards, that's it. After that, ship powe off to neverland.

I don't know how people can't see the difference between this and last years team. Last year we were a rough and tumble bunch. Was it pretty, no, but you always knew they were giving 100%. You knew that if a guy got hit, someone was going to do something. You knew they were a team.

This year they look like a bunch of scatterbrained ****s. They all look lost.

We have our best player Nash trying to throw big hits and luckily not getting suspended to wake this dead group up.

I just don't see this year being anything for us. They need to come together as a team and i don't think that's possible in 20 games. Would i like to see it, yea. But doubtful. Either they'll scrape into the playoffs and get knocked out for the soft bunch they are or they won't make it at all.

Lets look to next season. We have tons of talent on this roster. We need that sandpaper. Those guys that make a team feel like a team. Those locker rooms guys who will stand up for you no matter what.

Hopefully asham is healthy next year. Stick him on the 4th line. Put boyle down there too. Get steve ott. for the love of god, overpay if you have too. no more scabs. tough guys who can play.

dump the dead weight. fix the bottom six. we had to much turnover on this team and in a short season, not enough time to weed out the problems and get it fixed.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Again, based on the fact that the other top PKer in Powe has already sustained a concussion this season, why would you willingly waive the depth in that position?

 

[Punxrocknyc19*]

I still maintain theres more than meets the eye here, either being:

1. hope to clear a contract in preparation for a 2 for 1 deal.
2. Halpern is a problem in the locker room
I cant understand why they'd just waive him for no reason, considering theres like 6 guys in front of him that deserve it more.

i dont get why people are saying this.. where is the proof?? he did have an A on his jersey for the Capitals years ago, but so did Brashear.. I bet Capitals claim him and he scores the GW on sunday.... it wouldnt shock me at all..

 

[Trxjw]

The team was really tough last year. They were also really bad offensively in the post season.

We can never strike a balance in the off season. That's always been the problem with Glen Sather. We can't score, so he has to get the absolute best scorer he possibly can. We need to get tougher, so he finds the toughest goon on the market and forks over a boatload of money. We need more depth on defense, so he brings in a bunch of re-treads and has-beens to fill out the depth chart.

The guy just has no patience. I imagine he's a god awful chess player.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

What did we lose from last years team. Rupp, Prust, Dubi, Bickel (he still sucks), Feds, Anisimov

All those guys, sans anisimov, had more grit and brought toughness. Toughness goes beyond the scoreboard. It brings a team together. It makes them feel more like a team. Knowing they can stand up and take on anyone. We don't have that this year. We have a bunch of softies. Halpern, Powe, Pyatt, Miller. None of those guys are tough. I'd argue the only one worth keeping is Miller.

You need to be tough and initimdating to play against. Look at the best teams in the league. We are pathetic this year. We have no grit in our lineup whatsoever. Who's our toughest guy? Boyle? I mean holy ****. EVery night i see the same thing. Players getting nailed and no one doing a thing. When was the last fight we had? I can't even remember. last year we led the league in fighting majors i think. If not, we were right up there. We were tough as ****.

Good riddance to halpern. You can't provide offense in the bottom 6, you damn well better be providing grit. He couldn't throw a hit on a figure skater.

Pyatt should be next. If he's not scoring he brings nothing. Can't PK, can't skate, he's good along the boards, that's it. After that, ship powe off to neverland.

I don't know how people can't see the difference between this and last years team. Last year we were a rough and tumble bunch. Was it pretty, no, but you always knew they were giving 100%. You knew that if a guy got hit, someone was going to do something. You knew they were a team.

This year they look like a bunch of scatterbrained ****s. They all look lost.

We have our best player Nash trying to throw big hits and luckily not getting suspended to wake this dead group up.

I just don't see this year being anything for us. They need to come together as a team and i don't think that's possible in 20 games. Would i like to see it, yea. But doubtful. Either they'll scrape into the playoffs and get knocked out for the soft bunch they are or they won't make it at all.

Lets look to next season. We have tons of talent on this roster. We need that sandpaper. Those guys that make a team feel like a team. Those locker rooms guys who will stand up for you no matter what.

Hopefully asham is healthy next year. Stick him on the 4th line. Put boyle down there too. Get steve ott. for the love of god, overpay if you have too. no more scabs. tough guys who can play.

dump the dead weight. fix the bottom six. we had to much turnover on this team and in a short season, not enough time to weed out the problems and get it fixed.

As I said in the Panthers thread, look at last season. The toughness didn't stop us from being a .500 team in the last month and a half and playoffs of the season. The defense not being amazing did.

The defense hasn't been amazing this year. I think that's a better reason than losing a useless scrub like Rupp, a decent bottom six player in Feds, and an overpaid Dubi who has 10 points this year.

 

[Thirty One]

I bet Capitals claim him and he scores the GW on sunday.... it wouldnt shock me at all..

I'll give you 1000-1 odds that scenario doesn't happen.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

To anyone that thinks Halpern has been mediocre...what games are you watching? He's been exactly what you ask of a player in his role and cap hit.

Hes a very good defensive forward when he's on the ice. He's one of the three or four best defensive forwards on the team this year.

Boyle isnt even mediocre, he's plain bad. Pyatt comes alive once in a blue moon, but he's useless the vast majority of the time.

Obviously I dont know what goes in behind close doors, but I can't think of many players in the league who would be less likely to be a problem in the room than a quiet veteran leader like Halpern. There has never been a single report that would ever suggest that he is anything other than a boon in the room.

How do you waive a dirt cheap, useful veteran leader outperforming expectations over complete crap like Bickel, Pyatt, Or Asham, or an overpaid Boyle who does everything Halpern does...just worse, and for more than twice the cost.

Typical Rangers mismanagement of assets.

Bottom 6 needs to bring toughness or offense. Halpern brought neither. He did nothing but skate fast. Really confused as to how anyone could defend him

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

i dont get why people are saying this.. where is the proof?? he did have an A on his jersey for the Capitals years ago, but so did Brashear.. I bet Capitals claim him and he scores the GW on sunday.... it wouldnt shock me at all..

There is no proof. Everyone is speculating at this point.

This is 1 of 2 reasons I've come up with, because I cant understand why the Rangers would waive a dirt cheap centerman who is doing his job for absolutely no reason

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Bottom 6 needs to bring toughness or offense. Halpern brought neither. He did nothing but skate fast. Really confused as to how anyone could defend him

....or defensive responsibility

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

To anyone that thinks Halpern has been mediocre...what games are you watching? He's been exactly what you ask of a player in his role and cap hit.

Hes a very good defensive forward when he's on the ice. He's one of the three or four best defensive forwards on the team this year.

Boyle isnt even mediocre, he's plain bad. Pyatt comes alive once in a blue moon, but he's useless the vast majority of the time.

Obviously I dont know what goes in behind close doors, but I can't think of many players in the league who would be less likely to be a problem in the room than a quiet veteran leader like Halpern. There has never been a single report that would ever suggest that he is anything other than a boon in the room.

How do you waive a dirt cheap, useful veteran leader outperforming expectations over complete crap like Bickel, Pyatt, Or Asham, or an overpaid Boyle who does everything Halpern does...just worse, and for more than twice the cost.

Typical Rangers mismanagement of assets.

This.

 

[Dagoon44]

The team was really tough last year. They were also really bad offensively in the post season.

Ok and what's the point ? Now we are super soft and still can't score ?? Oh wait your right

 

[Trxjw]

Bottom 6 needs to bring toughness or offense. Halpern brought neither. He did nothing but skate fast. Really confused as to how anyone could defend him

So he was averaging 2 minutes of PK time a night because he did nothing but skate really fast? I'm really confused as to what exactly people think a role player is supposed to do...

 

[16 To Stanley*]

As I said in the Panthers thread, look at last season. The toughness didn't stop us from being a .500 team in the last month and a half and playoffs of the season. The defense not being amazing did.

The defense hasn't been amazing this year. I think that's a better reason than losing a useless scrub like Rupp, a decent bottom six player in Feds, and an overpaid Dubi who has 10 points this year.

Look, we'd be an idiot not to trade dubi for Nash but you're undervaluing what he brought to the team.

Losing dubi and prust had a bigger impact than i imagined. I'm not saying Rup or Feds were great, but replacing the entire bottom six, minus boyle, was a huge oversight by the management.

 

[*Bob Richards*]

Ok and what's the point ? Now we are super soft and still can't score ?? Oh wait your right

Because team toughness has been discussed on this board ad nauseam when there are clearly way bigger problems. If this team was healthy and Gaborik + Richards were playing like they should have, no one here would give a **** about how many fights we get into.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

So he was averaging 2 minutes of PK time a night because he did nothing but skate really fast? I'm really confused as to what exactly people think a role player is supposed to do...

Do you know how many guys can pk in the NHL and still put up points? Every year i hear the same thing with Rangers fans. We lost Betts, we lost Ortmeyer, we lost prust, our pk is going to suck. Every year we find other guys to fill those roles.

I'm not worried about the PK. We have a great defense (when healthy) and the best goalie in the NHL. We always have a good PK, no matter the revolving door that is those players.

We need more than just PK from our bottom six. That can be replaced. We need guys who can chip in on offense. Halpern CLEARLY can't do that. If he was, i wouldn't be complaining.

People want to know what i expect out of halpern and powe and pyatt, i expect offense and if i don't get that, i expect grit. I expect guys who are hard nosed and tough to play against.

They don't want to be that, good riddance. They're not that type of player, good riddance.

At the rate halpern is going, Boogaard could have provided more offense than him.

 

[NYR Viper]

Because team toughness has been discussed on this board ad nauseam when there are clearly way bigger problems. If this team was healthy and Gaborik + Richards were playing like they should have, no one here would give a **** about how many fights we get into.

They would in the playoffs when this team gets steamrolled by a bigger, more physical team.

This is a team that plays like it is skilled, without the skill. No grit whatsoever.