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Kitchener Rangers 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

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I think the suspension is a bit long but at the same time when you've been pretty open about hitting the D man non stop and have now injured 2 d-men in 3 games not to mention the amount of injuries London has dealt out to other teams during the regular season it sure seems even by London standards they have stepped up there physical game which is fine. I do wonder if this is the first step by the league to discourage this and wonder if in the off season they'll change more rules so we don't have a certain player sitting on suspension nearly as many games as he plays in. I'd be interested in know the exact number of players injured in games against London this year I know we've had at least 4 if I'm not mistaken and know the Soo had at least one big one but overall the league is better when the players get to play instead of sitting in concussion protocol.
 
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bobber said:
Out with a concussion. Concussions are a serious concern. MM says hit was a triple combo. Interference because Motew never had the puck. Blindside came from backside. Plus check to the head. Says there are 4 or 5 dirty hits on Motew.
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Motew has taken a beating all playoffs. Took some big hits in the Erie series as well!
 
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rangersblues said:
I think 5 games for Lawrence based on that hit in itself is a little long. However I believe this is a message being sent to the organization to knock it off. Had it been one of London's repeat offenders I think it would have been even longer.

London has a history of playing tough hockey that some consider to be on the edge. I've never had that big of a problem with it personally. This year it seems like they've taken it to another level. I'm sure those wearing the green tinted glasses will disagree.
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Nope, think you are correct!
 
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robertmac43 said:
Motew has taken a beating all playoffs. Took some big hits in the Erie series as well!
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Nothing wrong with a player taking a lot of big hits. It's what the playoffs are all about - a battle of attrition. Head shots like this are completely different.

nelli27 said:
Nope, think you are correct!
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Definitely wasn't directing any of that at you Nelli. Your glasses don't have that deep green tint most of the time 😁
 
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robertmac43 said:
Motew has taken a beating all playoffs. Took some big hits in the Erie series as well!
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The defense is always a target in playoffs. Motew must be effective against opponents to be targetted so much. Kid ends up injured because of a bone head coach wants another stripe. Reading some of the ignorant comments about Motew on another site shows a total lack of intelligence on the part of some. If you think anyone learned a lesson from this suspension wait until tonight. More of the same.
 
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rangersblues said:
Nothing wrong with a player taking a lot of big hits. It's what the playoffs are all about - a battle of attrition. Head shots like this are completely different.
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Oh for sure, the playoffs are a different beast.

I was more just saying Motew has taken some big hits throughout these playoffs and even before the last one, he was on the receiving end of some dirty moments. To me he has looked increasingly tired at the playoffs have worn on and my guess is the heavy hits have played a role.

Here is hoping the team can rally behind him and win a couple of games.
 
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bobber said:
The defense is always a target in playoffs. Motew must be effective against opponents to be targetted so much. Kid ends up injured because of a bone head coach wants another stripe. Reading some of the ignorant comments about Motew on another site shows a total lack of intelligence on the part of some. If you think anyone learned a lesson from this suspension wait until tonight. More of the same.
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I'm thinking there may have been an actual message from the league to the Hunters to get the players to knock it off or the suspensions will escalate. We'll see.
 
robertmac43 said:
Oh for sure, the playoffs are a different beast.

I was more just saying Motew has taken some big hits throughout these playoffs and even before the last one, he was on the receiving end of some dirty moments. To me he has looked increasingly tired at the playoffs have worn on and my guess is the heavy hits have played a role.

Here is hoping the team can rally behind him and win a couple of games.
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A devious side of me is hoping we lose tonight and London misses Lawrence the first 4 games of the next series. That would be tough to overcome.

I'm sure my feelings will change by puck drop.
 
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robertmac43 said:
Oh for sure, the playoffs are a different beast.

I was more just saying Motew has taken some big hits throughout these playoffs and even before the last one, he was on the receiving end of some dirty moments. To me he has looked increasingly tired at the playoffs have worn on and my guess is the heavy hits have played a role.

Here is hoping the team can rally behind him and win a couple of games.
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When a team has some big physical players you won't see so many opponents running your players. Someone has to answer the bell. I would never want to see MM bring in a goon that doesn't know which end is up on a stick. Just have a few big physical guys that can send a message.
 
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nelli27 said:
Any idea why Motew has been a target? Our guys really don't like him, and I don't know why. If he's chirpy or whacks after the whistle, I haven't noticed.
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As a Ranger fan I've been wondering this with regards to the Knights for 2 years. I haven't seen it from any other team, and have ZERO clue where it stems from.
 
All the Answers said:
As a Ranger fan I've been wondering this with regards to the Knights for 2 years. I haven't seen it from any other team, and have ZERO clue where it stems from.
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I think like bobber says Motew is being targeted physically to wear him down and take away his effectiveness. Especially with the lack of depth on the blueline. And like Even Steven, bobber and others say there's nobody to answer the bell. The Lawrence hit went way over the line obviously.
 
Question: if tonight's score gets lobsided (either way), does someone ask O'Reilly to answer for his hit?

Follow up: Do fans with glasses tinted green have an issue with this?

Final question: if this happens, does the game deteriote into anarchy, and should it?

My answers. 1: I hope so, team is pretty tight knit, but not worth losing the game over it. 2: I'll let London guys answer, but I feel strongly most would hope their team would have him answer the bell if roles were reversed given their style of play. 3: yes all he'll will break loose, but it shouldn't, for the code and #2 above.

I'm afraid to ask the same on the London thread but genuinely curious.
 
robertmac43 said:
To me he has looked increasingly tired at the playoffs have worn on and my guess is the heavy hits have played a role.
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And, when you have a young, thin defence, and are forced to play your vets (1xOA. 1x’04) way more than you’d like, they are more susceptible to becoming overworked. An overworked, tired player will eventually become behind a step and therefore, easier targets to be hit and outplayed. It also doesn’t help when you have rookies or other young players with little experience in the league playing more minutes against better competition than they should be on a regular basis. They also become a step behind and easier to target and outplay.

This isn’t as much a London thing as it is a Ranger player personal issue. The Rangers have the youngest, thinnest backend of any team in the west and most in the east who had any expectation of contending or even getting past the first round.

That’s not Hunter’s fault. He’s just exploiting a weakness. I suspect we’d do the same in their shoes.
 
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I do hope if the league does nothing to change the rules in the off season and keeps consistent on punishment like they did with a certain Knight player this year. That type of player can be extremely effective with limited ice time and I hope Kitchener will bring in a Keefe or Clarkson type. It would suck for them to take the spot of a skilled young guy who could benefit from that ice time but at the same time he'll sit in the press box often enough that the young guy will get in. Love it or hate it but London can do what ever they want cause if the opposing teams hits back you might win that battle but that forth line of there's will win the war against us.
 
All the Answers said:
Question: if tonight's score gets lobsided (either way), does someone ask O'Reilly to answer for his hit?

Follow up: Do fans with glasses tinted green have an issue with this?

Final question: if this happens, does the game deteriote into anarchy, and should it?

My answers. 1: I hope so, team is pretty tight knit, but not worth losing the game over it. 2: I'll let London guys answer, but I feel strongly most would hope their team would have him answer the bell if roles were reversed given their style of play. 3: yes all he'll will break loose, but it shouldn't, for the code and #2 above.

I'm afraid to ask the same on the London thread but genuinely curious.
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I don't think the Rangers really have the personnel t have this game turn into a fight fest or go for payback. Oh, to have a Xehkaj in the line-up!

Game 4 drinking game:

Take a drink everytime Sim does something stupid after a whistle. Good luck!
 
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All the Answers said:
Question: if tonight's score gets lobsided (either way), does someone ask O'Reilly to answer for his hit?

Follow up: Do fans with glasses tinted green have an issue with this?

Final question: if this happens, does the game deteriote into anarchy, and should it?

My answers. 1: I hope so, team is pretty tight knit, but not worth losing the game over it. 2: I'll let London guys answer, but I feel strongly most would hope their team would have him answer the bell if roles were reversed given their style of play. 3: yes all he'll will break loose, but it shouldn't, for the code and #2 above.

I'm afraid to ask the same on the London thread but genuinely curious.
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So you were OK with this?



I'll add, the Rangers would be stupid to do any kind of over the top retaliation. The Knights would have no problem sending out Sawyer Boulton to cause havoc and won't miss him if he got suspended.
 
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rangersblues said:
You definitely need more than one policeman. Otherwise they just get him out of the game and you're back to square one. It needs to be an all around effort.
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This is true. Many moons ago the Rangers had a small team that got pummelled by opponents. They had a player from Georgetown named Marcollini I believe. He had to to all the scrapping. His parents sat by us and were really pissed at the coach. He was even sent right off the bench once to jump into a scrap. They wanted him playing hockey not riding shot gun for the whole team. Most of the OHL teams have some sandpaper. Scouts have to draft these players. Elinas types. He doesn't take crap from anybody and always has war wounds to show for it. If a team comes in and starts running at your players and there isn't a response your in for a long night. Guess new age hockey doesn't suit my old age. 🤓
 
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bobber said:
This is true. Many moons ago the Rangers had a small team that got pummelled by opponents. They had a player from Georgetown named Marcollini I believe. He had to to all the scrapping. His parents sat by us and were really pissed at the coach. He was even sent right off the bench once to jump into a scrap. They wanted him playing hockey not riding shot gun for the whole team. Most of the OHL teams have some sandpaper. Scouts have to draft these players. Elinas types. He doesn't take crap from anybody and always has war wounds to show for it. If a team comes in and starts running at your players and there isn't a response your in for a long night. Guess new age hockey doesn't suit my old age. 🤓
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Yes, Steve Marcolini, traded to London just after the beginning of the 86-87 season in the Kelly Cain deal. That was the season that I compared the Rangers season to last year. That year, Tom Barrett, the coach/GM, had a middling team, but tried to trade his way into contention out of desperation. It didn’t save his job, but if you look on hockeydb, you can see the number of moves that were made by him that year.

MM did sort of the same thing last year. Not in desperation to save his job, but rather in a desperate attempt to get a hugely dysfunctional, underachieving team to contend.

Both situations ended bad for the Rangers.
 
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Score prediction time - what do people think tonight?

I'm going with a 4-3 win for the Rangers. They squeak it out and live to fight another day.
 
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