Michael Nylander

[Eye of Ra]

With all talk about his sons i came to think about the dad, Michael Nylander.

He played 2 seasons for this team, and he had 162 points.

Did he not play with Straka and Jagr?

How good was he?

Do you guys think that a prime Michael Nylander right now would help this team?

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[silverfish]

 

[nyr2k2]

He did play with Straka and Jagr and he was excellent. He had a really good career in general.

A player of his caliber would certainly help the Rangers as they are currently constructed (lesser centers than Michael Nylander would be very helpful), but he wouldn't be a cure-all. One of the issues I think we have is over-passing and a lack of top-notch finishers. Nylander was a pass-first pivot for sure, and never really known as a goalscorer. He'd be helpful but also, to a degree, more of the same.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Was a bad move for him & the team when he signed with the Caps. Sather decided Drury & Gomez was the future of team. Funny how things don't always work out.

 

[Irishguy42]

Straka-Nylander-Jagr is probably one of the top lines the Rangers have had in recent memories. Unreal.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Nylander throughout his career was someone you'd consider a #2 C with a ton of playmaking and stickhandling talent, but questionable work ethic. That went out the window in his two years here, he was 100% a #1 C and that line of Straka-Nylander-Jagr was the best Rangers line I've seen in my (albeit young) life. Better than the Czech mates, better than the FLY line, better than Graves-Messier-(insert RW here...how about Verbeek?). They were out of this world.

I was very upset when we let him go. I think he was closer to the end than I'd have liked to admit, but I really wanted him back for at least one more year in 07-08.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Was a bad move for him & the team when he signed with the Caps. Sather decided Drury & Gomez was the future of team. Funny how things don't always work out.

Nylander was 35 when he signed with the Caps.

 

[FJB]

Straka-Nylander-Jagr is probably one of the top lines the Rangers have had in recent memories. Unreal.

They were such a fun line to watch. Him leaving ruined Jagr.

 

[hi]

All I remember is that he used to stickhandle a puck through a maze of pucks during warmups at lightning fast speed

 

[RangerBoy]

If you remember, the Rangers and Nylander's agent Paul Theofanous had agreed to a 3 year extension in 2006-07. Nylander didn't like the deal and fired his agent.

Nylander had an option in his Rangers contract which he signed in the 2004 before the lockout.

The 2005 CBA did away with option years. The NHL told their teams they had to pick up or decline the option before the CBA was ratified. The Rangers declined the option year.

Nylander hired Mike Gillis. Nylander agreed to terms with Edmonton but his wife didn't want to live in Edmonton. Gillis negotiated a contract with the Caps.

 

[Edge]

Right player, right team, right fit.

Nylander's career bio was that he was a solid playmaker with excellent vision, who sometimes didn't do much else and didn't always bring his best attributes consistently. In an era of power centers or elite playmakers, Nylander didn't really fit that mold. He really started to put it together at an age when a lot of players start declining. Factor in that he had great chemistry with Jagr and he worked well.

 

[RangerLifer]

If you remember, the Rangers and Nylander's agent Paul Theofanous had agreed to a 3 year extension in 2006-07. Nylander didn't like the deal and fired his agent.

Nylander had an option in his Rangers contract which he signed in the 2004 before the lockout.

The 2005 CBA did away with option years. The NHL told their teams they had to pick up or decline the option before the CBA was ratified. The Rangers declined the option year.

Nylander hired Mike Gillis. Nylander agreed to terms with Edmonton but his wife didn't want to live in Edmonton. Gillis negotiated a contract with the Caps.

I remember that! It was announced that he signed with the Oilers and then a few hours later it was reported, "NEVER MIND!"

I'll never forget how good he was in shootouts. He came in so slow like grandpa but let go a good shot that fooled the goaltenders. He was really good here with Jags and Straka.

 

[RangerLifer]

I also remember he said in an interview with Pierre McGuire, "You used to talk French all the time and all that shit"!

 

[Edge]

Nylander was a very talented player. If anything, that's where a lot of the criticism throughout his career came from.

His hands and his vision rated very highly, and yet he often seemed to toil in that 50-60 point range, assuming he was healthy - which never seemed to be a given.

 

[Per Sjoblom]

That's

Nylander throughout his career was someone you'd consider a #2 C with a ton of playmaking and stickhandling talent, but questionable work ethic. That went out the window in his two years here, he was 100% a #1 C and that line of Straka-Nylander-Jagr was the best Rangers line I've seen in my (albeit young) life. Better than the Czech mates, better than the FLY line, better than Graves-Messier-(insert RW here...how about Verbeek?). They were out of this world.

I was very upset when we let him go. I think he was closer to the end than I'd have liked to admit, but I really wanted him back for at least one more year in 07-08.

That's how he was perceived in Sweden as well. We call them luxury players. He was a bit like a lesser version of Kenta Nilsson who could be a bit lazy.

 

[EpicDing]

Jagr-Straka-Nylander is the line that got me into hockey.

 

[Kaapodonna]

That line was AMAZING! I was just a casual hockey fan up until that point. They really set the hooks into me. Jagr was BEASTING with them. 05-06 was such a fun season.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Straka-Nylander-Jagr is probably one of the top lines the Rangers have had in recent memories. Unreal.

Depending on what you define as recent memory. It's easily the best line the Rangers have had in 20 years, minimum.

It's also the only line in that span that actually had "chemistry", a word that is often abused here and applied whenever two talented players are put together and score points, as they would with any other good player. Those three meshed together so well.

I remember Straka used to get decked all the time and just spring back up. One of his hits came from Kyle McLaren (also known as piss face by Sean Avery) in the corner and I was fairly certain he was dead. Nope, dude just jumped right back into the fray. I think the fact that he got up gave that hit less publicity - it was one of the biggest I've seen post lockout still.

 

[Off Sides]

Nylander was a possession player before the meaning of possession was changed to include proxy measurements. He could play keep away against the whole other team, wait for Jagr to get in shooting position, and make the pass so Jagr could one time the puck. Which oddly enough would have probably given him poor modern day possession stats.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

One of my favorite Rangers since the league "rebooted" in 2005-06. I still wear a Rangers #92 Nylander jersey to the gym.

He had such a unique style. Used to do all of these turns and circles, and my friends and I would joke and call them lazy eights. Always had the puck. Great vision. Money in the shootout and on the PP.

Was a pretty good yet inconsistent player during the late mid-late 90s obstruction, but with the new rules and slight changes to the red/blue line, he had much more open ice and freedom.

I really wanted Sather to get ONE of Drury/Gomez and keep Nylander, but the truth is, he only played two more NHL seasons after and wasn't that effective.

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

Great passer and I don't think we've had a better center since. At least not in terms of how they played for us. He did have the benefit of very good line-mates, but he added to their effectiveness, no doubt.

 

[Lion Hound]

Jagr was PISSED when the Rangers and Nylander couldn't work out a deal and rightfully so. Arguably one of the best Rangers linemates of all time. They were perfect fits for each other. The LW became almost irrelevant as whoever was on the wall would benefit from these two. Nylander and Jagr might be the only two Rangers in history to average PPG production during their tenure with the NYR.

 

[eco's bones]

Nylander and Jagr together were a great possession combo especially on the power play---you couldn't get the puck away from either and they were always finding ways to feed each other. Michael would drive some Rangers fans wild though with his interminable hanging on to the puck--continually circling and reversing back into his own end to find more space. A lot of fans weren't that patient but his kind of patience very often paid off.

 

[Gravey22]

He was a very good player. Could not be the 1C on any team but he was a very good offensive player. Defensively he was Ok but could be accepted with his dynamic offense. Very nice player and by all accounts a good dude.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Jagr was PISSED when the Rangers and Nylander couldn't work out a deal and rightfully so. Arguably one of the best Rangers linemates of all time. They were perfect fits for each other. The LW became almost irrelevant as whoever was on the wall would benefit from these two. Nylander and Jagr might be the only two Rangers in history to average PPG production during their tenure with the NYR.

According to HockeyDB, of players that played over 30 games:

Bathgate - 729 in 719
Jagr - 319 in 277
Gretzky - 249 in 234
Poddubny - 175 in 152
Nylander - 162 in 160
Nicholls - 110 in 104
Verbeek - 97 in 88