NYR Chris Drury fumbled with Niko Mikkola

[FissionFire]

Chris Drury has been a disaster in NY but the owner seems to love him and keep him around. He should have been canned long ago.

 

[NYRnine94]

We usually fumble with any decent defenseman. It's the Rangers way.

 

[NYRnine94]

Chris Drury has been a disaster in NY but the owner seems to love him and keep him around. He should have been canned long ago.

How has he been a disaster? Multiple ECF appearances, Presidents Trophy. It's not like the team has been in the basement since his first day on the job. Unless you want to cry about the Buchnevich trade like everyone else still does

 

[eojsmada]

The lack of ability to develop players has been an ever-growing trend with the Rangers, so it's not all that much of a surprise. Probably half of the league has the same problem, but it's more noticeable with the Rangers because who they have drafted or taken chances on in the last 5-10 years.

 

[PistolPete]

The lack of ability to develop players has been an ever-growing trend with the Rangers, so it's not all that much of a surprise. Probably half of the league has the same problem, but it's more noticeable with the Rangers because who they have drafted or taken chances on in the last 5-10 years.

The odds of a draft pick having anything resembling a career are very low to begin with so drafting is pretty much a lottery anyway.

If teams when had success were so astute at it why would they let some of their picks go so late before drafting them? Kucherov and Point in TB for example?

Sather- Kurri, Messier, Anderson, Moog
Detroit- Darsyuk, Zetterberg, Lindstrom
Pittsburgh- Stevens,Recchi

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Confirmed Signing with Link: Thread '[FLA] D Niko Mikkola signs with the Panthers (3 years, $2.5M AAV)'

Jul 1, 2023

• MMC
• Replies: 63
• Forum: Trades Rumors & Free Agency

Funny how this wasn't the sentiment when he originally signed with the Panthers. The narrative was more he was bad and overpaid. I was one of the few defending him in the thread, as a Ranger fan.

Yes they should have kept him even @ that cap#, yes he's a good player and always has been, but he's also not a world beater. He's getting a little overrated because of the stage he's on and team he plays for.

He would not have made much of a difference for the Rangers in last year's ECF vs hisPanthers (they were just totally outclassed as a team) nor would we have changed the outcome of this Ranger season in missing the playoffs and wheels falling off, he would have helped but it wouldn't have been nearly enough to change anything.

Good for him though, people vastly underestimate how important the Team dynamic and factor are. Look at what Florida did with other defenseman in Montour, Kulikov (was getting heathy scratched by Anaheim ducks before being acquired) etc. in making nothing players into big time contributing ones.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Sometimes players need a change of scenery to figure it out. The number of players like this who seemed to have been struggling, or plateau'd, only to find a new gear after a trade or signing elsewhere is quite long. Sometimes they just need a second team telling them that they need to improve on certain things, sometimes they fit the system better on a new team, and sometimes they just get more development and support. It's not always about the GM "missing out".

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

It has never been good.

Almost 100 years of existence and a whopping 4 Stanley Cups to show for it.

Not a single Cup when there were only 6 teams. They lost Gordie Howe over a team jacket.

Sather and his successor had a good 10 year run (2006-2016) there. Yes, they probably benefited the most out of compliance buyouts along with Montreal taking on Gomez, but the team seemed to be decently managed after the horror show of the early 2000s.

 

[PistolPete]

Sather and his successor had a good 10 year run there. Yes, they probably benefited the most out of compliance buyouts along with Montreal taking on Gomez, but the team seemed to be decently managed after the horror show of the early 2000s.

Well, I suppose "never" is a wee bit of an exaggeration

 

[QJL]

Mikkola is not the same player in Florida that he was for the Rangers or Blues. Good on Zito for identifying a player who could be molded, but it's hard to blame Drury here.

Drury runs that org. He needs to identify coaches that can get the most out of players. It’s on Drury and the staff for not getting the most out of their talent.

 

[GAGLine]

Mikkola is not the same player in Florida that he was for the Rangers or Blues. Good on Zito for identifying a player who could be molded, but it's hard to blame Drury here.

No, it's really not. Mikkola was just one of many players he spent assets on and then didn't re-sign. Mikkola just happens to be one of the few he should have re-signed.

 

[bert]

Mikkola is not the same player in Florida that he was for the Rangers or Blues. Good on Zito for identifying a player who could be molded, but it's hard to blame Drury here.

Another Big D man takes longer to develop. Teams never learn.

 

[Tawnos]

No, it's really not. Mikkola was just one of many players he spent assets on and then didn't re-sign. Mikkola just happens to be one of the few he should have re-signed.

The guy was a rental. How many rentals get re-signed, even when they're awesome acquisitions? Very few, and Mikkola did not show nearly enough to claim he "should have been re-signed." And that's coming from someone who thought he was a decent pickup.

 

[Louie the Blue]

This has to do more with Bill Zito and our current scouts than Drury. It’s a proven track record now. Zito’s reclamation projects are the goat.

How is Mikkola a reclamation project? He wasn’t broken. He had not demonstrated he was capable of playing at this level in St. Louis - part of that might be due to how long it takes defensemen to develop and the other part is that he wasn’t put in a great position to succeed partner wise. Can’t speak much for his stint in NY.

He’s succeeded in part because of his own growth and his partners (which Zito deserves credit for). Mikkola wasn’t some guy off the trash heap. He was just…there. I wouldn’t have wanted him extended in St. Louis.

Also, if you’re going to pump anyone’s tires, it should be Bill Armstrong who oversaw drafting for the Blues at the time AND selected Mikkola in the 5th.

 

[GAGLine]

The guy was a rental. How many rentals get re-signed, even when they're awesome acquisitions? Very few, and Mikkola did not show nearly enough to claim he "should have been re-signed." And that's coming from someone who thought he was a decent pickup.

Smart teams don't just throw away draft picks on players they have no interest in keeping. To trade all those picks and prospects and have absolutely nothing to do show for it is indicative of how bad he is as a GM. The sad reality is that most of the players Drury traded for weren't worth keeping.

 

[Tawnos]

Another Big D man takes longer to develop. Teams never learn.

I don't disagree that teams never learn with that kind of thing, but I would distinguish what's happened with Mikkola from other examples. Lots of defensemen are at their best in the 27-30 years, but typically they are the best version of the player they've always been during that period of time. Mikkola is not the best version of the player he's always been. He's a different player than he was.

 

[bov]

His impact is similar to Cernak on TB, very effective player who can play some hard minutes and isn't afraid to get mean out there. Impressive to see what he has become.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Add it to a long list of things Drury has fumbled lol.

 

[Tawnos]

Smart teams don't just throw away draft picks on players they have no interest in keeping. To trade all those picks and prospects and have absolutely nothing to do show for it is indicative of how bad he is as a GM. The sad reality is that most of the players Drury traded for weren't worth keeping.

Please. ALL teams do this. It's not just "no interest"... it's a cap calculation too. That's what the rental market is. Zito, who is getting a lot of deserved praise in this thread, did it last year with Tarasenko. Did he do it with Marchand this year? It's pretty likely. Is Zito a bad GM? Is he not a smart GM?

There are plenty of reasons to criticize Drury. Spending draft picks on rentals he ultimately didn't keep is NOT one of them.

 

[bert]

I don't disagree that teams never learn with that kind of thing, but I would distinguish what's happened with Mikkola from other examples. Lots of defensemen are at their best in the 27-30 years, but typically they are the best version of the player they've always been during that period of time. Mikkola is not the best version of the player he's always been. He's a different player than he was.

Happens with big guys all the time, the jump is the most dramatic once they 'figure it out'. This is a fact that most of HF hates for some reason they prefer its a narrative but its consistently been like this for a long time. I think thats because alot of people around here have ego's in regards that they want to think advanced analytics win them arguments. As alot of small players have great regular season analytics but if they dont get to the inside of the ice they arent effective when it matters most. Which big players can prevent and are more capable of doing in heavy playoff style hockey.

As a sens fan I see people saying things like Matinpalo is what he is a #7 d man and thats that. Which if you look historically likely isnt true. He is older but he only got to NA last year and the strides have been massive over the two seasons. I think he has decent puck skills and gets around the ice pretty well for a big guy. I could see him ending up like Mikkola in 3 to 4 years when he closes in on 30.

 

[Tawnos]

Happens with big guys all the time, the jump is the most dramatic once they 'figure it out'. This is a fact that most of HF hates for some reason they prefer its a narrative but its consistently been like this for a long time. I think thats because alot of people around here have ego's in regards that they want to think advanced analytics win them arguments. As alot of small players have great regular season analytics but if they dont get to the inside of the ice they arent effective when it matters most. Which big players can prevent and are more capable of doing in heavy playoff style hockey.

As a sens fan I see people saying things like Matinpalo is what he is a #7 d man and thats that. Which if you look historically likely isnt true. He is older but he only got to NA last year and the strides have been massive over the two seasons. I think he has decent puck skills and gets around the ice pretty well for a big guy. I could see him ending up like Mikkola in 3 to 4 years when he closes in on 30.

Yes, that does happen all the time. That's not what happened with Mikkola.

 

[Dr Robot]

He was a tough defender in STL but he was a poor puck handler. There were a lot of times he could stop the puck from going in then have to keep doing it because the puck wouldn’t go out of the zone. Florida deserves credit for pairing him with a partner who can help each other pay to their strengths. Like others are saying, there are probably lots of defenders who would be much better than they’ve shown previously if you have the option to pair them perfectly.

 

[bert]

Yes, that does happen all the time. That's not what happened with Mikkola.

Whatever you say big guy! He isnt a completely different player, he is a big guy who has worked on his puck skills and is playing in a system that works really well with his strengths. Which makes him play confident. So maybe that seems like a new player but with the skill coachs now adays players can take big leaps.

 

[Louie the Blue]

Whatever you say big guy! He isnt a completely different player, he is a big guy who has worked on his puck skills and is playing in a system that works really well with his strengths. Which makes him play confident. So maybe that seems like a new player but with the skill coachs now adays players can take big leaps.

He looked like he was playing hot potato with the puck in St. Louis on a team that collectively had 4 defensemen that are individually fine but did not work well together and desperately needed a solution/alternative in the top 4 for someone who was able to handle their own defensively and be OK with the puck.

If he had demonstrated that in St. Louis, he would not have been traded.

 

[bert]

He looked like he was playing hot potato with the puck in St. Louis on a team that collectively had 4 defensemen that are individually fine but did not work well together and desperately needed a solution/alternative in the top 4 for someone who was able to handle their own defensively and be OK with the puck.

If he had demonstrated that in St. Louis, he would not have been traded.

Well 6'6 d men arent finished products at 26 years old. Thats on them.