Confirmed with Link: Rangers Sign Lee Stempniak (1 year, 900K)

[BobMarleyNYR]

See boys my source was right. Can I please get credit for this?

So through your boy's source you actually signed Stempniak to the Rangers... Maloney, is that you?

 

[Janerixon]

Very happy with this signing... exactly the type of player we need, a vet who can put up similar numbers to Poo. This team is in win now mode, now is not the time to just hand spots to kids, they can compete with vets in camp, and if they win the spot even better.

I didn't think they would sign anyone until after the Hayes situation was sorted out, but guessing they may know they aren't the front runner for him or Stempniak just took a low offer possibly?

The way I see our lines:

Nash-Stepan-Kreider
Stempniak-Brassard-Zuccarello
Hagelin-Miller-St. Louis
Glass-Moore-Lombardi

Ex: Carcillo

I still think we need some more grit, Carcillo fit in here and he will probably cost a little over league minimum. Other than the Glass signing, which we clearly overpaid, I have no problem with the moves Sather made. I wish we had kept Boyle, Stralman, and Poo, but with the cap we just couldn't. I'm hoping Lindberg will push Miller for the 3rd line spot, Lindberg reminds me of Nemchinov with more offensive upside while Miller has top 6 potential, but may just be a 3rd liner. Very excited for them to battle for the 3rd center spot, but the Rangers prefer Miller wins that roster spot. Also don't rule out Lombardi in that spot either if both the kids falter, but I truly believe Miller or Lindberg will beat out Lombardi for it.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

See boys my source was right. Can I please get credit for this?

Absolutely no one cares.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

could we even afford carcillo?

if we wanted someone who can just skate and fight, why didn't we just keep him over glass?.. so annoying.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Boyle = Stralman (they both have very good qualities lets not start offense vs defense)
Stempniak > Pouliot though not by much IMO
Lombardi > Boyle just because of his speed alone.


Then there's tanner glass....

A nice replacement for richards would be icing on the cake.

That's what Glass is... Tanner ****ing Glass...coming soon... #FoolsBestRecognize

 

[Beacon]

In what world is Stempniak a 4th line winger...the guy averages over 40 points a year. He is closer to a 1st line winger than a 4th line winger. In reality he is more of a 2nd/3rd line tweener closer to the 2nd though.

This. He's averaged .54 points per game (43 points in 82 pace) in his career. It was .47 last season (38.5 points over 82 games pace). The year before he was at .68 the year before (56 points over 82 games pace). That's not 4th line production.

That is borderline second line production. By comparison, Brassard has .56 points per game over the course of his career, only 0.02 more than Stepniak.

 

[THE BIG WHISTLE]

Absolutely no one cares.

Hey, I care..at least he have us a legit rumor and it actually came to fruition. Unlike that punk who was tweeting out all these false rumors like Carter, Thorthon etc. Give the kid some credit

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

Miller is not centering our 2nd line. He is the 3rd line center (IF he makes the team)

MSL is not going to be on our 3rd line.

Brassard is not centering our 3rd line.


The top two lines will be centered by Stepan and Brassard, with Nash, Kreider, Zuccarello, and St. Louis on the wings. Those are our 6 best forwards, and thus they should be on the top two lines if the positions make sense (which they do, since both Nash and Zuccarello are effective at LW as well as RW).

The third line is Hagelin with Miller/Lindberg/Lombardi and Stempniak.

The lineup will look something like this:

Kreider Stepan St. Louis
Nash Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

Kreider has worked well with Stepan, and St. Louis has worked well with Stepan.

Nash takes Pouliot's spot. Similar body-type, better overall skill and better overall player.

Hagelin is the perfect 3rd line LW. J.T. Miller seems to be the front-runner to win the 3C spot, as of right now. Stempniak fills out that line.


Top-6 players in the Top-6.

Third line players on the third line.

Everyone where they should be.

Please stop posting lineups with Miller centering St. Louis as our 2nd line, or a third line with Brassard and Zuccarello.



Kreider - Stepan - St. Louis
Nash - Brassard - Zuccarello
Hagelin - [Miller/Lindberg] - [Stempniak/Kristo/Haggerty]
Glass - Moore - [Lombardi/Fast/Mueller]

McDonagh Girardi
Staal Boyle
Moore Klein
Allen
McIlrath
Kostka

Lundqvist
Talbot



or


Nash Stepan St. Louis
Kreider Brassard Zuccarello

or

Kreider Stepan Zuccarello
Nash Brassard St. Louis


either way, Miller is not in the top-6, and he's not centering MSL or Nash. Miller (if he makes the team at all) will be centering Carl Hagelin and Lee Stempniak / Ryan Haggerty / Danny Kristo on the third line. This isn't rocket science. The guy is an unproven commodity at the NHL level. You don't expect him to fill a second line center role and produce that level of production. Come ON.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Miller is not centering our 2nd line. He is the 3rd line center (IF he makes the team)

MSL is not going to be on our 3rd line.

Brassard is not centering our 3rd line.


The top two lines will be centered by Stepan and Brassard, with Nash, Kreider, Zuccarello, and St. Louis on the wings. Those are our 6 best forwards, and thus they should be on the top two lines if the positions make sense (which they do, since both Nash and Zuccarello are effective at LW as well as RW).

The third line is Hagelin with Miller/Lindberg/Lombardi and Stempniak.

The lineup will look something like this:

Kreider Stepan St. Louis
Nash Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

Kreider has worked well with Stepan, and St. Louis has worked well with Stepan.

Nash takes Pouliot's spot. Similar body-type, better overall skill and better overall player.

Hagelin is the perfect 3rd line LW. J.T. Miller seems to be the front-runner to win the 3C spot, as of right now. Stempniak fills out that line.


Top-6 players in the Top-6.

Third line players on the third line.

Everyone where they should be.

Please stop posting lineups with Miller centering St. Louis as our 2nd line, or a third line with Brassard and Zuccarello.



Kreider - Stepan - St. Louis
Nash - Brassard - Zuccarello
Hagelin - [Miller/Lindberg] - [Stempniak/Kristo/Haggerty]
Glass - Moore - [Lombardi/Fast/Mueller]

McDonagh Girardi
Staal Boyle
Moore Klein
Allen
McIlrath
Kostka

Lundqvist
Talbot



or


Nash Stepan St. Louis
Kreider Brassard Zuccarello

or

Kreider Stepan Zuccarello
Nash Brassard St. Louis


either way, Miller is not in the top-6, and he's not centering MSL or Nash. Miller (if he makes the team at all) will be centering Carl Hagelin and Lee Stempniak / Ryan Haggerty / Danny Kristo on the third line. This isn't rocket science. The guy is an unproven commodity at the NHL level. You don't expect him to fill a second line center role and produce that level of production. Come ON.

I agree. either Nash or Kreider will be taking Pouilot's spot with Brass and Zucc.

 

[Larry Melnyk]

Very good move by the Rangers..Short term little risk...Exactly what I was expecting to finish out the roster (well, either he or Booth)...A solid skillful dependable flexible fast forward who can skate on the top 9 ..Again, just like Lombardi, fits in with what the Rangers are trying to ice...a fast, quick skillful team.....

Thankfully, the Rangers were not convinced that the youths could perform consistently on the top 3 lines, of which I totally agree...It would have been a HUGE mistake to count on MILLER, LINDBERG and FAST...They just aren't ready for prime time except as 4th liners...This lets Miller and FAST fight for one 4th line spot and the loser join LINDBERG in getting more experience in Hartford and hopefully be ready to help during the season when they will be needed...Good move by the Rangers....Smart thinking by Sather and crew

The way I see it:something like

Nash-Step-Kreider
MZA-Brass-Stemp
Hags-Lombardi-St. Louis
Glass-Moore-Miller/Fast

One other move remains, some type of goon to help protect these guys for 30-40 games in the regular season

 

[Beacon]

With the addition of Stepniak and Lombardi, I can now stop freaking out about our depth issues.Those are two solid players.

Either Miller or Lindberg should be able to play center this year.

Either Fast, Kristo, Bourque or Haggerty should be able to play the wing for us this year.

In both cases, I think it's safe to make this assumption.

So Richards, Boyle, Pouliot and Carcillo are replaced with Stepniak, Lombardi, Glass and two rookies. That's acceptable to me, though I still hope we re-sign Carcillo.

 

[Mikos87]

Good signing. Not a player that's had much success on winning teams, but a good signing to strengthen the line up. Essentially signing him and Lombo forces kids to push their way into the line up, which is a good thing.

I think that Nash goes back to LW, and since Pouliot worked well with his skill set with Zucc and Brass, putting Nash on that line makes it a legit top 6 line even though Brass has never sustained a top 6 level of play outside of his hot streaks, especially with a guy that's a lock for 30-30 and a 40 assist winger who has a top tier sniper on the other side to feed pucks.

Think MSL works well as a better wheel house passer to guys driving the net with speed (Kreider) and a RH shot (Stepan).

The bottom six just got juiced up by servicable players in case the kids are not productive. If the kids are, and more than one of them can push for spots, then the Rangers can recoup picks by trading a guy like Stempniak at the deadline.

Kreider-Step-MSL
Nash-Brass-Zucc
Hags-Miller-Fast
Lombo-Moore-Stempniak

Glass/Mueller can push for spots on the 4th line if kids aren't ready, and have Stempniak and Lombo play up the line up. I'm liking the versality in the forward group, its not ideal in terms of the quality of players, but hopefully the roles can get filled accordingly.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Good signing. Not a player that's had much success on winning teams, but a good signing to strengthen the line up. Essentially signing him and Lombo forces kids to push their way into the line up, which is a good thing.

I think that Nash goes back to LW, and since Pouliot worked well with his skill set with Zucc and Brass, putting Nash on that line makes it a legit top 6 line even though Brass has never sustained a top 6 level of play outside of his hot streaks, especially with a guy that's a lock for 30-30 and a 40 assist winger who has a top tier sniper on the other side to feed pucks.

Think MSL works well as a better wheel house passer to guys driving the net with speed (Kreider) and a RH shot (Stepan).

The bottom six just got juiced up by servicable players in case the kids are not productive. If the kids are, and more than one of them can push for spots, then the Rangers can recoup picks by trading a guy like Stempniak at the deadline.

Kreider-Step-MSL
Nash-Brass-Zucc
Hags-Miller-Fast
Lombo-Moore-Stempniak

Glass/Mueller can push for spots on the 4th line if kids aren't ready, and have Stempniak and Lombo play up the line up. I'm liking the versality in the forward group, its not ideal in terms of the quality of players, but hopefully the roles can get filled accordingly.

In this scenario I would switch Fast and Stempniak.. Stempniak is a 30-40 point player, you don't get that production from your 4th line.

 

[Janerixon]

could we even afford carcillo?

if we wanted someone who can just skate and fight, why didn't we just keep him over glass?.. so annoying.

AV really likes Glass a lot, Glass can kill penalties in AV's eyes and is probably less of a wild card as to what you will get as opposed to Carcillo. Thing is Carcillo fit in here and had he never had that suspension, I think we would have re-signed him. If Carcillo is willing to take 700,000 we can fit him in under the cap, we may just be carrying 22 men instead of 23. Really comes down to how much our 4 RFAs get and how much Stempniak took, I am hoping 1,250,000 for Stemp but we will see.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

is John Moore that important to keep? for instance. could we sign Carcillo if we were to use allen as the 6th D paired with Klein if we were to save like 300K? or do we see some potential in Moore? He can skate, but I haven't seen much else from him.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Yesssssssssssss. Fantastic signing.

Fast on the 4th line and we have a solid, if worse defensively, bottom six.

 

[TurgePurge*]

I love when I start reading a long post, start thinking like "who is this poster who just shat on his keyboard", see that its 77, and then breathe a sigh of relief as i scroll through the rest.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

FWIW I don't think Stempniak is necessarily better than Pouliot. More consistent, probably. Pouliotn has tremendous skill, and when it's on, like it was the second half of last season, he's very good. I know people say silly things about how it was his linemates, but that's not really true.

Pouliot off his game is like all of you swear Glass is ('cause we've all followed Tanner Glass throughout his career), only it's like 70% of the time. Where apparently Stempniak is very average 100% of the time. Tough call, for me, anyway. But I hope Stempniak plays well.

 

[TurgePurge*]

FWIW I don't think Stempniak is necessarily better than Pouliot. More consistent, probably. Pouliotn has tremendous skill, and when it's on, like it was the second half of last season, he's very good. I know people say silly things about how it was his linemates, but that's not really true.

Pouliot off his game is like all of you swear Glass is ('cause we've all followed Tanner Glass throughout his career), only it's like 70% of the time. Where apparently Stempniak is very average 100% of the time. Tough call, for me, anyway. But I hope Stempniak plays well.

The beauty of the Pouliot, Brass, Zucc line is that they are all high skill creative players but the foundation for success was their second and third efforts to win pucks. They fed off each others effort. Thats why the line didnt hit a slump for like a 60 game window.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

We will see. personally, I think Zucc made both better than they actually are.

 

[Infinitum Vitae*]

Absolutely no one cares.

Fine don't care that I'm right every time a report it

 

[Beacon]

is John Moore that important to keep? for instance. could we sign Carcillo if we were to use allen as the 6th D paired with Klein if we were to save like 300K? or do we see some potential in Moore? He can skate, but I haven't seen much else from him.

I think John Moore will show a lot of improvement in the coming year or two. Keep in mind that he's almost a year younger than Allen. Last season, he was only 22/23 years old, not exactly old.

 

[Ilovemymum]

Does AV have a thing with college grads? Seems like all new signings have NCAA background. Maybe that's what it takes to figure out his system? (And why he's sceptical of JTM?)

 

[n8]

my take is - 3 line threat + 1 energy line again

Kreider-Stepan-Nash
Hagelin-Lombardi-MSL
Stempniak-Brassard-Zuke

Fast/Glass-Moore-Miller
Carcillo would be a decent 13th player too. As much as we'd probably like, Glass is going to play. AV made the call and he's not riding pine for 1.45M. We can just hope he has a breakout season, right? Right? Guys?

 

[Beacon]

Does AV have a thing with college grads? Seems like all new signings have NCAA background. Maybe that's what it takes to figure out his system? (And why he's sceptical of JTM?)

College kids might take longer to show what they are worth since they are playing fewer games against older opposition. A 19 year old in juniors is taking a leadership role on his team. A 19 year old in college is behind the team's juniors and seniors.

As a result, a junior player will likely get drafted as a 19 or 20 year old, but a college kid has to wait to get signed until after his junior or senior year.