Toggle sidebar

Rangers speed issue and Rangers issues with fast teams with speed and skill

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Status
Not open for further replies.

RangersFan1994

Registered User
Aug 20, 2019
19,027
15,699
Is it a roster issue or a system issue the past few years? Why hasn't Drury done anything to make changes to this big issue with this team? I don't mean getting more Gauthier types. Does Drury not realize that the NHL is about speed, skill, forechecking and special teams?
Click to read more...
 
  • Like
Reactions: EdJovanovski
Well couple of points

Drury took over a fairly established team in terms of star players and prospects. The ability to completely makeover a team in 2 years including shipping out important star players and role players and get in young players and prospects who dramatically alter the lineup is a tall ask in that time frame and probably not one people are really willing to roll with under the circumstances.
So to some extent he's "stuck" with seeing if this group can work out...and it's probably for the best because replacing a "slow" guy like Panarin is pretty tough considering his usual offensive output, and his other top forwards aren't really slow (zibanejad, Kreider when he wants to be, Trochek isn't really slow, Chytil is a mover)
So you're down to 3rd liners and the young guys like Kakko and Laf. Drury didn't draft either of them and in general punting on a 1OA and 2OA as soon as you gain power probably wouldn't be something most GMs would do.
Could he have gotten more speed in the bottom six? Maybe now we're getting somewhere with the questions. I'd be happy with a speedy 4th line and all that.

Is it a system issue? yes also probably as well. The Rangesr didn't really have any neutral zone plan that you need to slow down fast teams, nor any transition plan that you need to get through the neutral zone quickly yourself. Blame Drury for hiring a coach that doesn't believe in details I guess. Will that change? Possibly so. You don't have to be a team of ultra fast skaters to win in the NHL. What you need to do is be able to move the puck quickly and even slow skating teams can do that.

So blah blah blah. I'd take the chance on seeing what they can do with a new system and gameplan. Speed isn't the end all in the NHL, but executing a gameplan is important.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gardner McKay, CLW, Dijock94 and 3 others
Crease said:
Kreider is still the fastest skater on the team and he’s entering his, what, 12th season? That’s a problem.
Click to expand...
Problem with CK is he almost never uses his speed anymore. When he was younger he played a fast power forward game.

We used to have CK, McD, Hags, John Moore, Brady Skjei, etc that were elite skaters. Now we are darn slow in my opinion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brutananadilewski, yrrebbor, CasusBelli and 3 others
On offense I don't really think we have an issue with speed. I think we tend to play slow. Lots of east-west play and not enough up-tempo, north-south stuff. It makes us look slower than we are.

We do have a problem defending fast teams but I think that's a system and personnel issue, but on the personnel front it's again not that the guys aren't fast enough.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: will1066, egelband, yrrebbor and 4 others
I think our lack of speed makes us easy to play against in all 3 zones. I love playing teams with average to below average skating speed. I do not see many teams with slower skaters.
 
RangersFan1994 said:
Is it a roster issue or a system issue the past few years? Why hasn't Drury done anything to make changes to this big issue with this team? I don't mean getting more Gauthier types. Does Drury not realize that the NHL is about speed, skill, forechecking and special teams?
Click to expand...
Yes, although it now seems like a system is being put into place (it's a process) to try to contain other teams that we cannot run and gun with. Players have talked about a new lock type system and ways that they are being instructed to alter the NZ. These are things actual coaches do rather than just saying "they are professionals, they will figure it out."
 
  • Like
Reactions: egelband, CLW and OldBlueshirt
nyr2k2 said:
On offense I don't really think we have an issue with speed. I think we tend to play slow. Lots of east-west play and not enough up-tempo, north-south stuff. It makes us look slower than we are.

We do have a problem defending fast teams but I think that's a system and personnel issue, but on the personnel front it's again not that the guys aren't fast enough.
Click to expand...
This. Plus players are horrible at moving without the puck or getting open.

We don't get hardly any high danger chances off the rush when the rush is even.
 
You play the cards you’re dealt.

All teams want speed and skill. That means the ask for fast and skilled players will be large — whether via trade or UFA. That becomes even more expensive if you want young players.

That said, we need to move in that direction, so the best bet is dealing the old fellas for picks and prioritizing speed and skill for our rebuild.

Nothing crazy or new here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CLW and Crease
The points about systems, playing fast without necessarily skating fast and playing heavy are valid.

But it’s still fair to ask why Drury has done absolutely nothing to address what was exposed in the playoffs as a glaring weakness of this team.
 
Really if the rangers just added a few burners it would help the make up of the team. The big issue is trouba, lindgren, and fox arent very fast and jack hughes especially was able to exploit them. Fox is great defensively but players with exceptional speed are able to exploit him off the rush.

If one of kakko or laf was traded for a young skilled burner and we got another burner at forward the team would look much different. Problem is trading kakko or laf isnt exactly ideal as to where they are in their career along with their draft status and contract costs.
 
yada said:
Really if the rangers just added a few burners it would help the make up of the team. The big issue is trouba, lindgren, and fox arent very fast and jack hughes especially was able to exploit them. Fox is great defensively but players with exceptional speed are able to exploit him off the rush.

If one of kakko or laf was traded for a young skilled burner and we got another burner at forward the team would look much different. Problem is trading kakko or laf isnt exactly ideal as to where they are in their career along with their draft status and contract costs.
Click to expand...
We need more speed at both forward and on defense imo. We are too easy to skate around and defend 5 on 5.
 
You can play fast without being fast, i don't particularly think we are a slow team but we make bad decisions a lot that leaves us chasing the puck. Our breakout has been an albatross for years. If you can't get the puck out quickly you tire your line out. The other issue has been our F3 support and awareness by the defensemen. Should never be a breakaway if those things are fixed up, dman should only pinch if support is there, we just pinch without support a lot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CLW
Shesterkybomb said:
You can play fast without being fast, i don't particularly think we are a slow team but we make bad decisions a lot that leaves us chasing the puck. Our breakout has been an albatross for years. If you can't get the puck out quickly you tire your line out. The other issue has been our F3 support and awareness by the defensemen. Should never be a breakaway if those things are fixed up, dman should only pinch if support is there, we just pinch without support a lot.
Click to expand...

Don't forget our Russian Walter White has a propensity of giving away the puck as he does his blue sky candy.
 
Shesterkybomb said:
You can play fast without being fast, i don't particularly think we are a slow team but we make bad decisions a lot that leaves us chasing the puck. Our breakout has been an albatross for years. If you can't get the puck out quickly you tire your line out. The other issue has been our F3 support and awareness by the defensemen. Should never be a breakaway if those things are fixed up, dman should only pinch if support is there, we just pinch without support a lot.
Click to expand...

I think Laviolette is on top of all that, at least that's what I get from his comments and comments from the players at camp. I hope I'm not delusional.
 
Move the puck faster and you become a faster team. Speed demons up and down your lineup are great, but without the puck movement they're just offsides.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom