Speculation: Roster Building Thread II (2021 Offseason) - “You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn”?

[Sayba]

True, I was impressed with Rooney's finishing when his line gets a chance.

I like Rooney as a 4th line center, he is fast, throws some hits, can occasionally finish. He isn't good at faceoffs but if he can improve that you have a pretty decent 4th line center.

 

[Fitzy]

The '14 Rangers were also a great model.

Hagelin, Pouliot, and Kreider were all great along the boards, one on each line, and all of them could score.

Nash, Zuccarello, Stepan, and Richards were all skilled but all brought something else.

Boyle, Moore, Dorsett, and Carcillo were an extremely physical 4th line and still probably the best offensive 4th line in hockey.

The only pure skill player was St. Louis (and you should have those) but the overarching balance of the team allowed him to get open in prime areas.

The game 4 OT goal against Montreal is the perfect example of how it all works together. Hagelin and Richards work their asses off to hem the Habs in their own zone which leads to the sizzle -- the perfect cross-ice pass and the snipe. MSL makes the intelligent play -- instead of jumping into the fray and doing too much grit, he gets into a position where he's wide open if we get the puck, and the checking leads to a play. That's how it has to be. Together.

There’s a point there, but this teams skill players are at a much higher level than aging. MSL

Whether Zuccarello and Stepan bring more than Kakko and Lafreniere will is unclear to me. And I think Kakko actually played great team hockey this year.

In the end, the fact that we had “three second lines” in 2014 and 2015 is one thing people pointed to as to why we never got over the hump.

So I’m up for adding balance but not at the cost of Panarin Zibby and Lafreniere as three legit top line forwards

 

[Richard Banger]

Cizikas has hit 25 points three times including 20 goals. Clutterbuck has scored 20 points six times. Martin is an outstanding defender. The ballyhooed Islanders 4th line works because they're good hockey players.

Gorton was never interested in gritty *hockey players*. Grit means you suck. And sucking means you're gritty, even if you're the laziest f*** in the league (*glances towards Cody McLeod*). Again, that mentality was Gorton's weakness.

What we need is Grinders players willing to play a physically exhausting style. Not with hitting but with constant cycling on the boards.

 

[Machinehead]

There’s a point there, but this teams skill players are at a much higher level than aging. MSL

Whether Zuccarello and Stepan bring more than Kakko and Lafreniere will is unclear to me. And I think Kakko actually played great team hockey this year.

In the end, the fact that we had “three second lines” in 2014 and 2015 is one thing people pointed to as to why we never got over the hump.

So I’m up for adding balance but not at the cost of Panarin Zibby and Lafreniere as three legit top line forwards

None of this is a bad thing and balancing the roster shouldn't and doesn't have to result in diminishing the talent level.

My concern with Zibanejad has to do with his injuries and how bad he was this past season at everything but the literal act of shooting. But if you're getting 18-20 Zibanejad consistently, fine.

Maybe instead of Strome, who is just a worse Zibanejad, get a two-way center. Get a guy who can play with Panarin and Zibanejad on the top line and push the depth down the lineup. None of that is diminishing the elite talent.

What we need is Grinders players willing to play a physically exhausting style. Not with hitting but with constant cycling on the boards.

Yeah, the 18-19 Blues team that was characterized as "big and bad" barely hit at all. 25th in the league, I think. What they did was cycle a lot.

 

[huerter]

Hagelin could play on any line in life and it would be a good line.

Caveat: MSL and Richards were so cooked in the '14 final that nobody could have kept them afloat.

 

[bobbop]

Great point!

Reaves isn’t really close to being a NHL caliber player, but at the same time, he does give this team a legitimate back-bone attitude wise. I wouldn’t mind it if we got him. Gallant knows how to use him.

You don’t watch Vegas much. Reaves is a very capable 4th liner. He is not just a goon.

 

[egelband]

Also, everyone always looks for the Cup recipe and there isn't one. Cup winners only have one thing in common with each other -- they're really, really, really f***ing talented.

Hockey is all about balance. We have to improve the vertical aspect of our game, but let's not get into the dangerous rhetoric of "skill doesn't work in the playoffs." It does. Every year.

Yes. Talented. Also, mentally tough.

 

[Fitzy]

Yes. Talented. Also, mentally tough.

No JT Miller, got it.

A good team work ethic can also “inspire” or “shame” lazier players into upping their ethic too

 

[egelband]

No JT Miller, got it.

A good team work ethic can also “inspire” or “shame” lazier players into upping their ethic too

Yep. A good locker room can absorb a few wet blankets and even a couple bad apples.

 

[bobbop]

I just watched Cap-Bruins and 34 year old TJ Osijek was noticeable all over the ice. I thought he was too old to be a factor (he said sarcastically)

 

[Sayba]

I just watched Cap-Bruins and 34 year old TJ Osijek was noticeable all over the ice. I thought he was too old to be a factor (he said sarcastically)

You see the type of goals that go in during the playoffs. Net front presence, deflections, cycling and point shots. No royal road goals tonight, all of those plays actually didn't work when tried.

 

[Machinehead]

Or you can just be the Blackhawks where the entire room is a three-ring circus on speed and still win three Cups somehow

 

[RGY]

That game tonight was extremely physical and tight. Checks were being finished all over.

The current Rangers roster wouldve gotten their asses handed to them.

 

[mas0764]

Cizikas has hit 25 points three times including 20 goals. Clutterbuck has scored 20 points six times. Martin is an outstanding defender. The ballyhooed Islanders 4th line works because they're good hockey players.

Gorton was never interested in gritty *hockey players*. Grit means you suck. And sucking means you're gritty, even if you're the laziest f*** in the league (*glances towards Cody McLeod*). Again, that mentality was Gorton's weakness.

To be fair, the Rangers have been cap strapped, and it’s more important to lock in your skill players first and then get your Cal Clutterbucks.

Maybe those players were coming this offseason or next.

I think we also all feel like Kakko and Lafreniere eventually add a lot of that component, they just weren’t there yet.

 

[Synergy27]

You see the type of goals that go in during the playoffs. Net front presence, deflections, cycling and point shots. No royal road goals tonight, all of those plays actually didn't work when tried.

Yep. This is a heretical statement, but I kinda hate playoff hockey because of it. That winning goal tonight was garbage, as are most playoff goals.

 

[Sayba]

Yep. This is a heretical statement, but I kinda hate playoff hockey because of it. That winning goal tonight was garbage, as are most playoff goals.

Teams are going to play tighter defense, it doesn't mean that nice goals won't happen but you have to have this element to your team game. If you hate playoff hockey then not sure what to tell you.

 

[Alluckks]

Has Tanner Glass been practicing?

 

[Synergy27]

Teams are going to play tighter defense, it doesn't mean that nice goals won't happen but you have to have this element to your team game. If you hate playoff hockey then not sure what to tell you.

I just hate how playoff series seem to always be decided by a weird bounce or some nonsense goal. It’s the nature of the beast when the teams are evenly matched I guess. I do prefer to watch “pretty” hockey though. Always have - that’s why I’m a Ranger fan instead of a (Jacques Lemaire) Devils fan.

 

[ETTER DE]

I hope we seriously consider Mike Babcock. Look, I am sure he deserves everything said about him. But what he have done is not an unforgivable offense.

He is a very very devoted, professional, NHL coach. He has a great track record with kids, all types of them. Top picks, late bloomers. Forwards and Ds. He had experience with rebuilding teams as well as teams trying to stay at a high level. He is a great communicator and is totally unphased by pressure from media.

Is he our guy? I don’t know. But he must be considered.

As I wrote in another tread. He has all the credentials. But the team he iced in Toronto was terrrible soft. Would be very strange if Dolan thinks the team is not though enough and then hire Babcock?

 

[ETTER DE]

I should have some credibility at least on this topic because the second we radically changed course I called it out and went from supporting DQ to calling for his head and Gorton’s head unless he did something — ASAP. Obviously the players felt the same and many other top minds in the hockey world.

What did it for me? Look, you don’t either play N-S or E-W in hockey. It might be descriptive on TV, but there is a very thin connection between those letters and the Xs and Os in the game plan of a NHL team. The way DQ had us play was an extreme turn around. I would even say that it possibly was more extreme than CBJ and NYI, albeit I wouldn’t argue that strongly on that point if someone is of a different view. But in any event it obviously showed that he was in way over his head.

There is so many parts of your game you can work on, twist and turn solutions and options, to avoid the obvious flaws we had and have in our game. But from my POV, it’s just impossible to see that the best option for this team is to be an extreme N-S team — in relation to — Boston, Tampa, Nashville, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Washington, Carolina and so many others.

But Quinn obviously didn’t have the vision to understand just how much improvement this team could do in many areas and see how we could become a much harder team to play of built for PO success. The players tried it his way, it was horrible, DQ started throwing them under the bus as a result of it, and the rest is history. I don’t like the players decision either, not doing what the coach wants will never work, it’s really absurd the disconnect we had between what the coach wanted and how we played on the ice. Never seen anything like it watching hockey closely for 30 years and in many leagues across the world. We need roster changes, no doubt, but the root to this problem wasn’t the players.

The north south thing was Gorton. He was so impressed by the Penguins in 2016 when they destroyed Rangers in the first round. He even said that he wanted the north south approach. Quinn was instructed to coach this way. Quinn could not be fired unless Gorton also was. It is a change of philosophy.

 

[CLW]

The north south thing was Gorton. He was so impressed by the Penguins in 2016 when they destroyed Rangers in the first round. He even said that he wanted the north south approach. Quinn was instructed to coach this way. Quinn could not be fired unless Gorton also was. It is a change of philosophy.

I remember when I saw the first Ranger game under Quinn. I couldn't understand the excessive N-S crap, and the riding of the vets. Poor Kakko it must have confused the hell out of him trying to be the good kid and do as he was told (or get punished) while the vets were doing their own thing.

 

[Boris Zubov]

You don’t watch Vegas much. Reaves is a very capable 4th liner. He is not just a goon.

I mostly agree, but his skating is problematic. When he plays with his usual linemates, Nosek & Carrier, he has trouble keeping up. It's not an issue in the offensive zone when they're cycling, but sometimes he's a liability getting back on defense.

The Knights would probably be open to dealing him now that Kolesar has shown he can play a similar role for less money. Hell, I'd be open to trading for Kolesar too either individually or as part of a bigger deal, but Carrier would be the guy I'd be all over if Vegas is a trade partner.

Plus Nosek is a UFA, & the perfect 4th line center who is an excellent penalty killer, more skilled than he gets credit for, & most of all would come fairly cheap. 2 yrs/ 1.75 or 2M AAV would be a great raise for him. He's played the past two seasons on 1 yr deals for $1M.

 

[Ola]

You don’t watch Vegas much. Reaves is a very capable 4th liner. He is not just a goon.

True, I don’t. I could definitely be overly negative of his play.

 

[chosen]

None of this is a bad thing and balancing the roster shouldn't and doesn't have to result in diminishing the talent level.

My concern with Zibanejad has to do with his injuries and how bad he was this past season at everything but the literal act of shooting. But if you're getting 18-20 Zibanejad consistently, fine.

Maybe instead of Strome, who is just a worse Zibanejad, get a two-way center. Get a guy who can play with Panarin and Zibanejad on the top line and push the depth down the lineup. None of that is diminishing the elite talent.


Yeah, the 18-19 Blues team that was characterized as "big and bad" barely hit at all. 25th in the league, I think. What they did was cycle a lot.

Curious as to what this means:

"Maybe instead of Strome, who is just a worse Zibanejad"

 

[chosen]

Yep. This is a heretical statement, but I kinda hate playoff hockey because of it. That winning goal tonight was garbage, as are most playoff goals.

To me, playoff hockey is what separates it from all other sports, in a good way. It's made a few of my friends into hockey fans.