Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XIII (Nanaki edition)

[Machinehead]

Machinehead and me after Rangers games when Shesterkin steals the win.

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Machinehead you're the taller one.

Hell yeah

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Question, is this season more 2021-22 when the team started the season getting outplayed in every game but Igor stole them victories but they got better as the season went on or 2015-16 where they started the season getting outplayed with Hank stealing them victories and then fell off a damn cliff?

The 2015-16 parallel with the previous year us winning the PT is scary but also probably largely coincidental.

 

[eco's bones]

this is from last year?


For the record, I dont mind paying Igor his $$$ and yes he’s awesome to watch but he also masks a lot of deficiencies that are ultimately exposed in the playoffs - its been like this for over a decade. I want a legitimate contender.

The Rangers are a legit contender. More legit than any other team in their division. IMO they are top two with Florida in the East. The Panthers have more dependable firepower IMO than we do but winning the Cup last year also forced an exodus of some of their depth this year. Panthers don't have a lot of organizational depth.

For the Rangers---we can beat teams like Carolina in playoffs---we should be able to beat teams like the Devils. The Maple Leafs tend to beat themselves. The Bruins seem somewhat discombobulated this year. The Lightning are dangerous but on the downside. The Rangers have to figure out how to at least battle guys like Matthew Tkachuk and Barkov to a standstill or close to a draw. Zibanejad did not match Barkov....we had issues with the Panthers forecheck led by Tkachuk and Bennett. We lost but without great goaltending by Igor it would have been a slaughter---not one goal losses.

There is no particular formula for what makes a team a contender. You just need 4/5/6 great players at different positions along with good depth throughout. The likelihood of winning without very good goaltending though is not very great.

 

[Machinehead]

It doesn't matter if you're in the top 2 if you can't compete with #1. We've demonstrated that we're not really close to Florida at all.

 

[NYR Viper]

Here's a thought, Detroit is floundering (surprise!) and they signed Gustafsson to a 2 years x $2m contract. In terms of a bottom-pairing veteran d-man, the team could do far worse. Especially if Yzerbum is having buyers remorse and will send him away for nothing. I know he's not perfect but he was a net positive for the team last year and would be a nice, cheap insurance policy for next season as a veteran depth d-man.

Thoughts?