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

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

The next time Mika is in front of a reporter for they ought to drop the canned questions and ask him flat out: Is hockey your passion? Do you want to be here?

i think there are a lot more players who view this as a job rather than a passion than people realize. in many sports

 

[Ruggs225]

Yup, checked out

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Adam Fox 155% thinks he's too good for this sort of thing and is a huge part of the problem.

more and more fox is seeming like an incredibly unlikable dickhead. amazing player but he rubs me the wrong way.

 

[effen]

Not just Fox and Mika, K'Ante Defend is also not there.

Kreider gets a mulligan because who knows he might actually be hurt.

 

[Daves a mess]

Getting us some Rad Chewedel for lunch.

 

[Atax]

more and more fox is seeming like an incredibly unlikable dickhead. amazing player but he rubs me the wrong way.

Id be a dickhead if I was saddled with barely NHL capable defensemen my entire career.

 

[Daves a mess]

The next time Mika is in front of a reporter for they ought to drop the canned questions and ask him flat out: Is hockey your passion? Do you want to be here?

With the reporter holding out his handkerchief right before he starts talking.

 

[effen]

Trouba has obviously decided to not break his bones for a team that wants to trade him after playing through a broken ankle in the playoffs. I get it. Business decision.

Wherever he goes next I'd imagine he bounces back strongly, if for no other reason then there will actually be structure.

 

[archanfelnsx]

more and more fox is seeming like an incredibly unlikable dickhead. amazing player but he rubs me the wrong way.

Fox is a smart player, but he doesn’t skate well, isn’t physical, and doesn’t have a big shot. You have to do at least one of those things well. Come playoff time when the game is a lot tougher, Fox seems overmatched. I know 99% of Ranger fans worship him but he is highly overrated.

 

[LOFIN]

You're so persecuted Jacob. I wouldve waived this guy after the game yesterday.

FWIW, I don't think you can really blame Trouba for not trying or making an effort. It's just that he's not a good hockey player. Same kinda goes for Lindgren.

Zibanejad, Kreider and Trocheck have looked very disinterested during this season. Some more than others. That's the really disappointing part after yesterday.

 

[McRanger92]

FWIW, I don't think you can really blame Trouba for not trying or making an effort. It's just that he's not a good hockey player. Same kinda goes for Lindgren.

Zibanejad, Kreider and Trocheck have looked very disinterested during this season. Some more than others. That's the really disappointing part after yesterday.

As long as his paycheck clears and beers are still $20 at MSG I absolutely can and will blame trouba for his piss poor effort. Being the captain of the team isnt conditional on whether he feels like trying or not.

 

[Machinehead]

Fox is a smart player, but he doesn’t skate well, isn’t physical, and doesn’t have a big shot. You have to do at least one of those things well. Come playoff time when the game is a lot tougher, Fox seems overmatched. I know 99% of Ranger fans worship him but he is highly overrated.

The criticism that Fox is particularly unphysical is weird to me.

Like, ok he's 5'nothing, so he's not laying huge hits, but he's always sticking his ass right in there. He doesn't shy away from contact in either zone.

This one, I don't get. 17 assists in 20 games and the Rangers are huge plus in every category when he's on the ice.

For me, this is where it becomes vibes instead of results. People just want a more entertaining player. Too bad.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

My whole thing is, I feel like people want 2012 back. I hear pining over Torts (that I happen to agree with), Dubinsky and Callahan. It seems to come back to 2012 for a lot of people.

I absolutely do not wanna go back to 2012. They were a decent team. Nobody will care, but I'll give you the numbers, 23rd in CF% but 10th in xGF%. The whole "keep it to the outside" ethos sort of worked based on those numbers. They were never winning the Stanley Cup, though.

And like, I'm sorry, but I found that team painfully hard to watch. They NEVER had the puck.

Like I said, they were a solid team, so I'm not trying to pick on them. I'd take them over crap like now, 2016, or even last year tbh. But like, it's sort of my biggest fear. A team that's still not good enough but they visually try hard and set a vibe that people like. I don't wanna fall into that trap again, and I feel like that's what people want. That's my aversion.

Mika is bad and softness is a big part of it. I think that's true for Trouba as well, in some ways. He's more concerned about his highlight hits than playing his position (I think Miller is just a moron and that poor shmuck Lindgren doesn't have one f***ing NHL attribute). Sure, get rid of those guys. I think everyone agrees and the rest is just semantics.

I think the next era of Rangers hockey needs to focus on speed, skill, and hockey IQ as much as anything else. The rest falls into place.

So many teams that we had were somewhat successful and everyone is obsessed with a flash in the pan fluke that should have been out in the first round if we're being honest. That team was never winning anything and were brutal to watch. They played hard and we're missing that now but if this team played hard but sucked at scoring everyone would be begging for skill.

 

[leetch99]

I sort of get those vibes too, but not sure. After ridding all the vets it will be interesting to see what happens. It is only his second year though and there are other vets higher in the pecking order such as fox, laff etc.

Let Schneider wear an A for a bit and see what that does...if he runs with it...make him our C . Could also do the same with Cuylle . We can go a stretch with just 3-4 A's out there .

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Id be a dickhead if I was saddled with barely NHL capable defensemen my entire career.

oh please better players than him have had to carry worse defensive partners. it comes with the territory of being a great defenseman. half of these dudes are carrying some anchor around

 

[Raspewtin]

Fox is a smart player, but he doesn’t skate well, isn’t physical, and doesn’t have a big shot. You have to do at least one of those things well. Come playoff time when the game is a lot tougher, Fox seems overmatched. I know 99% of Ranger fans worship him but he is highly overrated.

he's literally one of the best playoff defensemen in hockey except for last year

big shots are so 2011. haven't mattered in literally over a decade. getting your shot through, which Fox is in the 99.99999th percentile of, does matter.

I know this was bait for exactly what you said but you can criticize Fox's attitude or approach to training without making stuff up

 

[LORDE]

I agree that they're checked out as a group. I mentioned that earlier. I think the writing is on the wall that the window is shutting and the core is parting.

But they're not failing because they're checked out, they're checked out because they've already failed.

The worst 5v5 habits that the biggest offenders have were all always there. I don't care what Zibanejad did when he was shooting over 20%. People pointed it out, nobody wanted to listen, and now it's "what happened to Zibanejad?"

We probably should have committed to riding out a longer rebuild, or if we wanted to accelerate it, make aggressive moves for legit players. Instead, we locked up a core that was never going to beat Stanley Cup caliber teams in a series, and said "this is what we're going into battle with." Inevitable result.

At the end of the day, that's it. That's what happened.

People can say mockingly "well I guess the whole team just sucks!!!" and like, nobody said the whole team, but yeah, their 1C and 3 of their top 4 defenseman all suck ass. That might as well be the whole team.

Spot on post

 

[McRanger92]

The criticism that Fox is particularly unphysical is weird to me.

Like, ok he's 5'nothing, so he's not laying huge hits, but he's always sticking his ass right in there. He doesn't shy away from contact in either zone.

This one, I don't get. 17 assists in 20 games and the Rangers are huge plus in every category when he's on the ice.

For me, this is where it becomes vibes instead of results. People just want a more entertaining player. Too bad.

Don't care about Fox's physicality because he is plenty physical for a small guy.

My concern is his terrible body language after turnovers, where he throws his head back in exasperation (happens like 5 times a night at this point) and his lack of urgency skating back into his zone to retrieve the puck. Also shoot the f***ing puck my man. Averages 5 shots a game for his career and down to 3.6 this year. The underlying numbers are the same as always, so to me that signals poor decision making with the puck on his stick.

 

[LOFIN]

As long as his paycheck clears and beers are still $20 at MSG I absolutely can and will blame trouba for his piss poor effort. Being the captain of the team isnt conditional on whether he feels like trying or not.

But the thing is that he does try! He just doesn't know how to play hockey.

 

[JimmyG89]

Also, in regard to the captaincy, I don't care. I'm not saying leadership doesn't exist, but a letter on a jersey doesn't change who the human beings in the room are.

I just wanna give to to Fox so it's not a thing. He's the face of the franchise and he's so f***ing good that there's no way anybody won't respect it. It's gonna bring the room together, as opposed to now where the team has pretty much publically admitted their captain sucks at hockey.

I'd personally give it to Fox as well, but I wouldn't do it after Trouba is moved.

This team, since 2019, has been the Panarin Rangers. That's who I would name captain for the duration of his contract. There is no reason you couldn't start fresh as soon as that deal is over and give Fox the C or maybe someone else steps up and takes it.

I also think it will be painfully obvious that Panarin will not be returning to this team after that deal is up. He's an elite level player with a team going through a "re-tool" or whatever we're going to call it. He will go to a cup contending team to try and win one.

 

[will1066]

he's literally one of the best playoff defensemen in hockey except for last year

big shots are so 2011. haven't mattered in literally over a decade. getting your shot through, which Fox is in the 99.99999th percentile of, does matter.

I know this was bait for exactly what you said but you can criticize Fox's attitude or approach to training without making stuff up

I'll just say that slow and being non-physical aren't made up. He thrived on jukes and misdirection the first couple of years and dominated play. He rarely dominates 1 on 1 battles anymore.

 

[lakeshirts37]

I was for Fox getting the C last time around. I get he's not super emotional and he's probably not the loudest voice in the room, but hes even keel, he's never too high and never too low, which is an incredibly important leadership trait.

I think Lafreniere can provide that as well

 

[Raspewtin]

Trouba has obviously decided to not break his bones for a team that wants to trade him after playing through a broken ankle in the playoffs. I get it. Business decision.

Wherever he goes next I'd imagine he bounces back strongly, if for no other reason then there will actually be structure.

so now it's the structure causing Trouba to look non-NHL level?

I only ask because you've been particularly vocal that the D are just rotten to the core and uncoachable. is Trouba going to become coachable (or, at least, have an NHL level gap) on another team?

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

my biggest problem with this team for years has been the lack of an identity. they’re not particularly fast, they’re not particularly physical. they feel like a hodgpodge of really good players at the top and mediocre players at the bottom, and ones that haven’t particularly meshed well. we really could use a pretty serious overhaul. move on from the older players and make Laf, Cuylle, and Kakko the focus of the offense. panarin can play out his contract but ideally he’ll be passing the torch to Laf and Perrault as he’s leaving

 

[Raspewtin]

I'll just say that slow and being non-physical aren't made up. He thrived on jukes and misdirection the first couple of years and dominated play. He rarely dominates 1 on 1 battles anymore.

a big part of what you're seeing is the rapid decline of Lindgren leading to Fox getting double teamed and nobody respecting Lindgren on dump ins..

that post (not yours) feels like complaining just to complain. Fox does some things not so well. Whatever. Cale Makar sucks ass defensively and always has but no one complains because he go weeeeeeeee fast

even if he has legit gripes (which he does, the obnoxious head snaps are super annoying and indicative of some not great stuff) you clear out literally 95% of this roster first before you come to any conclusion that a D with 4 straight top 5 norris finishes is any sort of problem driver.