Speculation: Roster Building Thread: Part XIV

[Waivers]

As they say, high risk, high reward.

 

[darko]

The part that isn’t accurate is that Lias is being saddled with inferior players or guys that (and yes I just read this) are too slow for him?

. I’m sorry but both smith and McKegg are better players than Lias right now. Both have their moments. And frankly both can skate circles around him. Smith has been very solid as a 4th liner. He has generated chances and other than that bonehead play yesterday he’s been good defensively. McKegg in limited action gets in uses his speed to disrupt he’s been good.

the obvious piece here is that if Lias was the best player on his line we’d know about it. The coaches and front office do not want to bury their 7th overall pick just because. To be honest I think he’s only here due to his draft status.

be the best player on your line and earn ice time. Quinn isn’t dancing around this. He said it yesterday lias needs to earn more mins.

Smith sucks and McKegg/Haley are spare forwards.

When Ziba is back I'd like to see Ziba/Chytil/Lias down the middle.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Have to think Toronto is going to look to shake things up soon.

Would look to pull a fast one on them.

 

[Kovalev27]

Smith sucks and McKegg/Haley are spare forwards.

When Ziba is back I'd like to see Ziba/Chytil/Lias down the middle.

I mean this is kind of what I’m talking about. What about Andersson is remotely better than McKegg? Nothing.

they’re both spare forwards. There’s no way thru 14 games that Lias has played that he’s shown to be better than smith or McKegg. That’s fantasy land

 

[darko]

I mean this is kind of what I’m talking about. What about Andersson is remotely better than McKegg? Nothing.

they’re both spare forwards. There’s no way thru 14 games that Lias has played that he’s shown to be better than smith or McKegg. That’s fantasy land

Difference is McKegg is 27 and Smith and Haley are in their 30s. They are what they are. Lias just turned 21. If you think Lias is done developing I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Kovalev27]

Difference is McKegg is 27 and Smith and Haley are in their 30s. They are what they are. Lias just turned 21. If you think Lias is done developing I don't know what to tell you.

that’s not what we’re talking about is it? We’re talking about the notion he’s playing with two guys vastly inferior to him and that being the only reason he’s struggled so badly.

we know that isn’t true. It’s an excuse. If he still is developing that’s why he’s been bad then ok that’s different. Put him in Hartford because currently he’s the worst player on the team.

 

[Raspewtin]

send both Howden and Lias to the AHL

one will never get a chance to be anything more than a 7 minute plug and the other is one of the worst forwards in the league getting force fed top 6 minutes

 

[wafflepadsave]

Have to think Toronto is going to look to shake things up soon.

Would look to pull a fast one on them.

They get st least another month due to marner’s injury.

 

[darko]

that’s not what we’re talking about is it? We’re talking about the notion he’s playing with two guys vastly inferior to him and that being the only reason he’s struggled so badly.

we know that isn’t true. It’s an excuse. If he still is developing that’s why he’s been bad then ok that’s different. Put him in Hartford because currently he’s the worst player on the team.

He's playing with 2 guys that aren't doing anything for him. Howden is the worst player on the team. McKegg and Haley are thereabouts too.

Put Lias with say Kakko and Lemieux on 3rd line and let's see what he does.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

send both Howden and Lias to the NHL

should be a short trip for both of them.

 

[Raspewtin]

should be a short trip for both of them.

lol whoops

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Don’t forget, Lias was the Rangers third choice for that pick. They wanted Peterson and Glass ahead of him. Then they let a scout who was retiring convince them to draft him.

I’m aware that the pick was not originally ours, but stories like that just go to show that the lower your pick is the better the player is more likely to be.

 

[Kovalev27]

He's playing with 2 guys that aren't doing anything for him. Howden is the worst player on the team. McKegg and Haley are thereabouts too.

Put Lias with say Kakko and Lemieux on 3rd line and let's see what he does.

I mean that’s just simply not true. If he was the far better player on that line we’d all know it by now. We’d see it. He’s playing against other 4th liners. He has not made any plays. You can’t play center in this league and have to rely completely on your wingers to be remotely effective.

 

[Kovalev27]

send both Howden and Lias to the AHL

one will never get a chance to be anything more than a 7 minute plug and the other is one of the worst forwards in the league getting force fed top 6 minutes

Id be fine with this.

 

[Inferno]

The argument that Lias hasn’t been good nor shown anything to be moved up is nonsense since Howden has been far worse. Again.

Just because 1 thing is true and another isn't doesn't mean both things are true or both things are false.


The coach could also be right about 1 thing and wrong about another.

I also happen to prefer howden to load despite howden playing very poorly. I just see...more there. The stats may not show it, but you can see it.


Just like you could see kakko having game despite being statistically like the worst player in the entire nhl

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Have to think Toronto is going to look to shake things up soon.

Would look to pull a fast one on them.

What you thinking?

 

[Good Intentions]

What are the “excuses” though? Because him not getting any ice time is a fact. Him not getting ice time with legitimate NHL forwards is a fact. Smith isn’t a forward, don’t care how serviceable he has been. McKegg is a fringe forward. Haley, surprised he has lasted this long getting any NHL minutes. These are the facts.

Hockey is not a one man sport. There are a very select few that can carry the play and do it all by themselves. Its fast paced, and every shift there is so much going on all over the ice that linemates depend on each other to allow the whole line to have a successful shift. Lias does not have dependable linemates. He had a good camp and his reward was getting stuck with bums. Howden had a suspect camp and his reward has been Top 9 minutes all year long. And during that time he has gotten worse while playing with more competent wingers. Last year Lias got some ice time with Lemieux and they looked good together. What is the harm in giving that a look again? Howden doesn’t deserve the role he is in.

Calling facts excuses is downright lazy and naive, wanting to take the easy way out in an argument by trying to pass it off as truth. It isn’t. Its bull*** is what it is.

Some good points here.

Ultimately, Quinn prefers Howden over Lias, to an extent in which there doesn’t appear to be a competition between the two. If I had any positive feeling for Lias, I would feel the same frustration.

 

[FIRE DRURY]

Have to think Toronto is going to look to shake things up soon.

Would look to pull a fast one on them.

Fast to Toronto (E14)

 

[Irishguy42]

Eject Howden into the sun.

 

[Edge]

IMO, JP represents the dangers of lusting for skills. When you fall in love with what they can do in practice, or in scenarios that emphasis skill over in-game application.

Now having said all that, we're reaching the point where there's little or no point to the Rangers keeping Andersson. If they're not going to try him in different scenarios, to even see if that has any impact, then it's time to move on.

In a lineup where various players have been moved around, changed positions, etc. to see if they can jump start their game or find chemistry, Andersson is not some weird enigma with a unique situation. But if the fourth line is his home, and he has to sink or swim entirely on his own, then there's a high probability that we already know how this is going to end.

 

[Michal]

Guys, we have definitely the worst CF% in the league (43%). In my opinion its's very alarming. I am wondering how we have managed to win a half of our games with so bad puck possesion...

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

With Andersson I just keep coming back to the fact that the team seems content molding him into a bottom 6 grinder. It's so weird to not even try to make it work another way.

@Edge would you rather have Puljujarvi or Andersson long term?

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Guys, we have definitely the worst CF% in the league (43%). In my opinion its's very alarming. I am wondering how we have managed to win a half of our games with so bad puck possesion...

They've been able to win with the patented Ranger Way™©

AKA rely heavily on great play from the goalies

 

[Edge]

With Andersson I just keep coming back to the fact that the team seems content molding him into a bottom 6 grinder. It's so weird to not even try to make it work another way.

@Edge would you rather have Puljujarvi or Andersson long term?

Right now, with the proper level of support, I think Andersson has a better shot of being an NHL player. I don't think the upside is there like JP, but I'm really not sure JP can convert his skills and style into a scoring, top-six role. And if he's not in that role, I don't see a middle six or bottom six winger. Even assuming I did see a skilled third line player, we're already dealing with the ups and downs of that with Buchnevich.

Even if Andersson never scores 20 goals or 55 points, I do see at least a third liner in there who disturbs the other team and serves a motor for his clubs. I've seen that at literally every other stop for him on his journey, and flashes of that in NY.

I think a lot of people would be surprised if they actually saw JP with regularity. I think they'd also grow even more frustrated with him than they have someone like Buchnevich. But there's this memory of what he was, or at least what people thought he would be. Kind of like the person you dated with or had a crush on when you were younger. There's always this pull to recapture those feelings and reconnect. But the reality almost never matches the fantasy.

At the end of the day, if Andersson doesn't make it, he doesn't make it. But it would be nice to feel like we put as much effort as possible in trying to get him to succeed before we move on. However, I can't say I feel like we've done that. Nor can I say that we will. I don't see any desire to see if something's there from Quinn. We've seen flashes of things that have worked, be it playing with Zibanejad, Lemieux and Fast, etc. But we never revisit that. Regardless of how one feels about Andersson, that's just ****ing strange.

And if that's the way it's going to be, then regardless of whether I would move Andersson, then that's what we have to do. Because this approach is simply not going to work and there's no point in waiting three months, six months, or a year to arrive at the same conclusion that it's just not going to work.

 

[Trxjw]

I think Howden has officially taken over the whipping boy position vacated by Pionk.