Speculation: Roster Building Thread : Part XVI (Playoffs or Retool?)

[leetch99]

Fun fact, Lafreniere is actually scoring at a higher (very slightly) rate 5v5 this season than last. His IPP (individual point percentage, the percentage of on-ice GF he has a point on) jumped 13% to 74.29 at 5v5.

A big reason his pace is off from last season at evens has a lot to do with the fact that 6v5 the Rangers are T-Last with just a single goal. Last season the team tied for the league lead with 11, and Lafreniere had 5 points at 6v5

I think most of us expected to see much more from Laf after his playoff last season then a few more 5 on 5 pts.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Awesome look forward to when he starts producing like before he was with 93
I won't hold my breath
But hey I understand someone has to play on a line with a guy who refuses to win puck battles and right now Cuylle is that sacrificial lamb

His production fell off before he was paired with 93.

The one constant that has remained over the season is who ever he plays with has driven the f*** out of offense. He isn't a sacrificial lamb, he's just had shitty puck luck for a while after having pretty favorable puck luck. He's due another bump soon provided that his play doesn't drop off.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

His “luck” won’t normalize because even if he’s not playing with his head in the clouds like he was most of the season , with regards to defending and skating, he still had completely lost any and all puck skills, shooting skills, goal scoring instincts, etc.

 

[Machinehead]

His “luck” won’t normalize because even if he’s not playing with his head in the clouds like he was most of the season , with regards to defending and skating, he still had completely lost any and all puck skills, shooting skills, goal scoring instincts, etc.

People insist that something has changed every time this comes up and it usually hasn't.

Shooting percentage is undefeated.

 

[will1066]

Fox/Leetch was staring you right in the face and you opted for Vaak/Edstrom?!

She didn't deserve more than 20%. I'm a better manager of my money than Drury.

 

[mrmovies779]

As I expected. Strawmans and running goal posts.

Rightful criticism? Give me a f***ing break How the f*** can he be a detriment to the team when he is constantly creating offence? I mean, what are we doing here? Has this board gone completely insane? Are xGF/60 a bogus stat all of a sudden. Cuylle is having more high danger chances than ever before playing with Mika. Even more than when he was playing on "the best line in hockey". Sure, the scoring is down but that is due to puck luck.

You guys are so delusional and entrenched in your hatred towards Zibanejad that It would kill you to give fair criticism. Heck, just a couple of hours ago someone posted a Tweet falsely painting Mika as the culprit for Cuylle cooling down and you all went and bombed it with likes without even looking up the actual numbers. Luckily we had a few posters quickly debunking that Tweet with actual facts.

At this point I would respect you more if you just came out and admitted that you dont like the guy whether he plays well or not.

You are quickly ascending into Webster territory

 

[Boris Zubov]

What is it that you guys dont understand? I am not claiming he is lighting it up or that he is back to form. I am challenging those (you among them) who claim he is the worst player on the team.

Now who's moving the goal posts?!? You started out this recent chest pounding by asking us to spin that he's not a detriment to the team, not to disprove that he's the worst player on the team. I don't see anyone claiming that recently...in fact many people have agreed with you that his play has improved. Kinda hard not to when there was literally nowhere to go but up. However, he's still vastly under producing for his perceived role & his his cap hit.

 

[will1066]

What a novel idea!!! Wonder who came up with it?

@mas0764

 

[haohmaru]

What crap, and selective, statistic.

Let's keep in mind that 2nd year "3rd liner" Cuylle is now playing against lines like the line he was matched up against last night - you know, the one with MacKinnon and Necas on it. Mika is used to playing against those players (and he's been undeniably his career worst as a Ranger this year) but Cuylle is not. Of course there's a learning curve and attention to defense, for him in particular, while he grows as a 2nd year young forward. Of course his offense is going to go down. He's never played against competition like this in his life.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Great! Everybody knows Mika sucked before the break. Now show me the card for the past 10 games, you know, what this discussion is all about.

The last 10 games isnt masking the fact that he's not the offensive player he once was. I was a big Mika fan and was not expecting his game to fall off a cliff like it has, at least not until he turned 33-34. I think something with Covid has had something to do with it, but whatever the case he hasnt been nearly as effective.

You talk about the last 10 games and yes, he has looked better but why are we ok with dismissing the last 100 or so games? Why are we dismissing the fact that he has only 4 goals over the past 23 playoff games? Why are we dismissing the fact that he has avoided contact, sulks and gives up on plays too often? Those are habits of his that come and go and you can't put that into a chart.

To me thats a little unforgivable given his leadership status, minutes and cap %. I want the guy to succeed, desperately. And I can try to find ways to be positive with evaluating his game but its really difficult watching him at times and what his game has been reduced to.

 

[MrAlmost]

Z isn't the worst player on the team. No one said that and it's silly to suggest it.

He is the 3rd worst player on the team. Behind Lindgren and Kreider, respectively. Haha

 

[kovazub94]

As I expected. Strawmans and running goal posts.

Rightful criticism? Give me a f***ing break How the f*** can he be a detriment to the team when he is constantly creating offence? I mean, what are we doing here? Has this board gone completely insane? Are xGF/60 a bogus stat all of a sudden. Cuylle is having more high danger chances than ever before playing with Mika. Even more than when he was playing on "the best line in hockey". Sure, the scoring is down but that is due to puck luck.

You guys are so delusional and entrenched in your hatred towards Zibanejad that It would kill you to give fair criticism. Heck, just a couple of hours ago someone posted a Tweet falsely painting Mika as the culprit for Cuylle cooling down and you all went and bombed it with likes without even looking up the actual numbers. Luckily we had a few posters quickly debunking that Tweet with actual facts.

At this point I would respect you more if you just came out and admitted that you dont like the guy whether he plays well or not.

At this point do you have anything other than name-calling (hater, defeatist, etc)? You know why xGF% is used (rhetorical)? It supposed to predict the future once puck luck is no longer an issue. In this case we're talking 1.5 years of underwhelming performance - can you explain? Or am I just a hater?

Z isn't the worst player on the team. No one said that and it's silly to suggest it.

He is the 3rd worst player on the team. Behind Lindgren and Kreider, respectively. Haha

I'd suggest a gladiator match between @Siddi and @EdJovanovski for the 4th worse title (between Zib and Rempe)

 

[Siddi]

Now who's moving the goal posts?!? You started out this recent chest pounding by asking us to spin that he's not a detriment to the team, not to disprove that he's the worst player on the team. I don't see anyone claiming that recently...in fact many people have agreed with you that his play has improved. Kinda hard not to when there was literally nowhere to go but up. However, he's still vastly under producing for his perceived role & his his cap hit.

You are being dishonest. I can show you at least 10 posts just from the last GDT/PGT claiming just that.

 

[Siddi]

What crap, and selective, statistic.

Let's keep in mind that 2nd year "3rd liner" Cuylle is now playing against lines like the line he was matched up against last night - you know, the one with MacKinnon and Necas on it. Mika is used to playing against those players (and he's been undeniably his career worst as a Ranger this year) but Cuylle is not. Of course there's a learning curve and attention to defense, for him in particular, while he grows as a 2nd year young forward. Of course his offense is going to go down. He's never played against competition like this in his life.

Not to mention, they forgot to mention that Cuylle went 8 games with ZERO points before pairing up with Mika. Also, get this, Cuylles high danger chances have increased playing with Mika.

At this point do you have anything other than name-calling (hater, defeatist, etc)? You know why xGF% is used (rhetorical)? It supposed to predict the future once puck luck is no longer an issue. In this case we're talking 1.5 years of underwhelming performance - can you explain? Or am I just a hater?

Is xGF/60 the same as xGF%? (rhetorical)

 

[kovazub94]

Not to mention, they forgot to mention that Cuylle went 8 games with ZERO points before pairing up with Mika. Also, get this, Cuylles high danger chances have increased playing with Mika.


Is xGF/60 the same as xGF%? (rhetorical)

No it’s not, now that I replied another one of your snarky comment, hopefully your memory doesn’t betray you for the third time to finally answer?

 

[Boris Zubov]

You are being dishonest. I can show you at least 10 posts just from the last GDT/PGT claiming just that.

No, I'm not. I'm referring to this post that you made unprompted in the RBT at 1:50 today that was referring to the past "10+ games"...

This is to all the "eye test" posters out there. Despite all of your posturing and cheast beating about Mika being a detriment to this team and what not. How is it that for the past 10+ games his line leads the team in xGF/60? Mikas line is literally our best line at creating offence.

I would love to see the peanut gallery try to spin this.

I didn't read the thread from yesterday, so I have no idea what you're referring to, so my initial reply was based on this post that didn't mention yesterday's GDT at all. You can't keep accusing posters of arguing in bad faith without looking in the mirror.

 

[NickyFotiu]

 

[NYR Viper]

Interesting to see the same thing that happened with Kakko when he was put on a line with Mika happening to Cuylle

 

[bernmeister]

What is it that you guys dont understand? I am not claiming he is lighting it up or that he is back to form. I am challenging those (you among them) who claim he is the worst player on the team.

ok, you say he is not worst
say who is
say his name

Z isn't the worst player on the team. No one said that and it's silly to suggest it.

He is the 3rd worst player on the team. Behind Lindgren and Kreider, respectively. Haha

not silly at all

objectively Kreider is better, and is playing injured
zib lack of heart is not a medical impairment

Lindgren is a fair argument but we all know how much wear and tear he has taken for the team that every so often he has to gradually heal up
honestly? Objectively yes zib has mo upside than lindgren but in terms of current results you could argue that Lindy, who at least engages, is less detrimental to the team atm

 

[SA16]

Interesting to see the same thing that happened with Kakko when he was put on a line with Mika happening to Cuylle

Nothing happened to cuylle when on a line with Mika he stopped producing long before that

 

[DuneGoon84]

What is it that you guys dont understand? I am not claiming he is lighting it up or that he is back to form. I am challenging those (you among them) who claim he is the worst player on the team.

Not sure anyone is claiming he is the worst on the team. What i am saying is that he sucks for his salary. Constantly whiffs on his shots, puck explodes off his stick, makes dumb ass passes when he should be shooting it... etc. Anyone defending him is either blind or a blatant fanboy.

 

[UnparalledPark]

This is why I'm fine with trading for JT Miller if it means Kreider eventually goes.

Yeah, Kreider needs to go, even though he leads team in GWG. But wait, now GWG is a meaningless stat. But hey, he’s 2nd on the team in goals. But hey 1/3 of his goals are on the PP so that doesn’t count, and besides, being on the PP is taking valuable time away from our young scoring juggernauts on the team.

Maybe getting rid of Kreider will allow some of the young guys to step up, but frankly I’m not overly confident about it. But won’t getting J.T cause the same problem. It seems Drury will keep the older guys around as long as they are performing, and the team is winning, but it doesn’t seem that the young guys are going to be given anything, they’re gonna have to earn it. I think Othman and Perrault may be the two that can do that. I hope to see Othman up here soon.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

People insist that something has changed every time this comes up and it usually hasn't.

Shooting percentage is undefeated.

Not sure what you mean. Are you saying the only difference between 2025 Zib and 2020 Zib is shooting luck?

 

[McRanger92]

Trade for JT. Move Kreider in a separate deal. JT improves us in every area we are lacking(PP, top 6 finishing, leadership). Mika and Panarin are also playing for their Rangers careers imo and can and should be moved this summer if the trend continues.

 

[bl02]

If he's playing so well why is he still at an Overall of 1?

He has 3 goals & 5 assists in 15 games since the Christmas break. That's not exactly lighting it up, but I know you'll tell us all just how good his x/GF numbers are. Regardless, he needs to score. He's paid as our 1C & the team relies on him to produce.

This. It's amazing how ok its become to accept this level of play from a guy who just started a 8.5 million dollar contract and is supposed to be our number 1 center. He's a distant third in terms of our centers and in fact I would rather see more of Sam Carrick.