Second impressions of Marty St. Louis (Mod warning in OP)

[Crash Davis]

Good for Marty. Hope this gets him going

 

[Kokoschka]

St. Louis has played very well in every game except maybe 3 so far. Great to see him net a goal.

He's gonna be huge in the PO's.

I do not think MSL has the ability to grow a foot taller over a couple of weeks at this point in his career.

 

[Inferno]

St. Louis has played very well in every game except maybe 3 so far. Great to see him net a goal.

He's gonna be huge in the PO's.

i'd actually disagree with this.

i dont think hes played very well at all. i'd say its probably reversed...played well in about 3 games, and average to below average in the rest.

he loses WAY too many loose puck battles for a guy with his speed.

at times he looks ambivalent out there, same way Richards does.

I'm glad he scored tonight, still not sure he played a particularly good game.

 

[Cake or Death]

One thing I do notice with St Louis is, with him and Nash on separate lines, they draw the two best defensive units from the opposition creating a lot more space for the 4th line and the Zuccarello line. It def makes our team fairly difficult for opposing coaches to match up against. I mean we iced three different lines tonight which each have a 50 point scorer and two different guys on all three lines with 15 or more goals. And with the 4th line chipping in, this really is a pretty deep team that is not an easy team to defend against.

 

[ajdj10]

We won the trade today!

 

[Placid]

Very happy that he finally netted one, hopefully he'll be able to build on that

 

[AlternateSideParking]

He didn't play a good game, but he scored in open ice. He needs to be elusive again. He's at his best when he has space and time.

This team would be a serious Cup,contender if he's playing at his TB level.

 

[RangerBoy]

MSL was having a great season in TB before the trade. Stamkos missed four months and TB was in a playoff spot. This team has not made playoffs since losing in ECF to Boston in 2011. Everyone thought the season was over when Stamkos broke his leg. St.Louis didn't forget how to play. He should be a good player for the Rangers but they need more than him. Hopefully TB re-signs Callahan. The Rangers get their 2nd in 15 with the Rangers sending their 7th in 15 to TB. The Lightning have one of those down years and the 2nd becomes a high second. Rangers have a good year and their first is the lower 1/3 of the draft. No more Garden renovation.

The Rangers re-sign MSL in the summer. The Rangers made a major commitment with what they traded. They have to re-sign him. 2 year extension? 35+ contract. He has one year remaining. 3 years in total plus this season. Nash and MSL as the top 2 RW. Where does that leave Zuccarello who is line for $4M this or next summer? The Rangers have so much money invested in Lundqvist,Nash,McDonagh,Girardi and MSL. $32M in 5 players. Forget about Richards and his $6.67M.

Callahan re-signs in TB for $6M+ for 6-7 years.

Callahan,#1,#2 and #7 for MSL and #2 if Callahan re-signs.

 

[Vickers8]

We won the trade today!

Nice touch stopping the game and giving him the puck!

 

[nyr2k2]

St. Louis has been okay, but underwhelming. I'm not talking statistically, just in terms of his overall play. He has created some chances that his linemates should have finished, but didn't. Similarly, he's gripping the stick a little tight, and has missed quite a few chances that he would normally bury. He hasn't played like a point-per-game player, but I think he's played well enough to have 10 points in his 15 games.

Hopefully last night gets him on track. I'm still fine with the trade, assuming at some point he settles in. If not, yikes.

 

[True Blue]

Lol, you've failed to define "good" and "abundance" I listed 6-7 young players, all of which contribute to our team in their own way, all of which are good players. There are 20 spots on a roster, that's a third of the roster.

Do you define prospects that are, 3rd liners maybe, as "good"? Listing Allen as one of the ones that goes into the abundance of "good" is premature. NONE of the prospects (Krieder is no longer one) to be considered top-6 forwards or top-4 defensemen.

That is pretty much what a barren system looks like. As for the ones that are on the team, lumping in all under-30 players to make the entire pot look better does not really work. You have what? Stepan, who is a 2nd line player. Brassard by most people's definitions seems to be a "meh" second liner but a decent 3rd line players.

When I say abundance of "good" young players, I mean those that are top-2 line forwards; top-4 defensemen. The system is barren for those types of players. I am not even asking for a top line prospect. God knows that is all but unheard of being developed by the Rangers. Yes, you will point out Krieder as such. I have no idea if he is top-line material. Too inconsistent for me. So to me, the "good young players" are Stepan and Krieder. Neither appears to be a top liner. Want to throw Zucc in there? Fine. Still not a top line player. Maybe he will grow into it. Maybe he won't.

So where is this "abundance"?

 

[NYR Viper]

St. Louis has been okay, but underwhelming. I'm not talking statistically, just in terms of his overall play. He has created some chances that his linemates should have finished, but didn't. Similarly, he's gripping the stick a little tight, and has missed quite a few chances that he would normally bury. He hasn't played like a point-per-game player, but I think he's played well enough to have 10 points in his 15 games.

Hopefully last night gets him on track. I'm still fine with the trade, assuming at some point he settles in. If not, yikes.

It's a confidence thing. It's a new player, and leader, coming in and wanting to probably not step on any toes. He will be fine.

 

[True Blue]

Nice touch stopping the game and giving him the puck!

Great that he scored. This trade is a loooooong way from being viewed as a good one.

 

[Vickers8]

Great that he scored. This trade is a loooooong way from being viewed as a good one.

My post was sarcasm...

 

[Levitate]

St. Louis has been okay, but underwhelming. I'm not talking statistically, just in terms of his overall play. He has created some chances that his linemates should have finished, but didn't. Similarly, he's gripping the stick a little tight, and has missed quite a few chances that he would normally bury. He hasn't played like a point-per-game player, but I think he's played well enough to have 10 points in his 15 games.

Hopefully last night gets him on track. I'm still fine with the trade, assuming at some point he settles in. If not, yikes.

yeah I dont' think he's really managed to find his comfort zone yet, you still see him throwing some passes to places where he thinks guys are and no one is there. I think he'll get it soon though and hopefully will be ready for the playoffs. Also seems to be trying to force a lot out there on the ice...hopefully the goal settles him down, and thank god he shot it and didn't try to pass it back to Nash

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Then again, show me the abundance of good, young players. Not show me young players, of which some are good.

It was shown and you responded to it. Your opinion was that the names were "young players, some of which are good". Doesn't make it fact.

 

[Jersey Girl]

We have liftoff!!!

Yay, St Louis finally scored to end the drama - not the drama in here, of course, the drama that must exist with St Louis in the lockeroom, with the press, etc.

And it must be mentioned that was a HUGE goal. We were scrambling for quite a while before that, and, even with Hank playing outstanding, you could feel the tying goal coming. Not! Wonderful shot, wonderful timing, getting to the right place at the right time...it was all there.

Having said that, I still thought it overall was a mediocre game at best for St Louis. He just gets bumped off the puck way too often for my taste - I don't get it.

And on one of his forechecks last night chasing the puck with a Canuck, he was shouldered away from the puck too easily and his compete level and body language said 'oh well, no big deal'. Vancouver came down and scored and while I am not a huge advocate of plus/minus stats telling a story, St Louis definitely earned his minus on that shift.

How surreal to hear the arena announcer say 'his 30th goal of the season' when it was his first in 15 games for us? Doesn't even seem possible. Hopefully this leads to bigger and better things for St Louis, we're certainly going to need them. Maybe now he can get down to the real task of being an elite hockey player - not over the last ten years as a whole - that's a given - but for US.

 

[offdacrossbar]

msl will be fine.

hes a proud guy. a warrior and a guy whos overcome his whole career.

new team. new city. new everything. thats a tough change mid season in a playoff race especially when you dont score. if you dont think the weight and pressure of him not scoring wasnt effecting his game then you have never played sports. he was over thinking and not just playing. you could see it in his body language. he was pressing.

he got his first one and it was a big one on the road in an emotional game. pressure off.

when he continues scoring everyone here will react the same as they did when cally scored in tampa. we won the trade. msl rocks. cally sucks. none of that matters.

when the playoffs start, thats the guy i want on my team. a proven clutch scorer who can both dish and finish.i wont be surprised at all when hes our leading scorer in the playoffs.

he will earn his check in the playoffs in tight games.

 

[Ian]

Just please get him off a line with Richards. MSL needs space, he's not as strong on the puck with extreme pressure a la MZA. He's accomplishing nothing with soft backhand dump Brad.

 

[Jersey Girl]

msl will be fine.

hes a proud guy. a warrior and a guy whos overcome his whole career.

The thing is, for the assets we gave up to get him, we are going to need a lot more than fine. In the original trade thread so many posters said they're ok with giving up so much for an elite forward - and if he is elite, I could understand that sentiment.

So we need elite, not fine.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

The thing is, for the assets we gave up to get him, we are going to need a lot more than fine. In the original trade thread so many posters said they're ok with giving up so much for an elite forward - and if he is elite, I could understand that sentiment.

So we need elite, not fine.

I actually agree with this and I don't even mean Callahan, who I wanted traded. The picks were a king's ransom.

 

[nyr2k2]

The thing is, for the assets we gave up to get him, we are going to need a lot more than fine. In the original trade thread so many posters said they're ok with giving up so much for an elite forward - and if he is elite, I could understand that sentiment.

So we need elite, not fine.

I think when people say MSL will be fine, they'll mean he'll return to his normal level of play (elite).

 

[Jersey Girl]

I think when people say MSL will be fine, they'll mean he'll return to his normal level of play (elite).

Fair enough - even though St Louis has a ways to go to make himself 'fine', let alone 'elite'.

 

[offdacrossbar]

msl leads our team in goals. hes our leading scorer. hes our most talented offensive player.

his resume speaks for itself. no reason to believe he will suddenly lose all his ability to be an elite scorer. to me, the term "fine" means that he will regain his old form and play to that level or above again.

compared to many of our players, martys "fine" is still better than most.

again, im not concerned. he will step up in the playoffs. thats what clutch offensive veteran leaders do.

 

[RGY]

It's a confidence thing. It's a new player, and leader, coming in and wanting to probably not step on any toes. He will be fine.

Agreed. I dont think you have to worry about stepping on any toes part. You look at the team's reaction after his goal and they were just as happy as he was. There is a level of respect for MSL. I think he gets going now.