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Softest team in the NHL

Hockeyplayer99

Registered User
Jul 31, 2005
724
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Moore, Pouliot and Aaron Johnson, not much in terms of physical play there to go along with all of our other non physical players, I think the Rangers will be the softest team in the league this year. As if we weren't soft last year we are even softer this year. You don't win a playoff series with a physically weak team like ours. Oh well another year of us being a bad team. Different coach, but same results unless we start to get guys who can actually play physical and play the game we will not go far in the playoffs, maybe regular season we can be decent for the 6-8 spot if we are lucky as all the teams in the east seemed to have improved greatly and we haven't.
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Hockeyplayer99 said:
Moore, Pouliot and Aaron Johnson, not much in terms of physical play there to go along with all of our other non physical players, I think the Rangers will be the softest team in the league this year. As if we weren't soft last year we are even softer this year. You don't win a playoff series with a physically weak team like ours. Oh well another year of us being a bad team. Different coach, but same results unless we start to get guys who can actually play physical and play the game we will not go far in the playoffs, maybe regular season we can be decent for the 6-8 spot if we are lucky as all the teams in the east seemed to have improved greatly and we haven't.
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Dom Moore is very physical, he finishes every check like Cally..
 
Physical guys who played for them this season,

Carcillo, Mayers, Bollig, Seabrook is physical on Defense, they have Andrew Shaw playing a physical game. Rangers have Callahan, umm Dorsett and Boyle throws his big body around so much, not really, so who else do we have that will play physical, maybe Richards, Brassard, Nash, Stepan, zucc, hagalin. Boston, Islanders, Flyers, Columbus, Devils, Toronto, Pens, Montreal, yes they have small guys but they also have alot more physical guys then Rangers, Ottawa, Buffalo, Caps are all much more physical then Rangers
 
TheRightWay said:
Who the hell are all these super tough guys on the Blackhawks?
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Bryan Bickell is a nasty **** with size. Andrew Shaw is gritty and a nightmare to play against. If need be they can insert Brandon Bollig for some extra thuggage. Jamal Mayers is real nasty. They have guys.
 
I'm probably the minority in this one, but I for one am glad they signed actual hockey players to play in the bottom 6 than hacks who can barely hold their sticks.
 
It's amazing to me that people continue to confuse a lack of forward depth and an extreme collapsing defensive system with some unforgivable lack of toughness. We didn't lose to the Bruins because they were tougher than us. We lost because they played better hockey than we did.
 
Machinehead said:
Bryan Bickell is a nasty **** with size. Andrew Shaw is gritty and a nightmare to play against. If need be they can insert Brandon Bollig for some extra thuggage. Jamal Mayers is real nasty. They have guys.
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I don't know how anyone could look at the team the Hawks had this year and even begin to call them soft. Great blend of skill and toughness.
 
Machinehead said:
Bryan Bickell is a nasty **** with size. Andrew Shaw is gritty and a nightmare to play against. If need be they can insert Brandon Bollig for some extra thuggage. Jamal Mayers is real nasty. They have guys.
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Yeah, and so do we. Dorsett and Asham are as "gritty" as you can basically get. Callahan and Girardi don't take **** from anyone. We "have guys" also. The Blackhawks also have finesse guys; they're not running everyone over with brute. You need a nice balance.
 
Zil said:
It's amazing to me that people continue to confuse a lack of forward depth and an extreme collapsing defensive system with some unforgivable lack of toughness. We didn't lose to the Bruins because they were tougher than us. We lost because they played better hockey than we did.
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Pretty much. I'd rather have actual hockey players and a working system.
 
Kershaw said:
I'm probably the minority in this one, but I for one am glad they signed actual hockey players to play in the bottom 6 than hacks who can barely hold their sticks.
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This.

All you people do is complain about how we have Pyatt and Asham, among others, in our bottom six doing nothing except be big and slow, and fight, respectively.

Now we actually sign depth scorers for our bottom six and everyone complains about how soft the team is now.

For ****s sake...
 
Zil said:
It's amazing to me that people continue to confuse a lack of forward depth and an extreme collapsing defensive system with some unforgivable lack of toughness. We didn't lose to the Bruins because they were tougher than us. We lost because they played better hockey than we did.
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...with much better players.

Im not concerned about the teams toughness or lack thereof, Im more concerned about what is a continued roster building approach that is seemingly based on a piecemeal approach - a hodgepodge approach that really isnt helping anybody. We'll see what this team's identity becomes, because its pretty damn difficult to figure it out based on the roster - especially at forward.

Then again, they can always lack an identity the entire year like last season. Thats always a possibility.
 
Barbara Underhill said:
Where did all the "softest team in the NHL posters" come from?
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Didnt Joe Thorton say that about the Rangers a couple years ago? After we scrubstomped the sharks in some game. Either way, Dom Moore was a great PKer and more involved/physical than any of our bottom 6 last season.
 
I'm not really big into the whole soft vs. tough argument.

If you are in the NHL you have learned to play the pro game and know what it takes to get the job done. The Rangers scouts aren't idiots. The Rangers are not soft. They are a gritty team who have shown they are capable of blocking tons of shots at the risk of putting themselves out of the lineup. It's not just about fighting or checking or size. A lot has to be done to win in this league.

This argument is garbage IMO and is manufactured at the convenience of fans who feel teams need to emulate what they feel makes a successful team. It really only takes 2 or 3 guys to make a team appear tougher than it really is. It boils down to perseverance and resolve, and I think the Rangers have plenty of it, especially with their core players and in net.

The margin of success in this league is small. A bounce here or there and things can take off one way or another for a team. A key injury or hot streak can propel you into the next round of the playoffs. That has nothing to do with toughness. I'm not going to dismiss the toughness factor completely, because I thought the Rangers missed a lot of it from the prior year. But that team could have been out in the first round just as easily as last season when they were throttled by The B's
 
What's amazing is that posters will always find a way to say that he Rangers aren't soft despite to total lack of a physical presence. Before Clowe came aboard last season it was a huge issue. Now that hes out, and now Asham gone too. If McIlrath doesn't make the squad this years team will be pillow-soft!
 
Yeah it was Detroit, Now they have Tootoo, and looking to get Morrow. So yes Rangers could be now the softest team in the NHL.
 
Barbara Underhill said:
Where did all the "softest team in the NHL posters" come from?
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I think the tough guy club has been doing a lot of recruiting lately.

Detroit is a model franchise. Where are the tough guys on their team? Kronwall is a big hitter. But other than him, who do they have? Bertuzzi is 38 and hardly plays any more. They signed Tootoo and he played 1 game in the playoffs.

I'd love for this team to add more players who are both physical and can play the game. But unfortunately, there weren't many players like that available, and the ones that were cost way too much.

Kreider is a big kid. He may not be a prototypical power forward, but he is super strong on his skates and can fly. He will get his share of hits.

We've got guys like McIlrath and Noreau waiting in the wings. We just drafted another kid like them in Graves. We need a couple mean SOBs on the offensive side, but in the absence of that, I'll take the "soft" skilled guy over the "offensive void" tough guy any day.
 
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