Stralman's future with NYR?

[aufheben]

Can you further explain the bottom 4?

 

[smoneil]

"Half a decade younger". Come on. 27 is not old at all for a defensemen. He played for Toronto and Columbus prior to NYR, not exactly the class of the NHL. He's excelled in every opportunity he's been given here. Everyone seems to be banking on Del Zotto becoming Brian Leetch, why can't Stralman continue improving? He stepped up these playoffs when some of our other key players fell flat on their faces. He's lessened the blow of losing Sauer considerably, everything short of lunacy should be done to keep him.

First off, he'll be 28 in a week. Second, not that many 28 year old defensemen "keep improving." Third, not only will you never find a post from me (or anyone from what I've seen) suggesting that MDZ will become Leetch, you can find one from EARLIER TODAY where I said that there's no comparison between MDZ and Leetch.

As I said at the outset, he's been a good player for the 3rd pair. He's our clear number five. I do indeed think they should keep him if the number is right. That said, I think we need to see a bit more of him in less sheltered situations and in a different system before we start casting off key pieces of our top four to create space for Stralman.

Whether he or Full Leather Jacket are better right now, I don't want to get it to. Obviously Del Zotto has terrific offensive potential. There are a lot of situations where I'd want Stralman on the ice instead of Del Zotto. Right now.

Not against key players from the other team, when we need a PP point or any point, really. MDZ is the clearly proven better player. I'm not arguing that MDZ > Stralman based on potential. I'm arguing that MDZ > Stralman based on tangible results (a gap which will only get wider).

Anyway, we should all be grateful that the defensive core is so full of potential and already strong, that we can have such circular, abstracted arguments.

Agreed.

 

[aufheben]

Trading Del Zotto wouldn't just be to keep Stralman. He's got a lot of value, we happen to have a lot of young defensemen, and a big need on LW.

 

[GAGLine]

First off, he'll be 28 in a week.

Stralman turned 27 on August 1st.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Can you further explain the bottom 4?

Absotively!

The charts view the average expected goal, shot, Fenwick, and Corsi differential from the opposition when the player was on ice. Fenwick = shots on goal + missed shots. Corsi = Fenwick + blocked shots. I.E. Corsi measures all shot attempts. Fenwick excludes blocked shots since blocking shots can be considered a skill. Fenwick and Corsi correlates so closely to puck possession that people have given up measuring it (possession).

HA keeps extensive With Or Without You (WOWY) and Against You Or Not Against You (AYONAY) charts. The latter can be used to aggregate how the players you faced fared when not playing against you, ensuring that their head to head performances isn't mucking up the data.

They are also really fun to see how different players mesh with each other, and how players matched up against each other. From the top of my head, Stepan owned Giroux and Tavares the past season.

 

[Raspewtin]

Just for the record I really do love our D core, and I think when McI is ready, deciding who's gone will be an incredibly hard decision. But it's a decision I'll ultimately be glad we had to make.

 

[Ola]

First off, he'll be 28 in a week. Second, not that many 28 year old defensemen "keep improving." Third, not only will you never find a post from me (or anyone from what I've seen) suggesting that MDZ will become Leetch, you can find one from EARLIER TODAY where I said that there's no comparison between MDZ and Leetch.

I am no sure about this, and there are plenty of players that basically -- start -- playing in this league when they are around 25-28.

Sheldon Souray was 28 his -- first -- decent year in the NHL.

Brian Rafalski established himself in the NHL when he was -- 28 y/o. 32 pts his rookie year when he was 27, 52pts when he was 28.

McCabe, 26-27 his first good year.

Boyle was 26 when he established himself as a good player for Tampa, had a very mediocre careeer for Fla upuntil that point.

A guy like Lubomir Vishnovsky is a good compareble. Vishnovsky's career is perfectly compareable to Strålmans career, and LV doesn't take the next step until he is 30 y/o. Then he is more or less a top 10-15 scoring D in this league for the following 6-7 years.

Streit was 28 his rookie year in the NHL. 11 pts in 48 games as a 28 y/o rookie.

If you look at a group of top 60 D's in the NHL, you are going to have a hard time finding D's who don't keep improving past 28. Most probably hit their prime around 31-38. For these D's poise is the key and posie comes with experience.

 

[Doctyl]

I am no sure about this, and there are plenty of players that basically -- start -- playing in this league when they are around 25-28.

Sheldon Souray was 28 his -- first -- decent year in the NHL.

Brian Rafalski established himself in the NHL when he was -- 28 y/o. 32 pts his rookie year when he was 27, 52pts when he was 28.

McCabe, 26-27 his first good year.

Boyle was 26 when he established himself as a good player for Tampa, had a very mediocre careeer for Fla upuntil that point.

A guy like Lubomir Vishnovsky is a good compareble. Vishnovsky's career is perfectly compareable to Strålmans career, and LV doesn't take the next step until he is 30 y/o. Then he is more or less a top 10-15 scoring D in this league for the following 6-7 years.

Streit was 28 his rookie year in the NHL. 11 pts in 48 games as a 28 y/o rookie.

If you look at a group of top 60 D's in the NHL, you are going to have a hard time finding D's who don't keep improving past 28. Most probably hit their prime around 31-38. For these D's poise is the key and posie comes with experience.

Great post Ola

 

[smoneil]

Stralman turned 27 on August 1st.

Ugh. This summer is going by too damned quickly. I quick glanced at "8/1" and assumed it was the coming month. I'm clearly not ready for September, haha.

 

[smoneil]

I am no sure about this, and there are plenty of players that basically -- start -- playing in this league when they are around 25-28.

Sheldon Souray was 28 his -- first -- decent year in the NHL.

Brian Rafalski established himself in the NHL when he was -- 28 y/o. 32 pts his rookie year when he was 27, 52pts when he was 28.

McCabe, 26-27 his first good year.

Boyle was 26 when he established himself as a good player for Tampa, had a very mediocre careeer for Fla upuntil that point.

A guy like Lubomir Vishnovsky is a good compareble. Vishnovsky's career is perfectly compareable to Strålmans career, and LV doesn't take the next step until he is 30 y/o. Then he is more or less a top 10-15 scoring D in this league for the following 6-7 years.

Streit was 28 his rookie year in the NHL. 11 pts in 48 games as a 28 y/o rookie.

If you look at a group of top 60 D's in the NHL, you are going to have a hard time finding D's who don't keep improving past 28. Most probably hit their prime around 31-38. For these D's poise is the key and posie comes with experience.

You pulled a few cases where that happened. I didn't say it was impossible. I said it was unlikely. Should we trade Brassard or Stepan to make sure we keep Boyle just because some forwards have improved significantly in their late 20s? After all, just look at Parenteau!

Stralman right now is well below the level that Del Zotto is at right now. No coach or team executive will say otherwise. Strals has indeed improved over the last two seasons. He has improved from the level of a cast off who couldn't snag a roster spot on abysmal defenses into a very good third pairing defenseman. The odds of Stralman hitting some gear that he has never, I repeat never, shown before is not likely. Has it happened in the past? Sure, but you don't make moves based on a few outliers.

I'm not down on Stralman. I'm realistic.

 

[smoneil]

Trading Del Zotto wouldn't just be to keep Stralman. He's got a lot of value, we happen to have a lot of young defensemen, and a big need on LW.

I don't think we currently have a big need on LW. We currently have the following guys who are locks for top 9 wing spots:

Callahan
Nash
Hagelin
Zuccarello

That leaves two spots open, and this team has plenty of different ways to potentially fill those two spots.

The possibility is there that one or more of the prospects earn one of those spots. There are a few who are EXPECTED to win one, if not out of camp, then at some point during this season (Kreider, Fasth, Hrivik, Kristo).

Further, there are a couple of bubble 3rd/4th line guys who could fill in on the 3rd in the unlikely event that NONE of those prospects are ready at any point this season (Pouliot, Pyatt, Dorsett).

Finally, look at our center depth. We have Stepan, Richards, Brassard, Boyle, and Dom Moore all expected to be on the NHL roster. On top of that, we have Miller and Lindberg expected to push for spots sooner rather than later. That is at LEAST one extra center, and centers shift to LW all the time.

We have so many options available in house to fill that vacant LW spot that it would take a multi-tiered disaster of epic proportions for NONE of those options to work out.

Remind me, who do we have available as a PMD after Del Zotto? Right, a guy with 4 PP points in the last two seasons (Stralman) and a guy with 14 career points (Moore).

You don't move the only PMD in the entire system to fill a hole that isn't really there.

 

[Draft Guru]

Great post Ola

Seconded. D don't usually peak until their late 20s. Young studs being able to play in the NHL at 18/19/20 wasn't always the case. There's a few in recent years that have done it and been successful, but it's not the norm.

 

[aufheben]

"a hole that isn't really there"? O-K. Maybe I wasn't specific enough, but I meant acquiring a clear 1st/2nd line LW who can score. Just because players are slotted in a certain position doesn't mean they are of that caliber. Hagelin, Callahan, and Zuccarello, much as I think they kick ass in their roles, are not 1st line talent. They're middle-six, not top-six. Can Kreider fill that need? Potentially. Same thing was thought prior to last season, and what happened?

Acquiring a legit winger, without subtracting from our forward group, not only adds goals, but it bumps everyone down into their proper spot, where they would most likely excel, (i.e. The Jeff Carter acquisition for the Kings.). I'm not saying we should or shouldn't trade MDZ, simply that he is our best trade bait for a forward. He's good enough now to have some value, and has a lot of potential, which is valuable, especially for a defensemen. Give to get. Allowing us to keep Stralman would be a bonus, not the intention; (Perhaps not quite "bonus", as it would obviously be a factor if Del Zotto was to be shopped, just not the key).

Stralman turned 27 on August 1st.

But he's one-twentieth of a century older than Del Zotto!

 

[smoneil]

"a hole that isn't really there"? O-K. Just because players are slotted in a certain position doesn't mean they are of that caliber. Hagelin, Callahan, and Zuccarello, much as I think they kick ass in their roles, are not 1st line talent. They're middle-six, not top-six. Can Kreider fill that need? Potentially. Same thing was thought prior to last season, and what happened?

No, it's not literally a hole.

While that is true, I don't think that a true first line is all about having 3 true first line players. We had 3 true first line players LAST season (Gabby, Nash, Richards). It didn't go so well. Our best line was actually Hagelin/Stepan/Nash. Chemistry means a lot. I would argue that it means much more than talent. VERY few teams in the league have three true first line players on their first lines. The best teams still make it work.

So basically, that's why I view a 1st line LW as a luxury and not a need. We have so many potential players to put into those two vacancies on wing that I find it hard to believe that we won't find a solution based on chemistry (hell, look at what Burrows was before he was put on the Sedin line--he was a nobody).

We don't have a PMD after Del Zotto. Staal and McD CAN put up points, but not at MDZ's level and frankly, they shouldn't have to carry ALL of the responsibility. Strals and Moore can chip in, but neither has shown the ability to be the go to guy in that dept.

Frankly, with all of those pieces I mentioned earlier (the extra center or two, the prospect and tweener depth, etc), it would make more sense to package some of those pieces for a LW if you REALLY felt the team needed one. I don't. You mention last season and Kreider. The problem with last season was that Kreider was COUNTED ON to fill that role. When he didn't, plan B was...uh...right. We have a LOT more options now. I would personally be shocked if one of the following didn't happen:

1- Kristo makes it, moving Nash to LW, making a top 6 of Nash/Stepan/Callahan and Hagelin/Richards/Kristo.

2- Kreider makes it, making a top 6 of Kreider/Stepan/Nash and Hagelin/Richards/Callahan.

3- Brassard is moved to wing for this season, making a top 6 of Hagelin/Stepan/Nash and Brassard/Richards/Callahan.

But he's one-twentieth of a century older than Del Zotto!

I know. That's like, almost dead or something. (Seriously though, those are BIG development years for a D. Stralman has been through them. MDZ still has significant room to grow).

 

[aufheben]

I also agree that a player who wouldn't not normally be a 1st liner, could succeed in that role given great chemistry. But will that apply to certain Rangers? I'd like nothing more.

*However, if your intent is to win a Cup, what was once viewed as a luxury, abruptly becomes necessity; Look at Chicago's wingers... even then the post-season wasn't exactly a cake walk for them.

 

[eco's bones]

I am no sure about this, and there are plenty of players that basically -- start -- playing in this league when they are around 25-28.

Sheldon Souray was 28 his -- first -- decent year in the NHL.

Brian Rafalski established himself in the NHL when he was -- 28 y/o. 32 pts his rookie year when he was 27, 52pts when he was 28.

McCabe, 26-27 his first good year.

Boyle was 26 when he established himself as a good player for Tampa, had a very mediocre careeer for Fla upuntil that point.

A guy like Lubomir Vishnovsky is a good compareble. Vishnovsky's career is perfectly compareable to Strålmans career, and LV doesn't take the next step until he is 30 y/o. Then he is more or less a top 10-15 scoring D in this league for the following 6-7 years.

Streit was 28 his rookie year in the NHL. 11 pts in 48 games as a 28 y/o rookie.

If you look at a group of top 60 D's in the NHL, you are going to have a hard time finding D's who don't keep improving past 28. Most probably hit their prime around 31-38. For these D's poise is the key and posie comes with experience.

Which is to say that defensemen often take a bit longer to develop than forwards. It's a tougher position to learn and your post should put to rest the complaints of those who continue to ***** about McIlrath not having played an NHL game yet--when he's had one pro season cut in half by a kneecap displacement problem. Beukeboom (who was a first round pick) is another guy who never really hit his stride until his mid 20's. He's now something of a Rangers legend.

The other side of the equation are those defensemen rushed in before they were ready. IMO Del Zotto suffers a little from this. Fowler may be another. He has no physical game and positionally he needs work. Gudbrandson has those parts okay but almost no offensive game yet. Bogosian has struggled. There's a whole list of top 10-15 defensemen rushed in before they were ready who are still sorting out who, where and what they are. Adam Larsson might be another. Victor Hedman is another who hasn't quite lived up to his draft year hype. Johnson of the Blues, Avalanche. Anyone remember Greg Joly? Just because a guy like that has tons of games before they even hit age 25 does not mean they're an elite player in the making.

 

[Vitto79]

im a big anton fan.

strals is a terrific 2 way defender who skates pretty well and has offensive upside. hes a bargain right now and at 27, hes playing for his next payday. i expect a big season from anton this year.

and i still say hes the guy i want on pp point. he just needs to be told to shoot the puck more. anton got some quality pp point time when he was with columbus few years back and had some decent numbers there. and arneil was on that staff back then as well. i expect av to give him a long looksee there.

bottom line, strals skates better and make better decisions with the pill on his stick than does the fumbling del zotto. and defensively hes less risk and more steady.

were mcilrath ready to play 3rd pair minutes this season, its mike del zotto thats packin his bags and stralman thats staying put imo.

I would say stralman is likely the odd man out next yr assuming mcilrath develops this yr. he's real solid but in cap land he goes. I am sure they hope Falk does well too

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I would say stralman is likely the odd man out next yr assuming mcilrath develops this yr. he's real solid but in cap land he goes. I am sure they hope Falk does well too

So what happens to Girardi, who will likely make double what Stralman will make "in cap land?"

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

I'm expecting Mcilrath to take his spot. We will re sign Girardi.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

So what happens to Girardi, who will likely make double what Stralman will make "in cap land?"

If the Rangers can envision Stralman as a #1 they might let Girardi go, because right now he's not one, and neither will Mcilrath be.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

If the Rangers can envision Stralman as a #1 they might let Girardi go, because right now he's not one, and neither will Mcilrath be.

Neither is Girardi

 

[Ola]

You pulled a few cases where that happened. I didn't say it was impossible. I said it was unlikely. Should we trade Brassard or Stepan to make sure we keep Boyle just because some forwards have improved significantly in their late 20s? After all, just look at Parenteau!

Stralman right now is well below the level that Del Zotto is at right now. No coach or team executive will say otherwise. Strals has indeed improved over the last two seasons. He has improved from the level of a cast off who couldn't snag a roster spot on abysmal defenses into a very good third pairing defenseman. The odds of Stralman hitting some gear that he has never, I repeat never, shown before is not likely. Has it happened in the past? Sure, but you don't make moves based on a few outliers.

I'm not down on Stralman. I'm realistic.

Nah, I didn't pull a few random cases. I looked at this 3-4 years (or something like this) ago, and at the time these guys where a great portion of the highest scoring D's in this league. For the record, one can also note that there has a been a generation chagen on D basically, I found few new names to add to my list. I want to add one aspect here that I have not taken into account. And that is that during the trapping era, many D's that came into the league failed to adopt a offensive precense because they were never allowed to learn the trade. This probably affects the number of players born around 1970-1975 that we saw have alot of success offensively in the NHL, at the expense of the 1976-1980's generation that never really got a chance to learn the trade. This might boost the number of examples I could find alot to be honest.

However, no matter what, I am not saying that the examples I pointed at in any way makes it likely that Strålman will become a top 20 scoring D. But, when you go back and look at the highest scoring players in this league, a number of them will have established themselves in that role late in their career and an even bigger number will have improved post 28 y/o -- for sure. Guys like Lidström, Niedermayer and co player their best hockey when they were like 36 y/o. And that hockey was definitely alot better than they ever showed when they were 28.

I would be very suprised if Ryan Callahan improved his offensive game. That would be unusual and go against all history and logic.

With someone like Strålman, I think its much more likely that he keeps improving. The game for a D like him is much more about being poised with the puck, taking the right decisions, experience just matters more than for a forward when you look at out put.

To comment specifically on Antron Strålman, I think he is a very good hockey player and defensemen, who is kind of square because he takes up a role of the prototypical offensiveminded D without having that last 5% of the offensive game it takes to put up 40+ pts. Hence he is kind of hard and not optimal to peg into any lineup. You do not play him with a PMD. He is not a good enough PMD to form a good pairing on a great defense next to a more stay home type. You preferbly want a player with his style on a top 2 pairing. If Strålman start finding ways to put points on the board, you got a really high performing D on your hand. If he don't , he is very square. I don't think it makes much sense to compare him to MDZ. Without putting up pts, Strålman is hard to peg into the lineup but could still be pretty cheap OTOH. MDZ has no real flaw IMO and he will score 40 pts over a full season. The problem for MDZ is that he got Staal and McD infront of him...

 

[Raymones]

Stralman right now is well below the level that Del Zotto is at right now. No coach or team executive will say otherwise. Strals has indeed improved over the last two seasons. He has improved from the level of a cast off who couldn't snag a roster spot on abysmal defenses into a very good third pairing defenseman. The odds of Stralman hitting some gear that he has never, I repeat never, shown before is not likely. Has it happened in the past? Sure, but you don't make moves based on a few outliers.

I'm not down on Stralman. I'm realistic.

I'm quite confident Strålman can develop further. He always had the talent and he has performed very well on SEL, WC and NHL level earlier. The thing is that, since joining the Rangers he had to change his whole game. He was always mostly about offense.

He wasn't good enough (defensively) to fit in a defensive Ron Wilson style in Toronto. Hitchcook then handpicked him for Columbus as an offensive d-man to spark their PP. And he did. 34 points in 73 games in his first season while averaging under 20 minutes TOI/G. Yes, he struggled heavily his second season in Columbus (under Arniel), however there are good reasons why. Most people don't know about it (and the Blue Jackets fans that do seem to ignore it due to him turning into their whipping boy). I posted this in another thread:

That's because he had health issues all season. I remember reading an article about it that summer, and if I recall correctly it was a sinus issue that ultimately required surgery. In the article he discussed trying to compete at elite level constantly battling fatigue and never feeling fully healthy. I think he also lost a lot of weight, considerably more than they usually do during a full season. When he finally started to play well, he went down with a knee injury.

Looking at his injury log from that season, it does make sense:

2011/04/08 Missed 1 game (illness).
2011/04/05 Illness, day-to-day.
2011/03/31 Missed 15 games (left knee injury).
2011/02/28 Left knee injury, sidelined indefinitely.
2011/01/15 Missed 1 game (illness).
2011/01/14 Illness, day-to-day.
2010/11/20 Missed 2 games (illness).
2010/11/17 Illness, day-to-day.
2010/10/22 Missed 2 games (upper body injury).
2010/10/16 Upper body injury, day-to-day.

Edit: found one of the articles. Indeed it was a sinus issue. He's stating it started as sinusinflammation. "I was ill a lot and probably took antibiotics more or less the whole season, plus cortison to prevent me from getting ill again." He also says that the health issues was just part of the problem and doesn't see them as the only reason the season was a disappointment. He also says he had no problems with health since having the surgery.

http://www.expressen.se/sport/hockey...m-besvikelsen/

With all that said, a lot of credit for his stellar play goes the Rangers defensive coaching. To earn a spot he had to really toughen up and learn to use his body effectively. The talent was always there regarding his offensive game, but the last two seasons has been more about being solid defensively. He struggled a bit early on but evolved to a very solid two-way d-man. He is also one of few Rangers who stepped up in the playoffs, and for the second time in as many years.

So, Columbus chose not to qualify him at 2million. Strålman went to Sweden, had the surgery, trained hard to get his fitness back, and chose to pursue his NHL career on a tryout. The rest of the story, you already know.

I would say stralman is likely the odd man out next yr assuming mcilrath develops this yr. he's real solid but in cap land he goes. I am sure they hope Falk does well too

I hope they can keep all of them. I hardly think McIlrath will steal someone's spot next year, and if Richards is amnestied they might just be able to keep the d-core intact.

 

[eco's bones]

I'm quite confident Strålman can develop further. He always had the talent and he has performed very well on SEL, WC and NHL level earlier. The thing is that, since joining the Rangers he had to change his whole game. He was always almost only about offense.

He wasn't good enough (defensively) to fit in a defensive Ron Wilson style in Toronto. Hitchcook then handpicked him for Columbus as an offensive d-man to spark their PP. And he did. 34 points in 73 games in his first season while averaging under 20 minutes TOI/G. Yes, he struggled heavily his second season in Columbus (under Arniel), however there are good reasons why. Most people don't know about it (and the Blue Jackets fans that do seem to ignore it due to him turning into their whipping boy). I posted this in another thread:

That's because he had health issues all season. I remember reading an article about it that summer, and if I recall correctly it was a sinus issue that ultimately required surgery. In the article he discussed trying to compete at elite level constantly battling fatigue and never feeling fully healthy. I think he also lost a lot of weight, considerably more than they usually do during a full season. When he finally started to play well, he went down with a knee injury.

Looking at his injury log from that season, it does make sense:

2011/04/08 Missed 1 game (illness).
2011/04/05 Illness, day-to-day.
2011/03/31 Missed 15 games (left knee injury).
2011/02/28 Left knee injury, sidelined indefinitely.
2011/01/15 Missed 1 game (illness).
2011/01/14 Illness, day-to-day.
2010/11/20 Missed 2 games (illness).
2010/11/17 Illness, day-to-day.
2010/10/22 Missed 2 games (upper body injury).
2010/10/16 Upper body injury, day-to-day.

Edit: found one of the articles. Indeed it was a sinus issue. He's stating it started as sinusinflammation. "I was ill a lot and probably took antibiotics more or less the whole season, plus cortison to prevent me from getting ill again." He also says that the health issues was just part of the problem and doesn't see them as the only reason the season was a disappointment. He also says he had no problems with health since having the surgery.

http://www.expressen.se/sport/hockey...m-besvikelsen/

With all that said, a lot of credit for his stellar play goes the Rangers defensive coaching. To earn a spot he had to really toughen up and learn to use his body effectively. The talent was always there regarding his offensive game, but the last two seasons has been more about being solid defensively. He struggled a bit early on but evolved to a very solid two-way d-man. He is also one of few Rangers who stepped up in the playoffs, and for the second time in as many years.

So, Columbus chose not to qualify him at 2million. Strålman went to Sweden, had the surgery, trained hard to get his fitness back, and chose to pursue his NHL career on a tryout. The rest of the story, you already know.



I hope they can keep all of them. I hardly think McIlrath will steal someone's spot next year, and if Richards is amnestied they might just be able to keep the d-core intact.

Richards being amnestied could make the difference between two--three other guys staying. Personally I think it's inevitable and I seriously wonder why the Rangers haven't already done it--but it might be because all that extra $ lying around this season would have inevitably meant they would have spent it on some other expensive long term option.

Stralman has played very well for us. He seems to be at least one player who benefited from the previous coach's aggressive behavior towards his players.

All that being said I don't think Stralman will ever fit the bill of a top pairing defenseman even by default. He's seemed to have thrived as a 2nd pairing right D but at least this poster thinks that he's reached his ceiling--pretty much become all he can be which is pretty good. Size and strength are part of the issue here. He walloped Ovechkin a couple times in the playoffs but that kind of constant playing against the best and most physical players I think would wear him down.

So if Girardi were to leave I'd think we'd have to replace him with somebody probably making in the same range of $ and term or our defense would definitely be much weaker on the right side until we did. It's the same equivalent of missing a real pwp qb. You try to adjust around not having it. Other teams look for weak spots. Pittsburgh for one would be a team to take advantage of a weaker right side--though they have their own weaknesses as well.

 

[Doctyl]

I would personally be shocked if one of the following didn't happen:

1- Kristo makes it, moving Nash to LW, making a top 6 of Nash/Stepan/Callahan and Hagelin/Richards/Kristo.

2- Kreider makes it, making a top 6 of Kreider/Stepan/Nash and Hagelin/Richards/Callahan.

3- Brassard is moved to wing for this season, making a top 6 of Hagelin/Stepan/Nash and Brassard/Richards/Callahan.

1. i like kristo but i would be a little surprised if he made our top 6 this season

2. most likely scenario imo

3. i would rather move richards to LW