I don't even remember why they claimed him in the first place last season. It was no secret even back then that he was one of the worst players in the NHL. He only played 13 games for the Rangers last season but even that is 13 too many.
Not saying it will happen but I could see a scenario where Zegras doesn't want to short bridge because he may only want to stay in Anaheim on a big ticket cap hit on a long term deal and if they won't commit to him on a long term deal then he wants to bridge out to UFA which Anaheim understandably wouldn't want to do. If he would want to be here long term he may be more open to accepting a shorter bridge here and look to sign an extension when possible. I highly doubt this being a realistic possibility as I don't think Anaheim wants to move him but I could see something along those lines being the case as to why he hasn't signed in Anaheim yet. Like he may only want to commit to being there long term if they're going to pay him like 8x8 or something and if they're not going to give him the big ticket he may be looking at his future there thinking it's not worth the next few years of sucking if they're not going to pay him the way they just did Troy Terry.
Put it this way…AP, MZ, CK, VT, FC, KK, & AL combined for 425 points last season. I fully expect that total for those 7 to increase if they’re all here and play over 75 games each.
He should look at least a little better and faster just from experience (game slows down), physical maturity and mental maturity. Based on how his contract talks went this could be a make or break season for him. If I was a family member or agent I would encourage him to go to the team and request additional power skating coaching after practice every day. Not only will it improve his skating but it will improve his motor. A motor that will not quit can do a heck of a lot of good.
He doesn't. He looks like he lost weight. So he's not physically more mature unless you viewed him as fat..
Lighter can be a body maturing. Dropping some fat can be just as good as adding some muscles. I agree that his speed is not slow once he gets going but it isn't fast either. If he could improve his quickness that would probably help much more than top line speed. Honestly at this point I really just want him to ask the team for extra help (outside of practices) and hear he is putting in that effort.
I think this study is the thing most people reference when they bring this up: Most NHL players peak by age 29: study - UBC News.
And your continuous doomsday outlooks are so entertaining. Plenty of good teams had first round exits. It was a 7 game series against a good Devils team that finished with more points than the Rangers. All is not lost because of that series loss. New coach and assistants, motivated players, better roster, more depth, all have me thinking it's going to be a good season. This is a good team so yea I'm excited about the upcoming season. You can continue to be a
35
My 23-24 Roster to start the year
Maybe.
Cuylle is ahead of Laf in development.
Have they really “earned it”. By no means do I think they have played bad. But have they played over the top exceptional? No, no they haven’t.
Fans of other teams are laughing at this nonsense.
I'm not entirely thrilled with his effort, but its clearly a guy who's just trying to stay healthy also. He plays a very physical game, and thats not something you want to get banged up early. I will say he does actually look quicker. He still needs to do more with the puck, but Ive seen some very good looks from him that show his vision.
Yeah I'm sure fans of other teams are falling all over themselves to get their hands on Alexis Lafreniere...
What does this even mean? Skill or no skill and no matter who he has gotten looks with in preseason, he is going to be on the 4th line here. On this particular team and roster. This year. If he even makes the team. He hasn’t done enough to displace Vesey/Pitlick/Bonino/Goodrow on a team that is going to be a playoff team. He can marinate further in HFD, hopefully dominate, and be one of the first callups.
