Training Camp and Preseason thread 2023

[duhmetreE]

yeah despite the doom and gloom that's usual around here, I think there's a real chance for the rangers to take a step this year and get somewhere. They'll probably need to learn how to defend against NJ along the way though as I'm not sure they'll ever be the puck control team like Carolina is that is going to become NJ's bane and probably prevent them from coming out of the east at some point

you forecheck and pressure NJ, you win. They are poor in their zone.

God forbid we lift the puck/hit corners against Schmid.

 

[CLW]

I'm actually optimistic about this season. This team is constructed better than the one we started last year with minus Quick, though Halak started off terrible last year too, the good thing is Garand is available if need be so thats a plus too.

I see no reason not to be optimistic. Structure and a coherent game plan should help elevate the team game. Lavi seems to be a good fit for how Drury wants to play the game and build the squad.

Long term Laviolette may come off as too conservative and smothering, but that remains to be seen.

 

[duhmetreE]

We've had elite goaltending and at times, elite special teams. If we can add a top10-15 5v5 game, we're going to be great.

 

[Shadowtron]

The opposite of "The luck of the Irish" has to be "The luck of the Rangers". I never thought it would be so specific.

If this team didn’t have bad luck it would have no luck at all lol!!

 

[Levitate]

you forecheck and pressure NJ, you win. They are poor in their zone.

God forbid we lift the puck/hit corners against Schmid.

Yes but they are also very good at counter attacking fast and keeping you on your heels if you're not a good puck possession team. The Rangers have been a poor puck possession team, whereas it is a huge strength of a team like Carolina.
I generally agree that yeah you have to go after NJ and work to pin them in their zone and prevent them from constantly coming back at you with speed and the Rangers of last year had no real answer to that because they had no idea how to effectively hang onto the puck and create pressure.

I do think NJ is going to have to change something with their style eventually to get past that but we'll see. More concerned with how the Rangers progress at the moment (and yeah I'm expecting a blah game tonight regardless)

e:

I see no reason not to be optimistic. Structure and a coherent game plan should help elevate the team game. Lavi seems to be a good fit for how Drury wants to play the game and build the squad.

Long term Laviolette may come off as too conservative and smothering, but that remains to be seen.

I dunno, Lavy has always been a "go hard go fast and attack" kind of coach when he has the players for it. Wanting the team to play a basic defensive strategy in the neutral zone isn't necessarily conservative there, especially when he's also preaching the team attack as a 5 man unit when on offense etc

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I think in terms of what ive always been saying what we were missing ie a rw, and a bottom pair dman, we've added that with Gus and Wheeler. Plus we have options with Cuylle and Othmann to add to our depth. As much as people moan and groan here this team is much better constructed than last year, we can be more selective and targeted at the deadline with less holes to fill.

Yes but they are also very good at counter attacking fast and keeping you on your heels if you're not a good puck possession team. The Rangers have been a poor puck possession team, whereas it is a huge strength of a team like Carolina.
I generally agree that yeah you have to go after NJ and work to pin them in their zone and prevent them from constantly coming back at you with speed and the Rangers of last year had no real answer to that because they had no idea how to effectively hang onto the puck and create pressure.

I do think NJ is going to have to change something with their style eventually to get past that but we'll see. More concerned with how the Rangers progress at the moment (and yeah I'm expecting a blah game tonight regardless)

We gave nj too much room in the middle of the ice last year, that should change this year with Laviolette as well as more pressure on their d.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Nah I am too and like I said I think it was a huge reason why the Rangers signed Trochek and didn't trust Chytil to be healthy enough to carry the load as 2C, especially since he has a habit of getting injured and then coming back slowly once he's back in the lineup. He so far has not proven reliable enough to be relied upon in that spot.



funny that rangers being "deep" on D is basically them just adding Gustafsson

The model isn't crazy if the Rangers players all get going the way that they can and play together as a team etc etc. Even with a "crappy" year last year where they looked disjointed for a long time they had 107 points

Our perception on the team is a bit colored by the flop in the playoffs but they have a lot of talent and have generally outscored and goaltended their deficiencies. The hopeful next step is the new coaching staff getting them to play a more structured game with a consistent effort they can take into the playoffs

The models love Gustafsson who legit crushed 2nd pair minutes last year.

The defense really hinges on how Trouba bounces back. If he's 2021-22 Trouba? We're golden.

I'm less optimistic about the forwards. I like the organizational depth much better but I don't like the mix amongst what we have right now. I wouldn't be at all shocked if Fox is our leading scorer this year.

 

[NYR Viper]

We are currently 3 deep at the nhl level, and Mika is the oldest… we have years to develop a center prospect slowly.
We should be deeper at wing, since we have more roster spots and Kreider will slow down and wheeler is likely a 1 year stopgap.

No argument there, I just meant what if someone like Chytil is out long term and they lose someone like Bonino on waivers? There aren't many viable options in Hartford to fill a 3C role, or even a 4C role other than Brodzinski

 

[Shesterkybomb]

No argument there, I just meant what if someone like Chytil is out long term and they lose someone like Bonino on waivers? There aren't many viable options in Hartford to fill a 3C role, or even a 4C role other than Brodzinski

Having the top 9 centers we have is kind of a luxury. You won't replace any of them with minor league players, you won't replace any of them with Bonino either, but you make due with what you got for as long as it takes and hope you still have the other two to run the top 6. Having Goodrow as a 3c is a pretty good option, not only that but Wheeler can play center if need be.

 

[NYR94]

 

[bleedblue94]

Dude. I first responded to your post about “what if Lindy is injured?” You’re so caught up in online arguments that you lost your own plot.

Feelsbadman

So you are chirping at me for "losing my own plot" yet it was actually you arguing with me about something when you missed it right off the bat.

You also are relying on jones/schneider to work (which hasn't at the NHL level) and for miller/fox. So both your suggests actually cause all three pairs to be disrupted.

Go sit down already.

 

[haohmaru]

I thought they offered him 2x2. He wanted 3 years and management never got back to him after that.

IIRC this is partially true - the Rangers extended an offer, Carolina extender a better offer and Fast signed it with offering the Rangers an opportunity to counter.

 

[Mugless]

 

[Profet]

It's almost noon and no GDT?

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I can't lie, I'm loving Lavi so far. Mixing up the D pairings like that even, just to give himself looks, but lowkey signal that things won't just be the status quo either. How long until he rolls out Miller-Fox? I think Lindgren-Trouba would be solid still, the potential of the 1st pair would be great.

 

[JCProdigy]

Heres the thing...

They haven't.... really looked like dogshit? They've clearly been the better team in 3 of the 4 games they've played and at the very least, pushed hard to close the one game where they did look like ass for most of it.

Pre season is generally meaningless though. Vets are just going through the motions and getting their bodies ready, fringe guys are busting their ass trying to make an impression, etc. I've seen enough hockey to know that there are guys who get white hot during pre season and don't even end up sticking on an NHL roster for an entire season. Kreider was absolute f***ing ass cheeks during the pre season 2 years ago (he's sucked again this one but this is common for him during the PS) and then he went on to score 52 goals when the games actually mattered.

Jason Megna, Nathan Gerbe, Brandon Pirri, Aaron Voros, Ryan Malone and even Andersson/Kratsov. Just a few off the top of my head that had really good showings in pre-season games, having fans think we had better players on our hands than what they really were.

Nobody has successfully shown on any level that there is a correlation between success of a team or individual player in preseason games and their success in the subsequent regular season.

 

[Levitate]

The models love Gustafsson who legit crushed 2nd pair minutes last year.

The defense really hinges on how Trouba bounces back. If he's 2021-22 Trouba? We're golden.

I'm less optimistic about the forwards. I like the organizational depth much better but I don't like the mix amongst what we have right now. I wouldn't be at all shocked if Fox is our leading scorer this year.

ehh I don't see why it'd be worse than last year. I think the "lazy Zibanejad/Panarin/Kreider" stuff is overblown and they'll have good years.

e2: real interested to see how the Gustafsson experiment goes. Gonna guess there are some huge gafs that everyone gets mad about but realistically overall he does quite well

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

ehh I don't see why it'd be worse than last year. I think the "lazy Zibanejad/Panarin/Kreider" stuff is overblown and they'll have good years.

e2: real interested to see how the Gustafsson experiment goes. Gonna guess there are some huge gafs that everyone gets mad about but realistically overall he does quite well

it wasn't good last year either so even if its just as good, that doesn't really give me a great sense of comfort.

I don't think that any of those guys are lazy either. Kreider goes through bouts of it but it's hardly a regular thing with him.

I'm most worried about #10. 4 straight seasons of declining numbers and he's been either unable or unwilling to adjust his game to his current skill set. He also gets domed up the second that things don't go his way.

That said, I'll take a 60 point regular season out of him in exchange for a Conn Smythe run.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Having the top 9 centers we have is kind of a luxury. You won't replace any of them with minor league players, you won't replace any of them with Bonino either, but you make due with what you got for as long as it takes and hope you still have the other two to run the top 6. Having Goodrow as a 3c is a pretty good option, not only that but Wheeler can play center if need be.

I view Goody as a 3rd/4th tweener. I think he is good as a 4th liner but not good as a 3rd liner.

 

[Crease]

Jones would have to pass through waivers right?

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I believe so but I don't see why he's not at least the 6/7th D at this point, esp if he does have to pass through waivers.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Shayna being awfully optimistic

New York Rangers 2023-24 season preview

The Rangers didn’t go big or bold with the roster this offseason, but that's a strength that has them primed to go further.

theathletic.com

They may not have made as big of a splash as expected after a disappointing first-round exit, but they made a lot of savvy moves around the margins fixing the team’s depth. That’s usually a source of weakness for this team. Now, it’s a strength that has the Rangers primed to go further. Better yet, New York looks like a true contender.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I keep Bonino just so he can be the #1PK/matchup guy. take some off of Mika's plate.

I'm 100% ok with our 4C being really role specific

Sure. But losing him through waivers isn't some tragedy this team won't overcome.

Outta curiosity does anything think Vesey could be odd man out or 13th forward? Interestingly enough last two days of lines...

10/2
Panarin - Zibanejad - Kakko
Kreider - Trocheck - Othmann
Laffy - Goodrow - Wheels (Figure Chytil woulda been center here)
Vesey - Bonino - Pitlick
Extra: Cuylle + Brodzinksi

10/3
Panarin - Z - Kakko
Kreider- Trocheck - Wheeler
Cuylle - Goodrow/Chytil - Pitlick
Vesey - Bonino - Othmann
Extra: Laffy + Brodzinski

It's an easy line up to piece together should both Cuylle and Othmann get sent down to minors...
Should one of them make the line up and obviously it's not for 4th line minutes, I'm curious how these players shake out.

Goodrow, Bonino, Pitlick, Vesey. One would think Goodrow & Bonino are set to anchor 4th line...seems to be a Vesey vs Pitlick battle, but only if Cuylle or Othmann force their way on.

We don't have the cap space to carry 2 spare forwards (assuming we also keep Jones on as a 7th D-man)

 

[Levitate]

Shayna being awfully optimistic

New York Rangers 2023-24 season preview

The Rangers didn’t go big or bold with the roster this offseason, but that's a strength that has them primed to go further.

theathletic.com

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I mean supposedly it's based on some statistics and not just "I'm being optimistic"
Their model really loves the defense and goaltending and finds the forwards to be pretty good
That's...reasonable if everyone plays up to their abilities

 

[NYR94]

Shayna being awfully optimistic

New York Rangers 2023-24 season preview

The Rangers didn’t go big or bold with the roster this offseason, but that's a strength that has them primed to go further.

theathletic.com

View attachment 748915




View attachment 748914

What does the length of the horizontal bars for each player represent?