Zuccarello Appreciation Thread Part 2

[LiveLongandProspal]

Thought he played a weak game last night by his usual standards, but it's quite obvious he's been the team's best overall forward since his arrival from Russia.

...Wait, what?

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

A local pizzaplace in MODO (Ornskoldsvik) had Näslund, Forsberg, Sedin Twins and Zucc in commercial.
Check out the dishboy

Haha, that's awesome. Zucc, the busboy

 

[Zucc36]

- Mats Zuccarello has become a full blown star

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

- Mats Zuccarello has become a full blown star

.....aaaand just like that. His outstanding play for a month gets overblown

 

[PromNite]

I dont disagree, and thats great for him. But its also a huge reason this team is only .500

I understand where you're coming from as well. But at least this dude gives me something fun to watch each night. I am just celebrating a player for his badassery while trying to ignore how awful our underperforming stars have been.

 

[Raspewtin]

- Mats Zuccarello has become a full blown star

Sigh.

That didn't take long.

Edit: Okay, except for the actual title, there's no real overrating in the article. Pretty good article, really. Just telling us what we already know.

 

[trilobyte]

As mentioned by a few posters, Zuccs was never expected to be the best forward. Back when he first appeared, I liked what I saw. What I saw was a young player who wanted to succeed.

No matter what arguments come up, they all circle back to the fact that the Rangers do not have the pieces they need. Zuccarello is a valuable piece. The fact that he plays a prime role points out two things:
1. He is good. Sign the guy and keep him.
2. We need more pieces.

 

[Paulie Walnutz]

.....aaaand just like that. His outstanding play for a month gets overblown

Lock him up 8 years

 

[Idlerlee]

But when those guys are your 2 best forwards, the rest of the team and its record are in trouble.

A case could be made that both their productions would be even higher if Richards and Nash had done what they in particular are paid to do. Same goes with Captain Glassahan and Stepan.

St. Louis broke out with 70 points. Zucca is on pace for 57 with a Rangers team that are being lead in scoring by a rookie who didnt even make the team out of camp. Or more interestingly, if he continues the production since the scratch he could very well end up at 70.


Now obviously he isnt St. Louis, he especially lacks the deathly finish. But from a fan standpoint its really fun to see a typical underdog at least partially live up to the hype.

Anyway this is only a lot of what if's, we can sum up the tally when the season ends

 

[JCrusher*]

Is Zucc a RFA at teh end of the year?

 

[Zynbanejad]

Is Zucc a RFA at teh end of the year?

Yes.

 

[JCrusher*]

Yes.

Ok good

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

A case could be made that both their productions would be even higher if Richards and Nash had done what they in particular are paid to do. Same goes with Captain Glassahan and Stepan.

St. Louis broke out with 70 points. Zucca is on pace for 57 with a Rangers team that are being lead in scoring by a rookie who didnt even make the team out of camp. Or more interestingly, if he continues the production since the scratch he could very well end up at 70.


Now obviously he isnt St. Louis, he especially lacks the deathly finish. But from a fan standpoint its really fun to see a typical underdog at least partially live up to the hype.

Anyway this is only a lot of what if's, we can sum up the tally when the season ends

And we'll come up with the same solution, that this team doesn't have many very good to great hockey players. Zuccarello and Kreider are playing really well now, at the expense of players that used to play really well in a different system and coach. And we've got quite a few players that, quite frankly, have never played well at the NHL level.

We're all set with "wingers that'd be really really good players with a franchise-level center" though -- which one can argue is that easiest thing to be "all-set with." But yea, Zuccarello is cool, great, lets keep him.

And lets talk about him instead of the franchise center, bottom 6 depth, and defensemen this team needs. I feel like this is a soap opera. Zucs is Tyrion Lannister.

 

[haohmaru]

And lets talk about him instead of the franchise center, bottom 6 depth, and defensemen this team needs. I feel like this is a soap opera. Zucs is Tyrion Lannister.

A.) This is a Zuccarello thread. Why troll with the above? What else are we supposed to talk about in this thread?
B.) He's exceeding expectations against considerable odds, given his size. Wouldn't hurt to give the guy some credit
C.) The Rangers dysfunction at the GM level isn't really something that MZA has much to do with.
D.) Time for you to find a new whipping boy. This one has earned his get out of jail free card.

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

.....aaaand just like that. His outstanding play for a month gets overblown

As was already mentioned, except for the title (which some editor probably inserted) it's a very accurate article. Quite a nice read actually.

BRB, while I normally agree with you--you're taking your over all criticism of the team way beyond what's necessary here. Zuccarello has been fun to watch, productive too. It's nice to see him make it happen.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

A.) This is a Zuccarello thread. Why troll with the above? What else are we supposed to talk about in this thread?
B.) He's exceeding expectations against considerable odds, given his size. Wouldn't hurt to give the guy some credit
C.) The Rangers dysfunction at the GM level isn't really something that MZA has much to do with.
D.) Time for you to find a new whipping boy. This one has earned his get out of jail free card.

Because that's where BRB gets his jollies from. Have you not been on this board enough? We can't praise anyone on the Rangers and have to **** on everyone. There's objectivity and there's being a hater. Bleeds Rangers blue, my ass.

 

[Raspewtin]

Unfortunately, BRB has a big point that it's really bad that Zuccarello is our best player.

I definitely enjoy seeing him flourish, and he's a very exciting player to watch, but jesus christ is this team underperforming badly.

It's a vicious, never ending cycle. We always have a few surprises every year, but those surprises wind up carrying the team instead of complimenting good players. And every year those good players fall off a ****ing cliff, and it's let go because other players have stepped up in their absence.

I'm really tired of it.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Unfortunately, BRB has a big point that it's really bad that Zuccarello is our best player.

I definitely enjoy seeing him flourish, and he's a very exciting player to watch, but jesus christ is this team underperforming badly.

It's a vicious, never ending cycle. We always have a few surprises every year, but those surprises wind up carrying the team instead of complimenting good players. And every year those good players fall off a ****ing cliff, and it's let go because other players have stepped up in their absence.

I'm really tired of it.

Then he should take it to a different thread. Are we not allowed to praise Zuccarello in his own thread? This is borderline trolling. I actually HATE how militant the mods are about threads going slightly off topic, but an appreciation thread about Zucc becoming a "***** about the team thread" is more than slightly off topic. His act is just getting tired. It's all the same thing in every post. I do that with Lundqvist sometimes, but at least I only keep it to GDTs. He *****es about everyone and strikes anyone that says a nice thing about a player down, insulting them because he has a holier than thou attitude about him being a superior fan to everyone else because of his "objectivity". When all it is is pessimism. If his opinion were correct we'd be worse than Buffalo this year.

 

[Fanned On It]

Then he should take it to a different thread. Are we not allowed to praise Zuccarello in his own thread? This is borderline trolling. I actually HATE how militant the mods are about threads going slightly off topic, but an appreciation thread about Zucc becoming a "***** about the team thread" is more than slightly off topic. His act is just getting tired. It's all the same thing in every post. I do that with Lundqvist sometimes, but at least I only keep it to GDTs. He *****es about everyone and strikes anyone that says a nice thing about a player down, insulting them because he has a holier than thou attitude about him being a superior fan to everyone else because of his "objectivity". When all it is is pessimism. Is his opinion were correct we'd be worse than Buffalo this year.

While it's nice to read and I agree with your point, this post is ironic coming from you. But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right!?

Anyway... I'm loving Zucc this season. The guy is playing his ass off. What amazes me is how damn effective he is on the forecheck with that small body of his. I've seen him get on opposing defensemen behind the other team's goal-line and strip them of the puck time and time again using smart body positioning and checking. It's amazing how effective he can be for being such small guy. He's also been making great passes to the slot and should have a few more assists if not for the fact that our team can't finish.

The one knock I have on Zucc right now is that his wrist-shot/snap-shot from medium-range is pretty weak. It seems odd for any NHL'er to have such a weak wrist-shot from the high-slot these days which I guess is why I'm able to notice it when Zucc shoots from there. I don't know if this is something he can improve at this point in his career but damn he would be THAT much better if he was a sniping threat from the high-slot.

 

[KenGuru]

When I look at photoes/videos of Mats 2 years ago I think he looked a little fat/unshaped. But now he seems more fit/shaped. I wonder if he has been ordered to change his diet from Roy Johansen or anyone in the NYR-staff. Maybe he has increased his weight-training but he also seem faster on his skates.

 

[anofsti]

I think it's partially getting rid of the puppy fat (see Lindros), and partially getting his excersise ethics on order.

 

[Zucc36]

Unfortunately, BRB has a big point that it's really bad that Zuccarello is our best player.

I definitely enjoy seeing him flourish, and he's a very exciting player to watch, but jesus christ is this team underperforming badly.

It's a vicious, never ending cycle. We always have a few surprises every year, but those surprises wind up carrying the team instead of complimenting good players. And every year those good players fall off a ****ing cliff, and it's let go because other players have stepped up in their absence.

I'm really tired of it.

I totally understand the point that when Zucc is the best player on the team, there is a problem. When you see a roster with Callahan, Richards and Nash, and Zucc is (by far) the best player amongst these, there is of course a problem.

But if you look at it the other way; could you imagine his production if the rest of the team actually played as good as expected? Zucc has almost a point/game since the scratch, for a team that is one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL. That is impressive.

There is no doubt that he could be a consistent top 6 forward for this team, also when (if?) it eventuall becomes a serious contender.

 

[Rangers ftw]

Then he should take it to a different thread. Are we not allowed to praise Zuccarello in his own thread? This is borderline trolling. I actually HATE how militant the mods are about threads going slightly off topic, but an appreciation thread about Zucc becoming a "***** about the team thread" is more than slightly off topic. His act is just getting tired. It's all the same thing in every post. I do that with Lundqvist sometimes, but at least I only keep it to GDTs. He *****es about everyone and strikes anyone that says a nice thing about a player down, insulting them because he has a holier than thou attitude about him being a superior fan to everyone else because of his "objectivity". When all it is is pessimism. Is his opinion were correct we'd be worse than Buffalo this year.

Well spoken. So irritating.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

While it's nice to read and I agree with your point, this post is ironic coming from you. But the first step is admitting you have a problem, right!?

Anyway... I'm loving Zucc this season. The guy is playing his ass off. What amazes me is how damn effective he is on the forecheck with that small body of his. I've seen him get on opposing defensemen behind the other team's goal-line and strip them of the puck time and time again using smart body positioning and checking. It's amazing how effective he can be for being such small guy. He's also been making great passes to the slot and should have a few more assists if not for the fact that our team can't finish.

The one knock I have on Zucc right now is that his wrist-shot/snap-shot from medium-range is pretty weak. It seems odd for any NHL'er to have such a weak wrist-shot from the high-slot these days which I guess is why I'm able to notice it when Zucc shoots from there. I don't know if this is something he can improve at this point in his career but damn he would be THAT much better if he was a sniping threat from the high-slot.

I don't know why it's ironic coming from me. I hold Lundqvist to a higher standard than most because I don't think his great play most of his career makes him immune from criticism (in fact his great play means that his standards are higher than anyone else on this team). BRB trolls every post with his nonsense insulting anyone and everyone that disagrees with him. He thinks that he's a better fan than everyone because he *****es about every player on the team. Then he insults them. Unprovoked called me a "joke" the other day. Wish ****ing ignore didn't let you see quoted posts, as 99% of posts get quoted and completely defeats the purpose of ignore.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Then he should take it to a different thread. Are we not allowed to praise Zuccarello in his own thread? This is borderline trolling. I actually HATE how militant the mods are about threads going slightly off topic, but an appreciation thread about Zucc becoming a "***** about the team thread" is more than slightly off topic. His act is just getting tired. It's all the same thing in every post. I do that with Lundqvist sometimes, but at least I only keep it to GDTs. He *****es about everyone and strikes anyone that says a nice thing about a player down, insulting them because he has a holier than thou attitude about him being a superior fan to everyone else because of his "objectivity". When all it is is pessimism. If his opinion were correct we'd be worse than Buffalo this year.

Do not let him bother you. He has been dead wrong over and over again with his Zooks hatred. At this point I look at his negativity as a good luck charm. I'd be scared if he becomes positive about Zooks given his prior track record.