I don't know why this is idiotically made fun of as something that actually doesn't need to happen. No, your young guys should regress. That's the formula for success.
The point is that we're not the only team with young guys who we expect to get better, but we're apparently the only team relying on that alone to make us better as a whole. Dangerous game to play. We've added absolutely nothing up front to a team that got shutout in a game 5 and a game 7 at home.
There's a salary cap that a lot of teams are feeling the sting of. You can't just add anyone you want especially when you have people that you have to get resigned. Then we completely dismiss the fact that the scorers they have didn't get it done in the playoffs and insist there's some miracle forward that's going to come here and carry the entire playoff load.
This is not the sign and trade NBA. The thought they're going to sign Stepan to a long term deal and then trade it is beyond ridiculous.
If you aren't relying on young players improving to improve your team, you're a f'n moron who has no clue how to build a team in the cap era. The Rangers already made one major upgrade to their offense by replacing Hagelin with Etem. Hagelin has never had any finishing skills. Etem was completely used wrong by the Ducks who have been a one line team forever offensively. They showed why with Etem. I expect him to flourish here. I'm thinking 20 goals but 8 or 9 on the PP which Hagelin had no ability to play. Etem will do that with a lot less ice time than Hagelin who played way too much for a guy who was very limited offensively. They also made another big upgrade to their offense with Stalberg if they kick Glass and his worthless ass to the minors. Stalberg has had 12, 22 and what projected to about 18 in the lockout season. That's a monumental difference to the 4th line if they use him there. You can't discount the fact that Hayes, Miller and Fast were all rookies. With more experience not only with they improve their offense but the offense of the guys they play with.
It's like banging your head against the wall with some of the fans who think it's somehow funny to expect the youth to improve.
It's the same morons who want our GM to trade all our picks and prospects every year until Hank is so ancient he can't play. Then they think the team won't suck for a decade like it did in the late 90's when they used that strategy which led the team to a decade of darkness.
Hell I'd like to add the 1994 version of Adam Graves to this team also but it's no realistic. Plus, I'm not going to play the game of what teams are better. That shit never works out in any sport once the season starts. Suddenly a team that won the President's Trophy is terrible because Hagelin is gone. Get the fuck out of here.
Stalberg, Etem and possibly Lindberg gives the team better balance than St. Louis and Hagelin would've. Of course youre talking about a 40y/o which you have to factor in.
I think you guys are totally missing the point Prod and I are making. OF COURSE you need young guys to step up and improve their game every season in a cap sport. NO ONE is doubting that, or questioning that, or saying our young guys won't get better. I think Hayes, Kreider, Miller all will improve. Fast and Etem I expect to be solid players. That's my expectation. BUT we also lost MSL for nothing. I know we all hated the dude at the end, but he did score 20 goals last season. We dealt Hags, very good at even strength and on the PK, and added Etem back. Now maybe Etem can give us 10-12 goals, or even closer to 15, which would make the loss of Hags easier to overcome. On paper we are worse. That's reality. On paper CBJ and the Caps are better. Again reality. We'll see on the Isles and Pens. Now games are not played on paper, and we all know the NHL is a sport that has a razor thin line between losing and winning, and maybe the kids we are all hoping get clearly better will, but let's not dismiss reality which is on paper we are worse. I will also add I was fine with dealing Hags. I understand the cap situation we are in. So I get it. Now I would move a dman, most likely Klein, to add a forward we badly need, but overall I get it. But just because I get it, and we are in a tough spot with the cap, and we are doing what we have to do doesn't make the reality any different. On paper we are not as good as last season. Now we'll see if all these kids take pretty big jumps and make up for that loss on paper. And oh BTW...the Caps and BJ's also have some good kids they are expecting to improve, so as Prod said we don't have the rights to kids improving all to ourselves.
Maybe if they don't have 879708907 games lost to injury they will play well, but we'll see. Again, you can hide from reality Mess, and on the ice ANYTHING can happen so this is not some lost cause or sunk ship, but if you are being honest and fair the Caps and BJ's are both better than us on paper. From there we play the games and hope we beat them and win in the playoffs, which is all that matters for us now. If we finish 3rd in the Met I truly don't care, all about the playoffs. I thought winning the Pres trophy was meaningless, and it was, and I think winning a division is pretty meaningless also. Get in and go from there. All that matters in the NHL. Home ice simply doesn't mean that much. Look at the results the past handful of seasons and that is pretty darn clear. Regular season is for getting into the playoffs, otherwise it doesn't mean much IMO.
I don't give a shit and that's exactly the point. Every year teams will under perform for a variety of reasons. If people want to wack off all over Columbus because JD is there so be it. I will wait to see them do something first. I don't play the on paper game so if you do then so be it. Being honest and fair has nothing to do with it.
I don't give two sh*ts about JD...LOL. What I know is they have a very talented team. What I know is the Caps have a very talented team. AGAIN you play the games and anything can happen...especially in the NHL, but don't kid yourself right now on paper those teams are better than us IMO. Doesn't mean we can't beat them in the playoffs or finish ahead in the Met, just is what it is. Anything can happen Mess...we all know that. And being honest has everything to do with it. We can bury our heads in the sand and say I am a Ranger fan therefore I don't care if we are worse on paper and the other teams are better on paper. I am a Ranger fan and I don't care...LOL. Sure you can say that, and maybe it will work out that way. Or maybe teams that improved this offseason while we got worse or BEST CASE stayed the same, will get the better of us next season. We'll see...
Really insulting my intelligence here Messiah. I'm well aware that there's a salary cap and I have posted several times about where it stands and how Id make it work. I'm also well aware that there's no "magic forward". I was interesting in upgrading an offense that has lost two top 9 guys and added only Emerson Etem. I thought that would make this team better on top of the expected improvements from Kreider, Hayes, etc. since our competition is also getting better (as Kessel, Oshie, Saad and Williams are all now in our division). I guess that makes me a moron.
You want to be on this ridiculous crusade about the kids, as if Prod and I are doubting them, go for it Mess. That is not the case...but knock yourself out. I fully expect our kids to improve and play important roles next season. But I am also smart enough to realize the corner we are in dictates that 100% must happen and all these kids must clearly improve or we are in big trouble. That is not a great spot to be in. But again, you can act as if we are saying don't play kids or our kids aren't going to improve...LOL.
Again, I don't give a shit about on paper. You can write a novel about it and repeat it 1000 times and I'm not going to think differently on the matter. That's clearly your game. I've watched sports for too long that go with that consistently proven flawed way of thinking. I'm watching a baseball season right now were three AL teams (Boston, Chicago and Seattle) picked to win their divisions by most are currently sitting in last place or close to it. That's what you can do with that on paper silliness.
