Panz. I am not calling Mc. a bust or dare to say I know more than Beuk. What I am saying is AV does not like Mc on Defense. And as Chuck said, you can't have 1 of 6 dmen in the box all the time. Glass is useless. An absolute waste of space. A hit like Girardi took would not happen if we had a true enforcer. Or even all the slashing or cross checking our guys take. Other teams need to know it will not be tolerated any longer. And if Mc can be moved to learn the wing in the AHL and give us 8 to 10 mins at the end of the year and have the other team having 2nd thoughts abt cheap shots, Id be willing to try it.
so lets recap...Danny G gets blasted with a clean hit...you really think Malkin is going to think twice of making that hit against one of the Rangers top D men because Dylan M is on the squad? Please... ok...so lets say it was someone else, he still is going to make that hit on Danny G, knocking him out of the game, and yea we want Dylan to go make a run at him...two things 1. Catch me if you can....which is very apparent he is not NHL ready with the speed of the game 2. Win for the opponent if you knock out Girardi and get Dylan off the ice for 5 to 7 minutes leaving the rangers down to 4 d men for up to 7 minutes perhaps.
it's not about the immediate result of taking penalties, being scored upon etc., it's a mind set. when a team has a true enforcer on the team, thier opponents mind set changes. Malkin's mind set is he does not fear any retribution from his opponent at that moment, so he goes for it. Michael Sauer's career was ended on a similar hit from Phanuef. Girardi career could have ended on a hit like that too. Thank god he's fine, but a response is still necessary. What do you think Clark Gillies or Nystrom would have done if Potvin or Bossy had received a hit like Girardi did?
A lot I disagree with here but none more than calling Girardi an All Star d-man. The guy is so overrated by this franchise and fan base it's scary. He's a skating unforced turnover. That said, you still have to stick up for your teammates, clean hit or not.
I'm really glad Girardi is ok, but yup, that contract is going to be a big cap issue in another year or two.
You Girardi guys are funny. Girardi is a very good dman. Well worth the money he makes right now. If you tell me on the back end for maybe 2 years he'll be overpaid...I am sure he will be...but that's the case with almost all UFA's. They get paid a lot of money for too many years. That's the reality of business in sports. I can only focus on what I know. And what I know is Girardi is a very good dman, who plays major minutes against the other teams best players, and is a legit 1st pair dman. He is worth the money now I believe. I'll worry about 3 years from now...3 years from now. I think he is much more worth the money than Staal will be, and Staal may want even more than what Girardi is making.
And Girardi is a warrior and leader who has played 80 or more games for 7 straight seasons (counting 46 of 48 in the lockout season)...things that need to be said in his favor as well.
Danny G is definitely a top line dman, even a....cough...allstar.. the thought of what bobby Nystrom or gillies would have done is so off base as this is a different game then back in the 70's and 80's where bench clearning brawls were the norm. how many goons are on the pens? they have two of the greatest players in today' game...their goon was stupid cooke
Girardi is just one of those guys that when his play drops its going to be very sharp. Its already becoming noticeable but its not really his fault, he's just taken alot of physical wear and tear going back to the JT era.
Al, its not about bench clearing brawls. Its about having someone in our lineup that the other team knows if they cheap shot one of our guys they will pay for it. We have no one like that and our guys get slashed in the back of the knee caps and cross checked constantly. Crosby and Malkin are 2 of the dirtiest players in the game and get away with it. If the Refs are going to allow them to cheap shot then we have to take care of it ourselves. Do you really think the rest of the league wont take notice if McIlrath defends a cheap shot of one of our guys by beating Crosby or Malkin to a pulp. I bet they will. All he needs to do is do it once. The rest of the league will take notice
I have been watching the Rangers for over 40 yrs. Dan Giradi is not the best D-man we ever had , but maybe in the top 10. And he is as a tough a warrior who has ever put on that Ranger sweater. An absolute professional who would make any team and organization proud. Sure he can make mistakes. But the guy plays 25 minutes a night and never misses a game. Anyone who thinks where a lesser team with Giradi on it, is crazy. And one more time, that hit on Dan Girardi needs a push back from our team or word gets around very quickly in this league. Papadoc correct. While the game has changed dramatically since the 70's ( speed primarily ) some things remain the same. Sticking up for and defending a teammate will never change for successful franchises
Part of the problem with retaliating on the Girardi hit was it's a close game so you don't want to hand Pitt a major penalty to put it out of reach. The proper response should occur on December 8th when they play Pitt again and every Ranger should be looking to hit Malkin hard and often. He will definitely take a retaliatory penalty or two. Unfortunately too many of the Rangers top liners are either too small or incapable of physical play, that's the tradeoff for their speed. However a guy like McIlrath can be a physical checking force in the Rangers' zone, that's the role I think was envisioned when he was drafted, not a guy who perpetually drops the gloves like an extra from the movie Slapshot. I want to see legal, bone crunching hits from McIlrath not fisticuffs unless he's pulling a talent like Malkin off the ice with him. Girardi is a solid, dependable dman no doubt about it. The question is whether he's worth $5.5 mil a year and it's a tough one to answer.
He's worth 5.5 this year and maybe next, but for the last 2-3 years he will probably be a 4m type player so hopefully they've made smart decisions elsewhere on the cap to offset that a little.
Right, and welcome to the world of sports sc. UFA's always get too much for too long. Like I said, I don't doubt that his last two seasons his cap hit will be higher than it should be, but again that's the way it is. And by then the cap should also be higher to help make up for his making a little too much his last couple of seasons. If he makes 1.5 mill or so more than he is worth his last two seasons, so be it. Today he is worth 5.5 per no doubt IMO. As a UFA he would get more IMO. It only takes one team. Pouliot got 5 mill per. Cally got 5.8 per. Girardi gets over 5.5 per as a UFA no doubt IMO.
You are right about one thing sc...J. Moore is bad right now. You can clearly make the case that when McD is ready in two weeks or so Hunwick should stay in over Moore.
I know, and i get it with the cap, its just that the last half of the contract is really going to be an eyesore. I wouldve held firm at 5y max, if not see ya. Theres other guys who are honestly as good for less.
We don't agree on Girardi at all. You can complain about an extra year or 500 K too much, I won't. The guy is a leader who plays 80 games a year, over 20 mpg, against the other teams best players. We'll agree to disagree.
Then again maybe you have a crystal ball since you claim to know pretty much for sure that the last couple of years of his deal will be terrible. So forget hockey...give me the winning lotto numbers and let's win some money.... I also view things differently than you do. I cannot sit here and worry about Girardi 3 years from now. Guess what...Hank will be 35. Other dmen and forwards will be older. If we don't win a cup in this next 3 year window it kind of doesn't matter anyway I don't think.
Again the weakness is skating apparently with dmac....so how is he going legally hit someone? Malkin wont be intimated. Help me out someone, the oast three cup winners kings and blackhawks, who is their man guy that people fear?
