Would love to see Linberg in there on the fourth. We now have a younger version of Stoll in Lindberg. Too many spare forwards at this point.
They aren't trading any dmen, and if McIlrath does make it over Diaz he will simply be a spare. No need to trade a steady piece like Klein.
I don't see them keeping 8 d-men despite AV hinting at that. I see 7 and Big Mac will be one with diaz either in hartford or back in switzerland. The undertaker is finally ready for primetime
Cage, that was his nickname in juniors as he would lay guys out and scare the shit out of them when he was in the vicinity. BTW in the 3rd, on the pk, McI showed what many had been saying about him in Hartford. He outmuscled two Flyboys for the puck in the corner and moved it up the boards. Picked up by McD and this led to a 2-1. Boyle and Diaz don't make the play. They get outmuscled for the puck which ends up in the slot for a scoring chance. IF he keeps getting better and better Klein will be history before the trade deadline. Cage, after tonights steady game once again with good puck movement and some big hits the only question imo is not if big mac is the 7th d man but is he the 6th. He looked good out there paired with yandle who was talking with him throughout on the bench. Imo gave yandle a lot of room to do things knowing noone is cheapshotting him with his partner on the ice with him. Boyle was a disaster tonight .
In the age of the cap, why on Earth would the Rangers trade one of the top 4 defenseman who has the cheapest contract by a mile? Makes no sense. My guess would be they ask Boyle to accept a trade after McIlrath takes a lot of his playing time.
I don't think they do either dump. Most likely keep boyle and klein all season unless they take enough time away from boyle to convince him to go elsewhere.
Boyle was a terrible signing, if he's playing it better be on a very short leash because if he's not scoring it's time to go. NTC or not Danny's at the end of his career and he can finish it on another team or watch games from the press box as a healthy scratch. Diaz is marginally better than Boyle offensively but a zero physically, I agree with you on McIlrath Mel, he should have been up for more games last year and he's been as good as any Ranger RH dman overall. Preseason or not Dylan's hardly the slow footed oaf he was portrayed as by some posters. Boyle should be odd man out if they can't move him, a dman with McIlrath's attributes is much more valuable on a game to game basis. I don't see them moving Klein yet. I think Staal is another guy who really needs to get his game going. Yandle is the better player who they should have given the contract to.
McIlrath looks more mobile(relatively speaking)than the last i saw him, but the question is can he process the game well enough at the pro level consistently to be more than just a fill-in?
From the time the Rangers drafted McIlrath to yesterday's game, there is no comparison. He is more fluid with the puck, skating has improved, much stronger away from the puck, sees the ice better. His first year he couldn't do any of the above. His only rep was he could fight......he's certainly rounded out to a bonafide Dman. I saw him in Hartford that first year. And I was really down on him and Sather for picking him ahead of Fowler. Now, I'm lickin' my chops because his skills have sky-rocketed from that novice year. I think he will be a fixture for years to come. I am crossing my fingers.
Nevermind. Saw it on another board (HB), sourcing Elliot Friedman and Renaud Lavoie on twitter , but looks like the poster was messing around. The source is a guy in Buffalo who nailed the Kane trade two days before it happened....not anything to believe at this point...
Let the Dmen situation play out. Down the road this season a number of things can happen. Pulling the trigger now on a trade in all probability will backfire. A dman may play a big part in the team's powerplay (I hoping).....pairings may click with the extra Dmen, on the negative side, injuries! Let's not get rid of the D men players.............they all may be needed.
My guess at the lines: Nash/Brass/Zucc CK/Step/Miller Stalberg/Hayes/Fast Stoll/Moore/Etem or Lindberg I like the depth but wonder if we are one scoring forward short. The only way I think we won't be is if Stal and/or Etem can score some goals. The way Etem looked in the pre-season though doesn't make me feel good about him. On D I fully expect McIlrath to be the 7th guy, which is smart. Also adds some toughness when he plays, which is good with Glass long gone hopefully.
