I have little doubt next year you will see a heavyweight on the 4th line. You have to have one with all the young talent on this team. Especially with a smaller defenseman like Fox.
Miller needs to find a trainer on the off-season and put on 10 to 15 lbs of muscle. He’s like a heavy skeleton.
I think physically you will see a lot of our younger guys take a step up next year. Especially Lafreniere and Miller.
I would expect that also - that's what happens as you mature and grow. That is expected from kids and part of the growth process.
Let's recap. Wilson crosschecks Buch to the ice by the neck, sucker punches him, then throws superstar headfirst onto the ice without a helmet. The result of all this: Wilson fined 5K, Rangers fined 250K, Buch will get suspended and Panarin is injured. How does that not make everyone upset? Gorton and JD do carry some responsibility here. All year long other teams crash our net whenever they want to and nobody does anything. This was happening to Lundqvist for years, especially post Torts and it was becoming worse and worse. How would Mason Gerteersen or any other enforcer play any worse than Howden all year?
Not calling up Geertsen was stupid. If they don't acquire a Lucic I would have Geertsen play wing early over Europe to get used to the position and have him on the 4th line next year.
I agree. Unless you get skilled tough guys on this team, which are not easy to get. Also in regards to Chytil. I know many of you like him, but he doesn't fit here. He is not a great center, he sucks on draws and we have too many wingers are who are better than him. He is not built for playoffs. He has to go.
This is an important point - tough guys that can actually take a regular shift are very rare, and dont become available often. I know that the reports are he actually requested the trade so the point is somewhat moot, but I never understood the hate Lemieux got around here. He more than held his own in a bout with Wilson last season. He just had a great scrap and win the other day with the Kings. Sure he took some dumb penalties and never improved much offensively, but now we're talking about calling up a career AHL defenseman with zero NHL games and sticking him at wing? Give me a guy like Lemieux and his periodic boarding penalties any day of the week.
Lemieux is not a heavyweight. Geertsen is. Your 4th line shouldn't matter much if you have three, highly skilled lines ahead of them. The Islanders have to rely on their 4th line because they don't have nearly the talent the Rangers do. Reeves is worthless for the most part but Vegas has him on their 4th line. Geertsen could also move back to defense in a game if one of the d man got hurt or got ejected. Sick of middle weights like Lemieux. They don't discourage anybody.
When the Rangers had Kocur or Orr dressed, if you hit a skilled player in a way you shouldn't have, you were going to get your face broke. Playing in the East, the Rangers need to re-establish that. Especially with so many young, talented kids. The bottom line is when skilled players feel protected, they play braver and better.
