Feel bad for Hank if that is the case. However, getting another franchise changing talent is probably a great thing for the organization at this point. Still think Whalstrom made a lot of sense here. There are some concerns about Whalstrom's lack of effort on the defensive end. Scouts say he tends to watch and look for other players to get the puck. Probably the reason why he dropped. I guess the Rangers saw Kravtsov dominate in the playoffs vs. men. Whalstrom put up numbers against kids of which about 99% of them will probably never make the NHL. The fact Edmonton kept the 10th overall pick shows you they have no idea what they are doing. They need NHL players now. Not in 4 years. Still not a fan of taking a goalie in the second round. BA is a magician with goalies but if there is one area where the team has struggled with goalies it's when they draft them in the second round. Guys covering the draft raved about K'Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist. People were getting all hyped about Bouchard and Dobson. Sounds like Miller has more talent than either. Lundkvist made IMO what is the best league out side the NHL in the Swedish Elite League at 17 and played really well. To me, two of their first three picks were players that played very well against men. You can never tell when players, play against kids in juniors if they will carry their production through when they finally face men.
I figure Andersson will become a really good player by 22. It will take him a while but he'll be a pain in the ass to play against. He's a playoff type of guy as well. Chytil looks like he might put up 40 points next season. Should be interesting to see what Skjei does. I suspect he will rebound in a real defensive system. Guy I'm looking at in camp is Ronning. I'm hoping he shows some signs of being a replacement for Zucc .
Could've gotten an almost definate NHL forward at #40 and still gotten the G at some point in the 3rd round. For a rebuilding team a waste at that spot is a big miss. Even trade up both 3rd's if you feel the need to get him but you can't throw away 40.
I think he probably still would've been there in the third round but they didn't know that. McKenzie had him rated the second best goalie. They released Zborovskiy. Seems the team is allergic to any defenseman that's big, nasty, isn't on the ice for our goals as long as he doesn't skate well. I'm thinking they will trade Georgiev if he plays well like the previous two backups. Hope Halverson plays well and probably trade him. Seems they like to develop backup goalies and trade them for picks
That Zborovsky draft is looking like a dud, even though they didn't have a 1st. Hopefully these last 2 drafts yield some NHL guys beyond the 1st round. Ronning could be a pleasant surprise.
I agree that Ronning looks like he has lotta potential. He's right-handed and he's a shot machine which is something we desperately need from our forwards. I was never a big Nieves fan but he played well on the fourth line in our idiot coach screwed him over.
Yeah Nieves should be a useful 4th liner for a few years. Hopefully Day lives up to his potential, I'll be curious to see him in the fall.
I'm not sure about Day. It would be a huge bonus if he pans out. He has everything skill wise you could want in a defenseman. Hope his desire is there. Not banking on it though.
.@TyRonning7 pulls out the Malik(!!) for shootout winner for Team White. #NYRPDC 0:03 23.8K views 8:33 AM - 28 Jun 2018
I never thought I would say this......Tank, tank, tank. Rangers are in desperate need of top line forwards. Not happy with this year’s draft, picking 6 Dmen out of 10 picks. Besides, this organization has had a terrible farm system. There is a definite need for top talent. As far as I can see this organization will continue to play youth on the parent team....... and let the chips fall where they may! Like to see team in the top 5 of next year’s draft.... but they will prolly overachieve.
One thing I will say is that the draft coverage guys raved about the 2 defenseman in the first round the took. The reports are really good on the three defenseman they traded for last year at the deadline. Defenseman always carry more weight than forwards in deals. Especially if they are young and cheap. Don't be surprised if they send a Day, Rykov and Bigras for Karlsson as Ottawa will look to dump his salary.
If Hamk stinks it up another year there'll be no need to tank, this is where he earns that money as a leader because he sure isn't getting it done statistically. Hank's $8,5 cap hit warrants giving the Rangers a team Sweden effort every night he starts. I disagree with the notion that trading away a bunch of mediocre players and Grabner constitutes a rebuild. It's more an opportunity for young players to catch the eye of a new coach and hopefully produce a team that plays 60 minutes of hockey. Barring injuries the Rangers have 2 solid young lines with Gorton's 2 first rounders from last year's draft having a good chance to make the roster this year. Getting rid of Staal is priority #1, there's no case to be made for his $5.7 cap hit, definitely one of the faces on Glen Sather's Mt. Rushmore of terrible contracts next to Hank's. Shatt should be back healthy and provide the offensive threat from the blue line the Rangers sorely lacked and leadership. Zucc is playing for a contract, Hayes had a breakout year, CK has developed into a legit scoring threat who needs to be more selfish and despite his softness Buch's 43 points in 72 games wasn't shabby. Vesey can only go up from last year. Good times ahead. I'm curious who gets named Captain, Jack Ramsey would be an upgrade over the lackluster McDonough.
Good post, agree with all of it minus the bit about Henrik’s contract being one of sathers worst, he earned every cent of that considering he should be borderline paralyzed having the team on his back for so many years. And in the guys you mentioned, don’t forget Zbad continuing to break out and being an offensive force (so long as he stays healthy). His right shot on the power play from the left circle is a huge plus given that for many years it was Derek Stepan who has one of the worst shots I’ve ever seen. Pionk is poised for a strong year on the right side D behind Shatty and I think we’re going to see a much better 4th line that has some energy.
Sather should have let Hank test free agency with an offer to match/beat, no other team would have paid him $7.5. I agree Hank's played some great hockey but contracts should be based on what you expect a player to do in the future not on what he's done.
I think upfront we'll be fine. I would still think Name or Spoon gets dealt. And I also still think it is very possible Zib or Hayes gets dealt to ensure there is room for the kids at C. But upfront I really think we'll be good and solid, and with kids could be pretty deep (plus we will sign someone upfront - most likely a 3rd line grinder type). Where I think we will struggle is on D. It looks very lacking back there. Kids not ready. A couple of soft players. Staal old and slow. I think our D is going to be a real downer. I would hope Skjei bounces back and a healthy Shatt excels, but the remainder is a huge question mark. Wonder if we get anything out of Smith. If he can perform like he did when he got traded here we'd be onto something. As for Staal, who takes that contract? Maybe if we ate 1/2 of it we could convince him to waive his NTC and some team would take him, but no team is taking 5.7 mill. Maybe after this season when there is one less year left, we can convince some team, but still seems unlikely without us eating a % (which is still better than a buyout and extra years).
You don't know if the kids aren't ready. AV's defensive system was retarded. Almost nobody could play it. With a solid system I think the kids could pick it up quickly.
Will be good to watch a new coach with a feel for younger players and watching such develop and become stars in their own right. The philosophy of AV as compared to quinn will be very clear as the season progresses. Wish we can get Hank to accept a trade as he is an anchor on this team now that is a couple of years away.
Yup, no one knows for sure, but usually young dmen take time to develop, and even in the best cases have growing pains. So yes new coach, but I still think our D is a huge question mark this upcoming season. With that said, if Smith can be solid that would be a huge help.
Sounds like it'll be a Kamarov type and maybe a cheap vet D like Emelin but they need to keep them no more than 2y. Next year i could see them getting back into the FA mix after guys like Karlsson and Duchene. Couture would've been nice but SJ just extended him. If they're planning on keeping Staal at least through this year then i wouldn't even bother with a dman, just see how DA Gilmour Pionk and Bigras do with maybe Hajek and Lindgren getting worked in at some point.
Doesnt work that way. Remember that hank was out performing his rookie contract by leaps and bounds....rangers got off cheap back then
