Brendan Smith's Road to Redemption Begins Now

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

I'm with you on that Phil. Obvious to any casual observer it's safe to say Brendan Smith is going to have to really make up for a lot before he even makes the team....no less becomes a captain. LOL

I'm just so ready for this guy to prove everyone wrong, and that he is the guy I watched in Detroit, and we got a really good player in him. I'm going to hold AV responsible for his decline until I see he cannot play well under Quinn either....But I think the outcome is going to be vastly different.

I wanna be surprised at how much better a player can be when he has the support of his coach and staff. I don't feel he had it under the former....what's his name again?

Like always

[Ozzy]

Like always

Somebody gets it!!

I hold AV responsible for everything:

The Red light ticket I got...
The time that chick fell out of my car while it was moving
The war of 1812
Mrs. O'Leary's cow...
I was even trying to link him to how I got banned from facebook...

But other than that, Pete...I like the physical part of the game, and I still feel it's a vital part of a team's success. Even though I know it's so 1994, like you said...we did win with that formula. Aren't you tired of watching other teams take liberties with our team?

Hell, I was at MSG in December of '79 when O' Reilly, McNab and Milbury went up into the stands, and I gotta tell you...other than the dude Milbury beat the piss out of with his own shoe, the crowd was tougher than the team we had on the ice. McNab actually did a number on some guy's face! What an ass kickin'!

But yeah man, I'm tired of teams running Hank, and guys getting pounded with no retaliation. Why shouldn't teams beat on the Rangers? They play like a bunch of pussies, and you can intimidate them into the ice.

Couldn't do that in '94. Had more than a few guys that would flat out beat the ever lovin' piss outta whoever messed with them. Now I'm not saying we have to revert back to the Flyer days of the mid 70's here gang, but these new kids are going to have to need some protection to mature over the next 2-3 years. Having a couple of players that can stand up for them, and let them get a little confidence may be just what the doctor ordered.

...and for the record, most of the reason why I couldn't stand AV, was because he coached pussy hockey. Which puzzles me greatly. When AV played the game, he was a tough bastard...cheap too! I actually liked his game!

as a coach though...I don't know. Maybe he met Jesus, or had some kind of outer body experience that changed his ways...either way it sucked.

Ever see anyone run Richter in '94? I didn't....

[Pete]

Yea but it's 2018 and no one has "run" Hank in like 5 years.

[4EverRangerFrank]

Well written piece, Phil.

All eyes on Smith now to see if he truly turns the page and passes on the extra dessert. On ice? Yeah, some snarl and grit would be great. I’ll take that from him if he’s not a points producer. Play tough. Make it known so that no winger wants to come down your side. Do that and mostly everything will be forgiven.

[josh]

he Took a big shot against the stars. Was the last season?

[RJWantsTheCup]

he Took a big shot against the stars. Was the last season?

2 years ago and Skjei watched it and then skated away from it.
Cody Eakin I think hit Hank.

[Future]

he Took a big shot against the stars. Was the last season?

Yea, last season. Marchand drilled him too, but I don't remember any from this year.

[Pete]

Big shots, or Hank going for the academy award, as he tends to do?

[josh]

dont touch my goalie.

[Puck Head]

Yea but it's 2018 and no one has "run" Hank in like 5 years.

This


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[jsrangers]

This


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This +1

[Respecttheblue]

If Smith can play a tough, but smart, D it would be a plus and a good example on this team which aside from Kreider and Zuccarello, leans a lttle too far toward milquetoastery for my liking. Did I miss anybody?

Disney or not Disney, I'd be happy if he can "re-surge" to the player we thought we signed. We could use a bridge to the future on D while some of the Defensive-oriented draft picks are playing in college/minors/Sweden, wherever.

BTW ... When's Yegor Rykov's Broadway debut "due," again? I get the sense he might be a welcome addition of toughness and Defensive capability ... but I got the sense we had to wait on him, too.

[Gravesy]

Rykov has one more year in the KHL.
He’ll be here next summer along with Shesty and Kravtsov.

[Progrocker]

2 years ago and Skjei watched it and then skated away from it.
Cody Eakin I think hit Hank.

Yeah, 2 years ago. Eakin just about took Hank's head off with no retaliation. Fucking embarrassing.

[Giacomin]

Yeah, 2 years ago. Eakin just about took Hank's head off with no retaliation. Fucking embarrassing.

Objectively, not everything was the coach's fault, but this can be blamed on AV. This incident happened at a time when he was emphasizing and taking away ice time for any retaliation penalties. He was also admonishing the younger players for any penalties of aggression or enthusiastic youthful mistakes. A malaise of self-questioning (and lack or aggression/anticipation) had almost creeped into the team during that time. Guys had been trained to put their head down and skate away if the ref called a penalty. AV did not differentiate between the rare (but necessary) retaliation penalty, from the penalties you want to avoid.

He created a culture of hesitancy, resulting in less instinctive play from guys like Kreider, Miller, Vesey and Skjei (forced to be the good example). The opposite of a coach like Gallant, who encourages risk taking and believes players should not be admonished for a mistakes and errors of aggression, of all types. If you want to make plays, mistakes are going to happen.

Back to Eakin. The team needs to have some principles, particularly regarding having a teammates back. AV wanted the power play, no matter what! There is reason to be optimistic coach Quinn will communicate the concept better and not stifle the kids as much.

[Slobberknocker]

i'd just like to see him come back and work hard. no need to put a letter on him this year.

[jsrangers]

Objectively, not everything was the coach's fault, but this can be blamed on AV. This incident happened at a time when he was emphasizing and taking away ice time for any retaliation penalties. He was also admonishing the younger players for any penalties of aggression or enthusiastic youthful mistakes. A malaise of self-questioning (and lack or aggression/anticipation) had almost creeped into the team during that time. Guys had been trained to put their head down and skate away if the ref called a penalty. AV did not differentiate between the rare (but necessary) retaliation penalty, from the penalties you want to avoid.

He created a culture of hesitancy, resulting in less instinctive play from guys like Kreider, Miller, Vesey and Skjei (forced to be the good example). The opposite of a coach like Gallant, who encourages risk taking and believes players should not be admonished for a mistakes and errors of aggression, of all types. If you want to make plays, mistakes are going to happen.

Back to Eakin. The team needs to have some principles, particularly regarding having a teammates back. AV wanted the power play, no matter what! There is reason to be optimistic coach Quinn will communicate the concept better and not stifle the kids as much.

Again imo if Gorton didn't agree with pinning the guy down in Hartford for the year he wouldn't of been there all season. If Gorton didn't agree and it still happened than shame on Gorton for not stepping in.

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[josh]

Objectively, not everything was the coach's fault, but this can be blamed on AV. This incident happened at a time when he was emphasizing and taking away ice time for any retaliation penalties. He was also admonishing the younger players for any penalties of aggression or enthusiastic youthful mistakes. A malaise of self-questioning (and lack or aggression/anticipation) had almost creeped into the team during that time. Guys had been trained to put their head down and skate away if the ref called a penalty. AV did not differentiate between the rare (but necessary) retaliation penalty, from the penalties you want to avoid.

He created a culture of hesitancy, resulting in less instinctive play from guys like Kreider, Miller, Vesey and Skjei (forced to be the good example). The opposite of a coach like Gallant, who encourages risk taking and believes players should not be admonished for a mistakes and errors of aggression, of all types. If you want to make plays, mistakes are going to happen.

Back to Eakin. The team needs to have some principles, particularly regarding having a teammates back. AV wanted the power play, no matter what! There is reason to be optimistic coach Quinn will communicate the concept better and not stifle the kids as much.

None of this is true.

AV got guys to stop taking dumb penalties. Can you not recall the constant carousel of miller, Kreider rt al taking dumb penalties game after game? Or Smith taking dumb penalties and picking horrible times to fight? That’s just fundamentals

You know what else is a fundamental part of the game? Jumping someone after they hit your goalie. There is almost zero chance that what a coach says would prevent a guy from retaliating in that scenario would prevent one from sticking up for his goalie. No, it’s just that we had a bunch of pussies up and down the lineup, as they played AVs style. Plus, they had no on-ice/lockerroom leadership or team camaraderie.

[The Dude]

None of this is true.

AV got guys to stop taking dumb penalties. Can you not recall the constant carousel of miller, Kreider rt al taking dumb penalties game after game? Or Smith taking dumb penalties and picking horrible times to fight? That’s just fundamentals

You know what else is a fundamental part of the game? Jumping someone after they hit your goalie. There is almost zero chance that what a coach says would prevent a guy from retaliating in that scenario would prevent one from sticking up for his goalie. No, it’s just that we had a bunch of pussies up and down the lineup, as they played AVs style. Plus, they had no on-ice/lockerroom leadership or team camaraderie.

I don't recall these dumb penalties. I recall aggressive play that would teeter on legal as far as contact with oppositions goalies... Maybe some boarding or hits from behind. But every player who plays that way is going to take those penalties.

There's no doubt in my mind that AV neutered this team. Much like Guac suggested, AV didn't seem to care what type of penalty a player would take. They were all the same. Especially if it was a young player.

I normally don't agree much with Giac, but I tend to agree with his take on this issue. I'm excited to see what the remaining players play like under this new coach. I think players games are going to change as well as their attitudes.

[josh]

Dude you CANT play that way in the nhl. Skating into goalies, boarding, hits from behind... that’s not aggression, that’s stupidity! And it gets you a reputation that’s bad for your team.