confirmed: Rangers Trade Brendan Lemieux to LAK For 4th Round Pick

The offense didn't need a new voice, it just needed its number one Center.

Who would’ve thought

The offense didn't need a new voice, it just needed its number one Center.

Sure. But, I'm still seeing some bad habits sneak in like playing on the perimeter and just being afraid to go through the middle of the ice. Don't you think so? You look at Fox who always has his head up and moving. Not many on this team seem to do that. I thought it was most evident in the last loss to the Flyers. But, Panarin had a pretty quiet weekend which didn't help.

Edit: From that Flyers game and the most recent Washington game, the Rangers go through stretches where they are just too easy to play against and defend against and they shouldn't, especially now with Mika being back. Unfortunately they were both pretty quiet this weekend.

The offense didn't need a new voice, it just needed its number one Center.

I watched this last night, Pete and kept thinking to myself...Isn't this supposed to be what Kreider should be doing???????

The Dubrincat highlight I'm referring to is at 4:14 on this clip.

Dubrincat is 5' 7" 170 lbs!!!! ...and Kreider is 6' 3" 220 lbs....Am I missing something here???

I watched this last night, Pete and kept thinking to myself...Isn't this supposed to be what Kreider should be doing???????

 

The Dubrincat highlight I'm referring to is at 4:14 on this clip.

 

Dubrincat is 5' 7" 170 lbs!!!! ...and Kreider is 6' 3" 220 lbs....Am I missing something here???

 

You're suffering from "Chris Kreider Bias". Here's a clip of every goal Kreider scored last year. Just about all of them are what you would want out of a power forward. Specifically look at the goal scored at 3:46. Also at 4:55. Pretty similar.

You're suffering from "Chris Kreider Bias". Here's a clip of every goal Kreider scored last year. Just about all of them are what you would want out of a power forward. Specifically look at the goal scored at 3:46. Also at 4:55. Pretty similar.

 

Kreider is fully capable of dropping his shoulder and going to the net on a consistent basis, he just doesn't. There have been a few moments this season where he's had the space, but opted to take a wrister when his shot isn't really a threat.

Actually it's pretty ironic that the last one is actually against the Hawks!

I just wish I'd see more of that out of our bigger, speedier players. Maybe it's me, Kev...but our bigger forwards seem to keep peeling away from the net. ...and it's just Kreider I'm unfairly focusing on, but we have guys like Gauthier, Kakko, DiGueissepe and a couple others that consistently DO NOT drive to the net.

These are players with good size and speed, while I see a guy like Dubrincat who pales in comparison in size, driving to the net like he's Cam Neely.

Actually it's pretty ironic that the last one is actually against the Hawks!

 

I just wish I'd see more of that out of our bigger, speedier players. Maybe it's me, Kev...but our bigger forwards seem to keep peeling away from the net. ...and it's just Kreider I'm unfairly focusing on, but we have guys like Gauthier, Kakko, DiGueissepe and a couple others that consistently DO NOT drive to the net.

 

These are players with good size and speed, while I see a guy like Dubrincat who pales in comparison in size, driving to the net like he's Cam Neely.

I don't think DiG has the talent to make a play like that and I don't think Kakko has the speed to make a play like that but I'm still holding out hope that he develops the confidence to try it. I'm with you and Drew. I think Kreider can be doing this routinely but for whatever reason, it doesn't happen. Dubrincat is really a good player though, isn't he? He's a lot of fun to watch. Fast, quick, fearless. I appreciate that guy's game.

I don't think DiG has the talent to make a play like that and I don't think Kakko has the speed to make a play like that but I'm still holding out hope that he develops the confidence to try it. I'm with you and Drew. I think Kreider can be doing this routinely but for whatever reason, it doesn't happen. Dubrincat is really a good player though, isn't he? He's a lot of fun to watch. Fast, quick, fearless. I appreciate that guy's game.

Dubrincat really doesn't go into hockey hibernation for a couple of weeks at a time like Kreider tends to. lol But, yeah, he's really fun to watch.

The Cat is definitely one of my faves, fellas! Not to mention how slick "Mr. Showtime" is out there with him. When Kane gets the puck, I watch how Cat just bolts for the net! He knows where it's going! The Hawks have been a phenomenal watch this season; They got off to a slow start but they are a fun watch, pretty much every game.

We have such big players that play small though, and when I see a guy like Dubrincat do that stuff, I wonder, why the hell can't Kakko, or Gauthier do that??? Shit!! Kreider could do that on every play!! Who'd stop him?? He's a beast, physically!!!

I unfairly took a shot at Kreider in my original post, and he has been pretty good this season. He's always going to be that guy that's hot and cold, but I think if he would drive to the net, with his speed more often, I bet those cold streaks wouldn't last half as long!

Dubrincat really doesn't go into hockey hibernation for a couple of weeks at a time like Kreider tends to. lol But, yeah, he's really fun to watch.

It could easily be argued he took damn near the entire season off last year.

I just think Trouba himself has regressed a bit from last season. I thought he was better. Having said that, yes, the team defense and PK and have been fantastic this year. The defense is the least of this team's worries going forward.

He has really regressed. What’s helping hide that is the system being implemented around him. Plus thank god Miller is more mobile than Trouba because he hides a lot of Trouba lumbering steps and pin he’s. He’s like a big ol 7 truck in a league of sports cars. It’s a shame too because we are married to him. And he doesn’t exactly give anything except the mediocre defense he provides.

My ideal 3rd and 4th lines right now are

 

Laf-Chytil-Kravtsov

PDG-Rooney-Blackwell

 

With Howden and Gauthier rotating in and out. How does Lemiuex provide more than any of those players aside from maybe PDG?

 

 

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None drop the gloves (normally), none take the body, none crash the net, none agitate, none are locker room favorites. There's plenty he does more of than these guys. 3 are centers that can't win a faceoff... why are they here? 2nd unit PK? GREAAAAAT.

I watched this last night, Pete and kept thinking to myself...Isn't this supposed to be what Kreider should be doing???????

 

The Dubrincat highlight I'm referring to is at 4:14 on this clip.

 

Dubrincat is 5' 7" 170 lbs!!!! ...and Kreider is 6' 3" 220 lbs....Am I missing something here???

 

Well Gauthier does this.. Then doesn't see the ice again.. So, theres... that

Well Gauthier does this.. Then doesn't see the ice again.. So, theres... that

Gauthier gets scratch because he consistently takes horrible penalties.

Trouba’s actually gotten better this year...all of his advanced stats metrics are up. Probably part of it being his PDO is 1.2 points higher and he’s being started in the offensive zone 51.5% of the time instead of 45.3% last year. But can we quit with the narrative he’s regressed? He looks better and the numbers back it up. He’s not worth his contract, but he’s not a bad player

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None drop the gloves (normally), none take the body, none crash the net, none agitate, none are locker room favorites. There's plenty he does more of than these guys. 3 are centers that can't win a faceoff... why are they here? 2nd unit PK? GREAAAAAT.

Hmmmm, let's see.

Not that it says much because they all suck at faceoffs, but Howden and Rooney are the 2 best faceoff guys on the team. Blackwell is technically the best at 56% but has only taken 25 draws since he has been playing wing.

PDG - 14.63 hits per 60. Rooney - 10.33 hits per 60. Lemieux was at 12.3.

I don't even know where you're going with complaining about the 2nd PK unit. (Howden/Rooney with Blackwell filling in if one of them is out). The pk is top 5 in the league.

Blackwell, Rooney, and PDG all out scored Lemieux.

So pretty much the only thing Lemieux had going for him over them was his ability to get punched in the face.

Trouba’s actually gotten better this year...all of his advanced stats metrics are up. Probably part of it being his PDO is 1.2 points higher and he’s being started in the offensive zone 51.5% of the time instead of 45.3% last year. But can we quit with the narrative he’s regressed? He looks better and the numbers back it up. He’s not worth his contract, but he’s not a bad player

 

 

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I think you're right, Xander...

Trouba's not bad, his contract is.

Trouba’s actually gotten better this year...all of his advanced stats metrics are up. Probably part of it being his PDO is 1.2 points higher and he’s being started in the offensive zone 51.5% of the time instead of 45.3% last year. But can we quit with the narrative he’s regressed? He looks better and the numbers back it up. He’s not worth his contract, but he’s not a bad player

 

 

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A big part of this has to be Fox going from a 2/3RD to a top 3 RD in the entire league eating huge minutes. Trouba as 2nd pair RD is fine, but then the cap hit is just brutal.

I can take Trouba and his cap hit as a 2nd pair D for a couple of years, but when Lundkvist comes in and dumps him even further down the lineup, it will be a problem.

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Gauthier gets scratch because he consistently takes horrible penalties.

0 penalties taken and 3 drawn since he came back from the last scratching. Averages a huge 9 minutes per game even without taking any penalty.

His advanced numbers the last few games has also been good (the few minutes he’s played).

I will still bet my house on him being the man out when golden boy Howden returns.

Maybe Krav and Gauthier can skate around at practice together :)

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0 penalties taken and 3 drawn since he came back from the last scratching. Averages a huge 9 minutes per game even without taking any penalty.

 

His advanced numbers the last few games has also been good (the few minutes he’s played).

 

I will still bet my house on him being the man out when golden boy Howden returns.

 

Maybe Krav and Gauthier can skate around at practice together :)

 

 

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So it looks like the message got through then. The 8 games before he got scratched he was play 12+ minutes per night. Now he can earn that trust back.

Gauthier had one bad game penalty wise with 3 penalties, one of them being a double minor. He got punished for it, but before that game he had 3 minor penalties across 19 games. Fictitious argument really because of one undisciplined game.

He takes the puck to the net which I guess is a Quinn no-no?

Gauthier had one bad game penalty wise with 3 penalties, one of them being a double minor. He got punished for it, but before that game he had 3 minor penalties across 19 games. Fictitious argument really because of one undisciplined game.

 

He takes the puck to the net which I guess is a Quinn no-no?

Yea, that totally explains why Quinn was playing him 12+minutes a night from the end of February until the middle of March.

Yea, that totally explains why Quinn was playing him 12+minutes a night from the end of February until the middle of March.

Out of 8 games between 2/26 and 3/15 he had 4 games over 12 minutes and 2 under 10. One bad game with penalties and he was shuffled back to the annex like his name was Toby Flenderson, where he was benched for a week and then reverted back to under 9 minutes.

Gauthier gets scratch because he consistently takes horrible penalties.

Inadvertent high sticking while trying to play defense is not what I'd consider a "horrible penalty." I'd call that "hockey."