Drew a Penalty

Right. They're consistent when it comes to picking projects too early and failing at identifying players that will grow with a modern game.

Shea Weber had 23 goals and 53 points the previous year. Chris Pronger was carrying a Philadelphia Flyers team. There was a belief that McIlrath could hopefully go down the Shea Weber route while also serving as a built-in enforcer. Big defensemen with slapshots were still staples of NHL powerplays at the time. I don't know why they thought McIlrath was going to be that guy, and it hurts even more that the game completely shifted away from one that McIlrath could ever thrive in.

REGULAR SEASON GAME #79 — 04/06/23 @ Location: Enterprise Center — St. Louis, MO Time: 8:00 PM TV: MSG, BSMW Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM USEFUL LINKS: Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • MollieeWalkerr • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano • @StapeAthletic Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • blues.nhl.com GameCenter - here Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 46-21-11 (103 Points) 3rd — Metropolitan 42 .656 22-12-4 23-9-7 4-2 7-2-1 W2 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +57 (2nd) 3.37 (10th) 2.67 (4th) 23.2% (9th) 80.7% (14th) 49.7% (19th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mika Zibanejad (39) Artemi Panarin (62) Artemi Panarin (88) Adam Fox (+28) Jacob Trouba (59) Adam Fox (24:28) Mika Zibanejad (20:04) Starting Lineup:^ Chris Kreider A / Mika Zibanejad A / Jimmy Vesey Artemi Panarin A / Vincent Trocheck / Vladimir Tarasenko Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko Barclay Goodrow A / Tyler Motte Ryan Lindgren / Adam Fox Niko Mikkola / K'Andre Miller Ben Harpur / Braden Schneider ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Jaroslav Halak GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 22 10-8-4 .906 2.69 1 Healthy Scratches: N/A Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: Jacob Trouba C [DTD] - Upper-body injury Patrick Kane [DTD] - Lower-body injury Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 36-35-7 (79 Points) 6th — Central 33 .506 17-16-6 19-19-1 3-3 6-2-2 W1 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: -33 (25th) 3.23 (15th) 3.65 (27th) 19.5% (23rd) 73.5% (28th) 45.9% (27th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Jordan Kyrou (37) Robert Thomas (46) Jordan Kyrou (72) Calle Rosen (+21) Brayden Schenn (50) Justin Faulk (23:28) Pavel Buchnevich (19:26) Starting Lineup:^ Brandon Saad / Brayden Schenn / Jordan Kyrou Jake Neighbors / Pavel Buchnevich / Jakub Vrana Sammy Blais / Kasperi Kapanen / Josh Leivo Alexei Toropchenko / Nathan Walker / Tyler Pitlick Nick Leddy / Colton Parayko Torey Krug / Justin Faulk Dmitri Samorukov / Calle Rosen ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Jordan Binnington GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 57 26-25-6 .892 3.36 2 Healthy Scratches: Logan Brown, Matthew Kessel Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: Robert Thomas [DTD] - Upper-body injury Thomas Greiss [OUT] - Undisclosed Marco Scandella [OUT] - Lower-body injury QUOTE(S) TO NOTE: "I just think sometimes you get into the game where you've seen a team so many times and you understand them systematically, and sometimes you just try and go nose to nose and out-compete them. That's kind of what happened there tonight. Both teams are trying to get as competitive as you could and make it hard on the other team.'" - Tyler Motte KISS YOUR SISTER, SAMMMY:

No. Not an option.

I disagree and the stats back it up. Mikkola has been a steady presence and has been key in breaking up plays. Mikkola's ability to hold the line should complement Schneider's complete willingness to give it up. Removing Harpur from the equation is addition by subtraction based on how much offense he actually ends up providing the opposing team. Charts through AllThreeZones.

Not to put the blame on Harpur, but I think the defense should stabilize quite a bit with Lindgren back and Mikkola stabilizing Schneider. They don’t completely make up for a lack of system, but you at least have a reliable enough defender on every pair. Schneider absolutely needs a babysitter and Harpur isn’t the guy. My hope is that we’ll see more consistent effort throughout with a more stable defense.

REGULAR SEASON GAME #78 — 04/05/23 @ Location: Madison Square Garden — New York, NY Time: 7:30 PM TV: TNT Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM USEFUL LINKS: Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • MollieeWalkerr • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano • @StapeAthletic Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • lightning.nhl.com GameCenter - here Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 45-21-11 (101 Points) 3rd — Metropolitan 41 .656 22-12-4 23-9-7 4-2 7-2-1 W1 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +54 (2nd) 3.34 (11th) 2.66 (4th) 22.8% (9th) 80.8% (13th) 49.8% (18th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mika Zibanejad (39) Artemi Panarin (62) Artemi Panarin (87) Adam Fox (+28) Jacob Trouba (59) Adam Fox (24:30) Mika Zibanejad (20:05) Starting Lineup:^ Chris Kreider A / Mika Zibanejad A / Patrick Kane Artemi Panarin A / Vincent Trocheck / Vladimir Tarasenko Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko Barclay Goodrow A / Tyler Motte / Jimmy Vesey Ryan Lindgren / Adam Fox K'Andre Miller / Jacob Trouba C Niko Mikkola / Braden Schneider ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Igor Shesterkin GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 55 35-13-7 .915 2.52 2 Healthy Scratches: Ben Harpur Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: N/A Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 45-26-6 (96 Points) 3rd — Atlantic 42 .623 27-7-5 18-19-1 3-2 6-4-0 W3 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +36 (10th) 3.43 (8th) 2.97 (13th) 25.3% (3rd) 80.2% (15th) 51.6% (10th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Brayden Point (48) Nikita Kucherov (77) Nikita Kucherov (106) Brandon Hagel (+21) Pat Maroon (136) Mikhail Sergachev (23:56) Nikita Kucherov (20:11) Starting Lineup:^ Steven Stamkos / Brayden Point / Nikita Kucherov Brandon Hagel / Nick Paul / Ross Colton Patrick Maroon / Anthony Cirelli / Alex Killorn Tanner Jeannot / Pierre-Edouard Bellemare / Corey Perry Victor Hedman / Nick Perbix Mikhail Sergachev / Darren Raddysh Ian Cole / Erik Cernak ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 58 34-20-4 .918 2.57 4 Healthy Scratches: Michael Eyssimont, Haydn Fleury, Zach Bogosian Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: N/A QUOTE(S) TO NOTE: "They scored a couple real nice goals because they worked hard down low. When you can show good clips like that and show them that they work like that, it goes a long way with your team. I think the guys really looked at the way the kids played, and said, ‘You know what? They did some real good things.'" - Gerard Gallant on the Kid Line GIF to ... HYPE:

REGULAR SEASON GAME #77 — 04/02/23 @ Location: Capital One Arena — Washington, D.C. Time: 1:00 PM TV: TNT Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM USEFUL LINKS: Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • MollieeWalkerr • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano • @StapeAthletic Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • capitals.nhl.com GameCenter - here Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 44-21-11 (99 Points) 3rd — Metropolitan 40 .651 22-12-4 22-9-7 4-2 7-2-1 OT1 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +51 (5th) 3.32 (12th) 2.67 (4th) 22.8% (10th) 80.7% (13th) 49.9% (18th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mika Zibanejad (38) Artemi Panarin (59) Artemi Panarin (84) Adam Fox (+29) Jacoub Trouba (57) Adam Fox (24:33) Mika Zibanejad (20:07) Starting Lineup:^ Artemi Panarin A / Mika Zibanejad A / Vladimir Tarasenko Chris Kreider A / Vincent Trocheck / Patrick Kane Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko Barclay Goodrow A / Tyler Motte / Jimmy Vesey Niko Mikkola / Adam Fox K'Andre Miller / Jacob Trouba C Ben Harpur / Braden Schneider ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Igor Shesterkin GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 54 34-13-7 .914 2.53 2 Healthy Scratches: N/A Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: Ryan Lindgren [DTD] — Upper-body injury Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 34-33-9 (77 Points) 6th — Metropolitan 32 .507 17-14-6 17-19-3 2-4 3-5-2 L1 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: 0 (18th) 3.11 (20th) 3.08 (15th) 21.6% (13th) 82.7% (5th) 50.5% (17th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Alex Ovechkin (42) Evgeny Kuznetsov (42) Alex Ovechkin (72) Trevor van Riemsdyk (+10) T.J. Oshie (59) Rasmus Sandin (23:52) Alex Ovechkin (20:13) Starting Lineup:^ Alex Ovechkin / Dylan Strome / Tom Wilson Aliaksei Protas / Nicklas Backstrom / T.J. Oshie Anthony Mantha / Evgeny Kuznetsov / Craig Smith Conor Sheary / Nic Dowd / Nicolas Aube-Kubel Martin Fehervary / John Carlson Rasmus Sandin / Nick Jensen Alexander Alexeyev / Trevor van Riemsdyk ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Charlie Lindgren GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 29 13-9-3 .898 3.02 0 Healthy Scratches: Matt Irwin Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: Connor Brown [IR] — Knee surgery Carl Hagelin [IR] — Hip surgery Sonny Milano [OUT] — Upper-body injury QUOTE(S) TO NOTE: "Well, fuck." - All of us, still angry from last night GIF to ... SOMETHING:

I think this is more about exposing them to the pro environment than anything. Eight games remaining for the Pack and they're a point behind Bridgeport who has a game in hand on Hartford. I wouldn't expect the new additions to get much time or the full spread of games. Maybe 2-3 games each unless they make the playoffs.

Kakko's balance really had people fooled that he was a more capable skater than he was/is.

Fox and Mikkola are still a pair. Lindgren is rotating in. Lindgren is still getting rested.

No, what fueled any hype for Kakko was the fact that he was doing it against men, not boys. He looked like a monster in the Liiga. The hype got even worse when he had a 2 goal game against Canada and a hat trick against Slovakia in the World Championships against some NHL competition. Hughes had chosen an unprecedented path at the time by staying with the USNTDP for his draft year. Hughes put up record numbers for the US team, but there was a question of him doing it all against boys while Kakko was a near P/GP amongst men. The thought at the time was that Kakko was more physically ready for NHL action and physicality than Hughes because of the competition both faced. We all know how that's turned out.

I'm sure he'd be a candidate for trade during next year's OHL trade deadline unless Peterborough is somehow competitive. Saying this without knowing anything, I could see him ending up back in his hometown of London. They're always adding talent and they've got some older players in the room that'll be departing. Would be nice to see BMB get an opportunity with Team Canada. We'll see if they have any interest during the summer camps. That would certainly help him move to a better OHL team.

Kakko and Byfield were separate drafts, Byfield needed 2.5 years of AHL time to get to where he is now, and where he is now is a random blog gassing him up while he gets 15 minutes per night. What's the conversation? Kakko needed AHL time? Yeah. We've been through this.

Basically. Little engine that could, but has struggled to be a facilitator of offense with greater opportunities. Let's see how he does with a year or two in Hartford.

Gallant is so fucking stupid. All of the shooters on one unit and all of the passers on the other. Trouba should be nowhere near the powerplay.

https://theathletic.com/4261657/2023/02/28/rangers-patrick-kane-trade-lineup/ Staple says the same.

And he's not on the only line that has to be matched up against.

Laf ends up off the PP, not Chytil.

REGULAR SEASON GAME #59 — 02/25/23 @ Location: Capital One Arena — Washington, D.C. Time: 1:00 PM TV: ABC, ESPN+ Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM USEFUL LINKS: Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • MollieeWalkerr • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano • @StapeAthletic Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • capitals.nhl.com GameCenter - here Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 33-16-9 (75 Points) 3rd — Metropolitan 30 .647 16-10-4 17-6-5 3-2 7-2-1 L2 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +33 (7th) 3.28 (12th) 2.72 (7th) 22.7% (12th) 79.3% (16th) 51.3% (12th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mika Zibanejad (30) Artemi Panarin (47) Artemi Panarin (65) Ryan Lindgren (+26) Jacoub Trouba (51) Adam Fox (24:49) Mika Zibanejad (20:35) Starting Lineup:^ Chris Kreider A / Mika Zibanejad A / Jimmy Vesey Artemi Panarin A / Vincent Trocheck / Vladimir Tarasenko Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko Barclay Goodrow A / Tyler Motte Ryan Lindgren / Adam Fox K'Andre Miller / Jacob Trouba C Niko Mikkola / Braden Schneider Ben Harpur ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Igor Shesterkin GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 41 25-9-7 .912 2.59 0 Healthy Scratches: Jake Leschysyn, Vitali Kravtsov Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: N/A Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 28-26-6 (62 Points) 5th — Atlantic 27 .517 14-13-3 14-13-3 1-2 3-7-0 L6 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +1 (18th) 2.95 (23rd) 2.92 (12th) 20.6% (19th) 81.9% (9th) 51.0% (16th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Alex Ovechkin (32) Evgeny Kuznetsov (36) Alex Ovechkin (54) Erik Gustafsson, Nic Dowd (+17) Garnet Hathaway (52) John Carlson (23:24) Alex Ovechkin (20:30) Starting Lineup:^ Alex Ovechkin / Evgeny Kuznetsov / Tom Wilson Sonny Milano / Dylan Strome / T.J. Oshie Marcus Johansson / Nicklas Backstrom / Conor Sheary Lars Eller / Nic Dowd / Nicolas Aube-Kubel Martin Fehervary / Nick Jensen Erik Gustafsson / Trevor van Riemsdyk Matt Irwin / Dylan McIlrath ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Darcy Kuemper GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 39 16-18-4 .913 2.68 0 Healthy Scratches: Alexander Aleyev, Aliaksei Protas Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: Carl Hagelin [LTIR] — Hip surgery Connor Brown [LTIR] — Knee surgery John Carlson [LTIR] — Head injury Anthony Mantha [IR] — Upper-body injury QUOTE(S) TO NOTE: "We think we’re one of those teams that has a chance to legitimately win, and you try and make your team better. Management is on the same page, coaches are on the same page and the players are on the same page." — Gerard Gallant GIF to HYPE:

They should trade Gord Murphy with cash to another team.

https://theathletic.com/4178686/2023/02/22/nhl-trade-board-timo-meier-patrick-kane/ As long as the Rangers are interested in Kane, they're that one team.

REGULAR SEASON GAME #57 — 02/20/23 vs. Location: Madison Square Garden — New York, NY Time: 7:00 PM TV: MSG, SN, TVAS Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM USEFUL LINKS: Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • MollieeWalkerr • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano • @StapeAthletic Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • jets.nhl.com GameCenter - here Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 33-14-9 (75 Points) 3rd — Metropolitan 30 .670 16-9-4 17-5-5 3-2 8-0-2 OT1 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +39 (5th) 3.36 (10th) 2.68 (7th) 23.5% (9th) 79.9% (15th) 50.9% (15th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mika Zibanejad (30) Artemi Panarin (47) Artemi Panarin (65) Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren (+25) Jacoub Trouba (51) Adam Fox (24:53) Mika Zibanejad (20:40) Starting Lineup:^ Chris Kreider A / Mika Zibanejad A / Vladimir Tarasenko Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko Artemi Panarin A / Vincent Trocheck / Jimmy Vesey Tyler Motte / Jake Leschyshyn / Barclay Goodrow A Ryan Lindgren / Adam Fox K'Andre Miller / Jacob Trouba C Niko Mikkola / Braden Schneider ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: Igor Shesterkin GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 40 25-8-7 .914 2.55 1 Healthy Scratches: Ben Harpur, Vitali Kravtsov Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: N/A Standings: RECORD: POSITION: ROW: P%: HOME: AWAY: S/O: LAST 10: STREAK: 34-21-1 (69 Points) 2nd — Central 33 .616 20-8-0 14-13-1 1-0 5-5-0 L2 Team Statistics: DIFF: GF/GP: GA/GP: PP%: PK%: Corsi For (CF)%: +29 (8th) 3.13 (17th) 2.63 (4th) 21.4% (17th) 83.5% (4th) 50.7% (18th) Team Leaders: Goals: Assists: Points: +/-: PIM: TOI/G (D): TOI/G (F): Mark Scheifele (32) Josh Morrisey (45) Kyle Connor (62) Cole Perfetti (+10) Brenden Dillon (59) Josh Morrisey (23:48) Mark Scheifele (20:32) Starting Lineup:^ Kyle Connor / Pierre-Luc Dubois / Saku Maenalanen Cole Perfetti / Mark Scheifele / Mason Appleton Nikolaj Ehlers / Adam Lowry / Blake Wheeler Morgan Barron / Kevin Stenlund / Karson Kuhlman Josh Morrisey / Dylan Demelo Brenden Dillon / Neal Pionk Dylan Samberg / Nate Schmidt ^Subject to change Starting Goaltender: David Rittich GS: REC: SV%: GAA: SO: 14 9-5-0 .911 2.49 0 Healthy Scratches: Sam Gagner, Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco Injuries, Suspensions, Misc: David Gustafsson [IR] — Upper body injury QUOTE(S) TO NOTE: “This group’s hungry... You get that close and you get a taste, you always want more. There's one goal in mind, but it's a process to get there. We got to get through the regular season, set ourselves up and really go to work come playoff time.” — Tyler Motte GIF to LOL:

The impetus behind trading for Kane was to reunite him with Panarin. If Panarin is already preoccupied playing with Tarasenko, what's the point? Adding Kane is excessive when you have deficiencies elsewhere that he doesn't address.