article: NHL Offseason by the Numbers: Which Teams Have Improved the Most (and Least)?

[RangersIn7]

I know -- scroll back. I said "for chunks" this season.

 

 

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Gotcha

 

I missed that

 

I don’t have an issue with pairing a grit guy on the wing of a skill line where the other 2 players are high end guys in spots.

 

But realistically if you’re getting the most out of Goodrow and Blais you’re likely to find that as those 2 being 2/3 of a 3rd line that draws the other teams top line in a matchup wherein all they have to do is check and focus on goal prevention.

 

The primary reason you got Goodrow was to be a shut down center. Blais gives you something similar too on the wing.

[Long live the King]

You mean his rookie season. This past season they transformed him into a guy that doesn't carry the puck as much and goes into the corners and along the boards. That's how he's deemed "a better player" now.. Isn't it?

No.

 

His rookie season he was easy to knock off the puck.

 

Last season he was defensively responsible and dominated possession.

 

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[The Dude]

No.

 

His rookie season he was easy to knock off the puck.

 

Last season he was defensively responsible and dominated possession.

 

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Down low and along the boards. Not by carrying the puck. He slows down the game in a different way. I guess you could say he now is capable of cycling the puck, where as a rookie he tried to be a one man army while playing with less talented players. I can't even remember a consistent linemate of his as a rookie. Much less anyone currently in the top 6. That season is a blur.

[Phil]

Mehhh. I'm not going to act like I followed that cup run very closely, but it reads like he was put in that spot in a game and it worked. Coaches do stuff like that for a different look in the playoffs. Not like he kept the job. Like Rangersin7 noted. game logs don't show this long stretch of games. These quotes also seem more like Berube praising a guy he had coached previously as a youngster. Citing that he got a few shifts or a game or 2 on a top line, shouldn't sway anyone to think the guy is a legit option for the top lines for long. You did day chunks of games though, so we agree. It's likely to happen. Yet, it's likely that most every lower linevwing gets the same opportunity. Even Reaves.

 

I mean, if he's this 1st liner, why did they deal him, and why is everyone saying the Rangers sold low on Buchnevich?

 

I'm sure he's a nice 3rd or 4th line player, but automatically thinking he's definitely capable of staying in any top 6 role is a reach IMO.

 

Gallant will likely make use of him. He used Stefan Matteau for a bit with Vegas. I think we see guys like this come and go under Gallant until he finds his guys. Looking at old Vegas rosters, you'll find a wide variety types of players he used. Not sure if he gets credit for that or their GM.

 

Again, hence why I said "chunks of the season." Same goes for Goodrow. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him take whole shifts/games next to Panarin, if needed.

 

 

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[RangersIn7]

Again, hence why I said "chunks of the season." Same goes for Goodrow. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see him take whole shifts/games next to Panarin, if needed.

 

 

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Its a useful tool and no shortage of coaches have employed it in the past. If it lends some physicality to a skilled line, or opens time and space, or even just provides a more defensively responsible player so that the other too can freelance some, go right ahead.