Mercogliano Drury's Plan To Be Tested With Training Camp Around The Corner

[Phil]

His off-season assessment:

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"I'm certainly excited about the guys we've added – from (Sammy) Blais to (Barclay) Goodrow to (Ryan) Reaves to (Patrik) Nemeth," Drury said on a conference call with reporters. "We were looking to have more defined roles within our lineup and trying to give (new head coach Gerard Gallant) as many options as you can to fill those roles. I think we did address a lot of them.

Quote

Drury insisted it wasn't a reactionary decision, but rather something the organization has been planning for years.

"We've talked about trying to do this for a while," he said. "With all the assets we've acquired and adding a lot of skill, we knew at some point we were going to have to surround that skill with some players that had experience, that had size and had some grit, that had won in different places. We were fortunate enough to be able to do that this summer."

"It really wasn't something that was just all of a sudden, 'Let's go this way,' " he added. "It kind of had been talked knowing that this is going to be a piece of the puzzle that we need to add at some point."

On Ryan Reaves:

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Reaves' future role with the Knights was uncertain, particularly after he was scratched at times last season and in the playoffs. But Drury saw value in acquiring a player who would standup for his teammates and had prior success under Gallant.

"We’re trying to find guys who can fit certain roles," he said. "It wasn't a reaction to one thing or one incident. Truth be told, we tried to get Ryan three years ago when he was a free agent and he chose to stay in Vegas. He’s a player we've liked for a long time and thought it was a good opportunity to get him."

While some question whether age has caught up to the 225-pound bruiser, especially given his all-out style of play, Drury still believes "his size, his strength, his work on the walls (and) his physical aspect" will be assets for the Rangers.

He defended the decision to extend his contract for an additional year at $1.75 million, which will take Reaves through his age-35 season.

"We just wanted him for another year," Drury said. "It's pretty simple. We think he's going to be good in our room and a valuable piece to what we're doing."

Figuring out the lineup puzzle:

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The GM repeatedly referred to the next few weeks as "a tryout," leaving the door open for "kids (to) come back after an offseason and push for jobs." There will be some interesting positional battles, particularly on the fourth line and the third defensive pairing.

The top-nine forwards are essentially set, but the line combinations will be the subject of much intrigue.

Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Ryan Strome, Alexis Lafrenière, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are returners in that group, with Goodrow almost surely slotting in somewhere. The final spot should belong to rookie Vitali Kravtsov, who's positioned for right-wing role following the July trade of Pavel Buchnevich.

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The lineup puzzle will largely hinge on what Gallant decides to do with the Rangers' deepest position — left wing. That's the usual spot for Panarin, Kreider and Lafrenière, but it sounds like at least one will get looks on the right side during camp.

Is Chytil a Center?

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Chytil's struggles on the dots have raised the possibility of him moving to the wing and being replaced by Goodrow or Barron, but Drury didn't sound very interested in that idea.

"Fil has played a lot of center and has continued to grow," he said. "He’s still only a young kid and still learning in a lot of different ways. He’s playing a tough position in the best league in the world. So, for me, I'd like to give him every chance to be a center and keep evolving at the role. We all know how important that position is."

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/nhl/rangers/2021/09/09/takeaways-ny-rangers-gm-chris-drurys-prior-start-camp/8255954002/

[siddious]

May not be a popular decision around here but I’m glad they’re sticking with Chytil at center. They’ve tried him there to this point, let him grow into the role at this point. 

[Ozzy]

26 minutes ago, siddious said:

May not be a popular decision around here but I’m glad they’re sticking with Chytil at center. They’ve tried him there to this point, let him grow into the role at this point. 

If he has Kreider and maybe Goodrow on his wings I think it might make that line a pretty tough matchup for other teams' 3rd Defense pairings.  I was down on Chytil last season too, Nashty, but I'm thinking that a change in style of players surrounding him, and a coach with a system that has a specific role for him, he may take to it much better this season.

I'm willing to give Chytil the benefit of the doubt this season. 

[Drew a Penalty]

Chytil needs to be the player he was to start last season. Assertive. He completely lost that game once he got injured and had Covid. He reverted to his old ways for the latter half of the season. He's shown that he can be a capable player, but I've yet to see anything that makes him a center. 

[ThirtyONE]

Chytil at C with Goodrow taking the important faceoffs allows Chytil to play a much bigger role this year. Chytil at C with Laf and Kakko on the wings just means you're not winning any faceoffs and likely getting pinned in your own zone for the entire shift.

[Pete]

Chytil doesn't have the 2 way play to be a center. He's better in the parts of the ice where less responsibility is required. 

On Reaves, L...OH...fucking L that it's not a reaction. I was on board with everything they did this offseason to become harder to play against...until Reaves. Total over rotation bringing in a(nother) guy who's no longer an NHL regular but may be deployed as one.

[josh]

Chytil can be a successful center to compliment the skilled players on this team. Still young. He has the skill. He has the size to be tough to play against. 

[Albatrosss]

5 hours ago, Phil said:

Drury insisted it wasn't a reactionary decision, but rather something the organization has been planning for years.

"We've talked about trying to do this for a while," he said. "With all the assets we've acquired and adding a lot of skill, we knew at some point we were going to have to surround that skill with some players that had experience, that had size and had some grit, that had won in different places. We were fortunate enough to be able to do that this summer."

"It really wasn't something that was just all of a sudden, 'Let's go this way,' " he added. "It kind of had been talked knowing that this is going to be a piece of the puzzle that we need to add at some point."

Bullshit!!  Totally reactionary 

[Pete]

17 hours ago, Phil said:

His off-season assessment:

On Ryan Reaves:

Figuring out the lineup puzzle:

Is Chytil a Center?

https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/nhl/rangers/2021/09/09/takeaways-ny-rangers-gm-chris-drurys-prior-start-camp/8255954002/

According to a recent Carp mailbag, these aren't "Drury's Plans". Apparently there's nothing that Drury did that wasn't being planned by Gorton and JD.

Which again, brings us back to Dolan having a temper tantrum over the Isles and Caps games.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Pete

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

17 minutes ago, Pete said:

According to a recent Carp mailbag, these aren't "Drury's Plans". Apparently there's nothing that Drury did that wasn't being planned by Gorton and JD.

Which again, brings us back to Dolan having a temper tantrum over the Isles and Caps games.

But why did Dolan fire them and then hire a guy that just did the same thing the last two also would do?

[Pete]

Just now, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

But why did Dolan fire them and then hire a guy that just did the same thing the last two also would do?

Probably had to do with the stupid letter about Parros.

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

Probably had to do with the stupid letter about Parros.

But he was the one writing/posting the letter. I cant see Gorton and JD being so against a letter that it made they lose their jobs. Could be, but that would be a weird hill to die on.

[Pete]

6 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

But he was the one writing/posting the letter. I cant see Gorton and JD being so against a letter that it made they lose their jobs. Could be, but that would be a weird hill to die on.

My guess is that Gorton and Dolan clashed over the letter, Dolan fired Gorton, JD said that wasn't Dolan's call, it was his, so Dolan fired him, too.

[Phil]

37 minutes ago, Pete said:

My guess is that Gorton and Dolan clashed over the letter, Dolan fired Gorton, JD said that wasn't Dolan's call, it was his, so Dolan fired him, too.

That's my theory, too, but I think Dolan demanded JD fire Gorton, who reportedly back channeled to distance himself from the statement, and when JD refused and backed his GM, Dolan angrily fired them both.

[josh]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

According to a recent Carp mailbag, these aren't "Drury's Plans". Apparently there's nothing that Drury did that wasn't being planned by Gorton and JD.

Which again, brings us back to Dolan having a temper tantrum over the Isles and Caps games.

Going 3 years without it, maybe. 

It not like it was a new issue. They didn't address it. No matter what they say, they didn't address it