Pete Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Quote Sammy Blais, LW/RW, New York Rangers Strapped for cap space, the New York Rangers were forced to trade Pavel Buchnevich for cents on the dollar. The centrepiece of the return was Blues power forward Sammy Blais. Blais is well regarded in many industry circles due to his robust physical attributes and ability to drive the net. He can be an effective player for the Rangers but he scored at an 18-goal, 34 points-per-82 games pace last season which seems tough to replicate. Right off the bat, one of the biggest potential differences is role and linemate quality. In St. Louis, Blais didn’t play a ton of minutes but he had spurts where he was able to move up the lineup to get looks with the likes of Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas. Blais, in fact, scored half his goals when he shared the ice with O’Reilly. Those kinds of opportunities may not be available in New York where the Rangers boast a deep top-nine. So far, he’s gotten a look next to Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves — a pretty significant downgrade in terms of offensive help. In addition to that, Blais also benefitted from a sky-high 25.8 percent shooting clip which is nearly double his career average. Blais has promise and should add some jam to the Rangers’ lineup, but it’s unlikely he’ll produce at the kind of middle-six rate he managed last season. https://theathletic.com/2862268/2021/10/06/the-nhls-top-10-regression-candidates-for-2021-22?source=user-shared-article ## This is a guy I hope can somehow make it off the 4th line and I feel might see time with Panarin as a real puck hunting type. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see something like this tried when Kreider slumps: Laf Zib Kakko Panarin Strome Blais Kreider Chytil Goodrow As top 9. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Same. Goes back to the Blues Cup run with him playing a huge role on the top line as the puck retriever. He feels, to me, like he has a little more offense than Goodrow, so if you're gonna get someone up in the lineup to be that X factor, it's him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash or Czech Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 I've been really impressed with his game in camp. Even if he isn't putting up points, that's not what we brought him in for anyway. At a $1.5mil cap hit, I don't care if he puts up half the pace he did last season. That said, I agree with Pete here. He could be a good compliment to Panarin/Strome similar to Fast or Manbea...Blackwell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 But way more physical. He'd be more like what Wilson is to Kuznetsov. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 6, 2021 Author Share Posted October 6, 2021 3 minutes ago, Phil said: But way more physical. He'd be more like what Wilson is to Kuznetsov. Yes, without the fighting and roid rage tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Right. Psychologically stable, one might say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 I'll jump on this train too. I think Blais is just what that top line needs. Dude is a bull from what I've seen so far, and tough to knock him off the puck, and especially on the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 It will be interesting to see how Gallant does this. With all the talent we have on the wings, Blais can't really play top 6 minutes full time. It would lead to Kreider playing 3rd line and Kravtsov out of the lineup. Finding a balance where he can slot up in some games, but mainly play on the 4th line will be the key here. There have been games where our skilled players have been taken completely out of the game (especially against Islanders). That's the games where having a guy like Blais in the top 6 will be really useful, but mainly I want to see him, Roons and Reaves/Hunt give us one of the best 4th lines in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindG1000 Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 The thing about Blais is that when he's not scoring, he should have impact. Quite literally, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 8 minutes ago, G1000 said: The thing about Blais is that when he's not scoring, he should have impact. Quite literally, too. I mean, he has. In every game we've seen him play so far. Sure, preseason, but this is who he is billed as. It's exactly how he's played with the Blues the last few years. We have every reason to believe that he'll be a physical presence in every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 6, 2021 Author Share Posted October 6, 2021 11 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said: It will be interesting to see how Gallant does this. With all the talent we have on the wings, Blais can't really play top 6 minutes full time. It would lead to Kreider playing 3rd line and Kravtsov out of the lineup. Finding a balance where he can slot up in some games, but mainly play on the 4th line will be the key here. There have been games where our skilled players have been taken completely out of the game (especially against Islanders). That's the games where having a guy like Blais in the top 6 will be really useful, but mainly I want to see him, Roons and Reaves/Hunt give us one of the best 4th lines in the league. There will be injuries and positive covid tests. He's the most likely candidate to slide up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, Pete said: There will be injuries and positive covid tests. He's the most likely candidate to slide up. I agree, but I was mainly thinking about with a full and healthy roster. I would try Krav on Panarin-Strome's wing before Blais if Kakko gets injured. Laf-Zib-CK Panarin-Strome-Krav Goodrow-Chytil-Blais Hunt-Roons-Reaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 38 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said: It will be interesting to see how Gallant does this. With all the talent we have on the wings, Blais can't really play top 6 minutes full time. It would lead to Kreider playing 3rd line and Kravtsov out of the lineup. Finding a balance where he can slot up in some games, but mainly play on the 4th line will be the key here. There have been games where our skilled players have been taken completely out of the game (especially against Islanders). That's the games where having a guy like Blais in the top 6 will be really useful, but mainly I want to see him, Roons and Reaves/Hunt give us one of the best 4th lines in the league. I wouldn't mind seeing Kreider on that 3rd line, Zuuuuc man. I think he'd fit better with Chytil and Goodrow there. I don't really even care about that whole "paying a 3rd liner $6.5 million". I think he'd fit better there. Besides, he'll get a lot of PP time as well, so he can rack up some points that way. We gotta see how it plays out, but I see where you're going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirtyONE Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 This guy has been fucking awesome this preseason. Hits everything that moves and has skill to boot. Feels like Drury may have found a diamond in the rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siddious Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Hopefully he doesn’t disappear during the sesson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Rangers won that trade in a big way. He just needs to stay healthy and he will be impactful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shestYORKin Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 13 hours ago, Pete said: Wouldn't be at all surprised to see something like this tried when Kreider slumps: Laf Zib Kakko Panarin Strome Blais Kreider Chytil Goodrow As top 9. might not be Kreider. the delicate situation could be Laf. kid’s gonna have to step it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 18 minutes ago, shestYORKin said: might not be Kreider. the delicate situation could be Laf. kid’s gonna have to step it up. Yea Laf sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 5 hours ago, Phil said: Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 He totally undressed everyone on the Devils on that goal. Hopefully this kind of play carries over into the regular season, and the Rangers will have some excellent depth on hand finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valriera Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Yeah even if he never does that again this trade was still a win for the Rangers, but imagine if the kid pots some offense? Is 15g really out of the question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keirik Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 It was preseason against the Devils. I think we may be jumping the gun a bit. He did solidify himself into the starting opening day lineup though 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 14 minutes ago, Valriera said: Yeah even if he never does that again this trade was still a win for the Rangers, but imagine if the kid pots some offense? Is 15g really out of the question? He had 8 in 36 last year, so it's obviously possible. Especially if he gets ice time with bread and butter, that often results in a few "free" goals. Just having a 4th liner that I know can produce and have enough skill to beat players one-on-one in the NHL is really exciting. No more McKegg, DiGi, Howden, Lias etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 16 minutes ago, Keirik said: It was preseason against the Devils. I think we may be jumping the gun a bit. He did solidify himself into the starting opening day lineup though What gun? The argument is that he's not a fourth-line plug, but the kind of player with enough underlying skill he'll show from time-to-time (like last night) that moves up the lineup, even to the first line, aren't implausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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