Quarter Mark: Which Ranger Has Surprised You Most?

[Phil]

Stealing this from the RangersMSGN Twitter account cause it's a good Q.

 

I feel like there are three legitimate contenders for this entirely too early title: Lafreniere, Gus, and Quick. The latter takes it for me. Especially when you consider how utterly cooked he looked in preseason.

[RangersIn7]

2 minutes ago, Phil said:

Stealing this from the RangersMSGN Twitter account cause it's a good Q.

 

I feel like there are three legitimate contenders for this entirely too early title: Lafreniere, Gus, and Quick. The latter takes it for me. Especially when you consider how utterly cooked he looked in preseason.

Those are the 3 best names for the answer to this question.

 

Trochek gets an honorable mention though

 

I feel he’s been excellent.

Hes been so good and has kind of flown under the radar too.

 

 

[Pete]

Quick and Kakko. One for being really good the other for being really bad. I wasn't expecting either, especially how good and how bad. 

[Dem]

Gus has been unbelievable, he has my vote

[Drew a Penalty]

Gonna say Trouba. Laf and Gus are a bit more obvious because of their production, but Trouba has been super steady so far. By this point last year (19 GP), he was on for 14 GF with 19 GA. This year he's at 15 GF with 9 GA. You don't really notice the same lapses from Trouba or Miller thanks to the system giving them something to fall back on. He also doesn't seem to be chucking clap bombs from the point nearly as much anymore for wasted shots. Aside from the occasional Trouba train passing through, you don't see too much of him which is perfect. If only he didn't cost so much.

[BrooksBurner]

Impeccable timing. I was about to create a thread about Trouba. In lieu of the popular answers being Lafreniere, Trocheck, etc., I’m going to roll with Trouba.

 

I’ve been meh on Trouba since year 1. I’ve loved his physical play, but questioned his ability on ice and his leadership even after being named Captain. He’s really grown on me in both those aspects this year. There was a period where I thought he was worth $5.5-6M, and it got as low as $4M. A middling defenseman. This is the closest he’s ever been to being worth the contract. The play is much improved. Maybe not $8M good  in terms of strictly boxcar stats, but when you factor in the irreplaceable physicality and leadership he’s brought, yeah it’s close now. There’s been multiple games where he’d be in my 3 stars of the game. He’s not even on my radar as a trade candidate for cap relief anymore.

 

This is purely conjecture on my part, but this is one of the guys I give big props to Laviolette for helping all around. Trouba might have been recognized as a leader in the clubhouse previously, and got named Captain for it, but I think Lavi has created an environment that allows Trouba to lead without Troubs feeling like he’s on an island doing it by himself. Especially as a relatively new Captain. Wheeler being his former Captain and friend in Winnipeg, might also be playing a bit of a role in giving more support in that fashion. We have to remember Trouba was essentially an outsider, and he’s dealing with other veteran guys on the team who have been around longer and got passed over for Captaincy. That’s not an easy thing to navigate, and I don’t think the hands off style of GG did Trouba any favors in getting acclimated to the role given those optics.

 

High marks for Trouba through the first quarter of the season. 

[Ozzy]

You guys have some good ones...but actually for me it's Trouba.

 

I was so down on him last season, and I was hoping they'd be able to get out from under his deal.

 

This year he's made me eat shit with a spoon, and like it!!!  Fucking guy is playing at a level that I never thought he was capable of.  Walking the line, dirty or not....this fucking guy is a beast this season!

 

I take back everything I said about this guy and gladly so!!!

[Ozzy]

Tie goes to the runner huh???  We all posted these within 60 seconds of each other!!!  LOL

 

3 minutes ago, Drew a Penalty said:

Gonna say Trouba. Laf and Gus are a bit more obvious because of their production, but Trouba has been super steady so far. By this point last year (19 GP), he was on for 14 GF with 19 GA. This year he's at 15 GF with 9 GA. You don't really notice the same lapses from Trouba or Miller thanks to the system giving them something to fall back on. He also doesn't seem to be chucking clap bombs from the point nearly as much anymore for wasted shots. Aside from the occasional Trouba train passing through, you don't see too much of him which is perfect. If only he didn't cost so much.

 

1 minute ago, BrooksBurner said:

Impeccable timing. I was about to create a thread about Trouba. In lieu of the popular answers being Lafreniere, Trocheck, etc., I’m going to roll with Trouba.

 

I’ve been meh on Trouba since year 1. I’ve loved his physical play, but questioned his ability on ice and his leadership even after being named Captain. He’s really grown on me in both those aspects this year. There was a period where I thought he was worth $5.5-6M, and it got as low as $4M. A middling defenseman. This is the closest he’s ever been to being worth the contract. The play is much improved. Maybe not $8M good  in terms of strictly boxcar stats, but when you factor in the irreplaceable physicality and leadership he’s brought, yeah it’s close now. There’s been multiple games where he’d be in my 3 stars of the game. He’s not even on my radar as a trade candidate for cap relief anymore.

 

This is purely conjecture on my part, but this is one of the guys I give big props to Laviolette for helping all around. Trouba might have been recognized as a leader in the clubhouse previously, and got named Captain for it, but I think Lavi has created an environment that allows Trouba to lead without Troubs feeling like he’s on an island doing it by himself. Especially as a relatively new Captain. Wheeler being his former Captain and friend in Winnipeg, might also be playing a bit of a role in giving more support in that fashion. We have to remember Trouba was essentially an outsider, and he’s dealing with other veteran guys on the team who have been around longer and got passed over for Captaincy. That’s not an easy thing to navigate, and I don’t think the hands off style of GG did Trouba any favors in getting acclimated to the role given those optics.

 

High marks for Trouba through the first quarter of the season. 

 

[Sharpshooter]

Quick, considering how bad he's looked the last three years or so, and an awful preseason. I'll go with Cuylle too. I've been impressed with how quickly he's adapted to the NHL after a brief stint last year. He had a great preseason and looked like he belongs right from the jump. Honorable mention to Gus, but he's been good and has some good seasons under his belt. He's been excellent for sure, but not a major surprise.

[Sharpshooter]

Coaching and direction has helped everybody. Well, mostly everybody.

[BrooksBurner]

3 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Tie goes to the runner huh???  We all posted these within 60 seconds of each other!!!  LOL

 

 

 

 

And with that Ozzy, I think its time for a Trou Trou train emoji

 

@Phil

Edited November 27, 2023 by BrooksBurner

[Ozzy]

1 minute ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

And with that Ozzy, I think its time for a Trou Trou train emoji

 

@Phil

 

@Phil

The boss has control of that one!  ...but yeah, it may be time to bust out the 5:15 Express! 

[Phil]

3 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

And with that Ozzy, I think its time for a Trou Trou train emoji

 

@Phil

 

Should just be a skull and crossbones.

[Ozzy]

3 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Should just be a skull and crossbones.

 

I was thinking a hyroglyphic, but yeah...you're right!!! 

[Valriera]

There are so many good surprises but for me it's lafreniere. I don't disagree with a word about trouba or quick or gus, but all three of those guys are veterans in the nhl. Quick and Gus had no pressure on them coming here on minimum contracts to just do their job, and they've done it. Good for them and for the team, I'm super happy for them and for Gus especially, who is going to make north of 4M next year on another team, and deservedly so. Quick, maybe not, but it's still great to see him rekindle it for his childhood team. You love it. But these are veterans doing what they've been brought here to do. They've been well above expectations, but expectations for both were league minimum. 

 

Trouba I'm not surprised with. I've been on the Trouba train day 1 and while he's always been a little bit overpaid he's been a steady, ferocious defenseman since he started on our team which he still is. If your 8M captain can't be relied on to step up in situations like this, idk what to say but it's not a surprise for me.

 

Lafreniere's case is different and unlike Gus and Quick, he's shown no pedigree, skillset, or even patches of play on the ice that would lead you to believe that he is the same player who is out there now. On top of that, unlike those two, he has immense pressure to deal with having disappointed fans for his career so far, and finally, he's got to do all of this skating his off side at 22. While the overperformance relative to expectations is a larger delta for quick and gus, to me it's more surprising that Lafreniere has turned into any sort of player this season. You knew Quick and Gus had NHL careers before, you were never sure about Lafreniere and he's made us all eat crow, me included, which of course I'm happy to eat. No where near the same feeling of crow eating with the other two guys, which if you look at the signing threads for both of them, were largely considered smart bets. 

 

 

[Drew a Penalty]

10 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Should just be a skull and crossbones.

[Albatrosss]

i'm going with Pete and say Kakko and how bad he has been.  I was really expecting him to finally find his game and become an NHLer.  He utterly failed thus far and looks like a total bust.   

[Phil]

26 minutes ago, Drew a Penalty said:

 

Hilarious, but it'll be a blob of nothing at icon size.

[Br4d]

Quick.  He's past his shelf life and he's playing like he's in his prime.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

Impeccable timing. I was about to create a thread about Trouba. In lieu of the popular answers being Lafreniere, Trocheck, etc., I’m going to roll with Trouba.

 

I’ve been meh on Trouba since year 1. I’ve loved his physical play, but questioned his ability on ice and his leadership even after being named Captain. He’s really grown on me in both those aspects this year. There was a period where I thought he was worth $5.5-6M, and it got as low as $4M. A middling defenseman. This is the closest he’s ever been to being worth the contract. The play is much improved. Maybe not $8M good  in terms of strictly boxcar stats, but when you factor in the irreplaceable physicality and leadership he’s brought, yeah it’s close now. There’s been multiple games where he’d be in my 3 stars of the game. He’s not even on my radar as a trade candidate for cap relief anymore.

 

This is purely conjecture on my part, but this is one of the guys I give big props to Laviolette for helping all around. Trouba might have been recognized as a leader in the clubhouse previously, and got named Captain for it, but I think Lavi has created an environment that allows Trouba to lead without Troubs feeling like he’s on an island doing it by himself. Especially as a relatively new Captain. Wheeler being his former Captain and friend in Winnipeg, might also be playing a bit of a role in giving more support in that fashion. We have to remember Trouba was essentially an outsider, and he’s dealing with other veteran guys on the team who have been around longer and got passed over for Captaincy. That’s not an easy thing to navigate, and I don’t think the hands off style of GG did Trouba any favors in getting acclimated to the role given those optics.

 

High marks for Trouba through the first quarter of the season. 

Agree with this.

[siddious]

Everyone who didn’t write laf is a liar 

[Karan]

Obviously Lafreniere, Quick and Gustafsson...but especially Panarin. He looks like a transformed player this season which is hard to imagine after how good he was in 2019-2020 but he's stepped his level of play up by another substantial notch. 

[jsm7302]

Laf turned this whole fanbase on it's head this year. He was the laughing stock amongst everyone, fan or not. Chinstrap hero gets my vote.

[Kick save and a beauty]

So many good stories this year is is hard to settle on just one.  Gus was a really pleasant (and as it turns out needed) surprise.  Laf, Panarin, Quick, you can go down the list but for me it has been Vincent Trochek.  He has been a great line mate as ever, he is always a threat and his faceoffs have been a real difference maker for a team that has sucked at faceoffs for what seems like decades.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Kick save and a beauty

[RichieNextel305]

I wish I could say Quick, but I’m not going to just because of Allaire. He’s made so many people look respectable and resurrected careers of lesser goalies in his time. So that, plus Quick being a HOF talent, it’s not much of a surprise to see him playing well. Tbis well? Fair play. But to I’m not gonna put him in for that reason.

 

Gonna echo Pete here by saying Kakko. I’m in disbelief that he is still stuck in neutral. The defense is fine but to be getting no offense out of him just sucks. And I hope it eventually changes.

 

I’m gonna go with Gus. Thought the deal was a steal when we signed him. Now it looks to be the steal of the off-season. For Fox to go out for about a month and for this teams PP to literally not miss a beat (and for there to at least be some questions about whether it should just remain as is) speaks to how great he’s been. Perfect fit here, perfect addition for what we needed. As it’s been said elsewhere on here, appreciate it while we can because it’s not likely he’ll be in our price range following this season once he re-enters free agency. He’s been just great for this team.