The Sky Is Kinda Falling

[The Dude]

Lost 6 of 8.

 

This isn't getting better.  They look worse and worse by the game. They're doing absolutely nothing they were doing to start the season. 

 

The forecheck is weak. Nobody is skating hard. The D is babyshit soft. They are back to east-west, perimeter hockey.  

 

Either a crazy lineup shake up is needed or a shocking trade. Something is off here and the comfort level seems to be that of a team that has tuned out their new coach.

 

They say all the right things in post, but the product they produce on the ice is lackadaisical, lazy, wimpy hockey of a team that doesn't want to do what is expected of them. 

 

This may be an overreaction, but 6 of 8. They look like ass. 

 

 

[Dunny]

Good thing we got that coach all the puck knowers wanted. I'm excited to see how he turns it around. All the adjustments and stuff. Lots of adjustments.

[jsm7302]

1 hour ago, Dunny said:

Good thing we got that coach all the puck knowers wanted. I'm excited to see how he turns it around. All the adjustments and stuff. Lots of adjustments.

Eh, time for that almighty GM to do something. Shake it up.

[JHS]

It’s the middle of the season-  yes it’s looking bad but I really think it’s not anyway near as bad.  It’s a slump but this group showed way too much at the start of the season to just pull the plug now!

[Br4d]

Coach-killers.

 

Not sure what to do about it though.

[Br4d]

Actually I'll take that back.  The Rangers have a solid coaching staff right now.  They should sit down with Chris Drury and identify the problems and then let Drury do his job and make them go away.

[JHS]

13 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Coach-killers.

 

Not sure what to do about it though.

Yeah this is a great point.  Let’s be honest though the last 3 coaches the Rangers have hired have all come with some question marks.  Quinn was a non-proven college guy who was probably just happy to have a shot in the NHL and it became clear real quick he was in way over his head.  Gallant was a proven 2 years and out type coach( makes me thing the organization knew this group of players was a coach killer by hiring that type from the start) so no shockingly that situation played out exactly as expected.  Laviolette is a bit on the downside of his career and there are questions about if the game has passed him by in terms of the style of play the team is playing.  There are no perfect coaches out there but I’m not ready(yet) to say this recent funk is because they have given up on Lavi ~40 games into his tenure.

[RangersIn7]

7 hours ago, The Dude said:

Lost 6 of 8.

 

This isn't getting better.  They look worse and worse by the game. They're doing absolutely nothing they were doing to start the season. 

 

The forecheck is weak. Nobody is skating hard. The D is babyshit soft. They are back to east-west, perimeter hockey.  

 

Either a crazy lineup shake up is needed or a shocking trade. Something is off here and the comfort level seems to be that of a team that has tuned out their new coach.

 

They say all the right things in post, but the product they produce on the ice is lackadaisical, lazy, wimpy hockey of a team that doesn't want to do what is expected of them. 

 

This may be an overreaction, but 6 of 8. They look like ass. 

 

 

Now is the time for the coaching staff to send some sort of message. 
 

Scratch someone 

Bench someone.

 

Something.

 

Gotta rattle the cages

[BrooksBurner]

36 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Actually I'll take that back.  The Rangers have a solid coaching staff right now.  They should sit down with Chris Drury and identify the problems and then let Drury do his job and make them go away.

 

The NMC guys won’t be workable until the summer, so Drury would have to operate outside of that. Using that as a guide to who he could move now, Miller and Kakko are the guys who should be getting ready to pack their bags. Even in a reset scenario, I’m fairly confident these aren’t the guys you want moving forward. I’ve seen enough.

 

Miller is atrocious defensively and does nothing outside of a flash on offense every 8-10 games. At best, he’s Brady Skjei reincarnate. No big loss, and he’s part of the consistent epic brain fart problem that infects this team.

 

Kakko is mediocre-to-bad offensively, and doesn’t offer any bite to his game. When the single redeeming quality to his game is “nothing happens for either team when he’s on the ice”, that’s gonna be a no from me dawg.

 

Laviolette is an undeniably good coach. He deserves to have some moves made for him to get guys who fit what he wants and do more to positively impact the game. The last coach needed water and got oil though, so my confidence in Drury is at an all time low.

[Blue Heaven]

They have 4 games left until they have 1 week off starting next Sunday....I'm going to assume that Drury will get the staff together for some meetings on how to move forward w/ the rest of the season and who to target.  Relax for the next week and see where they go from there post-all star break.

[The Dude]

Laviolette seriously has a different demeanor about him. Like he doesn't have control of the situation. His post game interviews have gone from positive talk about what they need to do, to a hostage video,  where he can't say what's going on. 

 

I'm going to throw this out there as pure speculation.  Blast me all you want. Tin foil hat and all . Batshit. 

 

I wonder if Drury is a bit too hands on as GM. He's an analytics guy. Laviolette isn't. Nor was Gallant.  Is the coach really calling the shots?  Is this why the team is tuning him out? If the lineup and icetime is dictated by the man in the rafters, why the fuck would the players take the coach seriously?  

 

Makes me wonder what that yelling match between Gallant and Drury was about, in between periods of a playoff game.  

 

Maybe the BS "we just want to be coached" talk is actually the players saying the coach isn't coaching,  because he doesn't call all the shots?

 

It's night and day. The comparison between how they looked and played as a unit to start the season.  To what they are doing right now. Hardly any of the system that looked to be in place is adhered to.  There's zero high pressure forecheck.  There's zero puck support. They are back to east/west over passing, pussy hockey. 

 

Maybe it's not just the players that are coach killers.  Maybe the GM is too. 

 

End of non factual, speculative,  thinking out loud rant. 

 

but..

 

If 20/93 are together again today, I'm going to flip balls. They both need a serious wake up call. I'd rather not slap Panarin with Zibanejad,  but if that's what it takes to spark that guy.  I guess you have to.  But, then it's a 1 line team. 

 

 

 

[RichieNextel305]

Back in 08-09, we got off to a red hot start and then evened out to be an average team. And it felt like the rut they got in was who they actually were and that they weren’t the team from the beginning of the year. It felt like that was just a blip on the radar.

 

Different feel this time. I feel like this team, flaws and all, is closer to that team from October and November than this unmitigated slop we’re watching right now. And I do feel like when all is said and done, our record will reflect that come Spring.

 

Maybe we aren’t a team pacing an 18-4-1 buzzsaw. But I think we’re closer to that then we are to this. And as shitty as it sounds to hear, I’d rather go through this rut now and have them find their footing than have them get to the playoffs and deal with this garbage then. I think they’ll find their footing, hopefully sooner than later.

[The Dude]

1 hour ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

The NMC guys won’t be workable until the summer, so Drury would have to operate outside of that. Using that as a guide to who he could move now, Miller and Kakko are the guys who should be getting ready to pack their bags. Even in a reset scenario, I’m fairly confident these aren’t the guys you want moving forward. I’ve seen enough.

 

Miller is atrocious defensively and does nothing outside of a flash on offense every 8-10 games. At best, he’s Brady Skjei reincarnate. No big loss, and he’s part of the consistent epic brain fart problem that infects this team.

 

Kakko is mediocre-to-bad offensively, and doesn’t offer any bite to his game. When the single redeeming quality to his game is “nothing happens for either team when he’s on the ice”, that’s gonna be a no from me dawg.

 

Laviolette is an undeniably good coach. He deserves to have some moves made for him to get guys who fit what he wants and do more to positively impact the game. The last coach needed water and got oil though, so my confidence in Drury is at an all time low.

I'm totally done with Miller.  Sell high. He just isn't getting it.  He's not even producing offense to make up for the lack of defensive ability. Like none. No points in his last 11. 

 

I believe he carries a 3.8 mill cap hit. Find a C or a RW in that price range,  that has potential term here.

 

I'm not waiting for the summer. He's atrocious defensively. He's a constant downer this year. There's zero explosive offense coming from him. Some talk about Fox's body language,  but Miller really has that "I don't give a fuck" body language this year.

 

If he's going through some shit, then enter a wellness program. Get better. But for now, he's a liability on the ice. 

 

As for Kakko.  I'm leaning towards how you put it. He's not helping.

 

I'll keep saying it, but I have to question why the Rangers didn't send Kakko down for a conditioning assignment.  Instead they just throw him back onto the 1st line. Didn't have to earn it. Didn't get to piece his game back together after being out for months.... 1st line.

 

Now, when he fails, there's nothing to fall back on for him. His confidence will be at an even lower level than it's been. I thought the organization learned their lesson with Kakko and Lafrenière? Isn't that why we aren't seeing Othmann or Berard?  All this time and they just rushed Kakko into the lineup expecting results. Again. 

[Br4d]

1 hour ago, BrooksBurner said:

Kakko is mediocre-to-bad offensively, and doesn’t offer any bite to his game. When the single redeeming quality to his game is “nothing happens for either team when he’s on the ice”, that’s gonna be a no from me dawg.

 

Laviolette is an undeniably good coach. He deserves to have some moves made for him to get guys who fit what he wants and do more to positively impact the game. The last coach needed water and got oil though, so my confidence in Drury is at an all time low.

 

Kakko has value as a 3rd liner.  If we can get more than that for him he should be moved.  Miller is valuable enough to bring us a young RW who might be a 1RW or a young C who can play 3C this season while potentially moving up the lineup in the scramble at the end of the season if we get blown out of the playoffs again.

 

And, yes, we're lucky to have Laviolette at this point.  Nobody is going to accuse the coaching staff of being the problem if this all goes south.

Edited January 21 by Br4d

[Jdog99]

Ill admit i was singing lavys praises with the start...but tbh, i wouldve gone with knoblauch or roy this past offseason

[Br4d]

So moves that I think fit the situation:

 

1.  Get Gustafsson up on the top pair.  This team was playing better with him there than it has with Fox being the top pair playmaker.  I don't care if it is Fox and Gustafsson but get Gus up the lineup with more minutes.

 

2.  Create a solid D pair.  By definition it probably should be Lindgren - Trouba.  give these guys the DZ starts and the most minutes overall because damn, man...

 

3.  Not that line definitions matter but CK-MZ-RW are the 3rd line right now.  They're the guys you should put on the ice when you want a stalemate against another top line because that's what they provide right now.  I'd put Kakko at RW and just use them when you want to shut the game down.  Anything they provide at even strength is a plus but definitely not something that should be relied upon.

 

4. Who is line 2?  Damned if I know and probably the biggest reason to try to swing a trade right now.   The skeleton of that line is Cuylle - Brodzinski - Wheeler but you really need to replace the C and the RW with good players.

 

5.  Reassemble the 4th line that was working earlier in the year with Vesey - Goodrow - Pitlick.  It's probably the best shutdown line the Rangers have right now.  Use Bonino if you have too but Goodrow is managing face-offs just fine and Bonino is slow.

[fletch]

Worst case scenario is you've got a core group of veterans with no move clauses that don't particularly care about regular season hockey.  This core group has never had accountability because when they complain to the organization about the coach, the organization listens and blames/fires the coach.  There are not healthy scratches.  Over the years, there has been constant placation, so you've got an entitled group of spoiled brats that don't have to work particular hard or face any consequences.  The rotten locker room theory, which only gets fixed when you get rid of at least one of the bad apples, and the locker room culture changes.

 

Best case scenario is that this is just a routine bad stretch of games that every team goes through. There is plenty of time to start playing good hockey, the team gels, and goes on a deep playoff run.

 

The truth is probably somewhere between the worst case scenario and best case scenario.

[Pete]

5 hours ago, Dunny said:

Good thing we got that coach all the puck knowers wanted. I'm excited to see how he turns it around. All the adjustments and stuff. Lots of adjustments.

Who would have been your suggestion?

[Dunny]

There's hundreds of coaches out there with ideas, the easy thing to do is just go with the defacto guy on the old boys list. 

 

Not that that he was necessarily the wrong choice. I don't know, nobody knows, yet. 

[Br4d]

3 minutes ago, Dunny said:

There's hundreds of coaches out there with ideas, the easy thing to do is just go with the defacto guy on the old boys list. 

 

Not that that he was necessarily the wrong choice. I don't know, nobody knows, yet. 

 

This is not a coaching problem.  Last year was not a coaching problem.

 

The coach was the easy replacement in a locker room full of NMC's so they did that.

[Pete]

15 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

This is not a coaching problem.  Last year was not a coaching problem.

 

The coach was the easy replacement in a locker room full of NMC's so they did that.

The first quarter of the season disagrees with you. 

[The Dude]

1 hour ago, Br4d said:

So moves that I think fit the situation:

 

1.  Get Gustafsson up on the top pair.  This team was playing better with him there than it has with Fox being the top pair playmaker.  I don't care if it is Fox and Gustafsson but get Gus up the lineup with more minutes.

 

2.  Create a solid D pair.  By definition it probably should be Lindgren - Trouba.  give these guys the DZ starts and the most minutes overall because damn, man...

 

3.  Not that line definitions matter but CK-MZ-RW are the 3rd line right now.  They're the guys you should put on the ice when you want a stalemate against another top line because that's what they provide right now.  I'd put Kakko at RW and just use them when you want to shut the game down.  Anything they provide at even strength is a plus but definitely not something that should be relied upon.

 

4. Who is line 2?  Damned if I know and probably the biggest reason to try to swing a trade right now.   The skeleton of that line is Cuylle - Brodzinski - Wheeler but you really need to replace the C and the RW with good players.

 

5.  Reassemble the 4th line that was working earlier in the year with Vesey - Goodrow - Pitlick.  It's probably the best shutdown line the Rangers have right now.  Use Bonino if you have too but Goodrow is managing face-offs just fine and Bonino is slow.

 

I'm not into taking the teams top scoring center and making him into a checking/shut down guy. 

 

If anything,  you either move on from him or you get a better center to slide him down to 2 C, with less pressure.  Before any of that, you have to separate 20/93. Zibanejad is super talented. There's no denying that. His slumps are becoming more and more. His compete level is in question with me. If Panarin can get dirty and go to the hard areas, so can 93. He's not. 

 

Brodzinski has to go. Cuylle and Wheeler look like an OK tandem and I expect Wheeler to be back with 20/93 as it was seriously the only thing that worked. It wasn't coincidence that 20/93 got better when 17 was there. Then turned to what we see nightly now without. They are lethargic AF. Maybe they really need to carry a player to have their compete level at a respectable pace. 

 

The best 4th line was Goodrow- Bonino-Vesey or Pitlick,  which is what started the season. 

 

Bonino is a shot blocking machine. He's the only forward I trust out there late in the game to protect a lead. 

 

The D pairs really need to be reshuffle. This was something Laviolette said was likely to happen at the start. The fact that it hasn't happened and the pairs are the same as they've been for 3+ years is disheartening.  Again. Maybe Laviolette isn't in control. 

[BrooksBurner]

32 minutes ago, The Dude said:

 

The D pairs really need to be reshuffle. This was something Laviolette said was likely to happen at the start. The fact that it hasn't happened and the pairs are the same as they've been for 3+ years is disheartening.  Again. Maybe Laviolette isn't in control. 

I’d like to think Laviolette might be making sure the moves are with cause rather than reactionary. Maybe he sees stuff on tape that he thinks requires more patience and time to be in sync before changing anything, which might just require even more patience and time for new pairs to settle in with each other. It does feel like it’s been long enough though, and if he’s going to switch it needs to be soon so they can develop chemistry.

 

Perhaps the greater point though, is that the lines and pairings shouldn’t be a significant factor if everyone knows what they’re doing. For example, Carolina can plug and play bodies and get by.

Edited January 21 by BrooksBurner

[Phil]

5 hours ago, Br4d said:

Coach-killers.

 

Not sure what to do about it though.

 

Bingo. Three coaches in five years. It AIN'T THE COACHES. It's the same core. You wanna look at the problem, you can start (and end) there.

 

They're the Leafs with a better goalie (maybe) and none of the generational talent.

[jsm7302]

This coaching staff is elite imo. The way they assembled it, I have to believe we will see some big roster pieces moved before they dismantle this coaching group.

 

CK20 for a grittier version is my play. He's valuable to receive a good piece in a return and he's a cornerstone of this group. Moving him makes everyone know they aren't untouchable. The bro hugs with Zib need to end and a new guard needs to take shape.