6/7th Dman-Jim Vandermeer?
 

Since most people assume we'll be going into camp with 5/6 spots penciled in (staal, girardi, mcD, Sauer, Erixon), there has been a lot talk about bringing in a vet to fillout that 3rd pairing who won't break the bank. I think Vandermeer would be a nice fit. Thoughts?

i rather bring a vet for the 7th spot, and hopefully MDZ returns to his freshman year level of play

Staal - Girardi
MCD - Sauer
MZD - Erixon

Hell no! Vandermeer is complete garbage and would be a waste of a roster space and caproom. Keep him far away from this team. Give the spot to someone who deserves it and actually has a future, such as Kundratek, V-Tank, or MDZ.

I think MDZ, unless he has an amazing camp, ill be starting the season in hartford getting 20+ mins a night. He needs to rebuild his confidence after the total wash that was last season.

Hopefully with Valentenko as #7 since he's no longer waiver exempt (although I'd consider switching the bottom two pairings up for better balance).

Why bring in a vet? Just bring back Steve Emminger for another year @1 for the year.

I see your point and I agree, I'd love to see V-Tank get a shot, but I only brought it up because I cant see Sather not bringing in a low level vet sometime this summer.

Maybe and if thats so, there is NO reason to bring in a ****** dman when we have an abundance of young players that ARE ready to play.. Let Kundratek, V-Tank, and others fight for the spot.

I'd bring him, we need veteran presence. Send Erixon to the minors and call him up if an injury occurs.

Staal-Girardi
McDonagh-Sauer
Del Zotto-Vandermeer

Agreed.

We already have our veteran 7th defenseman.

Pass on Vandermeer, resign Eminger for a year.

I would rather just bring back Steve Emminger who actually played very well for us and still can be a solid option as a 5/6th dman.

I dont see Sather bringing in any low level vets. We have so much young talent on the blueline and with many players now ready to step in

When was the last time you saw Vandermeer play? As i remember he was a healthy scratch most of the year on a ****** defensive team. If he cant make it there then why would we bring him to suck it up for us? Why waste cap space, and roster space on this POS?

First off Erixon isnt going to the minors and will be playing as the 5th/6th dman. so the last spot should be fought over by many young players.. Kundratek, V-Tank, Pashnin, McIlrath, MDZ, and others

I could see Sather passing on signing anyone this summer for our D and maybe just have a few camp invites for veterans like he has done the past couple years.

I watched Oilers games, he was solid. And he won't have to play 20+ minutes like he was down the stretch for the Oilers. He can fight and isn't soft, he can sorta be our enforcer type like Jurinca or Engellend. (RIP Boogs)

Erixon needs conditioning, he's never played professional NA hockey, so I'd prefer him to learn on the farm team so his mistakes won't cost us on the big club. He is a rookie and he'll probably struggle. Besides he has proven nothing so far to be slotted ahead of MDZ, even though I'm not the biggest MDZ fan. You just can't ice a defense core of Staal, Girardi and some rookies.

One problem, Erixon is better than both DZ and Vandermeer. I don't understand this need for a veteran presence, the leadership of staal,girardi,dubi,cali,and possibly Feds is enough IMO, and those guys are young(exception Feds) no need to bring some old "vet" to play as a 6th defenseman when this team has plenty of young NHL ready defenseman with plenty of room for improvement.

Not Vandermeer...hes prone to defensive lapses. I don't see what is wrong with someone like Eminger. He played well last season.

I'd bring him in as a 7th, but I still like:

Staal Girardi
McD Sauer
MDZ Erixon

How's about Vtank, Eminger and MDZ? Vandermeer sucks.

So your saying you call defensive lapses, poor positioning, terrible outlet passes, just an overall horrible player would be a good idea for a 5/6th spot on our defense? Id much rather have Redden come back up. Jurcina and Engellend are players that are more like pilons and not players.

Erixon doesnt need conditioning! hes been playing as a top 4 defender in the swedish elite league for the past 2 years. He will be an incredible player for us and id much rather deal with the rookie struggles than deal with vandermeers incredibly TERRIBLE play. Yes you can ice a defense like that. We did it last year, and now this year Sauer and Mcdonagh know what needs to be done to be successful, along with great leadership both on and off the ice by Staal and Girardi i really see NO problem with this.

What's wrong with Eminger? He's prone to defensive lapses...

I agree with the idea that if we're going to bring in someone who is just okay defensively, we might as well give the spot to a kid. However, what if the kids aren't just okay defensively, but are downright bad? And what if McDonagh or Sauer regress as can happen with young D? We need another vet... even if it's a cheap one.

Problem is that there isn't a whole lot out there in the cheap realm. Vandermeer and Eminger might actually be the best of the bunch.

Don't be surprised to see the Rangers make a 3rd or 4th round pick for cheap vet D trade sometime this summer.

Vandermeer sucks. Bring back Eminger for a year. He'll be cheap and has proven to be competent in our system.

This. What the hell is wrong with Eminger? Seems like everyone hates poor Steve Eminger including management, and here I am thinking he had a solid season :shakehead

I liked Eminger last year. I think too many people expect all defensemen to be equal. What you get out of Eminger defensively on the 3rd pair isn't going to be as good as what you get out of Staal. That's why he's on the 3rd pair and plays less minutes.

I just don't see how he's that much better than Vandermeer.

I don't think he's that much better. I just feel like he has proven he can play in our system. He's also a few years younger. Just a matter of not trying to fix what isn't broken, IMO.

I agree with that. I'd rather have Eminger back and Tortorella certainly didn't close the book on that today while discussing the team's UFAs. Even though he didn't close the book, I'm not really that sure Tortorella wants him back.

If the Rangers part ways with Eminger and bring in Vandermeer, I won't be upset is all I'm saying.