why is it so hard to believe MZA will be a top 6 player when the season starts? hes a small skilled player that was not signed to play in a bottom 6 grinding roll. its either top 6 or bust and he certainly has more skill than callahan. callahans abilities are perfect for the 3rd line, mza's are not.
If MZA actually pans out and becomes a real asset to the team it makes the Naslund signing even better. That's why we sign fading superstars right? So they tell all the young up and coming players how great the Rangers organization is, right?
why is it so hard to believe MZA will be a top 6 player when the season starts? hes a small skilled player that was not signed to play in a bottom 6 grinding roll. its either top 6 or bust and he certainly has more skill than callahan. callahans abilities are perfect for the 3rd line, mza's are not.
Because he's never played in North America, in the NHL, on a smaller ice surface.
is the ideal bottom 6. That leaves us of course with
Dubinsky-Christensen-Gaborik
?-Anisimov-?
I like the idea of signing Foster, although ranger fans can be little ***** about big defensemen who just arent that overly physical.
so we have a 2nd line LW and a 2nd line RW that need to be filled.
So lets talk about the RW. MZA is a RW, his success has been on RW, so its certainly a possibility that will be a winnable spot for him, especially if he shows some chemistry with Anisimov or Dubinsky.
Option 2 is Ryan Callahan. He plays a little bit over his head for whats good for this team in that role, but sometimes beggars cant be choosers. Callahan as 2nd line RW with Weise at 3rd isnt the worst thing that could happen to this team.
Option 3 is Unrestricted free agency. You tell me. Satan, Sykora, others I think are available but many are as big of a question mark as MZA.
Moving onto the LW, one option is bringing back Prospal. I am against this. The guy is getting older, clearly lost a step about halfway through last season, and wont get the invigorating All-Star break next season.
Another option is Frolov. While I am initially against this, if it means Redden gone Frolov would add a secondary scoring threat, for sure, and help up fill out a more respectable top 6.
Kovalchuk is a very small possibility, if the cap gods agree. In this case we have 2 first lines to be played equally.
Grachev is a wild card here for his believers, that feel he will have a breakout camp. I hope they are correct.
I think a Dubinsky- Anisimov- MZA line would be great and maximize all three's production.
This is probably true. I like Anisimov and I like the idea of MZA and what he can bring, but if you put those two together, I think you really need a third player who can throw his weight around or mix things up a bit. Especially win board battles, which Dubinsky can do.
Of course it leaves that top line wing spot open, but who knows, maybe the Rangers will magically fill that with someone useful. Re-sign Prospal or something
As for MZA, I'm just going to let myself be wildly optimistic and say that he's going to work out and be a 25 goal, 60 point player for the Rangers. It's totally going to happen and I won't hear a word of dissent.
Not that he'll do it next year, he might only get 40 points or so, but soon enough he'll be a legit second liner. so there
You did say he never played in North America, on a smaller ice surface.
and while it was only for two weeks, which is obviously your point, it doesnt keep NHL scouts from thinking he can be good in the NHL. Hell, Detroit and Toronto were on him like flies on **** and we ended up with him.
Callahan had 17 even strength points and was a -11 last year. I love the guy and think hes a valuable asset, but those arent top 6 numbers. Really dont see how some people are up in arms over MZA being slotted into a top 6 role on this site. If he doesnt play well there or Torts doesnt think he should play there then MZA wont be playing a top 6 role. Fairly sure every forward on our team played a top 6 role at some point last year under torts.
This is probably true. I like Anisimov and I like the idea of MZA and what he can bring, but if you put those two together, I think you really need a third player who can throw his weight around or mix things up a bit. Especially win board battles, which Dubinsky can do.
Of course it leaves that top line wing spot open, but who knows, maybe the Rangers will magically fill that with someone useful. Re-sign Prospal or something
As for MZA, I'm just going to let myself be wildly optimistic and say that he's going to work out and be a 25 goal, 60 point player for the Rangers. It's totally going to happen and I won't hear a word of dissent.
Not that he'll do it next year, he might only get 40 points or so, but soon enough he'll be a legit second liner. so there
From his play that I've seen and the confirmation of a few places, MZA is not afraid to mix it up, he's not a physical juggernaut but he will be able to put pressure and hit all on his own.
Enough of this Callahan ********. Hes simply not skilled enough to crack the top 6.
I love the kids heart just as much as the next guy but hes not top 6 material.
He and Drury form a formidable third line (with possibly Avery), and PK. Hell, maybe Prust can crack that line.
A Prust-Drury-Callahan line would be a line not many teams would like to face. We need to utilize whats best for our role guys. Leave the top 6 for the highly skilled guys. After last season, how can anyone not realize its what we need most?
i also wouldnt be against Drury re-signed for 2 million or so in two years.
Callahan is forced into the top 6 when he has to be. The -11 is not something to be worried about, it is coincidental when seen in the context of how he plays in his own zone. You can chalk up all the 1st unit PP time that let up SH goals to that number.
But he is ideally suited for a 3rd line RW role, as we all know. 15-15-30 from there with solid PK time and some limited PP usage. Play Avery-Drury-Cally on the third together for a season and it will work.
you're allowed to go 10% over cap over the summer, including redden with this line up we'd only be 3.4 over then we can demote redden once the season starts and have 3 mill in cap space.
I'm not sure cap space in September is that much of a help.
I think your RFA estimates might be a little low, and don't forget Rissmiller's cap hit over the summer, but I do think your UFA # for Zherdev is about right for the amount they can spend a "new" player.
I like that you guys try to predict the lines as if we have a coach that establishes lines and lets the players on those lines develop chemistry over a significant period of time.
I'm sure we'll see every combination you can imagine.
Second, why is everyone penciling in Zherdev? Did I miss the thread where we signed him? He's not coming back.
Last, those of you saying Prust should be bottom 6, I agree. But anyone who saw the chemistry between Prust and Anisimov knows they should stay together. Perhaps an alternative to Prust is big Buff from Chicago. He plays a similar game to Prust but comes at like 3x the cost. With our cap situation, this doesn't really become an option. That being said, I'm guessing Anisimov will continue to anchor the 3rd line with Prust and by default, captain Dreary will C the 2nd line.
why is it so hard to believe MZA will be a top 6 player when the season starts? hes a small skilled player that was not signed to play in a bottom 6 grinding roll. its either top 6 or bust and he certainly has more skill than callahan. callahans abilities are perfect for the 3rd line, mza's are not.
Hockey's changed a lot of the years.. A decade ago, 3rd and 4th lines usually had grittier, more physical players.
That trend is starting to vanish though. There are a number of teams around the league that don't even have a textbook checking line. Instead, they deploy something like lines 2A, and 2B.
Anisimov, or Drury will most likely center our third line next year. I personally don't care where MZA plays; I'll be happy to see him earn a spot after camp.
People are assuming that the more skilled, or talented player deserves to play on that higher line. I totally disagree with that opinion.
I think the better hockey player, should be playing that bigger role. And to be quite hoenst with you, I don't think there's a better option than Callahan at this moment.
MZA, on a third line with Anisimov and Avery, can be effective. I'll be content with that.
Second, why is everyone penciling in Zherdev? Did I miss the thread where we signed him? He's not coming back.
There was some rumor that said the Rangers were interested in bringing him back, but I believe it was shot down pretty forcefully
Quote:
Originally Posted by LyNX27
From his play that I've seen and the confirmation of a few places, MZA is not afraid to mix it up, he's not a physical juggernaut but he will be able to put pressure and hit all on his own.
Yeah I've heard that too, but having a big physical player on his line will help open things up regardless
