bardu sound pretty dumb right now bro stop condescending people for calling players by nicknames. almost as dumb as judging other dudes' taste in women IMO, very very gay and insecure
I won't. What's your pet name for Crosby? Did you cheer for the Devils at a Rangers/Devils game when Neidermeyer made a nice play? Better question, have you ever been to a Ranger game with that squishy perspective?
Been watching and going to Rangers games for 35 years.
Considering I grew up a mile from the Garden, and have had family work in the building where it is today and and before it moved from 49th and 8th I think I could say I have been around a while.
As mentioned I am a hockey fan first but I am a Rangers fan.
I can appreciate when a player made a good play, be that against out team or another team.
I want the Rangers to win every game. But if we get beat (and not beat ourselves) I can also appreciate that.
Having a single focus of "my team is best all others are crap" is childish and I don't entertain it.
The Flyers are a good team. The Penguins are a good team. Doesn't mean I like them or will root for them.
I also still watch hockey when the Rangers get eliminated from the Playoffs.
bardu sound pretty dumb right now bro stop condescending people for calling players by nicknames. almost as dumb as judging other dudes' taste in women IMO, very very gay and insecure
First of all I don't have any issues with references to nicknames. I don't understand a ranger fan cozying up to a rival player. In my section if someone referred to a devil player with a cutesy nickname he or she would get abused endlessly. Sorry but that's not what diehards do. Nothing immature or gay about it.
First of all I don't have any issues with references to nicknames. I don't understand a ranger fan cozying up to a rival player. In my section if someone referred to a devil player with a cutesy nickname he or she would get abused endlessly. Sorry but that's not what diehards do. Nothing immature or gay about it.
When Marc Staal comes back, he will be the first LD on the team and be paired with Girardi. Can either of McD or MDZ play the right side so they can be paired up?
First of all, when Staal comes back, there us no way in **** that Torts will throw him right into the fire. He will probably play 15 or so minutes a game and it won't be on the first pairing. The guy is just getting over a serious bout with pcs and so he needs to get back into game shape and reacclimated to the physical demands of his position. Playing defense is a totally different situation than throwing a Crosby or Giroux out there for 20+ minutes at center in their first games back and they play as if they've never been away.
And really, comparing Staal to Stevens? Seriously?
Stevens had a base from which to draw a conclusion that he was legit enough in the offensive zone to be game planned against when he had the puck. He had ESTABLISHED himself as a #1 before doing the right thing for the team and his teammates.
Staal has never topped 29 points, Stevens career high was 78 points before he allowed Neidermayer to step into the role of offensive catalyst.
Stevens stepped into the supporting role of #2 defenceman on the Devils top pairing with Neids and guess what happened? Well, you mentioned it yourself.
3 cups in 9 years and Neids was every bit as responsible as was Stevens.
Are you talking about winning a Norris trophy or being a #1 defensemen? Because there is a pretty huge difference.
There are, what, 30 #1 D's in the league? Give or take? 46 defensemen scored more points than Marc Staal last year. He is significantly better defensively than a good portion of them.
If Staal scored 9 more points (which would have put him in the top 30) but played significantly poorer defense would that make him a #1 D? Wonderful logic.
As for Stevens, the bolded is the only answer you needed to give. I wasn't comparing Staal to anyone. I was asking about Stevens because I was curious just how poorly you judged defensemen. The rest of your post is so off topic you might as well just wrote about what your favorite foods are.
Are you talking about winning a Norris trophy or being a #1 defensemen? Because there is a pretty huge difference.
There are, what, 30 #1 D's in the league? Give or take? 46 defensemen scored more points than Marc Staal last year. He is significantly better defensively than a good portion of them.
If Staal scored 9 more points (which would have put him in the top 30) but played significantly poorer defense would that make him a #1 D? Wonderful logic.
As for Stevens, the bolded is the only answer you needed to give. I wasn't comparing Staal to anyone. I was asking about Stevens because I was curious just how poorly you judged defensemen. The rest of your post is so off topic you might as well just wrote about what your favorite foods are.
you bring up Stevens and when I point out why your comparison was brutal it's off topic?
Miss a season after being FAR AND AWAY your teams best d-man over the course of your career and you're not a number 1 anymore.
Here we go again. Staal may be a #1 on our team but he isn't a #1 on many other teams in the league. As far as we go, better to work him in slowly so he can get his "sea legs" under him before reassuming the #1 d-man slot.
you bring up Stevens and when I point out why your comparison was brutal it's off topic?
nice
In the Eastern conference aside from Chara, Pronger, and Letang who would take in a trade straight up? Again take age out of the equation. I can't think of any other d-man where there's an argument and I'm not sure I would trade him for those guys.
He's played that role by default, but I do not believe he has the requisite offensive skills to be a legit #1 defenceman.
He's a glorified #2 defenceman here in NY simply because of our lack of a true #1.
If what we are seeing from Del Zotto is not a fluke, and he does maintain a solid defensive posture and continues to put up the offensive numbers he is putting up, I would prefer him at the #1 spot and have Staal supporting him as our #2 (exactly where he belongs).
This is not meant as a knock on Staal. He's an incredible talent in his own right, just not rounded enough for me to consider him a legit #1 guy.
I agree with you about Staal being a #1 by default but I don't see MDZ as a #1 either. We have a bunch of solid, dependable defensemen with no true #1 but it doesn't really matter if you have 3 defensive pairings you can trust.
Been watching and going to Rangers games for 35 years.
Considering I grew up a mile from the Garden, and have had family work in the building where it is today and and before it moved from 49th and 8th I think I could say I have been around a while.
As mentioned I am a hockey fan first but I am a Rangers fan.
I can appreciate when a player made a good play, be that against out team or another team.
I want the Rangers to win every game. But if we get beat (and not beat ourselves) I can also appreciate that.
Having a single focus of "my team is best all others are crap" is childish and I don't entertain it.
The Flyers are a good team. The Penguins are a good team. Doesn't mean I like them or will root for them.
I also still watch hockey when the Rangers get eliminated from the Playoffs.
Not sure what your point is.
Here, here! Well said. I don't understand how someone can get bashed on a hockey board because they appreciate the play of players on other teams.
what has marc staal done so great for this team that some of you feel he is whats gonna get this team to next level upon his return?
Duh? Now that I think of it, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Seems that when a player is injured and out of the lineup for a long period of time, there is a tendency to deify that player on this board.
you bring up Stevens and when I point out why your comparison was brutal it's off topic?
nice
Perhaps you can point out where I even mentioned Staal in my post.
Again, I was not comparing Staal or anyone else to Stevens. I mentioned Stevens to see how he fit in your "standards". Basically I wanted to see just how off the ****ing mark you were.
Duh? Now that I think of it, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Seems that when a player is injured and out of the lineup for a long period of time, there is a tendency to deify that player on this board.
i agree with you cause if you haven't noticed all the big boys the crosby's malkins and the OV's that everybody says staal is there kryptonite have done nothin to the rangers when staal was out
i agree with you cause if you haven't noticed all the big boys the crosby's malkins and the OV's that everybody says staal is there kryptonite have done nothin to the rangers when staal was out
I'm not knocking Staal, just merely stating a fact that he has not been nor will he ever be the difference for us in so far as advancing deep in the playoffs! It's about our lack of depth offensively not defensively that is holding us back in the playoffs.
Perhaps you can point out where I even mentioned Staal in my post.
Again, I was not comparing Staal or anyone else to Stevens. I mentioned Stevens to see how he fit in your "standards". Basically I wanted to see just how off the ****ing mark you were.
That was all.
when a discussion is about a certain player and someone brings up another player, the comparisson is inherent wether you made the direct connection or not.
And I don't belive I am off the mark.
Staal does not have the requisite offensive skills to be a legit #1 defenceman and his skill set is that of a great #2 guy that would compliment a more offensive oriented defenceman.
In the Eastern conference aside from Chara, Pronger, and Letang who would take in a trade straight up? Again take age out of the equation. I can't think of any other d-man where there's an argument and I'm not sure I would trade him for those guys.
Karlsson from Ottawa
Myers from Buffalo
I would consider John Carlson from Washington as well.
All three players will be as good defensively as Staal is today AND they all possess the offensive skills needed to be a #1 guy.
Did I really see a Staal and Stevens comparison? Stevens is one of the best defensemen to ever play, and arguably the most intimidating. Wow
Not quite. Someone said that Stevens never topped 35 points and then asked if that makes him any less of a #1 defensemen. That is not a side by side comparison, I don't know what you guys are reading that made you think otherwise.
Everyone seems to forget that Staal is a #1 Shutdown defenseman.
Let Staal/Girardi shut down every top line. Let McD/Sauer be a solid shut down, where McD can get involved a lot with the rush. Let MDZ/? get ~10 Mins of ES time, and MDZ get a lot of power play and some PK time.
Stevens is one of the best defensemen to ever play, and arguably the most intimidating. Wow
