Fact of the matter is we've hardly seen W2 this year. What we DID see looked better than last year. Folks who are saying "get a 5th for him" have their heads up their *****. He's a talented player. He was even hitting before he got hurt, and he was pretty good at it.
Why the hell am I still hearing Avery's name?
Don't pretend Torts "has a love affair" with EC just to justify Aves not playing. It looks pathetic.
I see two possible line configurations
GAS line
WW B-Rich Cally
Dubi Feds Hags
Rupp Boyle Prust
I know Feds normally plays wing, but we've seen him play center before, and it's not awful.
Alternately, if Dubi TRULY has woken up
GAS line
Dubi B-Rich Cally
Wolski Feds Hags
Rupp Boyle Prust
WW will not see the light of day with this team...he is anti-rangers material...no heart, no defense respondiblity...if you can dump 3.8 million in cap space...you do it.
WW and EC are interchangeable...he cant stay healthy and takes his sweet ass time coming back...Torts is not dumb enough to take anyone out of the lineup for his half ass play...but good try!
I guess you don't watch or listen to games...because Maloney calls it like he see's it and there is that one other thing about him...he has played the game.
You can pretend that Rupp presences is not needed but to a man I think the Rangers all feel a little better about themselves with him around.
Did you watch the Devils game...where Janssen was running his mouth and how Boulton was looking to get Prust to go and suckers Cally into taking a 10 minute penalty.
Just think what happens when the Bruins roll into town and you have Rupp on the bench because you think EC or WW are bettor suited to play.
What does an Ex-NHL'er know though, he is just a homer! We should listen to you.
I'm sure the Bruins are shaking in their boots at the thought of Mike Rupp playing five minutes against them and getting his face punched in.
Never wanna see Wolski on the ice as a Ranger again. He had a 2 good years in colorado. His best days are behind him. Dump the salary and move on. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
WW will not see the light of day with this team...he is anti-rangers material...no heart, no defense respondiblity...if you can dump 3.8 million in cap space...you do it.
WW and EC are interchangeable...he cant stay healthy and takes his sweet ass time coming back...Torts is not dumb enough to take anyone out of the lineup for his half ass play...but good try!
This is soooooo far off base I don't even know why I'm wasting my time responding to this post.
If the Rangers wanted to get rid of Wolski and his 3.8 cap hit, they would have done it in the off-season when they had the chance to buy him out because he's still under 26. They chose to keep him. Why? Because you can not with three fingers the number of forwards who have scored 65 points in a season on this team - Gaborik, Richards and Wolski.
There's been a revolving door at LW on Richards line all season. Wolski has the skills to play with Richie and put up some points. He'll be given an opportunity to get back in the lineup and play top 6 minutes and PP time when he's healthy. There's no doubt about it.
When we're healthy, Avery and Christensen will be sent to Hartford or traded. Mitchell and Rupp will be the 12th and 13th forwards, in some order.
Never wanna see Wolski on the ice as a Ranger again. He had a 2 good years in colorado. His best days are behind him. Dump the salary and move on. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
Again, the flack Wolski gets on this board is absurd. I don't want to see you cheering when Wolski is healthy and is producing.
Hagelin and Mitchell aren't going anywhere. Hockey is a game of fitting pieces together as much as having the most pure talent. Mitchell fits with Dubinsky and Boyle. Hagelin is fitting in well with Callahan and Richards. How many here had Stepan-Gaborik-Anisimov as the first line back in September? If good Wolski shows up that would be great news and really help the secondary scoring. Once everyone gets healthy I just can't see Avery and Christiansen still being here.
Hagelin and Mitchell aren't going anywhere. Hockey is a game of fitting pieces together as much as having the most pure talent. Mitchell fits with Dubinsky and Boyle. Hagelin is fitting in well with Callahan and Richards. How many here had Stepan-Gaborik-Anisimov as the first line back in September? If good Wolski shows up that would be great news and really help the secondary scoring. Once everyone gets healthy I just can't see Avery and Christiansen still being here.
Hagelin isnt going anywhere.
Dont really care for Mitchell, or mind if he stays or goes.
But I'll just reiterate the fact that I don't think there's any need to shake things up with almost every one playing well right now.
I guess Wolski could step in for one of Rupp, Feds, or Prust since they are getting less ice time than everyone else and I don't think Torts trust them as much as some of the other lines. However, those players are all better suited to play the 4th line than Wolski.
With the way Hags has been playing, I don't see him being moved off the second line just yet.
I approve. This is what should be done. Will it be done? That is a different story. Richards can use a breath of fresh air to get going. Wolski might be that. The 2nd line LW hasn't been cemented the entire year. Hopefully Wolski can bring some stability to that line. I like him there better than Dubinsky/Fedotenko.
WW will not see the light of day with this team...he is anti-rangers material...no heart, no defense respondiblity...if you can dump 3.8 million in cap space...you do it.
WW and EC are interchangeable...he cant stay healthy and takes his sweet ass time coming back...Torts is not dumb enough to take anyone out of the lineup for his half ass play...but good try!
This is just foolish. Wolski was looking and playing well before he got injured. He's larger, stronger, faster, and better than Christensen in nearly every aspect of the game. It legitimately looked like he had bought into the system, and was playing the Rangers sort of game. If he can grind, forecheck, and cycle, it's downright FOOLISH not to use him. He's not the ideal player. But he's one of our more talented players, and to not even let him get a shot at an offense that can honestly use another 25 goal scorer is a mistake I don't think Torts is looking to make.
As for all the hate Christensen gets, what the **** guys? He's a young guy who has all the skill, but has never, and probably won't be able to put it together, signed for less than 1m, and was able to go out there last season and with the help of Zucc and Wolski (neither of which are playing with the team at the moment, interestingly) help put this team into the playoffs.
Most of us hate the shootout. We think it's fun as all hell, but it should never decide the distribution of points within the league. That said, it's presently a fact of the game. Right now, this team doesn't need to worry about the shootout, we're winning games in regulation. Last season, we needed to win ALL of those games. We needed Christensen, or Wolski, or Zucc to score EVERY shootout goal they did. I understand that we don't want him playing with the Rangers. I see no reason not to put him in Hartford, let him collect his paycheck, and god forbid we lose a center or two, we have a plug who has NHL experience.
I understand hating a player for being cheap, dirty, or embarrassing to the team. I understand if you think a player is being lazy, because they're not as fast, or skilled, or down right as good as they need to be to be effective. But these are NHL players. They do what we all wish we could do. To assume that they're just lazy and heartless without seeing anything but how they play the game is presumptuous and unfounded.
I'm not a Wolski fan. It looked like Torts lit his ass on fire and told him to skate as hard as he could to put it out. Then he got injured. Lets see if he comes back with that fire again.
/rant
p.s. I don't know where that came from. I'm sure you're all wonderful people.
Mitchell: Don't think he's played particularly well. Adequate, but nothing special. Could stay or go depending on other moves the team makes.
Wolski: Will be given opportunity to play; if he fails, he is dealt at the deadline. If he plays well, they hold on to him and probably let him walk this summer.
Avery: ??? - I can't see anyone taking him, but I could see him staying and rarely playing if they deal away Wolski (or Dubinsky in a bigger deal if it came to that).
Christensen: Probably stays as the extra forward, or one of two. I doubt anyone is interested. Maybe as a throw-in to another deal.
I think they should get rid of Boyle, despite the fact that he played pretty well tonight. He hasn't done much most of the season. He can't do anything with the puck, he isn't adept at using his size to his advantage. He can shoot and he's decent defensively. If anyone wants him, they should move him if they can nab a 3rd rounder.
Erixon should go back to the AHL, IMO. Bickel too, eventually. Woywitka should play over him. Stu has been serviceable, but I think Woywitka has been more stable, 3 or 4 really bad games aside. Stralman should keep playing. He's playing his best hockey right now. Not messing up too often in his own zone, and really passing and developing offense in transition well.
Mitchell: Don't think he's played particularly well. Adequate, but nothing special. Could stay or go depending on other moves the team makes.
Wolski: Will be given opportunity to play; if he fails, he is dealt at the deadline. If he plays well, they hold on to him and probably let him walk this summer.
Avery: ??? - I can't see anyone taking him, but I could see him staying and rarely playing if they deal away Wolski (or Dubinsky in a bigger deal if it came to that).
Christensen: Probably stays as the extra forward, or one of two. I doubt anyone is interested. Maybe as a throw-in to another deal.
I think they should get rid of Boyle, despite the fact that he played pretty well tonight. He hasn't done much most of the season. He can't do anything with the puck, he isn't adept at using his size to his advantage. He can shoot and he's decent defensively. If anyone wants him, they should move him if they can nab a 3rd rounder.
Erixon should go back to the AHL, IMO. Bickel too, eventually. Woywitka should play over him. Stu has been serviceable, but I think Woywitka has been more stable, 3 or 4 really bad games aside. Stralman should keep playing. He's playing his best hockey right now. Not messing up too often in his own zone, and really passing and developing offense in transition well.
Great post,
I also don't think Boyle should be immune to the who stays - who goes talk.
I must say these discussions are symbolic of how good the team is right now, good problems for a GM and coach to have.
I would be a little hesitant inserting WW into the 2nd line immediately. I liked his game before he got hurt, he was a solid presence. It's obvious that he's skilled, I just don't know if he'll be as productive right away as a guy like Hags or a post-hibernation Dubi. On the other hand, Richie and Cally have already adapted to temporary LW's, so adding in Wolski to the mix wouldn't necessarily cause any damage. It's up to Torts, and besides, any line he creates before the game is subject to change, so no combination would surprise me or cause me to freak out.
The emergence of Hagelin as an offensive contributor will have some bearing on what happens with WW, IMO.
Honestly, at this point, don't fix what isn't broken (this obviously doesn't apply to Staal and Sauer when they come back). If we start struggling to score, then pencil WW in on offense and sit a guy like Mitchell (despite how well he's been playing).
If it aint broke....The GAS line stays and I think so does the Hags-Richards-Cally line. After that, its in the air with the whole interchangable parts things.
Hagelin just solidified his spot for the time being. Hard to imagine taking anyone out for Wolski at this point. I see Zuccarello's trade value decreasing by the second... Maybe Glen can package Zuc and EC in a "shootout package" and get some picks for them. Zuc is not cracking the top 6 on this team, period, and his talent should not be wasted.
If it aint broke....The GAS line stays and I think so does the Hags-Richards-Cally line. After that, its in the air with the whole interchangable parts things.
I would disagree with how the Dubi/Boyle/Mitchell line has been playing They've become a very effective grinding/defensive line, as they've been able to were down teams in the 3rd period. You need a line like that come playoff time.
I think they should get rid of Boyle, despite the fact that he played pretty well tonight. He hasn't done much most of the season. He can't do anything with the puck, he isn't adept at using his size to his advantage. He can shoot and he's decent defensively. If anyone wants him, they should move him if they can nab a 3rd rounder.
Hagelin is this years zuccarello, and he's here to stay...
I think you are selling Hagelin short by comparing him to Zuccs.
Hagelin has shown to be better offensively and light years better defensively. He's tougher on the puck and instinctively knows where to be in all game situations.
Zuccs, aside from some offensive capabilities, seems unable to grasp Torts system and as such as no place in the line-up.
Hagelin can be used in any situation.
If anything, Hagelin is this years version of Callahan when he first broke into the league with the Rangers and was kept as a Regular in the 07-08 season.
I think you are selling Hagelin short by comparing him to Zuccs.
Hagelin has shown to be better offensively and light years better defensively. He's tougher on the puck and instinctively knows where to be in all game situations.
Zuccs, aside from some offensive capabilities, seems unable to grasp Torts system and as such as no place in the line-up.
Hagelin can be used in any situation.
If anything, Hagelin is this years version of Callahan when he first broke into the league with the Rangers and was kept as a Regular in the 07-08 season.
Let's not say that. Right now Hags is on pace for what Zukes was over an 82 game season.
Never wanna see Wolski on the ice as a Ranger again. He had a 2 good years in colorado. His best days are behind him. Dump the salary and move on. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
Gotta agree with Tort's on this one. Everytime you think maybe Wolski will suprise you and turn things around for good he let's you down with an injury or he doesn't come to play. IMO he's had his chances and he's wore out his welcome. See ya See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya...
Gotta agree with Tort's on this one. Everytime you think maybe Wolski will suprise you and turn things around for good he let's you down with an injury or he doesn't come to play. IMO he's had his chances and he's wore out his welcome. See ya See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya...
Let's you down with an injury? So I guess Cally let us down last year, too.
He ****ed up his groin and Torts was a baby about it. I love Torts but what he said was just rude, simple as that.
