He has Norris potential. He was DOMINANT in the first half of the season.
Next season is going to be very telling- if he can keep up that play all year and not hit a drop off like this year, IMO he has the potential to be a Norris winner.
Totally random but I think he gives a good interview as well. When they get him between periods you can tell he is thinking the game and he gives pretty good insight to whats happening on the ice.
Right now, yes. But when Staal's fully healthy he's as good or better than McDonagh at the defensive end. A healthy Staal should help McDonagh next year because it'll mean a lighter workload for McDonagh and possibly a big step up offensively.
That's an excellent point; it should help both of their games going forward.
He's been doing things offensively at the NHL level that I never saw him even try at Wisconsin. It's really amazing how his game has evolved in just two years. At this point, it's damn near impossible to put a label on what his ceiling is.
Hmmm, I am going to pay attention to him. I didn't realize he was that good. I wonder how he compares to our up and comer, Jared Cowen who is a little more raw with it being his first season.
The only thing I wish he could add to his game is physicality. Hes a bit soft in that department. I know he's not going to push people out of the crease like Bickel or Sauer, but I'd love to see it.
This is not really true. What you don't get from him is after the whistle decking guys to get them off Hank. But, he moves guys out of the crease and out of shooting lanes all night. He's physical just not nasty; which is a double edge sword. Nasty is good but nasty gets you into the box and we need him on the ice for 26 minutes a night.
Hmmm, I am going to pay attention to him. I didn't realize he was that good. I wonder how he compares to our up and comer, Jared Cowen who is a little more raw with it being his first season.
I like Cowen. Big difference is McD is an elite skater. Both very good young players; McD is a little more refined and the skating is going to surprise you; special laterally, on the turn and big time speed going up the ice. Enjoy.
No, the point was everyone is saying McD is our best Dman by far. So to that idea I say, what about Girardi. See the connection now?
Yeah, I still don't see the connection. McDonagh's better than Girardi. Girardi's very solid, but he lacks McDonagh's offensive abilities and tends to attempt bad outlet passes up the middle.
Frankly, I think Girardi has just been around longer and was the Rangers' best D-man very early in the season, and thus went to the All Star game. All of those factor contribute to people thinking he's our best D-man.
Yeah, I still don't see the connection. McDonagh's better than Girardi. Girardi's very solid, but he lacks McDonagh's offensive abilities and tends to attempt bad outlet passes up the middle.
Wow, I'll try to explain it one more time. I'll go slowly. Well you see, some people are saying that McD is our best dman by far. Now, I think girardi has been pretty good this year. So you see, unless McD is the best dman in the whole wide world, he can't be the best on the team by far unless girardi is bad. Since I don't think girardi is bad, I don't think McD is the best dman by far.
The offensive production difference between the two has been very small. McD was 2 goals better and 1 assist better. Big whoop. I'm not arguing he's not the better offensive player. But I value the defensive side more and not to say McD has been bad back there, but girardi has been perhaps the best in the league in that regard.
Wow, I'll try to explain it one more time. I'll go slowly. Well you see, some people are saying that McD is our best dman by far. Now, I think girardi has been pretty good this year. So you see, unless McD is the best dman in the whole wide world, he can't be the best on the team by far unless girardi is bad. Since I don't think girardi is bad, I don't think McD is the best dman by far.
The offensive production difference between the two has been very small. McD was 2 goals better and 1 assist better. Big whoop. I'm not arguing he's not the better offensive player. But I value the defensive side more and not to say McD has been bad back there, but girardi has been perhaps the best in the league in that regard.
McDonagh is better than Girardi in all three zones. He's our best defensemen by a noticeable amount. Whether that amount is "by far" or some lesser distance amounts to semantics. It's not hating on Girardi to point out that McDonagh could contend for the Norris in future seasons.
You're clearly of the persuasion that Girardi is better than McDonagh. But it's more than a little dishonest to write off the offensive difference in their games to point totals. If you watch them at all you can see that McDonagh does and is capable of doing things with the puck that Girardi couldn't even try. I'm also not sure how you can contend that McDonagh is weaker defensively given how dominant he's been. Girardi's also just more mistake prone than McDonagh. Girardi had 61 giveaways while McDonagh only had 53. McDonagh also hade 46 takeaways to Girardi's 37.
Again I would wager that everybody here praising McDonagh also loves Girardi. The fact that McDonagh is a stud doesn't take away from that.
McDonagh is better than Girardi in all three zones. He's our best defensemen by a noticeable amount. Whether that amount is "by far" or some lesser distance amounts to semantics. It's not hating on Girardi to point out that McDonagh has could contend for the Norris in future seasons.
You're clearly of the persuasion that Girardi is better than McDonagh. But it's more than a little dishonest to write off the offensive difference in their games to point totals. If you watch them at all you can see that McDonagh does and is capable of doing things with the puck that Girardi couldn't even try. I'm also not sure how you can contend that McDonagh is weaker defensively given how dominant he's been. Girardi's also just more mistake prone than McDonagh. Girardi had 61 giveaways while McDonagh only had 53. McDonagh also hade 46 takeaways to Girardi's 37.
Again I would wager that everybody here praising McDonagh also loves Girardi. The fact that McDonagh is a stud doesn't take away from that.
I took more issue with the idea that you didn't get why I would mention Girardi than the actual debate between which one is better. They're both really good. I still maintain Girardi is better right now but I don't think it's absurd for someone to see it differently.
I took more issue with the idea that you didn't get why I would mention Girardi than the actual debate between which one is better. They're both really good. I still maintain Girardi is better right now but I don't think it's absurd for someone to see it differently.
I was confused because this is essentially a McDonagh mancrush thread and nobody had said one bad thing about Girardi.
While I'd agree that McDonagh is better in the offensive zone, as well as when transitioning up-ice through the neutral zone, Girardi is a better player in his own end. That may change in the near-future, but to say that McDonagh was the better defensive player is ridiculous.
While I'd agree that McDonagh is better in the offensive zone, as well as when transitioning up-ice through the neutral zone, Girardi is a better player in his own end. That may change in the near-future, but to say that McDonagh was the better defensive player is ridiculous.
Agreed, Girardi generally is much better with the puck in his own end, McDonagh is still learning in that department and still does a lot of "throw it around the boards" instead of making a play
Yeah it's also crazy how little attention his point total is getting. Everyone raved about DZ's 37 points as a rookie.
McD has 32 points in his first full season, and he got about 1/10th the PP time that DZ got.
And his strength is defense.
Unbelievable. The sky is really the limit for McDonagh. I know I've said it before, but he shows flashes of Neidermeyer more and more. He's one of the players I'm most excited about getting to see the evolution of his game unfold before our eyes. So lucky to have gotten McD and Stepan from UW. They really teach their kids the right way, huh?
McDonagh + Girardi are both underrated. At least G is getting some credit this season.
Girardi is still the Rangers best defenseman. McDonagh may provide more offensive output but he doesn't quite have the calmness with the puck that G has in his own zone. I feel as though I can count on one hand how many times Girardi has coughed up the puck in his own zone that lead to a goal.
To be honest, I think it's Staal that is overrated.
