I never understood why Gilroy was bashed so much here. I like the signing. Guy is a good skater and we could use someone that can actually skate on the bottom pairing.
its a good depth move for the whale and if there is an nhl season, when you are talkinga bout a cheap, 7th/8th depth dman none of the options are great. gilroy atleast knows the system
trying to be optimistic...last year when we brought in stralman i thought 'oh joy he sounds like gilroy just what we need' and then stralman surprised the hell out of me and played really well. hopefully gilroy surprises us the same way...
gilroy for whatever reason was the biggest recipient of hate on this board. he was never a great player and obviously did not live up to what we expected him to be, but man this kid was a decent player and he always worked hard. i'd take him over eminger and bickel any day.
also, gilroy is a much for serviceable forward than bickel if we ever needed a winger for injury reasons. i like gilroy as a guy to have on the roster because he's versatile and a team player. very happy about this signing. i almost bought a gilroy jersey off someone on here a while back (after we got rid of him) and now i wish i did again haha
If anyone labeled him that way, it wasn't anyone with remotely realistic expectations. Leetch was a once-in-ten-years offensive defenseman. Poti was a 1B
power play guy on a weak team in the height of his career.
Once in ten years? It's been something like 25 years since Leetch was drafted.
And we forget that Sather never throught that Leetch was as good as he actually was. When Sather first took over the Rangers, what did he do? He promptly signed Vladimir Malakhov to a 4 year contract (something like $14 million total) because he had superstar potential. Poti was just another in a long line of offense oriented defensemen that Sather has been bringing in since he became GM. Most of them have not worked out nearly as well as they were hyped by management. Unfortunately, most of them didn't have nearly enough talent (realized or unrealized) to do the things they were traded for/signed to do.
Malik was a lot better than a No. 6 for us. He wasn't very physical and he was prone to the occasional spectacular mistake but all in all he was a solid guy.
Poti stunk. Always making the poke check--playing the puck and not the body. Letting other teams whack away at the goalie in front of the net. He pouted whenever he got benched. Not good defensively and not a good team guy. One of my best days ever was the day we got rid of him.
Finally, after moving, I set up my internet. Now back on topic, I like this signing for the Whale. If he can work his way back to the NHL, I'd let him try out for a spot for sure.
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If anyone labeled him that way, it wasn't anyone with remotely realistic expectations. Leetch was a once-in-ten-years offensive defenseman. Poti was a 1B
power play guy on a weak team in the height of his career.
There are few bigger myths than the one about Tom Poti bring an offensive defenseman.
Malik was a lot better than a No. 6 for us. He wasn't very physical and he was prone to the occasional spectacular mistake but all in all he was a solid guy.
Poti stunk. Always making the poke check--playing the puck and not the body. Letting other teams whack away at the goalie in front of the net. He pouted whenever he got benched. Not good defensively and not a good team guy. One of my best days ever was the day we got rid of him.
And Malik was a case in point where smarts can trump talent. He'd have problems when he tried to do too much. When he played within his game he played really well. He was a hard guy to get around just because of his size and reach--he could almost always get a piece of an attacking player. He didn't run over guys but he did protect his crease adequately.
There's a lot about Gilroy that reminds me of Poti--good skills, good wheels, soft in his own end. I think Gilroy has a much better personality though. He's not going to pout. I'm not pissed that we signed him--he could be useful but Bickel is ahead of him IMO and not only because he has a one way contract. Some fans might not like Stu but what is going to matter is not what they think but what Torts and his coaching staff think. Right now it's Stu's job to keep or lose.
I never understood why Gilroy was bashed so much here. I like the signing. Guy is a good skater and we could use someone that can actually skate on the bottom pairing.
What does his skating contribute out on the ice though? He's not using his skating to make clutch defensive plays, and he's certainly not using his skating to create offensive chances by joining the rush..... He's simply not a talented hockey player and has below average defensive instincts....
gilroy for whatever reason was the biggest recipient of hate on this board. he was never a great player and obviously did not live up to what we expected him to be, but man this kid was a decent player and he always worked hard. i'd take him over eminger and bickel any day.
also, gilroy is a much for serviceable forward than bickel if we ever needed a winger for injury reasons. i like gilroy as a guy to have on the roster because he's versatile and a team player. very happy about this signing. i almost bought a gilroy jersey off someone on here a while back (after we got rid of him) and now i wish i did again haha
i agree with everything you said. i am excited about this signing and he'll play more than 6 minutes in a playoff game...plus he's been gone for a year on two other teams, i did not follow him or see much of him last season, so i am interested in what he learned and how he matured in that year
I admit I'm kinda surprised at the selective memories in here. One of the qualities I value most in a defenseman is the ability to defend.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
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Once in ten years? It's been something like 25 years since Leetch was drafted.
And we forget that Sather never throught that Leetch was as good as he actually was. When Sather first took over the Rangers, what did he do? He promptly signed Vladimir Malakhov to a 4 year contract (something like $14 million total) because he had superstar potential. Poti was just another in a long line of offense oriented defensemen that Sather has been bringing in since he became GM. Most of them have not worked out nearly as well as they were hyped by management. Unfortunately, most of them didn't have nearly enough talent (realized or unrealized) to do the things they were traded for/signed to do.
True but you fit Niedermayer, Paul Coffey, Phil Housley and Bourque in there as well and you get a guy of that quality on average about one a decade.
True but you fit Niedermayer, Paul Coffey, Phil Housley and Bourque in there as well and you get a guy of that quality on average about one a decade.
First off you left someone off your list (played with Detroit his whole career cough,cough). Second, I don't see why you're bringing a list of players you see as on par with Leetch into the comment--some teams are lucky enough to see one of those players every generation and many are forced to get by with much less talented defensemen, even with free agency.
Sather has been looking for a player like Coffey (in his prime) since he came here. My point was that he undervalued Leetch from the get-go, bringing in a bunch of has beens, never wll bes and wantabes. Malakhov was the first. Gilroy was another stab at finding the diamond in the rough. I don't have the hate some do here for Gilroy, but the hype management gave the original signing, pretty much set expectations way beyond what Gilroy could achieve. I like signing, but don't expect much more than what Gilroy has brought to the table up to this point, although there's still room for him to improve.
I think Derek Morris was the best #6 we've had since the lockout. Stralman was close though.
Morris? Yuck.
He was brought in to be much more than a #6 and he failed miserably. I was never happier than the day he walked away from this team. Stralman is much better than what Morris was for us.
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my only problem with this move is where is gilroy going to play? if our 3rd pairing left handed D is del zotto, gilroy does not compliment DZ well at all. you can't bump gilroy up though, and even though DZ and stralman played well together in their limited time last season i wouldn't want to see that pairing again. gilroy's style doesn't really fit the need of the team.
my only problem with this move is where is gilroy going to play? if our 3rd pairing left handed D is del zotto, gilroy does not compliment DZ well at all. you can't bump gilroy up though, and even though DZ and stralman played well together in their limited time last season i wouldn't want to see that pairing again. gilroy's style doesn't really fit the need of the team.
you need depth and guys get hurt...and there is very little in terms of help in hartford at the moment. bringing back eminger and gilroy gives us some insurance if guys get hurt...obviously the ideal scenario is for sauer to return and then to never have to use bickel, eminger or gilroy but we aren't that lucky
There are few bigger myths than the one about Tom Poti bring an offensive defenseman.
There aren't many players I can say I truly hate with a passion. Tom Poti was one of those players. He brought nothing to the Rangers execpt a special diet for all his allergies, terrible acne & an attitude. Terrible player in both zone & soft as dough.
my only problem with this move is where is gilroy going to play? if our 3rd pairing left handed D is del zotto, gilroy does not compliment DZ well at all. you can't bump gilroy up though, and even though DZ and stralman played well together in their limited time last season i wouldn't want to see that pairing again. gilroy's style doesn't really fit the need of the team.
McDonagh Girardi
Staal Gilroy
Del Zotto Stralman
other than the top pair, i wouldn't read into labels of 2nd or 3rd pair. Staal will get a lot of minutes. Del Zotto will too.
I can't believe the backlash in here over Gilroy. He has improved since his time in NY. IS he a top-4 d-man? No. Do you want him to HAVE to play every night? No. But he has some offensive instincts and looked better in TB than he did in NY. His skating is still a tool that few players have and he has gotten stronger.
This is a great depth move. The Rangers were able to acquire a depth NHL defenseman for nothing other than money. Who cares if he ends up being the #6 or the #8, that will work itself out.
I know we all like what MDZ and Stralman bring on the back-end but what if one of them get hurt? The Rangers would be left with a lack of quality PMD depth. Gilroy can play 10-12 minutes a night and be fine. The coaches know him. He knows the system. He knows most of his teammates.
