Yeah, never thought we'd say this but Is nobody else a bit concerned about our depth issues?
We did improve the teams scoring, yes. We have 5 guys that can rack up 50+ points in a Gaborik, Nash, Richards, Stepan and Callahan.
However, My concern comes into play with part of our 2nd line on down. Who plays with Stepan and Callahan? Will Hagelin pick up his game? He's having a tough go so far. Pyatt is not the answer, he's an ideal 3rd liner. Yes he's producing offensively but that will not last at a consistent pace.
Gaborik-Richards-Nash
Hagelin(?) - Stepan-Callahan
Pyatt-Boyle-????( Asham and Rupp should not be on as 3rd line. Boyle for that matter is a better 4th line fit than 3rd line as well)
Anyways, our depth is taking a hit. Especially after putting all our eggs in one basket with our first line. A shaky Chris Kreider start isn't helping either.
I absolutely agree. To get back on track, stacking the top line may be necessary, but in the long run, they need to be split up in order to balance out the roster.
I also believe that the Rangers had anticipated a strong presence of Kreider when they traded away both Dubinsky and Anisimov, but that hasn't quite been there.
Where have you been? Everyone is concerned about our forward depth.
It's not really that surprising. The Rangers forward depth was a strength but a 2-for-1 trade and the lack of development from Kreider, Hagelin and Stepan are hurting them a bit right now. If those three guys were playing at a high level, we wouldn't be noticing it, but they aren't.
The good news is 2nd/3rd line forward types is still an organizational strength and there are a ton of them in the system.
That first line will make up for the times the 2-4 are just plain having a bad game, and vice versa. That first line is the kind you can actually rely on to win games alone. I didn't have that kind of confidence in just the Richards/Gaborik tandem.
People are still rusty and finding their stride. By game 24 I bet the depth issue will be much less a concern than it seems to be now.
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"I used to pray for good things . I used to ask the Hockey Gods for puck luck for the NYR .
Now all I want is Torts the smug stupid goatee clown to be fired , . I hate Torts . Please hockey gods make him get fired. Please Sean punch him in face" -- Dorado
What gave you the idea that this team has depth problems up front?
The fact they went into the season without a spare forward? The fact that 1 injury and 1 ineffective player leads to Stu Bickel and Kris Newbury in the starting lineup?
What gave you the idea that this team has depth problems up front?
The fact they went into the season without a spare forward? The fact that 1 injury and 1 ineffective player leads to Stu Bickel and Kris Newbury in the starting lineup?
Yea, its an issue.
The 6th/7th d-man issue is the biggest by far. The plug on the 4th line isn't that bad. They see such limited ice time, as long as it is not a complete pylon, whatever.
I think we have some pretty decent depth... barring injuries of course.
Gabby
Richie
Nash
Hags
Cally
Steps
Boyle
Pyatt is hardly chopped liver for a top 8.
You loose Dubi, Arty, Pruster and Feds and that's a lot to lose, but I'm still pretty confident. Hank and the back line....heck the whole darn team are still very rusty. Again barring major injury, I think we're gonna be fine.
The 6th/7th d-man issue is the biggest by far. The plug on the 4th line isn't that bad. They see such limited ice time, as long as it is not a complete pylon, whatever.
I thought it was, but its really not. If Stepan, Callahan, Hagelin, and or Kreider cant consistently deliver secondary scoring, thats going to be a much bigger problem.
Its a 48 game season. Torts is going to ride the top 4 defensemen no matter what.
I thought it was, but its really not. If Stepan, Callahan, Hagelin, and or Kreider cant consistently deliver secondary scoring, thats going to be a much bigger problem.
Its a 48 game season. Torts is going to ride the top 4 defensemen no matter what.
That's a good point. I guess going forward it may be, however.
Agreed though, it only becomes an issue if they all stop contributing for a long period of time. I am not convinced yet that's going to be the case. Fingers crossed.
According to CapGeek, we'll have $14,092,707 in cap space at the deadline if we hang tight. Don't know how many teams will be sellers at that point, though. Hoping for a bigger deadline than last years though. 2 forwards and a d-man is the dream.
I thought it was, but its really not. If Stepan, Callahan, Hagelin, and or Kreider cant consistently deliver secondary scoring, thats going to be a much bigger problem.
Its a 48 game season. Torts is going to ride the top 4 defensemen no matter what.
I think they'll have to break up the Gaborik-Richards-Nash line at some point. Probably against lesser teams.
I'm not too concerned with the forward depth. Honestly, it's the defensive depth that worries me more. I fear our top 4 will be gassed again. Really wish Torts had more faith in Stralman and Eminger.
I've had this in the back of my mind for a while, but I don't think trading for Nash was a smart move as far as the makeup of our roster is concerned.
While the move was really good purely from an asset value standpoint, the impact of losing both Anisimov and Dubinsky means that we were relying heavily on Kreider to be playing the way he did during his playoff run. If he faltered (as he has), our depth instantly becomes suspect, especially on the LW. Losing those 2 also made our lineup very inflexible through the bottom 6.
Nash will be a good player for us, he's the real deal. Purely from a asset value perspective, we won that trade.
I am concerned, Boyle is not a 3rd line center, if you can't see that I don't know what to tell you. Stepan, IMO, has reached his ceiling. His skating isn't great, he's lousy at face offs, he gets knocked off the puck. When you have Pyatt getting 2nd line minutes, and Rupp getting 3rd line minutes, you have a depth problem.
I've had this in the back of my mind for a while, but I don't think trading for Nash was a smart move as far as the makeup of our roster is concerned.
While the move was really good purely from an asset value standpoint, the impact of losing both Anisimov and Dubinsky means that we were relying heavily on Kreider to be playing the way he did during his playoff run. If he faltered (as he has), our depth instantly becomes suspect, especially on the LW. Losing those 2 also made our lineup very inflexible through the bottom 6.
Nash will be a good player for us, he's the real deal. Purely from a asset value perspective, we won that trade.
While I get your point, it's a lot harder to find legit top-line talent than 2nd/3rd liners whether it be FA/trade/draft.
The thing is though that we weren't exactly starved for 1st line talent, with Richards and Gaborik already on the team. What killed us in the playoffs was primarily a lack of depth scoring in the bottom 6.
Stars provide the fuel for playoff success, but lineup depth is the engine that wins the championship. With the Nash trade, we've got 4 big barrels full of high octane fuel with Nash, Richards, Gaborik and Lundqvist, but now we've only got a Toyota Camry engine to put it in.
