Flyers making Sather look good

With the recent signing/extension of Nicklas Grossman the Philadelphia Flyers achieved three things. First of all they overpaid for a good but not elite defensive defenseman, secondly they gave themselves potential cap headaches this summer with the likes of Matt Carle, Jaromir Jagr and Jakub Voracek to re-sign (headaches could disappear depending on the Pronger situation) and finally they made Glen Sather once again look like an astute general manager.

Dan Girardi has played an All Star calibre season, has been an absolute rock on the blue line and is once again close to a 30 point season proving he is effective at both ends of the ice. With that all considered, comparing his deal to Grossman’s new deal of $3.5m, Sather managed to produce a bargain with the Girardi deal.

Girardi’s deal comes in at $3.25m for another couple of seasons and his deal in addition to Marc Staal’s (a very reasonable cap hit of $3.9m when health and form allow) are blue line reasons why Sather won’t struggle to reward the likes of Mike Del Zotto and Brandon Prust this summer.

Cap Geek list Dan Girardi as a comparable to Nicklas Grossman but really comparing Girardi to the Swede in anything other than price tag is doing Girardi a disservice. Girardi is a much more rounded player than Grossman. He out hits, out blocks and out scores Grossman and very few players in the entire league play the same minutes as Girardi. Who’s worth more? Girardi without question.

Next season including Pronger, the Flyers have over 20 million committed to their blue line – quite a chunk. The Rangers, without factoring in a raise for Del Zotto and adding another defenseman ‘only’ have approximately 10 million committed to their blue line. I know which blue line I would rather have right now. Keep up the good work this summer Mr Sather.

Where they could have failed: Staal and Sauer’s injuries

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A team that loses two of its top four defensemen for extended periods of time falters, and drops to mediocrity while dealing with the injuries. Oh wait, you didn’t hear that? That’s likely because the Rangers lost two of their top four defensemen, guys that were playing 20+ minutes a night last season, but they kept on trucking along, and now sit just five points away from clinching the home ice in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers didn’t know what to expect with Marc Staal. Concussions are a tricky beast afterall. Staal missed the first 36 games of the season, an injury that forced several players in the lineup to step up. Ryan McDonagh was moved from his comfortable pairing with Mike Sauer up to the top pair with Dan Girardi, and was one-half of the best shutdown pair in the league while playing 30 minutes a night. Michael Del Zotto was thrust into a top four spot after spending parts of last season in the AHL. The combination of he and Sauer thrived as well. For some reason that bottom pairing rotation between Anton Stralman, Steve Eminger, and Jeff Woywitka wasn’t talked about much.

Then the unthinkable happened: Mike Sauer fell awkwardly after a hit by Dion Phaneuf, and hit his head on the boards. Another top four defenseman out with a concussion. Another gaping hole in the lineup to fill. After a short stint with Eminger (before he went down with an injury), Del Zotto’s new partner wound up being Stralman. The wildcard signing was now forced into playing 20 minutes a night. He thrived, and the Rangers still wouldn’t quit.

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Season Turning Point: The Steve Eminger injury

With a playoff spot clinched, we are running a new series about turning points in the season. These posts will focus on moves the Rangers made that effectively turned their season from mediocre to great. Part one: Calling up Hagelin and Mitchell.

The Rangers started the season shorthanded on the blue line. Marc Staal was out indefinitely with a concussion to start the season, so the Rangers were already short a top pairing defenseman. A rotation of Anton Stralman, Steve Eminger, and Jeff Woywitka was being used to fill the bottom pairing, and had been doing so with minimal success.

Fast forward to December 5, when Mike Sauer hit the boards awkwardly after a thunderous Dion Phaneuf hit. Sauer was diagnosed with a concussion, and hasn’t been seen since. Now, the Rangers are down two top-four defensemen. Just like he had last year, Eminger filled in nicely on the top four while paired with Michael Del Zotto. He made the injuries to Sauer and Staal easier to manage.

Then the world seemed to come crashing down for the Rangers. On December 17, the Rangers lost Eminger to a separated shoulder. In that same game, the Rangers also lost Woywitka, albeit for a short period of time. With Eminger out of the lineup, and Tim Erixon not ready for the show at that time, the Rangers called up their last cut in preseason: Stu Bickel.

Acquired in a deal with Anaheim for Nigel Williams, Bickel wasn’t garnering much attention until he was the last man cut in Europe. The Rangers blue line was in shambles, with four players lost to injury, three long term. Bickel and Erixon would play on the third pairing for the next week until Woywitka returned from injury, but Bickel was the attention grabber.

With four assists in his first three NHL games, Bickel was creating a stir in New York. Add in his physical presence that the Rangers sorely needed with Sauer injured, and Bickel instantly became a favorite of the coaching staff. Now, even though the Rangers are close to full strength on defense, Bickel still remains with the club.

The Steve Eminger injury paved the way for Stu Bickel to make his mark in the organization. Bickel may not have had the affect that Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell did (in terms of puck possession), but don’t underestimate how important it is to have a steady presence on that bottom pairing. Bickel’s call up was the beginning of the end for the revolving door that was the bottom pairing.

Four months later, none of Eminger, Woywitka, or even Stralman are coming close to dressing for a game. And it can all be traced back to a separated shoulder in December. Sometimes injuries are blessings in disguise.

Is Ryan McDonagh the Rangers best defenseman?

With Dan Girardi tiring in the last few games (not a criticism) and Marc Staal clearly still struggling for consistency following his return, has Ryan McDonagh emerged as the Rangers best defenseman?

It’s a valid question and perhaps just another way of heaping praise on McDonagh for the way he has developed since his call up midway in to last year. A lot of people don’t pay much attention to the plus/minus statistic but even the biggest critic of that stat has to acknowledge McDonagh’s impressive +39 over his first 112 NHL games. That’s more than just being on the ice at the right time.

McDonagh is still learning and he’s still making mistakes; he’s not perfect. The way James Neal picked his pocket in the Pens game a few games ago shows that he’s certainly not perfect but he has progressed at an incredible rate.

The offensive side of McDonagh’s game has developed the most, visibly. However that is because he has such a solid foundation defensively that it allows him to get involved more at the other end. His positional play is exceptional and he takes the body with regularity. Given the style McDonagh plays he doesn’t take a huge amount of penalties and he fits in Tortorella’s system perfectly.

McDonagh has become a minute muncher. He’s playing a shade under 25 a game and while unfortunate for Marc Staal, the absence of Staal has been a blessing in disguise for McDonagh’s development. Nobody could have foreseen this rate of progress and it probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for a Staal brother collision last season.

It’s hard not to be excited about the Rangers future given how the club is being built the ‘right way’ (from the goal out). There’s an embarrassment of riches developing in front of Henrik Lundqvist. Staal, Girardi, McDonagh and Del Zotto highlight a corps that still has Mike Sauer as well as Tim Erixon and Dylan McIlrath in the wings. There’s not another club in the entire league (outside of Nashville) that can boast that kind of pipeline on the blue line. And we said all this without finding a way to thank Bob Gainey again. Oops.

So, is McD the Rangers best defenseman right now? It’s hard to argue against him. When healthy, a valid case can be made for Del Zotto with the way his game has developed this year but either way the Rangers are sitting pretty with a 21 and 22 year old leading the charge to the post season.

The Stu Bickel scenario

I was one of the ones who praised Stu Bickel when he came in to the side and looked pretty comfortable from the outset despite being an undrafted, unheralded kid out of nowhere. I was however, also the one who criticised him a few weeks ago when his positional play was interesting (at best) for a stretch, and I still believe half the fights he gets into are unnecessary and don’t serve any purpose than to keep the box scorers busy.

That said he’s improved a lot recently and at times, has covered for some of Marc Staal’s mistakes who is very much up and down form-wise at the moment. Bickel’s inconsistent positional play seems to have settled down and his decision making on the puck is improving (although very much a work in progress).

Bickel has continued to be a physical presence without being a liability; it all adds up to making the Rangers defense reliable from top to bottom – despite the recent wave of unfortunate goals the Rangers have endured.

Bickel however may be playing for an NHL future elsewhere. So much of Bickel’s future depends on factors he cannot control. If Mike Sauer comes back this (or certainly next) season he’s immediately bumped down the depth chart. If Anton Stralman – for the most part – plays like he has done recently and is sensible with his contract demands it would be surprising if the Rangers didn’t have some interest in bringing him back next year.

Then there’s always the looming presence of Dylan McIlrath and to a lesser extent Pavel Valentenko. Note: are you ruling out Valentenko? You should only do so if you were a fortune teller and saw Bickel making the club the way he has this year.

Bickel has improved and clearly is gaining trust with the coaching staff – as evidenced by the additional third period ice time he’s getting. There’s no denying the value of earning Tortorella’s trust for a player, especially one looking to stick with the club. Bickel getting better is a win-win scenario for all concerned.

If he plays well he has a chance to stick. He plays well he’ll certainly stick in the NHL. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, even if he doesn’t make it with the Rangers, he’s made himself an asset for the franchise over the summer; so everyone wins from an improving Bickel.

It will be interesting to see how the cards that is the Rangers defense fall over the summer. There are a lot of factors in play for the Rangers blue line; none more so than Bickel’s continued development.

Anton Stralman: The underappreciated pickup

When the Rangers signed Anton Stralman in early November, it was pretty much an afterthought for most fans. After all, Stralman would need time to get into hockey shape, then more time to learn coach John Tortorella’s system. And who even knew if he was a Torts guy.

A month after his signing, Stralman had played just one game, and many were beginning to wonder if he would ever suit up for the Rangers. In fact, it took a Dion Phaneuf hit on Mike Sauer –and an awkward fall into the boards– to even convince Tortorella to dress the newly acquired defenseman on a regular basis. He was dressed as a necessity, not as a luxury.

Now, three months after the Sauer injury, Stralman has been seeing top four time on a consistent basis. His offensive numbers aren’t too impressive –on pace for about 20 points– but he has been a steady presence on the blue line and filled in admirably for the missing Sauer/Marc Staal at various times.

Looking at his advanced metrics, Stralman’s 4.7 GVT (2.1 OGVT/2.6 DGVT) is currently better than Staal (0.5 GVT in limited ice time), Steve Eminger (1.3 GVT), Jeff Woywitka (1.9 GVT), and Stu Bickel (2.6 GVT). When you prorate that out for a full season, Stralman has been worth roughly two points in the standings (one point currently, two points over 82 games) via the PVT metric.

Going deeper into his advanced metrics, Stralman hasn’t been seeing much time against top competition (-.058 Qualcomp), but his relative Corsi is still positive (0.5), meaning that his teammates have control of the puck more often than not while he is on the ice. That’s a small margin for his relative Corsi, but it’s positive nonetheless. He starts 52.7% of his shifts in the offensive zone, and finishes 50.5% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

It’s actually interesting, because Stralman’s metrics for quality of competition faced, Corsi (a puck possession metric) and offensive zone starts aren’t too strong. Generally speaking, when someone starts over 50% of their shifts in the offensive zone with low quality of competition, you would like to see a better relative Corsi.

Stralman has been a nice find for the Rangers, and he has given them a reason to appreciate his presence on the ice and his contract (one year, $900k). Stralman may not have a long term future on this team, but he has certainly been productive and a consistent body on defense. But looking at those metrics, maybe he has been benefiting from playing with Michael Del Zotto, and not the other way around, which most people have thought.

Stralman has been a Torts guy through and through this year, despite early doubts. Maybe that’s why he fits in so well with this club. Torts guys are tough to find, which makes this pickup fairly under appreciated.

So who is John Scott?

After the Rick Nash deal fell through, the Rangers made a minor move in sending a fifth round pick in this year’s draft to Chicago for defenseman John Scott. The first thing someone will notice about Scott is that he is big, listed at 6’8 and 258 lbs, the dude is a big boy. The undrafted defenseman, who is also capable of playing left wing, played four years at Michigan Tech before catching on with the Houston Aeros.

Scott got his first shot in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, playing 71 games over two seasons with the Wild, putting together a line of 1-2-3 with 111 PIMS. So clearly, Scott is not an offensive threat. He finished with a -4 rating, but that’s neither here nor there. In 69 games with the Blackhawks over two seasons, he recorded two assists and another 120 PIMs, upping his total to 231 PIMs.

Per Hockeyfights.com, Scott has fought 54 times in the AHL and NHL, and never lost a fight. That’s right, he is a perfect 54-0 in fighting over his career. He’s so good that Floyd Mayweather has already declined the option to fight him. With Brandon Prust hurting, and Mike Sauer out indefinitely, Scott adds some much needed fighting skill on the blue line or the fourth line, wherever he plays.

Perhaps Scott’s most useful attribute is that he is capable of playing defense and wing. Much like Stu Bickel, this gives the Rangers tremendous flexibility in matching up with opponents. The Rangers have a lot of games coming up against physical opponents, and an extra big body to protect the likes of Marian Gaborik (as we saw yesterday, it’s needed) isn’t going to hurt. The ability to dress all of Prust, Rupp, Bickel, and Scott will go a long way to keeping some of the dirtier teams at bay.

The obvious sacrifice with someone like Scott is his play with his gloves on and his stick in his hand. His -0.5 OGVT isn’t all that surprising, as Scott really doesn’t add much offensively. His 0.4 DGVT is still below Steve Eminger (1.1 DGVT), Stu Bickel (0.8 DGVT) and Jeff Woywitka (0.5 DGVT), which again isn’t all that surprising. Scott is a tough guy, and although they have their flaws, they still serve a purpose, especially against teams like Philadelphia, Boston, and New Jersey.

As for his peripherals, his Qualcomp (-.180) is very low, so he has been seeing nothing but bottom lines and bottom pairings this year. Again, this is not unexpected for a player like Scott. What is surprising is his positive relative Corsi (0.3), which is a puck possession metric. A positive relative Corsi means that Scott in fact has had less shots directed at his net (blocked, missed, saved, or goals) than his team has directed at the opposition’s net while he is on the ice. The difference is marginal, but it’s still a positive difference nonetheless.

Combining his Qualcomp and Corsi with his 65.2% offensive zone starts, and you get exactly what you think you’re getting with Scott: a big, tough defenseman who can only play against bottom line forwards. He is a matchup player, someone designed to give the Rangers added flexibility. He is no more than a 7-8 minute player, designed to match up against the other team’s tough guys.

So with Rupp, Prust, and Bickel in the mix, why did the Rangers pick up Scott? The answer may be tough to see, but may have been more obvious last night. Prust didn’t look like he wanted to fight Eric Boulton, and it showed when both of Prust’s gloves were still on when Boulton started throwing punches. Prust left the fight wincing. Rupp hasn’t fought since the 2/7 game against the Devils, and it appears he has been nursing a sore hand as well.

With Sauer out of the lineup, that leaves two injured players and Bickel as the only guys who are healthy enough to throw down without any injury concerns. Against the aforementioned teams, that is going to be a problem. Scott will give someone like Prust the option of fighting, as opposed to the current need to fight. Scott is not going to be an every day player, but he is definitely more cost effective as a scratch ($525,000 cap hit) than Wojtek Wolski.

Rangers in unique spot with five top-four defensemen

Defensive depth in the NHL is tough to come by. In the offseason, the best defensemen get the mega millions. At the trade deadline, defensemen always cost the most. In the new skilled NHL, getting just two defensemen who are capable of playing top-four minutes regularly is tough. The Rangers have five such players. Of those five, three are already capable of playing top-two minutes. This folks, is depth at its finest.

Perhaps the Marc Staal concussion was a blessing in disguise. With the injury, Ryan McDonagh was forced into top-two duties, and Michael Del Zotto was forced into top-four duties. Not only have both excelled in the short term, they have proven themselves worthy of staying in those roles. The evidence is in the defense pairings, with Staal playing on the third pairing since his return.

Such depth allows the coaching staff to be creative in how to deploy the pairings, and how to fill out that last defensive spot. The top-five in Staal, McDonagh, Del Zotto, Dan Girardi, and Mike Sauer (although injured) are capable of playing in all three zones. Should the Rangers look to add a powerplay specialist like Marc-Andre Bergeron (just spit-balling here, not advocating for his acquisition), then the burden would fall on the other five to compensate for Bergeron’s lack of actual defense.

The Bergeron case is just a hypothetical, but it does illustrate a point that the Rangers have tremendous flexibility when it comes to filling the hole of sixth defenseman. Right now the Rangers have survived with a rotating door of Steve Eminger, Stu Bickel, and Jeff Woywitka, not exactly much to look at, but at least they have been serviceable.

Traditionally, teams are built from the net out. This means that proper teams are built starting with a goaltender, then the defense, and finally with depth down the middle at center. The Rangers have built themselves a solid club with their defensive depth, and may just be a perennial Cup contender for years to come.

Room for Improvement for Marc Staal

Naturally, after the prolonged absence through concussion Marc Staal needed some time to get back in to game shape and find his rhythm on the ice once more. Recently, there has been some signs Staal is getting back to being the quality defenseman that he is, however progress has been slow.

Staal isn’t playing as physically as normal, isn’t taking shots when the opportunity arises and isn’t using the puck effectively. Staal’s passing ability in previous seasons, while not elite, was underrated. Above all though, Staal has been tentative, particularly along the boards and his decision making hasn’t been as sharp as we have grown accustomed to. How long is long enough to ease your way back? Is 20 games an expected time frame?

It goes without saying that a Rangers team with Marc Staal in his All Star form is a scary animal for any team in the East playoffs. Staal makes it a team with effectively three quality shutdown defenseman (alongside Girardi and McDonagh) and that isn’t factoring in the possible return of Mike Sauer. With Staal in form, with the Vezina winning Lundqvist behind him, this team has the stingy and deep defense to go very, very far. Even with a sputtering powerplay and inconsistent offense.

Recent signs have started to show progress however. We’ve seen aggression come out of Staal recently that isn’t normally his calling card. Usually a cool customer, Staal seems to be gaining an edge which, full form allowing, could make him an even better player. The past couple of games have seen Staal improve and with a career low average ice time you have to assume there is plenty of gas in the tank for Staal – and room for improvement.

Staal should be the Rangers biggest addition during the stretch. Yes, he’s already here but the Staal that routinely shutdown the likes of Alex Ovechkin is not quite. Staal’s return to prominence is why Rangers fans should be excited about this team’s chances come April. In the coming games Tortorella should begin to throw Staal into more and more pressure situations and give him more ice time. He may make the odd mistake but it’s the best way for him to get back to his old level.

You want another benefit of Staal being given more by Tortorella? Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh should by default get less ice time which should help keep them fresh(er) for the playoffs. Imagine a top four of Staal – Girardi – McDonagh and Sauer in the playoffs; all healthy, all fresh, all in form. That’s a scary thought for any team to consider.

Halfway There Report Card: The Defense

With the halfway point of the season upon us (for the most part), and the Rangers in first place, it’s as good of a time as any to begin with the mid-point report cards. We are going to do these in a series of posts, with Chris covering the top six forwards, Suit covering the bottom six forwards, Justin covering the goalies, and myself covering the defense.

The Rangers have used a whopping 11 defensemen since the season started. This is mostly due to the Marc Staal injury, but other injuries along the way have forced the Rangers’ hand. Despite the obvious disadvantage, the Rangers have allowed just 82 goals against, good for second in the league. The Bruins top this, but let’s be honest: The Bruins are in a class above everyone else right now.  Let’s get to those grades:

Marc Staal: He’s played just a handful of games. Everyone knows he’s the rock on defense, and the Rangers just upgraded tremendously with him coming back. Grade: INC.

Dan Girardi: With Staal out indefinitely, the blue line was put in Girardi’s hands…and boy did he deliver. Girardi has been flawless in his own end. He plays the most minutes in the entire league, he plays against top competition, he consistently shuts down that top opposition, he has been contributing offensively, and he has been a leader for this young Rangers team. Grade: A+.

Ryan McDonagh: Staal’s injury opened up a spot for McDonagh on the top pairing, and he has been sensational in that role. He and Girardi have clicked, and aside from a few poor games, McDonagh has been a monster. Rick Carpiniello of LoHud calls him McMonster, and that’s exactly what he is. Throw in his growing offensive skills, and this sophomore defenseman has been a tremendous pickup. Thank you Mr. Gomez. Grade: A.

Michael Del Zotto: Another player that was forced to play up a pairing due to injury, Del Zotto has also been phenomenal. He leads the defensemen in scoring, and is fifth on the team in that same category with 23 points (5-18-23). He leads the team in assists, plus/minus, fan girls, and haters. Seriously, what else does this kid need to do? Sure, he makes a bad pass every now and then, but he’s 22 years old. I’ll take this from a 22 year old any day. Grade: A.

Mike Sauer: Currently out with a concussion, Sauer was the rock on the blue line that most thought was the reason for Del Zotto’s re-emergence.  Although Del Zotto has succeeded without Sauer in the lineup, Sauer is still an integral part of the Rangers blue line. He doesn’t put up the fancy numbers that Del Zotto does, he doesn’t garner the All Star consideration that Girardi does, but he just does his job. The best thing you can say about a defensive defenseman is that you don’t notice him, and rarely does Sauer go noticed. Grade: A.

Steve Eminger: Eminger had an atrocious start to the year. He just couldn’t do anything right, and was a bit of a whipping boy ’round these parts. However, when Sauer went down with his concussion, Emmy stepped up. Much like last year with the Michal Rozsival injury, Eminger assumed top four minutes and played like a champ. His start hurts his grade, but he gets significant bonus points for his ability to play up to his role, no matter what. His injury was supposed to be the one that crippled the Rangers, who were already without Staal and Sauer, but it didn’t. Grade: B.

Jeff Woywitka:Serviceable, reliable, tough, and surprisingly reliable. Much like Eminger, Woywitka was a whipping boy here after his poor start to the season. However, unlike Eminger, he played better as he got used to the John Tortorella way of life, and has been a great bottom pairing guy since. Maybe he has received too much ice time because of injuries, but the Rangers sure haven’t noticed. Kudos to Woywitka for persevering, and earning his continued stay with the Blueshirts. Grade: B.

Anton Stralman: Signed as a free agent a few weeks into the season, no one knew what to expect from Stalman. After a few weeks with the team, it was clear that Tortorella wasn’t a big fan, a point confirmed on HBO’s 24/7 last week. However as he has played, he has grown into a player that is not only reliable, but someone that Tortorella can play top-four minutes without hesitation. Stralman has been paired with Del Zotto, and both have flourished. Martin Biron might be the best offseason acquisition in a while, but the signing of Stralman might be the most underappreciated. Grade: A-.

Stu Bickel: The last man cut from the blue line in the preseason, Bickel earned a call up following Eminger’s separated shoulder and Woywitka’s bruised foot forced the Rangers’ hand. Bickel has been a physical presence on the blue line that has rarely made a mistake. He’s still a rookie, and yes his mistakes have and will come, but the Rangers couldn’t have asked for more from him. With Sauer out, Bickel has replaced that physicality that was sorely missing. Grade: B+.

Tim Erixon: He played in the beginning of the year when Sauer was out, and most recently while Woywitka was out. It’s clear he’s still not ready for the big show, but he’s a promising young defenseman that has done many things right. He’s only played 13 games, but it’s apparent the Rangers have a serious NHL player on their hands. Grade: INC.

Brendan Bell: Played one game. Grade: INC.

*Here is Justin’s mid-season report for the goalies & Suit’s report for our bottom six forwards. Stay tuned for reports on our top 6 forwards and our coaches.