The Staal Factor

While this season the Rangers top defensemen have undoubtedly been the Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh tandem, perhaps one of the most key aspects of a successful first round series against the Ottawa Senators may be the play (and subsequent impact) of Marc Staal.

Without doubt Staal is and has been a number one defenseman but as everyone knows, injury has meant his play has taken a while to get close to his own high standards. Indeed, he’s still not the Marc Staal of old however his play has been steadily improving of late and how Staal handles the quick and tricky Senators offense could have a huge bearing on the series.

Every Ranger fan know of the team’s 1-2-1 record in the four games against the Sens this year and will be acutely aware of how the team has struggled to score against them.  Amid the 14 goals credited to the Sens in the season series it perhaps went unnoticed that Girardi was a -3 in those four games while Ryan McDonagh was -1.

Both players were also held scoreless despite providing the Rangers with solid offensive seasons with 29 and 32 points respectively. Clearly neither player has produced their best performances against the Sens and therefore how guys like Mike Del Zotto, but especially Marc Staal, cope in the series will be essential. The Rangers don’t want the top pairing munching 30+ minutes a night if they have realistic designs of a deep run.

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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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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.

Why the Sauer silence?

Throughout the beginning of the year we had Marc Staal watch. Now, it wasn’t as obsessive (or annoying) as the ‘Sid watch’ that engulfed Pennsylvania, the NHL and the entire nation of Canada but we had Staal watch nonetheless.

So why are the Rangers being so quiet regarding Mike Sauer’s concussion absence? I may have missed something along the way – so please correct me if I have – but there are never injury updates on Sauer and the natural assumption is that he’s not close to being ready. In that case, have they shut him down for the season and if so, why not publicly state that they have?

The quiet around Sauer is concerning. Several Ranger fans have asked the beat writers via twitter whether they have any updates and the reply is usually the same: nadda, nichts, nothing.

The timing of his injury must be enormously frustrating for Sauer. An injury prone player all career and once doubted as a legitimate prospect because of his ‘fondness’ for the treatment table, Sauer became an integral part of the Rangers blue line last year and had begun to fill a huge hole in the Rangers top six: the presence of a rugged defenseman.

Rangers/Hurricanes recap

The Rangers grinded out a gutsy win in Carolina tonight, beating the ‘Canes 3-2 behind a fantastic defensive effort and a very solid game by Marty Biron.  Marian Gaborik scored to net his 30th of the year, and his 7th 30 goal season overall.  Seems like the theme lately has been a period by period recap, so I’ll give it a try (let me know which format you guys prefer in the comments).  To the bullets…

• 1^st Period
• During the first period the Rangers had a solid forecheck going and were doing a nice job getting penetration into the offensive zone.  The problem was they weren’t developing quality chances from that penetration.  They were moving the puck well enough to evade pressure from the Hurricanes, but not well enough to put quality shots on Cam Ward.
• Defensively the Blueshirts did a fantastic job of getting sticks into passing lanes and forcing Carolina’s wingers to the outside on the rush.  Ryan McDonagh was especially impressive early on. 
• With :50 seconds remaining in the first, Brandon Dubinsky took what I will assume was a stupid penalty (I didn’t seem like any MSG camera actually caught Dubinsky throw Jiri Tlusty’s stick), which drew the ire of coach John Tortorella.  Dubinsky wouldn’t see the ice the rest of the game.
• 2^nd period
• What do you know?  That penalty came back to the bite the Rangers as Jeff Skinner snuck a shot through Marty Biron’s arm on a point blank slap shot.  As a goalie, those goals are absolutely infuriating.  1-0 Carolina.
• As Dubinsky continued to sit, the recipient of his minutes seemed to be John Mitchell.  Mitchell played about 15 minutes and played a solid game.  He seemed to have a nice chemistry with Richards/Hagelin as well.
• The Ranger’s continued to play excellent defense through the second period.  Michael Del Zotto exited the game early with an apparent hip injury, which pressed Marc Staal into bigger minutes as the game went on. 
• The Rangers would tie the game on a hard wrist shot from Artem Anismov off a nice little back pass from Marian Gaborik.  The play wouldn’t have happened however, without some tremendous work by Derek Stepan in the neutral zone after blocking a shot. The shot seemed to handcuff Cam Ward a little bit, as he threw the puck in frustration after the puck bounced out. 1-1.
• I caught myself wondering at one point in the second…why would Carolina want to stir anything up with the Rupp/Scott combination? 
• Gaborik would put the Rangers ahead later in the second when he banged in the rebound of a Derek Stepan shot.  Gabby made a strong play in the slot to create a good chance and then didn’t give up on the play and was able to guide the rebound home.  Very strong play for the Rangers leading goal scorer as he pocketed his 30^th of the season. 2-1 Rangers.
• 3^rd period
• The Rangers caught a break at the start of the third period when the puck ricocheted off the lines man and right onto the stick of Brian Boyle, who would make a beauty of a pass to Brandon Prust to give the Rangers some insurance.  3-1 Rangers.
• Jeff Skinner is absolutely filthy.  Crazy how two of Carolina’s best players can’t legally drink yet. (Skinner and Falk)
•  The last 10 or so minutes of the game, the Rangers killed 6 minutes worth of penalties.  The bulk of which was assessed when John Mitchell accidentally clipped Jay Harrison with his stick.  Blood was drawn, 4 minutes. 
• The ensuing penalty kill was magnificent.  Prust and Boyle were at their very best, while Staal continued to round into form with a strong effort on the PK.  Also, Dan Girardi is a warrior.
• The ‘Canes drew within one goal with :39 seconds remaining after some slightly blown coverage from the aforementioned Girardi and Staal (not nearly enough impact to mar the fantastic game both played).  Jay Harrison was there to tap it in on the doorstep.  3-2 Rangers.
• New York was able to hold on in regulation to win their 8^th game in their last 11.

Obligatory Goaltending Notes

• I thought both goaltenders played terrific tonight.  Neither one had a ton of work, but both made great saves at various points of the game.
• Cam Ward isn’t a flashy goalie, but despite the 3 goals, he continues to show why he is one of the game’s best despite a suspect blue line.
• Marty Biron had a nice bounce back game after a couple bumps in the road in the form of Chicago and the Islanders.  He had a slight case of rebounditis in the first third of the game or so, but his confidence clearly grew as the game went on and ended up making several key saves.

• Torts might as well have put a dunce hat on the Dubi and made him sit facing the corner for the rest of the game.  Torts was visibly irritated about that penalty in his presser.
• Brandon Prust was the 1st star of this game for me.  Absolute monster out there.
• I’m going to say this with the assumption that DZ’s injury is nothing serious; I think it’s time to bump Staal up to the second pair.  The coaching staff has done a tremendous job bringing him back slowly this year, but I think the training wheels are ready to come off.  He played over 20 minutes tonight, and I don’t think any of us would be against demoting Anton Stralman to the third pair with Stu Bickel.  Not that Stralman hasn’t played well, but clearly Staal is the better player.
• I’m not sure how many of you had the privilege of watching the MSG post game, but if you did you were able to behold that shirt that Ron Duguay was wearing.  Just terrific Ron, terrific.

Right back at it tomorrow night in Tampa at 7pm, as the Rangers try to run their winning streak to 4 in a row.  Don’t forget to be here tomorrow at noon for the BSB Live Chat!

Rangers Drop Shootout Decision to Isles: Recap

A little bit of a different approach tonight; breaking the game down by period. The Rangers dropped a decision to the Isles, 4-3 at the Coliseum having trailed by two twice in the game.

First Period

Simply put, the Rangers stunk out the Coliseum in the first period and were lucky to be just the odd goal down heading in to the first intermission. Some first period thoughts for your amusement:

• The more I see of Stu Bickel the less I see a future for him. His skating is poor, his fighting is often completely unnecessary, his positioning is erratic and he’s inherited the home run pass without inheriting the necessary passing ability. I fail to see what he brings to this team any longer. Wolski must really be in the dog house.
• A blind pass from Dubinsky into center ice almost led to a full breakaway for the Isles late on. It was possibly his biggest contribution of the first period. Tumbleweed….
• In the first half of the first period the Rangers were devoid of energy, lost almost every puck battle, struggled (once again) to control the puck offensively and created nothing.
• John Tavares is a tremendous hockey player. When you are playing against such a talented player you take away his space and not allow him to do whatever he wants with the puck. Tavares had time to pick up speed in the neutral zone, he had time to dish off the puck numerous occasions and each time: no Ranger close by. Epitomized the Rangers’ lethargic beginning.
• Matt Moulson and PA Parenteau really enjoy playing the Rangers.
• Unlike Bickel, I would like to see John Mitchell stick. He uses the puck well, can skate and seems to make things happen when he gets the opportunity. He’s a useful bottom six guy to have as he works hard and has some offensive ability.
• Don’t blame Biron on either first period Islander goal. The Rangers defending of Moulson and Tavares was borderline criminal on the first; while Parenteau had acres of space to unleash his shot on the second. If you wanted to nitpick perhaps Biron was a little too aggressive on the Parenteau goal. Other than that, he was square to the shooter and didn’t seem shaky.
• The Rangers Powerplay goal (the first against the Isles in 4 games this year): following a nice play from Mitchell, Staal simply threw it on net from a tight angle with the help of a screen. It wasn’t good goaltending but it was heads-up play from Staal to use the defenseman and sneak one past Nabakov short side.

Amnesty buy-out options

There have been persistent rumors about the possibility that the next CBA could allow each team a one-time “amnesty buyout”, which would allow the team to buyout one player without that cost being reflected in the salary cap.  For some teams, who would end up on the wrong end of this type of buyout is obvious (*cough* Rick DiPietro *cough*), but for others teams, the question is a little more difficult.

I am going to discuss the merits of using this hypothetical buyout on any Ranger who makes over 3.5 million per year for at least two more seasons.  Just because a player is listed does not mean I think the Rangers should consider buying them out, only that they meet the threshold.  All cap info is via Cap Geek.

Brad Richards (6.6m cap hit through 2020) – Would the Rangers consider using this buyout so soon into Richard’s shiny new contract?  Probably not, but there is some merit to it.  The length is one factor, obviously the free agent market drove the years up on Richard’s deal, probably to a term the Rangers are not crazy about.  Richards has shown to be valuable in many aspects of the game, including leadership roles, mentoring young players and being a positive influence in the room but his production on the ice does not justify his salary.  Since that is clear within the first year of the deal, would the Rangers consider getting out from under a potential albatross?  Again, I don’t think so, and I think there are better options for the amnesty buyout.  But it does give you pause.

Brandon Dubinsky (4.2m cap hit through 2015)-  Dubinsky is one of the few current Rangers whose production is not anywhere near where it needs to be to justify his contract.  However, Dubi is young, and still has some upside.  His value on the trade market is much higher than the benefit of using the buyout on him.  Next…

Ryan Callahan (4.275m cap hit through 2014) – If anything, The Captain’s 4.2 million dollar cap hit is becoming a bargain.  He’s not going anywhere. Next…

Marc Staal (3.975m cap hit through 2015)- Now this might sound like a complete no brainer at first glance, and I agree.  But, what if the Rangers’ brass are not sold that the concussion that sidelined Staal for the better part of a year isn’t completely behind him?  Staal is being paid like a top pair defenseman, and if the medical staff think it’s possible that he could miss significant time going forward, would you think about it?  Me either.  Next…

Henrik Lundqvist (6.875m cap hit through 2014) – Ha! Yeah right.  If anything The King is due for a raise. Next…

Marian Gaborik (7.5m cap hit through 2014) – There are some factions of Ranger fandom who believe that Gaborik is a bad fit under Tort’s system and is paid too much for his “me first” production.  There is no in house replacement for Gaborik’s production and while he hasn’t been a bargain necessarily, he’s not wildly overpaid.  I would be blown away to see him even discussed as a viable option.  Next…

Wade Redden (6.5m cap hit through 2014)- Ding! We have a winner.  Redden has been great down on the farm for the progression of the young d-men with the Whale, but his cap hit comes back in the summer and begins to squeeze pursuit of free agents.  I’m sure he would love another crack at the NHL with another organization at a lesser salary.  As good of a mentor as he has been, it doesn’t justify clogging up the summer cap for him.

The Rangers have the benefit of not being weighed down by too many unproductive contracts.  If the amnesty buyout does come to fruition, there aren’t many people who would be sad to see Wade Redden’s contract go.

Do you guys agree with my assessments?  Can you make a case for one of the other candidates?  It might not ever become an issue, but it is a fun exercise to look at until the final call is made on this provision.

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.