Staple New York Rangers Depth Chart: an Early Look at the 2023-24 Lineup

[BreakawayMachine]

8 hours ago, The Dude said:

Replace puck carrying defensemen with hard nosed RW who likes to shoot and we are almost best friends. Id rather a beastly center, but fast skating is an option I can get on board with. 

 

Bro, i’ll do even one better. Ill sprinkle in a random 6’7 dude with more penalty minutes than TOI and only has like 2 blurry fight videos for his scouting report.

[Pete]

10 hours ago, RangersIn7 said:

I’m fine with whomever switching.

 

Ill just say this Pete…

 

I’ve been watching, playing, and coaching hockey, all told, for 35+ years.

Switching from your natural wing, to your off-wing, it’s not that easy. But it’s a finite level and can very much be overcome. Particularly by players who are or fancy themselves as top-6 players. 
 

 

It is not….

“Oh, I lost my leg, so now I have to learn to walk on one,” kind of hard. 
 

It can be done.

Especially by your better players.

But it kind of has to come from your organization.

They have to want it. And really make it known.

There are things they can do on their end to help it along.

And, here’s the key…. They have to stick with it. 
 

Personally, in that regard, for offensive players, playing with your stick to the middle of the ice, I’ve always felt it’s actually advantageous. Even if your not a shooter.

Puck just moves/transitions quicker and cleaner in respect to offense. 

Left side/ Right side, be it F or D, is important. 
 

But to be completely married to appropriate handedness, left/right on appropriate side, is nonsense. 

Oh I don't disagree with a lot of this. I shoot righty but play LW/LD.

 

But you can count on maybe 2 hands how many top 6 wingers play their off sides in this league. It's just not common and I have to think there's a reason.

 

I also have to think...look Kreider came into this league as one of the more "hockey dumb" players I've ever seen... they've simplified his game to the point where all he does is go to the front of the net. If somebody told me that dude just can't play the right because his brain can't make it work, I would get that. 

[RangersIn7]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Oh I don't disagree with a lot of this. I shoot righty but play LW/LD.

 

But you can count on maybe 2 hands how many top 6 wingers play their off sides in this league. It's just not common and I have to think there's a reason.

 

I also have to think...look Kreider came into this league as one of the more "hockey dumb" players I've ever seen... they've simplified his game to the point where all he does is go to the front of the net. If somebody told me that dude just can't play the right because his brain can't make it work, I would get that. 

I don’t disagree with that, and while I wouldn’t presume to actually go through and count, yeah, there aren’t tons.

And the reason is simple, it starts when they’re young. Guys get placed on the natural side as kids so they can play the puck up the boards on the forehand. That’s it.

 

But look at the Russians, going back to the Soviet days. Viktor Tikhonov had zero hesitation on placing guys on the off wing if that player had the offensive skills to do it. There are numerous examples.

[siddious]

55 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

I don’t disagree with that, and while I wouldn’t presume to actually go through and count, yeah, there aren’t tons.

And the reason is simple, it starts when they’re young. Guys get placed on the natural side as kids so they can play the puck up the boards on the forehand. That’s it.

 

But look at the Russians, going back to the Soviet days. Viktor Tikhonov had zero hesitation on placing guys on the off wing if that player had the offensive skills to do it. There are numerous examples.

This is actually an interesting topic. I’m a righty who loves playing on the left side. Shooting on the net is easier and that’s a hell of a lot more important than shooting it around the boards IMO. 

[Ozzy]

11 minutes ago, siddious said:

This is actually an interesting topic. I’m a righty who loves playing on the left side. Shooting on the net is easier and that’s a hell of a lot more important than shooting it around the boards IMO. 

 

I played the off-wing when I played too....when I wasn't losing every faceoff playing center that is!! 

 

But yeah, I found it much better that RW.  Mostly I played Center, but I never did like shooting from RW for whatever reason....so I always would go Left side for the one-timer.  I just felt like I saw the ice better on the left boards as a Right hander.

[Ozzy]

5 hours ago, BreakawayMachine said:

 

Bro, i’ll do even one better. Ill sprinkle in a random 6’7 dude with more penalty minutes than TOI and only has like 2 blurry fight videos for his scouting report.

 

I have a feeling you're going to fare very well this season in The Quote of the GDT's!! 

 

Last year's winner was G-Man....the bar is set pretty high with this crew though!!  They're funny as hell!!  LOL

[RangersIn7]

38 minutes ago, siddious said:

This is actually an interesting topic. I’m a righty who loves playing on the left side. Shooting on the net is easier and that’s a hell of a lot more important than shooting it around the boards IMO. 

 

22 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

 

I played the off-wing when I played too....when I wasn't losing every faceoff playing center that is!! 

 

But yeah, I found it much better that RW.  Mostly I played Center, but I never did like shooting from RW for whatever reason....so I always would go Left side for the one-timer.  I just felt like I saw the ice better on the left boards as a Right hander.

It just depends on the player.

But it’s a trait almost anyone can learn/acquire, what have you.

It’s absolutely an adjustment. 
You can, and often do, give away something defensively.
And it does favor certain attributes, particularly shooting. 
Which is why it’s prevalent amongst better shooters/scorers.

Edited July 8, 2023 by RangersIn7

[RJWantsTheCup]

I always play the left side and I’m a righty.  I actually am lost when I try to play the right, but that might be from playing the left for 40 years now. 

[siddious]

47 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

I always play the left side and I’m a righty.  I actually am lost when I try to play the right, but that might be from playing the left for 40 years now. 

You won’t be getting a contract from the rangers then. Too much LW depth

[RJWantsTheCup]

1 hour ago, siddious said:

You won’t be getting a contract from the rangers then. Too much LW depth

 But I guarantee I would have the hardest shot on the team.  You can ask Ozzy. 

[Pete]

20 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

 But I guarantee I would have the hardest shot on the team.  You can ask Ozzy. 

Not if I was on that team. Ask @Mike and @Cash or Czech  

[RJWantsTheCup]

10 minutes ago, Pete said:

Not if I was on that team. Ask @Mike and @Cash or Czech  

We should have a hardest shot competition for everyone on here and the loser has to pay Keirik and Ozzy’s bar tab. 

[Cash or Czech]

31 minutes ago, Pete said:

Not if I was on that team. Ask @Mike and @Cash or Czech  

You didn’t even have the hardest shot in D7 house league

[RJWantsTheCup]

Just now, Cash or Czech said:

You didn’t even have the hardest shot in D7 house league

Maybe he meant he drank the hardest shot? I’m a 151 rum man myself. 

[Pete]

49 minutes ago, Cash or Czech said:

You didn’t even have the hardest shot in D7 house league

@Mike would disagree lol.

[Pete]

1 hour ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

We should have a hardest shot competition for everyone on here and the loser has to pay Keirik and Ozzy’s bar tab. 

So what you're saying is, the winner gets nothing?

 

How about the winner gets the equivalent of their bar tab, And they pay their own?!

Edited July 8, 2023 by Pete

[siddious]

You guys played in NJ right?

[RJWantsTheCup]

12 minutes ago, Pete said:

So what you're saying is, the winner gets nothing?

 

How about the winner gets the equivalent of their bar tab, And they pay their own?!

I forgot to put the winner gets free drinks all night.  

[Cash or Czech]

22 minutes ago, siddious said:

You guys played in NJ right?

Yeah we had a team in Hackensack many moons ago

[siddious]

2 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

Yeah we had a team in Hackensack many moons ago

Ahh too far for me 

[Br4d]

9 hours ago, RangersIn7 said:

 

But look at the Russians, going back to the Soviet days. Viktor Tikhonov had zero hesitation on placing guys on the off wing if that player had the offensive skills to do it. There are numerous examples.

I could be misremembering but I believe the Red Army teams were almost all left-handed in the 70's and 80's.

 

I don't know why this sticks in my mind but it is probably because I saw it somewhere in the news reports of the day and I was left-handed so it stuck.

[Ozzy]

8 hours ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

We should have a hardest shot competition for everyone on here and the loser has to pay Keirik and Ozzy’s bar tab. 

No one's taking that bet, RJ!!  Who would wanna pay for me and Big Daddy?

 

Hopefully interest rates go down....  

 

But I had a pretty decent shot....when it hit net!!!

[RangersIn7]

12 hours ago, Br4d said:

I could be misremembering but I believe the Red Army teams were almost all left-handed in the 70's and 80's.

 

I don't know why this sticks in my mind but it is probably because I saw it somewhere in the news reports of the day and I was left-handed so it stuck.

Yeah. Fairly heavily LH on that team. 
 

My point was though, they didn’t particularly care about that. 

[Br4d]

1 hour ago, RangersIn7 said:

Yeah. Fairly heavily LH on that team. 
 

My point was though, they didn’t particularly care about that. 

 

I think the heavy imbalance (all 24 skaters on the '87 team were lefthanded while the goalie was a righty) was due to the circling wheeling style the Soviets used as they came up the ice and into the offensive zone.  They were always circling clockwise with the puck carrier most often on the left side as oriented towards the opposing goal.  From that vantage point he had a shot into the offensive zone or at the goal, a pass to the guy at the top of the wheel who was just transitioning back to the right side of the wheel or a drop back to the guy at the bottom of the wheel who was about to be where the puck carrier currently was.

 

All of the positions in the wheel could take advantage of being lefthanded and that's the way the system was built.  Not 100% sure why they picked clockwise and lefthanded but it probably had something to do with putting righthanded goalies at a disadvantage.

[RangersIn7]

2 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

I think the heavy imbalance (all 24 skaters on the '87 team were lefthanded while the goalie was a righty) was due to the circling wheeling style the Soviets used as they came up the ice and into the offensive zone.  They were always circling clockwise with the puck carrier most often on the left side as oriented towards the opposing goal.  From that vantage point he had a shot into the offensive zone or at the goal, a pass to the guy at the top of the wheel who was just transitioning back to the right side of the wheel or a drop back to the guy at the bottom of the wheel who was about to be where the puck carrier currently was.

 

All of the positions in the wheel could take advantage of being lefthanded and that's the way the system was built.  Not 100% sure why they picked clockwise and lefthanded but it probably had something to do with putting righthanded goalies at a disadvantage.

I can’t attest to actual reasoning, but clearly they did not give a shit. 
Obviously, they had numerous advantages in doing so, but it didn’t matter to them.