Tony DeAngelo

Why the New York Rangers are Considering Trades for Their Restricted Free Agents

by
New York Rangers, Chris Kreider

Most people would understand why the New York Rangers would trade unrestricted free agents like Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast. After all, if you don’t trade these guys, they could sign elsewhere in the offseason, and you would get nothing.  However, many have wondered why the Rangers would trade their restricted free agents like Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome since you get something for them if they leave. True, but that becomes the issue. Is that something you get in return better than what you are giving up?

What exactly is Restricted Free Agency?

A restricted free agent in the NHL is a player who has completed his entry-level contract but does not have enough NHL service to become an unrestricted free agent. This player qualifies as a restricted free agent when his contract expires. At that point, any team can make an offer to that player.

When a player signs an offer sheet with a new team, his current team is notified. That team has the right to “match” the offer sheet with an identical contract and keep the player. If they don’t, they are free to sign with the team that made the offer. There is compensation for an NHL team that loses a restricted free agent. The team that declines the offer sheet and loses the player receives draft picks from the player’s new team. There are some other restrictions and such, but that is basically the nuts and bolts of RFA. The decision for the Rangers comes down to do we keep the players, take the draft pick, or take the player we can get in a trade.

What will the New York Rangers do with Tony DeAngelo

The toughest part of this decision is how well DeAngelo has grown throughout the years and how well he is playing this season.  DeAngelo has been even more aggressive offensively this season than in previous years and has shown a knack for getting shots through traffic and on the net. He already has 12 goals, 25 assists, and is a plus-five this season.  It was just a couple of seasons ago that it was difficult for many to imagine DeAngelo ever becoming a top-four defenseman. He has now become a force on the blueline, which makes it tough to trade him. So why do you even think about trading him? Ah, that pesky salary cap issue. Jump back to the beginning of the year when the Rangers could not accommodate him for more than a one-year, $925,000 deal. His good year means that he could demand more in a new contract, and that might not be cap-friendly enough for the Blueshirts.

….. and the same goes for Ryan Strome

Experts have stated that Ryan Strome could ask for five to six million dollars per year in his next contract. Is that something that the Rangers can or want to take on? Again the issue is that Strome has played well this year. He has made a steady improvement from the beginning of the 2018-19 season when he played poorly. Previously Strome has never had more than 50 points before but is on pace for more than 70 this season.  The Rangers brass now has a little less than a month left to sort all of this out.

 

New York Rangers High Scoring Defense Following NHL Trend

by
Brady Skjei, New York Rangers

There are many, rightly so, who believe that the New York Rangers defenseman should be playing a little harder on… that’s right, defense.  However, the Rangers are just following a trend in the NHL that is seeing an increase in actual vs. expected scoring this season, and it is paying off for their defenseman. Rangers defensemen have 133 points (38 goals, 95 assists) this season, the most goals and points by defensemen on any team.

How the New York Rangers Defense Have Excelled on Offense

The first and most obvious choice for this is that the Blueshirts tend to play a more wide-open style of hockey than many other teams. Not only is this going to create opportunities for your forwards, but it will also lead to increase chances for a defenseman who join that rush up ice.

This has paid off big for their defense. For example, when Tony DeAngelo tallied his 12th goal of the season a few nights ago, he became one of only a handful of Ranger defensemen who have recorded at least 12 goals in the team’s first 46 games of a season within the past 40 years. The others on the list include Leetch (three times), Greschner (twice), and Ruotsalainen (twice). Remember that hat trick D’Angelo netted a little more than a week ago? That hat trick is the ninth instance of a Rangers defenseman recording a hat trick in franchise history. His five-point game is the third by a defenseman in franchise history and the first by a defenseman other than Brian Leetch. He is not the only d-man scoring.

When Adam Fox picked up a point on Jan 15, he has registered nine points (one goal, eight assists) over the last seven games. Since Dec. 31, Fox’s eight assists and nine points are both the second-most among NHL defensemen.

The New York Rangers are following a trend

So we don’t bore you too much and send Tony DeAngelo into an analytic style frenzy, the upward trend is scoring has been well analyzed and documented. If you like this stuff, check out Larry Yost’s column at TSN.com, where he goes into much more detail. The best takeaway from this was that there are several on-ice theories as to why scoring rates have increased, and/or why expected goal rates are underwhelming relative to those numbers. The goaltenders did experience a downsizing in equipment.

Teams did get more sophisticated with matters like power play deployment (and the associated four forward approach on those power plays), or when to pull the goalie when trailing late, or the emphasis of hockey skill over toughness and physicality in the bottom-six of Forwards and to some extent, defensive groups. All are contributing factors, and all have led to an increase not only all across the league but certainly a factor in the offensive prowess of the Blueshirt defenseman.

New York Rangers Win Over New Jersey Does Not Solve Three Goalie Dilemma

by
New York Rangers

New York Ranger fans should heed the advice of a famous quote/song that says “Love is Blind” especially when it deals with the recently promoted goalie Igor Shesterkin. The initial reaction to immediately crown the young Russian as the next great NHL goaltender might be a tad bit premature.

Shesterkin was Solid but not Outstanding for the New York Rangers

Someone will take a look at the stat sheet and say “Hey, he stopped 46 of 49 shots, how is that not outstanding?” Part of the answer has to do with the quality of shots, but the other part is that the Rangers as a team allowed the bottom-feeding New Jersey Devils to get off those 49 shots. If they allow the St. Louis Blues to get off 49 shots on Saturday night, it will not matter who you have in goal. Let’s take a look at the three goals allowed by Shesterkin. The first goal allowed was scored by Kenny Rooney shorthanded. The Rangers are supposed to be scoring shorthanded goals, not their opponents. The second tally was scored when a Devil player got away with a crosscheck on a Rangers defenseman and opened up the area in front of the net for the goal.  The third goal was scored when a big scrum happened in front of the net. He even received praise from Devil’s opponent Blake Coleman who said that Shesterkin was solid but also mentioned that three goals should win NHL games on most nights. So the point really is, so Shesterkin fans don’t start losing their mind, is that you cannot expect your goaltenders to be their best if your defense does not play it’s best.

Who is the Odd Man Out for the New York Rangers

As the young phenom, let’s assume that Shesterkin will definitely stay. Unless the Rangers get blown away with a huge deal, he will stay in New York for the long term. So that leaves Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev.  You would not move Lundqvist, would you? After all, Henrik has stated that he wants to finish his career as a Ranger and because of that, he has a no-move clause in his contract. So unless he waives that, the Rangers cannot move him and free up his 8.5 million dollar cap hit. The big twist in this is that Georgiev is out of options, and cannot be sent down to the AHL. So in all likelihood, Georgiev is going to be the odd man out, and will likely get traded. It would be nice to at least get some defensive help out of this because you cannot rely on Tony DeAngelo having hat-tricks with five points every game.

The New York Ranger’s Mika Zibanejad Deserves to Play in the NHL All-Star Game

by
New York Rangers, Mika Zibanejad

The NHL announced on Monday that the New York Ranger’s forward Artemi Panarin has been selected to the All-Star Game. Fans will get a chance to vote for another deserving Ranger in Mika Zibanejad.  The NHL announced the candidates for the Last Men In selection.  Fans can go and vote for one more player to be selected for the contest, and Zibanejed has been placed on the ballot. Voting for the Last Men In opens Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 12 p.m. ET and closes Friday, Jan. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Fans can vote at NHL.com/Vote or on a mobile interactive ballot on the NHL app.

Zibanajed has an All-Star Resume

We know Tony DeAngelo is not a huge fan of analytics, especially when it deals with Ryan Strome. But with all due respect to the Ranger defenseman, we need to dig into the numbers to make a case for Zibanejad. First, let’s take a look at his recent play.  Since Dec. 12, Zibanejad has seven goals in eight games, along with 13 points and five multi-point affairs. Just last Friday, he posted two power-play goals and an assist at even strength in a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes.  For the season, he has 14 goals and 30 points with a plus-4 rating in 25 games.  Taking a look at 2018-19, Zibanejad scored 30 goals, 44 assists for 74 points in the 82 games played.  He is also considered one of the better two-way players in the NHL, as he is only one of 11 forwards this season who is averaging 2 minutes of power-play time and 2 minutes of shorthanded time.  Finally, let’s consider this stat: If we take a look at his most recent 82 games, Zibanejad has 37 goals with 47 assists for a total of 84 points. That makes him one of only 24 players who have averaged more than 1 point per game over that time period.

Of course, New York Ranger fans are very much aware of his skill set. This is to help you persuade friends and family to vote for one of our favorite Blueshirts. Even if he does not get voted in, there is a chance that he could also be selected to replace Alex Ovechkin, who has decided to skip the proceedings in order to rest his 34-year-old body. If so inclined, vote early, vote often and let’s place our well deserved forward into the NHL All-Star classic.

 

New York Rangers Are Asking Santa for Two Things This Christmas

by
New York Rangers

In an attempt not to be too greedy, the New York Rangers have narrowed down their wish list for Santa. After taking a look at what has transpired most recently, the Blueshirts are asking old St. Nick for the officials to be a little more fair with their calls and to obtain a sniper mentality on the power play. These do not seem too out of reach for a team that has mostly stayed off the naughty list this season.

“Our players need to be treated equally.”

The New York Rangers need to be treated with honesty and respect:

It is one thing for the twitter universe and even some in the media to complain about the calls. But when you have the head coach commenting on it, especially after a win, one needs to take notice. In his post-game comments after Sunday’s win against the Ducks, Head Coach David Quinn wished that referees would be fair with his players, especially Brandon Lemieux.

“I just wish he’d get treated a little bit differently than he (Lemieux) has lately. I just want all of our players to be treated equal. Sometimes it doesn’t seem that way with him.”

Quinn could have been referring to a questionable call at the end of the second period of the Anaheim game when Lemieux got a 10-minute misconduct for a little nudge and a shin tap to the Ducks’ Carter Rowney. This followed a December 17th game in Nashville when Quinn got a mid-game apology from referees Frederick L’Ecuyer and Jean Hebert for their poor performance.

“Shoot the Puck!”

It is a common phrase that players hear, but in the case of the New York Rangers, this appears to be a solid recommendation for the Blueshirts power-play units.  After Monday’s loss to the Flyers, the power-play unit is now 0-for-18 over its last five games. At times the power play more resembles the Harlem Globetrotters, as the puck gets passed around quite a bit before a shot is even attempted.  Quinn pointed this out recently when he stated that:

“We get it, we hold it, we stick-handle it, we look for a pretty pass instead of just moving it around and playing hockey within a power play.”

Defenseman Tony DeAngelo has stated that even his parents have told him and his teammates to shoot more. Quinn has stated that he will use the three days off to make some changes in an attempt to make the power play more efficient.