Rangers take Filip Chytil at #21
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
With their second pick in the first round, the Rangers took Czech forward Filip Chytil at #21 overall. The 6’0″, 180 lb center/LW was the youngest player in the draft at just 17 years old. He made the draft age by a few days. He put up 4-4-8 in 38 games in the Czech league this year. It’s worth noting that as a 17 year old, he’s playing in the top men’s league in the Czech Republic.
Chytil is a tremendous skater with a good hockey IQ. He’s also known for getting to the dangerous areas. However he is rough around the edges, especially on defense. But that’s to be expected, the kid is only 17 years old. He actually projects higher than Lias Andersson, as he might make it as a top-six center. However he has a much lower floor.
Rangers take Lias Andersson at #7
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
The Rangers have taken forward Lias Andersson with the #7 overall pick in the draft. Andersson can play all three forward positions. The 5’11, 200 lb forward is deemed the safest pick in the draft, with one of the higher floors. He doesn’t have the elite ceiling that you’d want from a top-ten pick, though.
Andersson put up 9-10-19 in 42 games in the SHL as an 18 year old, which is pretty solid. He’s a solid skater with a good shot. However the Rangers reached on this pick.
Update: Rumors are abound saying the Kings wanted Andersson at 11. If this was Clark’s guy, and he knew that he wouldn’t last beyond LA, then taking him at 7 makes sense.
2017 NHL Entry Draft First Round Open Thread
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
The 2017 NHL Entry Draft is upon us, and it’s been a wild ride already. The Rangers have made a blockbuster deal, sending Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona for the #7 pick and top defense prospect Anthony DeAngelo. Jeff Gorton doesn’t appear to be finished yet, as there are rumblings that he is looking to move up from the 7th pick. Clearly he has someone in mind.
The rest of the league didn’t sit idly by either. Chicago made a pair of moves. They first sent Nicklas Hjalmarsson to Arizona for Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin. Then they re-acquired Brandon Saad (with Anton Forsberg and a 5th rounder) from Columbus for Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte, and a 6th round pick. The other blockbuster was Jordan Eberle heading to the Isles for Ryan Strome. We will be live blogging all night, so follow with us.
Report: Rangers trying to move up in draft
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
Per Darren Dreger, the Rangers are not done yet. They are going to try to move up even further in the draft, up from the #7 spot acquired earlier this afternoon. They clearly have someone in mind that they don’t think will last to the seventh spot.
Jeff Gorton is making moves, and if he moves up, we are getting into “NHL ready” territory right out of the draft. It may be a weak draft, but the top picks are still top picks.
Considering the needs of the team, I’m intrigued to see what Gorton does. The #7 and #21 picks could be enough to move up.
Rangers trade Stepan and Raanta to Arizona for Anthony DeAngelo and #7 pick
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
A blockbuster in New York. The Rangers have sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona in exchange for 21 year old RHD Anthony DeAngelo and the #7 pick this draft. There was a lot of smoke around Arizona and the Rangers regarding Stepan, and this deal got done.
In DeAngelo, the Rangers got a great talent with some attitude issues. DeAngelo was suspended for abusing an official last season. But he is definitely a talented player. He’s not the 1RD the Rangers need, but he could grow into that role in the future, assuming he can get his head on right.
Raanta will likely be the starter in Arizona. But losing Stepan, without replacing him, will hurt. Drafted in 2008 in the second round, Stepan has been a career Ranger averaging at least 50 points consistently. He will be the sure-fire 1C in Arizona. The trade frees up $6.5 million for the Rangers as well.
Trading Antti Raanta
June 23, 2017, by · Comments
New York Post
After months of speculation, debate and general hand-wringing, we now know that it was Oscar Lindberg who ended up being poached off the Rangers’ roster by the Vegas Golden Knights. Various options had been “sure things” since the off-season began. Michael Grabner, Jesper Fast and of course Antti Raanta have been speculated to be joining a newest team in the desert.
It’s Raanta I want to discuss this morning. The 28-year old Finn had a tremendous year as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup and many feel that he is an interesting trade chip, given the low cost options on the market and Benoit Allaire’s seeming ability to turn your average midtown commuter into a quality NHL backup. Let’s dive a little deeper into market and trade comparables and see if Raanta is worth moving.
Blue Seat Blogs-Cast – Goodbye Oscar, Derek Stepan Rumors, and Wild Conjecture About Marc Staal
June 23, 2017, by · CommentsOn this week’s episode special guest Jess joins us to say goodbye to Oscar Lindberg, discuss the Stepan rumors that are out there, and join in some wild conjecture about Marc Staal. As always you can find us right here, on SoundCloud, and on iTunes. Feel free to leave us a review or a comment as well!
Rangers release 2017-2018 schedule
June 22, 2017, by · CommentsNo trades to announce just yet. Heck, not even a rumor to announce yet. But the Rangers announced the 2017-2017 schedule, you can view the full schedule here. The schedule is tough, but mostly because the Metro is going to be another blood bath this year.
The games may be tough, but I only counted 11 back-to-backs. That’s not overly terrible, considering how many we saw over the past few condensed seasons. Not many storylines in the games yet, aside from Vegas on 10/31. That should change when Dan Girardi signs somewhere.
Rangers will not re-sign Marek Hrivik
June 22, 2017, by · Comments
Photo: Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty
The Rangers will not re-sign winger Marek Hrivik, per Larry Brooks. Hrivik has been with the Rangers organization for the past five seasons, appearing in 21 games with the big club (three assists). A bottom-six forward, it was clear that Hrivik was not going to get a legitimate shot with the Rangers.
Hrivik looked good during his stints this year with the Rangers, but it’s painfully obvious that he was getting buried on the depth chart. Kids like Adam Tambellini, Steven Fogarty, and Boo Nieves have supplanted him in Hartford, with undrafted UFAs filling out the roster as well. Hopefully he catches on somewhere.
Does losing Oscar Lindberg impact the Rangers’ offseason plans?
June 22, 2017, by · Comments
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
In case you missed it, and it’s tough to really figure out how you missed it at this point, the Rangers lost Oscar Lindberg to Vegas in the expansion draft. When you take a look at it, Lindberg was the only real choice for Vegas. The other talked about options were either hurt (Jesper Fast), old and unlikely to repeat their great season (Michael Grabner), or just way overhyped (Antti Raanta). But believe it or not, Lindberg isn’t all that difficult to replace.
That doesn’t mean Lindberg is a bad player. He’s a great 4C and probably a solid 3C who plays a good two-way game and kills penalties. However on the Rangers, he’s a fourth line center behind Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, and Kevin Hayes. And don’t let the crab people fool you, Lindberg is in no way, shape, or form better than any of those three players. But with the relative predictability of the Vegas selection, the Rangers have likely accounted for losing Lindberg.