Viktor Stalberg will be an unrestricted free agent
– You can slam the front office for a number of decisions made over the last couple of years, but one the Rangers absolutely nailed was the signing of Viktor Stalberg. This is a guy that was near being out of the NHL and instead the Blueshirts gave him a one-year prove-it deal that couldn’t have worked out better. Stalberg has done yeoman’s work up and down the lineup and contributes consistently on both ends of the ice. It would be great to have him back, but the new deal he’s earned will probably make that impossible.
– Kevin Klein is such an interesting case because he’d never been much of an offensive contributor until last season, when he shot 11.8% (much higher before he got hurt). The thing is, he’s continued to produce this season and is converting at a 14.5% rate. Now according to most models, Klein’s scoring was and still is destined to come crashing back down to earth. But I think one of the things that gets overlooked when analyzing luck and shooting percentages is that you don’t need a high shooting percentage to be a good player, but you can definitely be a good player if you have a high shooting percentage. I don’t buy that all shooting is even, that all players must fall to the mean. Colorado’s Alex Tanguay has shot a whopping 18.6% over his 1078-game career, which has resulted in an extra 146 goals in comparison to a player with the same number of shots converting at the rough league average of 9%. In other words, Tanguay has doubled his goal total thanks to sharp-shooting, and that’s the difference between being just a guy and ranking 213th on the all-time scoring list. The perception of Tanguay is significantly enhanced because he’s produced at such a high rate and there are a number of players both active and all-time that maintained abnormally high shooting percentages and had much better careers as a result. I think Klein is just one of those guys that picks his spots wisely and is efficient when he does. And he has a little more skill than he gets credit for.
– Looks like the Penguins have stolen the Rangers’ favorite set play for Carl Hagelin – throwing him alley-oops to chase down in the corner on would be dump-in plays. I said it from the day the Rangers traded Hagelin – I understand that the money wasn’t going to work long-term, but losing Hagelin wreaked havoc on the Rangers’ identity. They aren’t quite a speed team anymore and they’re not the same on the forecheck – calling cards of the club in recent years. Hagelin was also vital to the penalty kill and a stalwart two-way player that would definitely have been useful in a game like Saturday’s when the majority of the forwards looked disinterested in playing in their own zone. It’s obviously not just the departure of Hagelin that gutted the soul of this team, but I think it’s a much larger part of the problem than we regularly acknowledge.
– Through the first half of the season, Braden Holtby looked like a shoo-in for the Vezina Trophy with a .934 SV% and a chance to set the all-time record for wins by a netminder in a campaign. But since January 1, Holtby’s save percentage is a pedestrian .906.* Holtby is among the best in the game today, but a stat like this always reminds me how ridiculous Henrik Lundqvist’s year by year, week by week performance has been. Lundqvist has a bad game and even a bad month here and there – but he’s been absurdly consistent over the past 11 years. That’s a really long stretch to be arguably the best goaltender in the world and by far the most valuable player to the best stretch of hockey in team history. I don’t think there’s any debate that Lundqvist is the greatest Ranger ever at this point.
*not including last night
– Outside of Holtby, the biggest reason for the Caps’ success this season has been the rise of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Alex Ovechkin is still the headliner in D.C., but Kuznetsov has surpassed Nicklas Backstrom as the No. 2 act and is capable of creating a ton of offense on his own. Kuznetsov’s 41 primary assists are the most in the league since Henrik Sedin had 44 in 2011-12, and Kuznetsov leads the NHL this season by seven. He’s a superstar.
– Ryan McDonagh’s body control and footwork in tight spots is amazing. He’s visibly feeling more and more comfortable on the ice as the season progresses and is now pirouetting in and out of traffic with regularity. For a defenseman without elite puck skills, he has a rare gift to create space for himself where there is none. I still think there’s another level in his offensive game.
– I’m officially terrified of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Top prospect William Nylander now has five points in his last two NHL games and looks like the real deal. The Leafs also currently possess the fewest points in the league and have a strong chance to draft Auston Matthews. Oh, and they might sign Steven Stamkos. There are a host of other impressive youngsters within Toronto’s organization including: Morgan Reilly, Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and so on and so forth. This is a team that could go from a laughingstock to a force pretty quickly.
– As much as we all love Mats Zuccarello, he and Derick Brassard have been absolutely brutal defensively all season. Neither was ever going to win the Selke Trophy, but this year has been a real low for both of them on that side of the puck. Of course, Zuccarello and Brassard can both get away with it given their offensive production, but the Blueshirts in recent years have always gotten two-way play from their top forwards, and that hasn’t been the case this year. Combine that with the struggles of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal and you have a major problem.
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Question time:
1. What do you think Viktor Stalberg’s next contract will be?
2. How much do you think the Rangers miss Hagelin?
3. What do you make of Klein’s continued production?
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