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We have officially reached the dog days of summer. The Rangers will re-sign Kevin Hayes, Ryan Spooner, and Brady Skjei at some point. There may be a trade, assuming Erik Karlsson ever gets dealt. But until then, we are in a holding pattern. So here are some scattered thoughts from my brain, some are hockey related, some are not.

1. I really think Marc Staal will have a somewhat decent year next season. He’s not going to live up to that contract, but I don’t think he’s going to be the absolute train wreck he was under Alain Vigneault. Call it hopeless optimism if you must, but that’s just my thoughts.

2. I think the best places for both Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson are on the third and fourth lines, respectively. It eases them into the NHL lifestyle in a low-pressure situation. Putting them in the top-six immediately may stunt their growth. But this is all based off my opinion and not anything tangible, like training camp. There’s no rush with these kids. There is a lot invested in them, so there’s no use rushing them.

3. A lot of people seem to forget that Sean Day is only 20 years old. He’s been with the organization for what seems like an eternity, but he’s the same age as Libor Hajek and Ryan Lindgren. It’s new toy syndrome. All three have some solid potential, so we shall see.

4. It’s amazing how five first round picks changes the face of the pipeline. Before this, we were hoping and praying that undrafted free agents would turn into Mats Zuccarello. Now there is legitimate elite level talent in the system, and a lot of it. What a change a year makes.

5. In that regard, more elite talent makes other players more expendable. I look at the Yankees’ trades for Zach Britton and JA Happ. They gave decent talent up in those trades to bolster their roster, but they had so much other talent in the system that it didn’t really hurt them. That is the ideal spot for the Rangers, where some of the guys we like actually wind up being lower on the prospect pipe, and easier to trade for upgrades.

6. There’s been some issues with the spam filter on the blog lately. Some people’s comments are getting flagged for no real reason. First: Any comment with a link gets flagged. It sounds annoying, but trust me it’s needed. Second, if you edit a comment it gets flagged. Another thing that sounds annoying, but is needed. Third: You aren’t important enough for me to censor you. Yes, you. I’m talking to you. I don’t censor anyone, and I only remove comments that are blatantly inflammatory.

7. The humidity broke. Have fun kiddos!

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