2018-19 NHL thread

They'll miss Beagle until they realize Nic Dowd pretty much does the same stuff. As JC has correctly noted several times, don't fall in love with your role players. Beagle was easy to love and he'd been there a long time. Great guy and great at his role. But they made the right call and Beagle cashed in with the Canucks.

An acceptable season is making another strong run at the Cup. Repeating is difficult, though possible. Beagle and Grubauer are the only notable absences from last year's team. A backup keeper and a fourth-line center. It's essentially the same team that won the Cup, so go win another.

I'm not ashamed to admit this: I will likely wet my pants and maybe mess them up as that banner gets raised.

 

I have to fall in love with my role players. They are half the team. There is a path where the Rangers can stay in the playoff hunt for most of the season. They still have some decent forwards in Zibanajad, Kreider, Buchnevich, Zuccarello, Hayes, Namestnikov. Filip Chytil is dynamic. If he turns into a great player quickly, they could be decent enough offensively. The rest is rounded out by the Ryan Spooners, Jimmy Veseys, Vinnie Letieries, etc.

Defensively is a huge question mark. Brady Skjei will be really good. If Shattenkirk is healthy, it will be a step up from last year, and Brendan Smith, who got demoted to the AHL and never got out of the doghouse last year actually showed up in shape and with the old chip on his shoulder. After that, it gets iffy. Mark Staal is old and a bit of a liability at this point. Neal Pionk is nothing special. And Adam McQuaid is past his prime and was being sat down by Boston a lot last season. The team seems to know it. They kept 8 defensemen (Anthony DeAngelo who is too old to still be a "prospect with upside" and Frerik Claussen are the other two). I suspect Lunqvist is going to see 40 to 50 shots a game. I hope I am wrong. Even if he was still in his prime, that is a lot to overcome.

That said, I am a fan, and I am hopeful. They have a lot of really good 18 and 19 year olds who are a few years away, so hopefully the rebuilding happens quickly. I actually wish they hadn't gotten McQuaid (as much as I like him as a player) and weren't wasting a roster spot on Cody McLeod who has little actual hockey skill. Just get some young guys in there and let them sink or swim. But they sent Lias Andersson to the AHL on the rationale that it's better that he get first line minutes there, than 4th line minutes in the NHL. It didn't quite make sense, because they gave Brett Howden that 4th line center spot, and even though they don't have quite as much invested in him as Anderson, he's the same age, was a first round pick (for Tampa) and why would 4th line center minutes in the NHL not impede his development? Unless the plan is to keep him around until Boo Nieves clears concussion protocol, I guess.

Anyhow, good luck this season to the fans of other teams. Except for the Caps fans on here. Oh, and the Penguins fans. Everyone else, though, wish your teams the best.