Rangers News: Grachev back to the Whalepack, Gaborik cleared for contact
by Jim Schmiedeberg on Nov 8, 2010 1:03 PM EST
in New York Rangers News
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As expected, Evgeny Grachev was sent back to Hartford this morning. Andrew Gross has the story:
John Tortorella said before last night’s game he needed to see a reason to keep Evgeny Grachev in the lineup at the expense of Todd White and Grachev did not do anything to justify his roster spot, as he was scoreless and a minus-1 in limited ice time. So Grachev gets sent back down to Hartford (AHL). Perhaps the Rangers will consider bringing up Mats Zuccarello after he recorded a hat trick last night for the Wolf Pack. Grachev played six straight games for the Rangers and was scoreless with just three shots.
With the offense struggling, I can't see the harm in giving "The Frodo from Modo" a look-see.
Also in that story, Gross mentions that Marian Gaborik has been cleared for contact, and was on the ice today taking part in the line drills.
A few looks around the network:
Pension Plan Puppets measures the impact of special teams.
Over at Lighthouse Hockey, Dominik talks about the rumors that head coach Scott Gordon is on the hot seat. All I can say is, if its a seat at the Nassau Coliseum, chances are its busted anyway.
Winging It In Motown is glad the Red Wings have returned from their road trip.
I love this: Andy at Die By the Blade compares his Sabres to the Indians in the movie "Major League". I can definitely picture Lindy Ruff taking a leak on someone's contract.
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Great news on Gabby
But going from just cleared for contact to a game against a team like the Caps? Maybe Buffalo would be a better choice or definitely Edmonton.
by MyFavBaseballSquadron on Nov 8, 2010 1:27 PM EST reply actions
I think Thursday is more likely than tomorrow against Washington. At least that’s what Gross at the Record was guessing.
I think if the Rangers can put together a good trade involving Grachev, pull the trigger. I think everyone is wowed by his size, but I’m not seeing a whole lot else. I’d hate to see his trade value steadily decrease.
Yeah, at this point I’m inclined to agree. If he’s disappointing with the Rangers, there’s little reason for another team to take him unless they really see something in him that the Rangers (or the fans) don’t.
And ideally what would the Rangers look to take back? A top 6 forward is obviously nice, but I don’t believe any team is that far out of the race at less than 20 games into the season that they’re thinking of selling established/productive players.
Furthermore, if Gaborik rounds into shape and produces as a one man show on his line and the Dubi-AA-Cally line keeps it up, anything other than a real star quality player is going to be more/less a lateral move in the present and if the Rangers giving up picks and prospects along with Grachev then it could have a negative impact down the road.
by MyFavBaseballSquadron on Nov 8, 2010 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
From watching Grachev, I just see his problems being completely mental. He’s got great size, can skate, looks strong…I just see him as somebody where maybe later this season, or in a few years it’ll just ‘click’, or maybe he’ll never put it together. I’m not for giving up on the kid, but at this point I wouldn’t plan on him becoming a top 6 player in the NHL anytime soon. I’m a pessimist, I know.
Right
I’m not saying he’s going to be great and should be untouchable. Just that he shouldn’t be traded for the sake of being traded. Any team will see the same things we’ve seen from him and decide he’s not worth a decent return or anything at all. I’d prefer they send him down and try to let him find his game in Hartford so at the very least he enhances his value or, god forbid becomes a player capable of making an impact in the big leagues.
Otherwise given his type of contract I don’t think there’s much of an opportunity cost to keeping him in Hartford and not floating him on the trade market. The difference in his trade value between now and at the end of a presumed disappointing year is probably minimal, thus his biggest cost is his AHL salary so might as well see if there’s still upside that can be tapped.
by MyFavBaseballSquadron on Nov 8, 2010 3:34 PM EST up reply actions
I so agree...
A lot of people disagreed with me on Grachev. I’ve never seen anything in him other than this “size.” Unlike Boyle, who has size and has always shown that there was potential lurking (even though we pretty much all expressed our doubts at one point or another) Grachev hasn’t.
d
Exactly...
Which is why I’ve been proposing Del Zotto. People would actually give up something for him and we could pick up a crucial puzzle piece. But every time a trade involving talent is mentioned on here, people wig out. In the meantime they propose ludicrous scenarios that no GM in the planet would fall for. If Grachev isn’t working in our system, the only thing we’re going to get is a prospect who isn’t working somewhere else. The only time you can pick up a prospect worth something is when it is packaged along with other, more dominant players.
Del Zotto is a crucial piece to our puzzle, without him our offense would suffer so much, he does 10x more for our offense than his stats show. As for Grachev he does show great potential, a 40 goal season in the OHL only two years ago for 4th in the league, is great potential. Yeah he had Hodgson and another top pick(cant remember name) on his line. But if you look at his goals most were snipes from the circles or higher. Yeah he hasn’t shown much so far in our organization but although Im disappointed Im not going to give up on him. He’s still only 20 years old. He needs some more time to develop into his body and put all the pieces together. And I know not many people think this, but I saw potential from him with his time with the Rangers. He looked like he had chances to use his body and carry the puck to the net or make a shot, but he wasn’t confident enough to do so. He just needs to put all of his tools together and then we will see how good he is. But as for now the jury should still be out on Grachev.
by CrazyRangerFan on Nov 8, 2010 11:04 PM EST up reply actions
Are you insane? It’s been 7 NHL games and he’s 20.
by Dave Shapiro on Nov 8, 2010 5:28 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
is someone suggesting trading DelZotto?
we could always go sign Souray …oh wait, I think Modano might be available. This is ridiculous; last year all I read is “go with the youth movement”, and now I’m reading “trade Grachev with Del Zotto for a cucial puzzle piece” … news flash, this team is not at the “crucial puzzle piece” place yet. We’re in the development stage of rebuilding. 2-3 years from now, if all these kids develop like Dubinski and Cally, we can talk about puzzle pieces. But for now enjoy some higher energy hockey, some occasional blunders, Hank bailing us out – and be patient
I wouldnt say the offense is struggling after 1 bad game. But I agree, maybe Zuccs is ready to get a look.
crazy
Tortorella goes on record saying that Grachev needs to show something to stay in the lineup over White, yet he gives the kid 4th line minutes. How can u see the kid’s skills and potential if he’s not out there playing 10-12 min a night, PP time and even pk since our pk and pp sucks as of now . Same goes for Stepan give the kid 2nd line minutes and don’t play Christinsen more than u play ur top prospects. And whoever runs the PP need to stop encouraging those homerun passes from our own zone to the offensive blueline, we need a puck carrier and some speed to recover the puck. And winning a few face offs would sure help. Cant believe i’m saying this but i miss Drury at least he could win a face off.
people dont appreciate things until they dont have them anymore.
"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
+1
Grachev hardly had a chance to show anything in the 4 minutes he got last night. Although he was -1, the main culprit on that goal was Boogey, not Grachev. That said, although Grachev played decently and really didn’t hurt the team during his stay, he didn’t show that he is ready to be a top 6 forward yet, or even that he is necessarily a 3rd line forward at this time. I would have liked to have seen him get some more minutes on the top 3 lines during his stay (for example, during the 5 minute power play, where his size could have helped in front of the net – Stepan, for example, played very well when they moved him up instead of Christensen), but regardless, hopefully his time with the Rangers helped his confidence and will help his development going forward.
by LJR on Nov 8, 2010 2:41 PM EST up reply actions
Well consider this….although it wouldn’t appear a guy getting 4th line minutes could do much, remember that he mostly playing against 3rd and 4th line calibre players. So for a prospect that this organization has been moderately high on, it’s not a stretch that he could show something in that capacity. Point being, if you can’t do something against other 3rd and 4th liners, chances are you can’t handle 1st and 2nd line minutes.
I’ve said it plenty of times before, if you think Tortorella is the kind of coach who can properly develop players, you better think again. But I think he’s doing the right thing with Stepan. He needs time to develop.
Are you kidding me???
It isn’t Torts job to sacrifice a Rangers win against one of the best teams in the league by giving a guy who can’t even shave yet undeserved ice time in the hopes that he “might” prove himself. That’s precisely what Hartford is for! And he hasn’t done anything there.
Really. We already have a young club so it isn’t like Torts is afraid to play youth. If Grachev can’t demonstrate he’s ready in the shifts he’s given, tough. I’m so tired of all this “give-the-guy-a-chance” mantra. Players have to earn their way into the NHL and they do so by demonstrating some very specific skill sets and on-ice sensibility.
Grachev = back to Hartford.
I must agree with you here.
In life, you hae to EARN things. You earn money, earn a promotion. In pro sports you have to earn your playing time. If a player can’t dominate his 4 minutes of ice time against other 4th lines, he deserves nothing more. One might notice that both boyle and prust have earned more playing time from last years 4th line duty.
by GAThingy on Nov 9, 2010 11:45 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Please don't tell me
that any Ranger fan is willing to write this kid off after 7 NHL games – getting 4th line minutes with Sir Derek the Large of County Useless.
lmao nice name for boogey
"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
I don’t think the majority is writing him off. There is always going to be the contingent that wants to call him a bust because he isn’t scoring three goals a game, but I like to go to bed at night thinking most Ranger fans are smarter than that.
I have to, or else I couldn’t sleep
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Nov 8, 2010 5:24 PM EST up reply actions
Of Course...
Nobody is writing him off. As long as he’s in the organization he has a chance to prove himself. Which he hasn’t done and I don’t think he will. But if he does, than that would be fantastic. I’m just not holding my breath on it. He doesn’t strike me as that intelligent or motivated on the ice. I don’t see any fire in him…unlike when we were moving Boyle along.
You sleep?
I thought you where still using that hyperbolic chamber and Skin Rejuvinating Salve….
I would like to think…but it hurts when I do.
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by Intellectual Derriere on Nov 9, 2010 5:02 PM EST up reply actions
Don't give up on Grachev yet ...
I’m by no means saying this guy will be the second coming of Matts Sundin, but Anisimov,and Dubi both got similar treatment when they first showed up. Hell, AA played 4th line minutes and made the best of them last year. Granted, Boogie is much worse than Shelly was, but they were (are) similar in Tort’s eyes. I for one am liking this commitment to the youth movement; banishing Redden went a long way for me as a NYR fan, and seeing Rozi/Drury come off the books in favor of more cap space to keep our growing youth looks to be the plan. Stay the course, let the kids develop, but please don’t trade them for another overpaid has-been just so his name can be announced in MSG. The effort is there on this team, I can live with that even if we don’t consistently win yet.
Seriously?
Why don’t we trade the entire Battery line, plus Gabby and Hank while we are at it,,,,,
Rangers FTW!
by BleedsRangerBlue on Nov 8, 2010 6:16 PM EST reply actions
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