Realistically Replacing Wade Redden

I can’t support having Exelby as a top-four defenseman when the Rangers have so much depth and youth to turn to before him. Exelby really doesn’t add much offense (if any) and his only upside would be his physical play and his ability to throw the body… unfortunately at the rate Exelby throws the body he takes himself out of position and would leave his defensive partner stranded more often than not.
Eminger is a bit of an enigma in the race, he certainly adds an offensive punch that Semenov and Exelby lack but is he better than McDonagh? Eminger had 4 goals and 12 assists in 63 games with the Ducks, finishing as a +1 with an average ice time of 19:28. He might be just as applicable for the position as Semenov, but I feel the Rangers didn’t acquire him to be in the starting six on the blueline, from what I have heard about Eminger he is inconsistent and wholly unremarkable.
I assume that the top four defensemen in minutes will be Staal, Girardi, Del Zotto, and Rozsival… with Rozsival potentially losing some minutes. I like the idea of Semenov being in the lineup mainly because of his size, something the lineup lacks and could use more of. Semenov certainly isn’t a flashy player and might make a solid partner for MDZ, then again he might not. Still, it seems almost risky to plug Ryan McDonagh into an already young defensive corps. Perhaps that is why Semenov is so attractive as the 7th defenseman for the upcoming season (as he was last offseason before Mrs. Semenov told him he couldn’t play with the Rangers), because he adds a veteran presence and a sense of reliability on the blueline.

At the moment I think that McDonagh really made a case for himself in theTraverse City Tournament, 4 games, 3 assists, +4 and was named captain of the Rangers prospects. McDonagh is first-round talent and could presumably come into the lineup, take Reddens minutes, and do much better with them. If he has a solid camp and preseason I think he cements the spot as his, at the moment I firmly believe it is his job to lose to Semenov, Eminger, and Exelby. McDonagh is both the biggest question mark and potentially the biggest reward because of his potential and his talent. The Rangers should encourage competition in camp, especially among the defensemen and the 3rd/4th line but the club should also give a valuable prospect like McDonagh a chance to prove himself on the big club. McDonagh is 21 years old and has a well-rounded game, I think he would fit handsomely into the Rangers lineup.

Redden was brought in to help the transition game and play the point on the PP and his lack of production has made his stint here an unqualified failure. Obviously it would have taken probably Lidstrom-like production to justify his contract but to not even achieve production somewhere along the lines of what Del Zotto did last year as a rookie is nothing short of disgraceful.

I have to imagine the top 4 will consist of Staal, Girardi, Rozi and DZ. I think the remaining 2 will be a revolving door of Gilroy, Eminger, McD and possibly if Semenov/Exelby win a job. Hopefully there’s an uptick in goals for from the offense which will allow the blueline to focus on preventing goals and scoring chances.

It’s hilarious that Redden looks like he’s in ready position for a play that’s already blown by him in that photo.

There, I said it, go ahead and throw stuff at me.

Not that I knock numbers guys, I’ve just never been a fan of applying moneyball-type stats to hockey, if only because I’m an old school guy and I forever have Ken Dryden’s comment from The Game about how many times the puck changes possession over the course of a shift, a period, a game that in the end, numbers outside of goals & wins don’t mean anything.

I’m amazed at how these numbers are put together, though, since it’s completely out of my math-league. I just don’t need to look at numbers to know that that pic of Redden standing in position while the Flyers celebrate a goal is all too common.

What’s my point here again? Oh yeah.

I said at the time of the deal that Eminger, on surface, doesn’t do anything terribly worse than Redden and gives more value based on his salary and for that alone was, at the time in my mind, the replacement ARISTH.

As usual, though, George/Smurf does a bang-up job putting the numbers together, and I’m forever going to feel like a caveman being given a ride in a Ferrari when I read his posts.

or just put behind the net addict in your profile

The harder Redden tries to contribute further up the ice the worse he gets. That’s what makes him out of position.

He didn’t DAZZLE last year, but everything points to him working on the right things to improve over the summer. If the Rangers have given up on him, I don’t see why he would still be around. He’s probably one of our easiest players to move. He’s young, in the last year of his contract, and making a reasonable salary. They could have found someone to take a chance on him.

I don’t see why they would hold onto him for PAST this year, he’s a UFA after the season, it would seem sure to walk to a team who’ll give him an NHL shot if he spends the year in Hartford.

I guess we could keep him as a third pair defenseman, but his skill set doesn’t seem as well suited for that, so again, why not move him and get the space back?

Redden shouldnt be on this team when the season starts
the guy was a epic bust on so many levels
Ryan McD should take his roster spot
now the offensive D man we always wanted that Redden never turned into was drafted
Del Zotto is that guy
MDZ is going to be a great player
Staal Girardi McD McIlrath those 4 guys are the future of this defense and we should start implementing younger talent into the lineup
McIlrath isnt ready idk when he will be but McD is
then on offense Grachev Stepan MZA those guys need to be implemeted too

Damien Cox’s mental flatulence.

going into camp i think we have staal, girardi, rozi, mdz as the top 4 and it is wide open after that. eminger, exelby and semenov are probably all ideal for a 7th D, but that would be dependent on Gilroy and McD both being good enough to play 5, 6. i dont trust that Torts and crew have enough faith in Gilroy to not keep 2 of eminger, exelby and semenov around considering he was willing to bench Gilroy to close the year for eriksson.

“….a certain orange conical object …”

How come you left that one off??

Lol – unfortunately couldn’t be there and couldn’t be drunk either.Oh-for-two…

I don’t know if they’ll sign him – but he’s better than an orange conical object. And I don’t even know if he’s the better of Volchenkov/Eminger or even Palentenko. At least they’re making it difficult for him (Dreaden) and more likely that we won’t have to see him much longer….

“Blueshirt Banter uses advanced metrics to see how Redden’s removal will impact the defense.”
“Larry Brooks asked Redden’s agent if he’s been in contact with European teams as an alternative to Hartford, but he declined comment.”

I voted for Exelby because I feel the Rangers are in a better position to win, and go into the playoffs.

Exelby would provide a good defensive presence on the blue line, and has experience. I feel that Redden is still going to be there, but if he falters, the Rangers have several good options to promote.

Exelby is an underrated player, he’s not a top pairing guy or anything, but he hits big and positions well. He can be a bit excitable, but I think he’s in a unique position to earn a spot with the Rangers.

A brief recap for you youngsters, because history is forever repeating itself:

After losing the the Penguins in the Patrick Division finals in ‘92 (The Mario "oh my wrist is shattered I’ll never play again oh wait it’s fine now that Graves was suspended" series, aka the Ron fucking Francis goal from center ice on Richter series), Neil Smith decided to bulk up the roster by making some off-season additions to strengthen the depth of the team overall. The result: during the first 6 weeks of the season, a lot of guys who’d been regulars in 91-92 were suddenly finding themselves as healthy scratches to get the depth guys into the lineup. Guys like Randy Gilhen, Joe Kocur, Tie Domi, the Kings (Kris & Steven), Phil Bourque, Doug Weight, were continually dressed or scratched at random by Roger Nielson. Nielson and Smith’s comments to the press when questioned was to the effect of “We play the guys we feel give us the best chance to win on a nightly basis.”

When the team got smoked by Tampa Bay (then in its first season) at home, Messier peeled the paint off the walls in a post game press conference, ripping both Smith and Nielson by telling reporters “You win a championship by setting the roster and playing your best guys and expecting they’ll be able to beat anyone, not by dressing a tough guy for one game because you’re playing Philly and then sitting him next game in favor of a scorer because you play the Penguins.”

Not that this is 100% applicable, but I can see some similarities brewing with the defense. It was soft as tissue paper last year, and I like what Exelby would bring from the physical standpoint….but like Dig Deep says above, with Prust in the lineup, and theoretically Boogaard as well, is his presence needed?

Playing in the Atlantic, with big physical teams like Philly and New Jersey, you’d think yeah, you can never have too many guys willing to throw a hit. But that shouldn’t be the goal. I’ve harped on this before as one of the many weaknesses of the Smith era, building a team to compete with other teams rather than building a great team and forcing others to compete with yours, and I’m wondering if the thought process among some of the Exelby crowd aren’t throwing out the baby with the bathwater by advocating his physical nature when, from what I can tell from George’s charts, the hits come at the expense of positioning and opposition scoring chances.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Rangers have been dying for a big physical d-man since Beukeboom was forced to retire, and I’d love to have one, but maybe they can get somebody who’s physical enough in Semenov or McDonagh without sacrificing scoring chances the other way.

I dunno. If it comes down to a choice between Exelby and Redden, bye bye Wade….but that’d be assuming McDonagh shows he’s not ready, Valentenko doesn’t play well, Eminger has a bad camp, Semenov doesn’t play as well as he did last September…..and that’d be a whole other story.