Pas surpris que Kakko ait été retiré de la première ligne. Je sais que leurs statistiques xGF ont été bonnes, mais ils n’ont pas vraiment produit depuis 11 matchs. Cela ne me dérange pas de mélanger les choses pour voir si les changements peuvent motiver quelqu’un.
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PaulSach
37 Comments
Yup. It’s been 10 games and our first line can’t score. This is the right move, im sorry at some point we need to accept he’s just a good 3rd line player and move forward with that….
That third D pairing is so rough
Seriously doubt 1st line will be better with Wheeler. Kakko was playing poorly but so did Kreider and Zibanejad. I would swap Kreider and Cuylle.
Hate this. Hate hate hate this.
KZK had a 58.04% xG%, a 63.16% HDCF%, and if this is call you care about, were outscoring their opponents 2-1.
I think this is a huge overreaction due to the line having an unsustainably low 4.17% oISH%. They were thoroughly outplaying their opponents every time they were on the ice and were completely shutting down other teams’ top lines.
Not to mention, you replace Kakko on the top line with… Wheeler? I don’t like taking Kakko off that line to begin with but if I was forced to do it I’d sooner put Cuylle or Vesey on that top line than old ass Wheeler.
But now that we’re here…
IF KZW gives you similar(or better) underlying numbers to KZK, then fine, keep the line together. Kakko is almost certainly better on the 3rd line than Wheeler, both in terms of play style and talent. But if KZW struggles, Laviolette should not hesitate to bring back KZK.
Kakko sucks. Always has. Always will. He’s a bum. Wheeler at least has a resume. Why not try him up there?
I don’t know how I feel about Wheeler on the top line, he has been real slow out there
Kakko being punished for Zib and Kreider being a couple of clowns (mostly Zib)
I don’t like it but I’m not surprised.
Not 100% sure Wheels is the solution but hard to really argue against demoting KK at this point.
At this point the Kakko excuses are growing tiresome. No matter how many advanced metrics or formulas you use to conjure a reality where he’s actually a highly productive first line player, any objective observer can easily see he just doesn’t have the skillset right now to hang with that pace of play: no shot, not creative enough, not fast enough. We have seen flashes before but 11 games into year four they have all but disappeared. What happened?
Wheeler will be more of a veteran asset for kreids and zib to work with. It’s a long season and worth trying out, especially with the injuries. Jones-schneids is alittle bit of a defensive liability but I’m okay with this overall.
I do wonder if Kakko continues to put up duds and Wheeler also cant get anything going on that line – if Othman gets a look
Kakko has more 5v5 points than Wheeler and Zibanejad yet somehow he’s the one ruled out. It is virtually 100% a fact that [putting him with Bonino](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9nWUESXAAAbAGV?format=png&name=900×900) will absolutely not help him produce more.
Seriously I’m not sure what anyone expected offensively. We knew coming into this coaching hire that [virtually all offense is sacrificed for defense](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwxnZGHWYAAs8hk?format=jpg&name=large) in a Laviolette system. His teams straight up do not generate offense at all. [I called this out when he was hired in the first place](https://old.reddit.com/r/rangers/comments/148p5vd/rangers_name_peter_laviolette_next_head_coach/jof88b8/?context=3)
And now NYR is generating [5v5 offense at the same rate as San Jose](https://twitter.com/JFreshHockey/status/1721174238265069855), even when Fox was in the lineup.
sorry but it makes literally zero sense to complain about a lack of Kakko point production when he literally has more 5v5 point production than one of his linemates and the guy replacing him. downvote all you want, it’s true. just unbelievable how much criticism can be put towards Kakko for not producing when at 5v5 he’s literally outproducing the players who are older veterans and getting paid more money lol
« Kakko needs to produce »
Kakko: 2 5v5 points
Zibanejad: 1 5v5 point
i guess it’s cool that the guy making $8.5 for another 6 years with an NMC only has 1 5v5 point in 11 games, with 6 of his 9 points coming on special teams
Wheeler has been dogshit – and gets promoted to the top line.
Kreider / Zbad need to be better- blaming Kakko is another blunder in developing kids.
Our right wing depth SUCKS!!
The amount of overreactions to simply trying out new lines for 1 game, after 11 games of basically the same lines, is somehow not surprising. Our fans have absolutely zero chill and continue to overrate young players. We’re 8-2-1, we can afford to try out some other combinations.
That 3rd line is rough. Yikes. Love all 3 of those guys but can’t see them working together.
I’ve seen one decent look come from wheeler so far. This is probably bad but I guess wheel see.
I still hope we get to see Kakko with Panarin again. That’s the best he’s ever looked
Cullye Chytil Kakko 3 line would be kinda nice
I honestly think it’s more about getting Wheeler going than anything with Kakko.
I’m not a Kakko hater by any means, but I’m almost wondering if we should just trade him at this point.
*If* Kane is coming back, to me this move shows the writing on the wall that Kakko will be demoted to the third line permanently (or at least until 88 is gone). And imo there’s zero use in letting the kid languish there for another year+.
So, if that’s what we’re about to see, I say sell high on him and get a high end prospect or something in return. He’ll be better off actually developing somewhere else and we can add another piece to our future core?
When Chytil is back, Kakko will probably produce better at 5v5 with Cuylle and Tro/Chytil than he did with Mika and Kreider, who are 5v5 blackholes
As usual, the fanbase is ready to crucify KK while giving the Best Friends Forever Club a pass, despite KK having more 5v5 points than Zib.
Not saying the line didn’t need a jolt, or something, but christ why is it always the youngest player who gets the shit end of the stick. What has CK done to justify being up there? (He can still score all those PP goals while not being on line 1)
This really speaks wonders to how lacking in depth we are as well.
At the very least, the Pan-Laff connection is intact, and by the coaching staff giving 3C to Bon instead of Goodrow, I think it indicates they realize how dogshit Barclay is as well, which is also a positive.
Take advantage of injuries to try and get both 17 and 24 going.
Kakko’s game right now is perfectly suited for a 3rd line role when everyone’s healthy. He’s great defensively and can hopefully make that line more dangerous offensively. We’d all love for him to be a top line winger, but if we just take him for what he is right now he’ll be a valuable piece on the 3rd line.
LOL at all the hot takes here. We’re marred by injury here for the time being and the first line is doing dick. This makes sense as they’ve had nearly a dozen games and Kakko is underperforming, and they need to shake it up. I swear, do people want to go back to the line blender that GG used?
I don’t mind moving Kakko to the third line. But let’s not put all the blame on him for that line not working. Mika and CK aren’t exactly lighting it 5v5 either. Can’t honestly remember the last time Mika scored 5v5
What are the odds that Kakko is resigned?
Not surprised. I don’t think Kakko has been useless, but I just don’t think he’s given that top line exactly what’s needed. I think they need a shooting or pure playmaking presence a little more than his board play…however good that may be. Remember Vatrano? He served as the perfect shooting outlet.
Kakko said himself he needs to shoot the puck more. The bigger issue I’ve seen is he doesn’t get himself into positions to shoot the puck more. He also takes too long to get shots off when he does try to shoot.
A guy with his skillset should be mirroring his game after a Rick Nash. He’s not a playmaker or a shooter at the moment. He doesn’t throw the body or go to the net like a power forward either. When you’re none of those things, your ceiling is a role player. Maybe I’m being harsh bc I really like the kid, but he simply needs to do more. It’s time.
Would have rather moved Panarin and Laf up to play with Zibanejad. I also can’t make excuses for KK, hopefully he get some confidence playing against lesser competition.
I like it, especially when Chytil is back and Trochek can slide back down to the third line.
I feel like the first line needs a playmaker and Wheeler fits that bill more than Kakko at this point, and the third line is more of a grind it out forecheck line with Tro and Cuylle and Kakko is more that type of player.
Wheeler’s not going to last very long on the top line, he’s just way too slow. He still has a good passing touch but everything on the top line flows through Mika. How can Wheeler help Mika when Mika carries the puck into the offensive zone, makes a couple of moves and looks up for Wheeler only to find that Wheeler is still lurching through center ice in slow motion?
I think you throw Cuylle on the top line have him bang-crash around and see if he develops any chemistry with Mika and Kreider.
I am actually very excited to see Cuylle and Kakko play together, their styles compliment each other very well… I have a good feeling with them together on the same line…
I anticipate the 3rd line to become more productive or at least able to hold pressure in the O-zone alot more. Watch cuylle really put up those numbers
Not ready to give up on him. The whole line isnt producing so it makes sense to make a switch.
Anyone seen much of Matthew Robertson with the Wolfpack this season? From what I saw last year scouts were saying that it was really only a matter of time for him to get a look in the NHL.
In theory I feel like he’d compliment Schneider more than Jones at this point.
One of the best advanced analytics lines in the league being held back by mika not scoring, gotta demote kakko tho. t.
No reason to change lines when our games have been good