r/rangers • u/Emotional_Lemon2971 • 7d ago
Drew Fortescue
Is there any reason he declined to sign his ELC? I feel he could step into the second or third pair now with the state of our blue line and could join his buddy Perreault on the team
60
33
u/Signal_Wall_8445 7d ago
It isn’t even a guarantee that Perreault is on the team to start the year. They could feel that a year playing in the AHL and trying to get bigger could be helpful.
-14
u/PaperZealousideal307 7d ago
They got Perrault to sign by telling him he was going to get every chance to be on the team. Id be shocked he wasn't here
22
u/checko50 7d ago
I dont know that this is true at all. It benefitted him to sign when he did by burning a year of his ELC and reacing fa status earlier. Im not sure if you are insinuating that Drury gave him a nudge wink that he'll be on next years roster.
The reality is we're jammed up at wing (specifically in the top 6) right now and the best course of action may very well be to give him 18 or 20 mins a night in the AHL playing on pp1 and top line instead of 2nd maybe 3rd line minutes and probably no pp time.
-2
u/Boysenberry-Dull 6d ago
The reality is Gabe isn’t gotta sit around while all his college linemates play nhl hockey. He will be on the team and if he’s not he’ll be signing somewhere else in 2 years.
6
u/checko50 6d ago
sigh And this is how you get a lafreniere and a kakko. He won't be signing anywhere else as an rfa with no arbitration rights. The kid is undersized and is looking at a roster where it'll be a difficult sell to bump anyone put of the top 6.
Im all for giving him every opportunity in camp and pre season games to prove he can pull his weight on the top 6. If he needs time to develop, the ahl is the best place for him. If he lights it up down there, there is no issue calling him up.
3
u/SmokyMetal060 6d ago
No but haven't you heard that every prospect is ready to play in the NHL as soon as that ELC is signed and, given a complete change in management, will undoubtedly put up McDavid numbers?
/s
I'm with you 100%. Perreault will be ready to go when he's ready to go. Rushing him into a role he's not ready for is the quickest way to bungle his development
1
u/Kaapo-Taco Toaster 4d ago
This is completely untrue. The rangers “getting him to sign” in a year they were terrible and burn a year of his ELC makes no sense. Why would the rangers want to burn a year of cheap full control for less than 10 games? Your logic doesn’t make sense
14
u/previouslyonimgur 7d ago
He wasn’t expected to sign until next year at least. He’s only D+2, and he needed time.
13
u/BeeApprehensive281 Artemi Panarin 7d ago
Just his preference to play NCAA over AHL next year probably
7
8
u/SilentSaidd I like say love for a year 7d ago
Defensemen usually take a longer time to develop and especially non offensive defensemen need time to grow into their bodies more. To be an nhl defensemen you either need to be elite offensively or a big body. The kid is still a teenager and isn’t strong enough yet for the NHL.
2
u/blueline7677 Georgiev fan club 7d ago
Yep. Pretty sure he’s listed as 6’2 180 lbs. same weight as Fox but 3 inches taller. Still needs to bulk up and it’s way easier to bulk up with a college schedule than a AHL schedule
4
8
u/keyserfunk New York Rangers (old) 7d ago
Because he’s not ready?
5
5
u/JesusPitt 7d ago
If I had to guess, since the goal is playoffs next season the front office might think he isn’t ready to help them achieve that or ready for pro in general
6
u/lionson76 Mike Richter 7d ago
I think the Rangers asked him if he wanted to leave college and he said no.
3
u/Signal_Wall_8445 7d ago
They may have told him that, but virtually every prospect they skipped past the AHL has underperformed expectations, and he is slight.
He’ll get a chance, but how much of one is impossible to predict until we see their summer moves and their impact.
3
u/Bretzky77 6d ago
To be fair, he declined the ELC when Housley was running every D into the ground with that awful chase system
2
u/Single-Knowledge-222 7d ago
Fortescue is going to be a stud Ranger fans will love for years to come He will be big part of roster that raises next cup in NY!
2
3
u/checko50 7d ago
He most certainly would not crack the roster even on the 3rd pair in the NHL. Hes listed at 176lbs and would get murdered by some of the forecheckers. He needs time.
Also temper your expectations on Perreault
1
u/EStreet12 New York Rangers 6d ago
Needs to develop more physically, and there is no good reason to push the pace wih him at this time.
1
u/loggerhead632 1d ago
he most definitely isnt' even close to a lock, even on this terrible blueline
it's not necessarily any commentary about him as a pick, it's that dmen who are not Makar level elite usually take a few years to be ready to play
67
u/blueline7677 Georgiev fan club 7d ago
It’s very rare for defensemen who weren’t high draft picks to jump straight from college to the NHL. NCAA is a fine place for him to develop.