Are you telling me that you would rather see promising young players than 31 pts. in 248 games Michael Haley?? You're crazy!!!

A possible reason for this - as I've now been informed - is the Rags only have 4 games in the opening 15 days. Maybe they are sending Krav and Fil down to get some games in during this weird opening schedule. I still don't like it, but that does make some sense, at least. I'll wait for the press conference about it and see if Coach mentions it

You need to RELAX, contracts will be moved before seasons end. This is not suppose to be a "contending" year. It is a develop and move on from expiring contracts.

No point in having Kravstov who at times showed flashes of how good he can be but at others looked scared to go into corners play 3rd or 4th line minutes. Let him along with Chytil who had a terrible preseason get 1st line minutes in Hartford who play 8 games in the first 2 weeks while the Rangers only play 4.

I admittedly did not realize the terrible schedule we have for the first two weeks when I made this; apologies for that and I did mention it in a comment shortly after posting the thread. Still, I don't want to see Micheal Haley on the ice for even 10 minutes this year... hopefully Fil and Krav can come up after the first two weeks. Those two going down aren't as bad as possibly losing Nieves through waivers... he easily could have been the 13th forward

Haley is a 13th forward that won't get playing time.. in terms of Chytil and Kravtsov-- it makes sense to have them in the AHL.

Chytil:
- He is absolutely atrocious at faceoffs
- Bad in the defensive zone
- Horrible pre-season performance

Result: he needs to learn how to play center in the AHL. The rangers could only use him at wing, but they need him to be a center long term. Give him a year to develop at the position in the AHL.

Kravtsov:
- Played well enough in preseason to play top 9
- Due to rangers current roster makeup and predictions, would be playing a 4th line role
- Rangers have to build up the value of Strome (rfa), Namestnikov (UFA), Fast (UFA) who are most likely gone by the TDL
- You have three top 50 prospects in the entire NHL in the AHL between Chytil, Kravtsov and Sheshterkin (arguably top 25). With the additions to Hartford, they should no longer be a bottom feeder. Let Chytil and Kravtsov build chemistry together and they could be in the top 6 come trade deadline (if kreider/strome/namestnikov are traded).

Result: Better to get top pairing minutes in AHL while adjusting to the smaller rink size instead of 4th line minutes

Don't like Haley and his 700,000 cap hit. I'd be much more frustrated with all those dead money contracts that are taking cap space. As some rational Ranger fans mentioned above....its a development year. Let some of those youngsters learn North American hockey in AHL.

Absolutely agree. People are getting over the top upset but this makes the most sense. Chytil has to learn to battle harder and control the puck as well he loses it too easily every time. I would think Howden should be sent down since he has been atrocious defensively as well and doesnt fit in for the bottom 6 which is where he will most likely play.

i totally agree that chytil did not deserve to make the team. having him play the entire season in the ahl might be a mistake. as an 18 year old he was very good in the ahl, he should be a point per game player now.

I didn't think Howden was bad all pre-season. i really like the kid, he is deserving of making the team.

i'm 35 and been watching nhl hockey since i was 10 and ahl hockey since i was 25. Kravtov playing in the ahl is a very good decision, he should be called up when they feel he can play real mins. but chytil being sent down isn't a good sign. chytil isn't worse then last season, the competition in camp isn't harder then last season. the problem is chytil hasn't gotten better from last season. 14 mins a game in the nhl is better for his development then 20 mins a game in the ahl. chytil is in a much different situation then kravtov, chytil got sent down because quinn doesn't think he is good enough to play on the team.

I may be wrong but I think that the main concern with him is his development as a centerman. he barely took faceoffs last year and there are just better players in the faceoff circle and defensively than he is right now. he will be an early call up I believe.

i see his career path looking similar to jt miller. which isn't a bad thing. miller was drafted as a center, struggled some early on but ended up being good. i think chytil 2 way game is better. miller was a liability often.

i don't think the front office sees Howden as more than a 3rd line center.. so I don't think they'll mind giving him fourth line minutes potentially. Yes he isn't the best defensively, but at least he can win a face-off.

I think they want Chytil to be the long term solution to the 2C (i think andersson has it personally) which is why they want him to learn how to play the position. It's best to try and avoid the JT Miller situation.
Let the kid learn how to play before coming up.

A point i've made often about Andersson (when ppl were worried about development) is that Scheifele did not break through to the NHL until his draft+2 year when he put up 34 points. Chytil got there in his Draft+1 year and put up what 23 points? It was honestly a year too early but the FO needed to prove they didn't swing and miss.. They should've put him down last year to let him learn the center position so he would be more ready this year. Last year was a lost season anyway and they could've kept an extra year of ELC on both him and Andersson if they left them in Hartford (now that I type this i realize what a crap shoot hartford was so maybe that affected the FO decision as well).

100% agree. Dumb move by management in the first place.