McIlrath signs 800K

[strudwickisthebest]

DMac only had 4 fights last year... Albeit he was on the bench... The days of players getting 300+ penalty minutes for the most part is over. Dylan is a smart fighter and knows when to fight and when not to. He landed bomb hits last year which are only going to get bigger this year... Dump is right, goons on te 4th line ruin the offense unless the player is a Shawn Thornton type player... Teams still need a deterrent, especially now where the tough guys are out of the game and you have players like Hartnell, Beleskey, Marchand, komorov, etc that are chespshot artists

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Also, the pussy mentality reflected on the Defense last year who couldn't even clear a guy like Nathan Gerbe out of the crease

 

[panzerporter]

I've always felt McIlrath was a deterrent toward opponents cruising through the crease into Hank's path, anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. Those who played the game know you look out for a hard hitter, most NHL guys don't drop the gloves and would never fight a guy who can handle himself like McIlrath.Even with his limited play he threw big hits that were clean, guys notice that more than his fighting ability. Bettman resolved to remove fighting from hockey over a decade ago so McIlrath's fighting skills aren't really relevant to today's game. Hank was constantly bumped, interfered with and had his stick slashed out of his glove seceral times this past season. That's where McIlrath is a deterrent, when the whistle stops play he's like a bouncer clearing stragglers out of Hank's face, no other Rangers player does this.