I've seen some people elsewhere say that this was a 'transition year' to start with - I'm not buying that narrative. If it was, you don't sign Shattenkirk, you don't buy out Girardi, you trade more assets than Stepan this past off-season, you don't play Lundqvist as often as they have, you don't chase Thornton/Marleau in the off-season, and you don't re-sign Smith. And you don't retain AV, either.
I think they tried threading the needle and seemed to have failed. It seemed a bit directionless. Are they going full, 3-4 year rebuild or are they going to sign Kovalchuk in the off-season and try to make another run next year?
is apparently going to stay in Hartford instead of returning to Frolunda. I like this a lot. Get him used to playing on North American ice and in a more physical league. Should put him in a good position to be ready for the big club next season. May even see him play a few games with the Rangers before the season is over.
I would assume the thought is replace a right shot with a right shot d-man. It is surprising though that we've called up all these D-men and Ryan Graves doesn't get a sniff. Maybe when Holden gets traded for a high five and a chest bump.
Opening part about analytics so pj will be mad. Quick line on Pacioretty (who cares) and Ranger stuff:
Quote:
1. Stealth possibility for Max Pacioretty: Florida. Would be interesting. The Panthers have a lot of talent, with Henrik Borgstrom ready for prime time after this season at NCAA Denver.
6. Steve Yzerman told Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith, “We are trying to win. We would want to add to our team, not go sideways.”
That said, if he wanted to, I could see a package of players, prospects and picks that could tempt the Rangers for both Nash and Ryan McDonagh.
7. Family connection I didn’t know existed: Ryan McDonagh’s agent, Ben Hankinson, is the brother-in-law of Boston assistant coach Kevin Dean. The Bruins are interested, but, like everyone else, know it will be a big price to pay.
5. Nashville definitely is all in on Rick Nash. The question is if they can outbid a large field. They already dealt Sam Girard, Vladislav Kamenev and their second-round pick in the Kyle Turris deal, so how deep are they willing to go? A first-rounder that might be 27th or lower won’t do it. They’ve still got excellent prospects (Dante Fabbro and Eeli Tolvanen atop the list) and no doubt the Rangers will try to leverage from those.
Tolvanen has 34 points in 47 KHL games this season Â
For an 18 year old in the second best pro league in the world, that's pretty special. I'd take him straight up for Nash. Have to believe he'd be a tough pull, but maybe Fabbro is on the table. Nash's strong play of late with everybody watching can't hurt our chances of getting a good deal.
it’s fun watching the kids out there on the backline getting some valuable ice time. Despite the shaky first 10 minutes, they really are playing loose and free. Nice to see Tony D’s confidence growing game after game.
It seems increasingly obvious that the way to build a defensive corps is to have 2-3 well-paid studs and fill out the bottom end with young guys who don’t make a lot of dough who can skate.
Paying free agents on term deals to round out the bottom half doesn’t make sense. If you feel like you need to add a veteran for a playoff run, the price of getting one at the TDL is always doable.
It seems increasingly obvious that the way to build a defensive corps is to have 2-3 well-paid studs and fill out the bottom end with young guys who don’t make a lot of dough who can skate.
Paying free agents on term deals to round out the bottom half doesn’t make sense. If you feel like you need to add a veteran for a playoff run, the price of getting one at the TDL is always doable.
Yup, its the same issue for 3rd/4th line forwards and back-up goalies.
I just stopped by to see if we might be able to borrow that letter... Â
...to the fans. Holy shitballs; looks like I picked the wrong season to stop sniffing glue.
Should be a rousing Battle for Last Place on Thursday. Like watching two monkeys trying to fuck a football.
LOL, its like going back to the 'rivalry' of the 1999-2001 years. You guys can have this one - i want a top 5 draft pick.
You guys should be buyers by the way - you've got to figure out a way to keep JT excited to stay... but i heard Garth doesnt want to part with either potential lottery pick (even though chances are they will both be in 11-15 range), so may be tough.
RE: Hopefully he's at least leading a normal, painfree life again Â
And Phaneuf was in the news yesterday with the trade too. Though I cant blame DP for that one - the hit didnt look that bad at the time and Sauer's head should have been up too. But damnit that sucked.
Things could have worked out differently with a healthy Sauer Â
I see in 2011-2012, Stralman only played 53 games while Sauer played 19. Looks like there was a 1-2 week overlap between the two players, they were rarely rostered in the same game.
RE: RE: I just stopped by to see if we might be able to borrow that letter... Â
You guys should be buyers by the way - you've got to figure out a way to keep JT excited to stay... but i heard Garth doesnt want to part with either potential lottery pick (even though chances are they will both be in 11-15 range), so may be tough.
I believe we do nothing, ultimately. We'd be selling low on anyone at this point (see: Nelson, Brock) since no one has any real value - players with no heart and guts are useless, and I'm sure they won't move Barzal, Pulock or Beauvillier, nor should they. If they make a move now, the outcomes are: 1. simply rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; 2. you make a move for the sake of making a move and trade away a precious ascending, cost controlled asset (like the names mentioned above) in return for one of lesser value; 3. You make a move - for example, our group has talked about Gudbranson - but the economic implications not only adversely affect the cap situation, but just as well bring yet another body in that takes the place of what they should have been integrating all along, and in this case on D, you'd then logjam guys like Devon Toews, Aho and Salo behind a player who frankly doesn't fit in the team's long range plans. Trade for a goalie now? Well, if you subscribe to Sorokin or Soderstrom being near-ready, do you bring a 24 year old G (Mrazek) or 26 year old G (Lehner) that at their salaries which means even more time not integrating the top prospects at that position? I don't.
Bottom line, and I used this line with our crew this morning, is that Garth Nero has been fiddling now for many years. Our Rome is finally burning. The disease isn't just on ice, it's rampant in the coaching staff and through the top of the organization.Time for our genial and productive new owners to do what's right. Think about it - our GM just said in a great article in The Atlantic (you should subscribe, BTW...great content) - that our lack of success this year is based on injuries to de Haan and Toews. Think about that - the first a guy who the Isles let go to arbitration because they didn't want to pay him as they feel/felt he wasn't worth the money and are going to lose at season's end, and the second a guy they have buried at BPT that had played in 0 NHL games to that point (and to be fair, he was gonna get the callup when de Haan got hurt, but Toews suffered a season-ending injury at the same time). Yup, that's why we've faltered.
So if I'm JT, while playing with a guy like Barzal is exciting and bears weighing, why would I re-sign? What commitment has there been to building a winning culture? I guess that's what happens when you install organizational leadership that has never won anything, Weight's peripheral Cup in NC notwithstanding.
Rangers signed Stralman on November 3rd and Sauer was hurt Â
I do think with average goaltending and better D this year, you guys are in a much different place. Too bad there's not a deal for McDonaugh and Lundqvist going your way - though it looks like your cap situation is somehow a mess (that's on the GM), so even with us taking back some bad contracts (Greiss, Seidenberg, etc) it wouldnt work. Contracts like Boychuk's and Ladd's are a killer. I said at the time - a broken clock is right twice a day - letting Okposo go who was such a big part of that ascending year for you two years ago and replacing with Ladd was incompetent.
And Torts wasnt a complete stubborn idiot like the current guy so they probably would have eventually got on the ice together... but Stralman was at the time a journeyman who hadnt shown anything, so not a stretch to say in a perverse way that the Sauer injury was maybe the best thing that ever happened to Stralman's career.
Still - if we resign Stralman and let Girardi or Staal walk, we're probably Cup champions in 2015.
I do think with average goaltending and better D this year, you guys are in a much different place. Too bad there's not a deal for McDonaugh and Lundqvist going your way - though it looks like your cap situation is somehow a mess (that's on the GM), so even with us taking back some bad contracts (Greiss, Seidenberg, etc) it wouldnt work. Contracts like Boychuk's and Ladd's are a killer. I said at the time - a broken clock is right twice a day - letting Okposo go who was such a big part of that ascending year for you two years ago and replacing with Ladd was incompetent.
Ho-Sang rightly needs to commit to playing two ways and show more responsibility not only protecting and maintaining the puck, but back on D, so they wanted him getting minutes in BPT to provide that. My problem is, BPT coach Brent Thompson is wired the same way Weight is and Cappy before him, so I'm not sure he's getting the best coaching in general. Our organ-eye-zational philosophy seems to be "the beatings will continue until morale improves". But he surely can't be worse than trotting Chimera, Quine or Fritz - none of whom should be on an NHL roster - out there.
Actually, our cap situation is fine, but the domino to fall is what the cap will look like heading into 18-19 as a large percentage will be allocated to Tavares, as you'd expect. They need to see what it'll rise to because they'll need to also see what it'll take to resign other UFAs like Bailey. So adding a Gudbranson, who while I'm sure is a good guy, is frankly a stiff and at his $6M per is a stupid move if we committed to that at a trade deadline. That won't fix the deeper issues that are more system related as opposed to not having the right guys in the room.
RE: RE: Hopefully he's at least leading a normal, painfree life again Â
And Phaneuf was in the news yesterday with the trade too. Though I cant blame DP for that one - the hit didnt look that bad at the time and Sauer's head should have been up too. But damnit that sucked.
It was definitely a charge -- but they don't seem to call it anymore.
without McDonagh does give me some confidence they can trade him without taking that big a step back defensively. This has been a good audition for Skjei getting first pair minutes. Deangelo has impressed and Pionk looks like he could be something.
Hopefully they're now seeing the value of young defensemen that can skate well and don't treat the puck like a grenade on their stick.
without McDonagh does give me some confidence they can trade him without taking that big a step back defensively. This has been a good audition for Skjei getting first pair minutes. Deangelo has impressed and Pionk looks like he could be something.
Hopefully they're now seeing the value of young defensemen that can skate well and don't treat the puck like a grenade on their stick.
Skjei has looked far better playing with the Wolfpack players than he has at any other point this season, IMO.
DeAngelo looks pretty good. Pionk looks good. Gilmour, who I knew nothing about also looks really good. These guys should have been given burn earlier in the year.
McDonagh will be a massive, massive loss, but it looks like the Rangers seem intent on moving on.
Watch McDonagh play like a monster once he's free of AV Â
I was wary of signing him long-term. He has some injuries and will be 30. He'll be a great addition to someone else for the next 1.25 years. AV definitely hurt him the past few years, though. He never gave McD-Shattenkirk a fair chance, nor played Stralman with him back in 2014.
He's constantly bungled the defense, and McDonagh has been crushed because of it.
McDonagh was third in the league in blocked shots Â
before going out injured. And he has not driven the offense well. Not a good combination.
To be fair, an enormous burden has been put on him with the below average partners he's had to play with. AV has really failed him. I could see him being rejuvenated playing getting away from the Rangers and the captaincy. But he's banged up a lot, he likely won't be worth his next contract.
I was on the fence but I now think they should move him. The package they could get for him could be a turning point for the franchise.
but if he's really going to command a bigger salary and more years than what we gave Shattenkirk then I think it's a mistake to sign him to that. His offensive game never developed like we hoped it would. I think for a defender to command big $'s like that they have to be a weapon in the offensive zone. McDonagh is not that.
He's also had some hard years. I could see his play really dropping off hard all of a sudden. I agree whoever rents him is going to be happy. Whoever signs him to his next contract will likely regret it.
around Skjei and Shattenkirk. Give the young kids like Pionk a real shot, let Deangelo establish hinself, maybe get a good young defenseman in one of these upcoming trades or in the draft. And most importantly bring in a new coaching staff with a completely changed defensive philosophy, willing to work with a young group
It's not an elite unit. But it's more mobile group with good puck moving ability. Less likely to be crushed on the shot chart.
I think we're going to be disappointed with the return we get on McD Â
When i read "franchise changing" return expectations anyway.
His value is pretty low right now - at best you're looking at a Yandle package. 1st Rd (and projected late first rounder at that), DuClair (who was a good prospect we probably overhyped as Rangers fan), and a 2nd rounder.
That's not "franchise changing" right?
Duclair was ranked 17th in the 2015 THN Future Watch. Â
I think they tried threading the needle and seemed to have failed. It seemed a bit directionless. Are they going full, 3-4 year rebuild or are they going to sign Kovalchuk in the off-season and try to make another run next year?
Probably both. It's the Ranger way.
Sounds like addition by subtraction!
Yeah, what happened to Graves?
Rangers defense is now comprised of a mediocre AHL team and Nick Holden and Brady Skjei.
I would assume the thought is replace a right shot with a right shot d-man. It is surprising though that we've called up all these D-men and Ryan Graves doesn't get a sniff. Maybe when Holden gets traded for a high five and a chest bump.
6. Steve Yzerman told Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith, “We are trying to win. We would want to add to our team, not go sideways.”
That said, if he wanted to, I could see a package of players, prospects and picks that could tempt the Rangers for both Nash and Ryan McDonagh.
7. Family connection I didn’t know existed: Ryan McDonagh’s agent, Ben Hankinson, is the brother-in-law of Boston assistant coach Kevin Dean. The Bruins are interested, but, like everyone else, know it will be a big price to pay.
31 Thoughts - ( New Window )
Nash puts one in ...his own net that is. Will that be the last image of him in a Rangers sweater?
And more bumbling and fumbling in their own end. The ass raping continues ...
Why do I feel like this person?? I hate this... but its for the best.
Sens trade Phaneuf, Thompson to Kings for Gaborik, Shore - ( New Window )
Paying free agents on term deals to round out the bottom half doesn’t make sense. If you feel like you need to add a veteran for a playoff run, the price of getting one at the TDL is always doable.
Paying free agents on term deals to round out the bottom half doesn’t make sense. If you feel like you need to add a veteran for a playoff run, the price of getting one at the TDL is always doable.
Yup, its the same issue for 3rd/4th line forwards and back-up goalies.
Should be a rousing Battle for Last Place on Thursday. Like watching two monkeys trying to fuck a football.
Should be a rousing Battle for Last Place on Thursday. Like watching two monkeys trying to fuck a football.
I hate sports.
Should be a rousing Battle for Last Place on Thursday. Like watching two monkeys trying to fuck a football.
LOL, its like going back to the 'rivalry' of the 1999-2001 years. You guys can have this one - i want a top 5 draft pick.
You guys should be buyers by the way - you've got to figure out a way to keep JT excited to stay... but i heard Garth doesnt want to part with either potential lottery pick (even though chances are they will both be in 11-15 range), so may be tough.
And Phaneuf was in the news yesterday with the trade too. Though I cant blame DP for that one - the hit didnt look that bad at the time and Sauer's head should have been up too. But damnit that sucked.
Bottom line, and I used this line with our crew this morning, is that Garth Nero has been fiddling now for many years. Our Rome is finally burning. The disease isn't just on ice, it's rampant in the coaching staff and through the top of the organization.Time for our genial and productive new owners to do what's right. Think about it - our GM just said in a great article in The Atlantic (you should subscribe, BTW...great content) - that our lack of success this year is based on injuries to de Haan and Toews. Think about that - the first a guy who the Isles let go to arbitration because they didn't want to pay him as they feel/felt he wasn't worth the money and are going to lose at season's end, and the second a guy they have buried at BPT that had played in 0 NHL games to that point (and to be fair, he was gonna get the callup when de Haan got hurt, but Toews suffered a season-ending injury at the same time). Yup, that's why we've faltered.
So if I'm JT, while playing with a guy like Barzal is exciting and bears weighing, why would I re-sign? What commitment has there been to building a winning culture? I guess that's what happens when you install organizational leadership that has never won anything, Weight's peripheral Cup in NC notwithstanding.
I do think with average goaltending and better D this year, you guys are in a much different place. Too bad there's not a deal for McDonaugh and Lundqvist going your way - though it looks like your cap situation is somehow a mess (that's on the GM), so even with us taking back some bad contracts (Greiss, Seidenberg, etc) it wouldnt work. Contracts like Boychuk's and Ladd's are a killer. I said at the time - a broken clock is right twice a day - letting Okposo go who was such a big part of that ascending year for you two years ago and replacing with Ladd was incompetent.
And Torts wasnt a complete stubborn idiot like the current guy so they probably would have eventually got on the ice together... but Stralman was at the time a journeyman who hadnt shown anything, so not a stretch to say in a perverse way that the Sauer injury was maybe the best thing that ever happened to Stralman's career.
Still - if we resign Stralman and let Girardi or Staal walk, we're probably Cup champions in 2015.
Good morning Carl!
I do think with average goaltending and better D this year, you guys are in a much different place. Too bad there's not a deal for McDonaugh and Lundqvist going your way - though it looks like your cap situation is somehow a mess (that's on the GM), so even with us taking back some bad contracts (Greiss, Seidenberg, etc) it wouldnt work. Contracts like Boychuk's and Ladd's are a killer. I said at the time - a broken clock is right twice a day - letting Okposo go who was such a big part of that ascending year for you two years ago and replacing with Ladd was incompetent.
Actually, our cap situation is fine, but the domino to fall is what the cap will look like heading into 18-19 as a large percentage will be allocated to Tavares, as you'd expect. They need to see what it'll rise to because they'll need to also see what it'll take to resign other UFAs like Bailey. So adding a Gudbranson, who while I'm sure is a good guy, is frankly a stiff and at his $6M per is a stupid move if we committed to that at a trade deadline. That won't fix the deeper issues that are more system related as opposed to not having the right guys in the room.
Quote:
.
And Phaneuf was in the news yesterday with the trade too. Though I cant blame DP for that one - the hit didnt look that bad at the time and Sauer's head should have been up too. But damnit that sucked.
It was definitely a charge -- but they don't seem to call it anymore.
Hopefully they're now seeing the value of young defensemen that can skate well and don't treat the puck like a grenade on their stick.
Hopefully they're now seeing the value of young defensemen that can skate well and don't treat the puck like a grenade on their stick.
Skjei has looked far better playing with the Wolfpack players than he has at any other point this season, IMO.
DeAngelo looks pretty good. Pionk looks good. Gilmour, who I knew nothing about also looks really good. These guys should have been given burn earlier in the year.
McDonagh will be a massive, massive loss, but it looks like the Rangers seem intent on moving on.
I was wary of signing him long-term. He has some injuries and will be 30. He'll be a great addition to someone else for the next 1.25 years. AV definitely hurt him the past few years, though. He never gave McD-Shattenkirk a fair chance, nor played Stralman with him back in 2014.
He's constantly bungled the defense, and McDonagh has been crushed because of it.
To be fair, an enormous burden has been put on him with the below average partners he's had to play with. AV has really failed him. I could see him being rejuvenated playing getting away from the Rangers and the captaincy. But he's banged up a lot, he likely won't be worth his next contract.
I was on the fence but I now think they should move him. The package they could get for him could be a turning point for the franchise.
He's also had some hard years. I could see his play really dropping off hard all of a sudden. I agree whoever rents him is going to be happy. Whoever signs him to his next contract will likely regret it.
It's not an elite unit. But it's more mobile group with good puck moving ability. Less likely to be crushed on the shot chart.
His value is pretty low right now - at best you're looking at a Yandle package. 1st Rd (and projected late first rounder at that), DuClair (who was a good prospect we probably overhyped as Rangers fan), and a 2nd rounder.
That's not "franchise changing" right?