Speculation: 2013 Offseason Thread Part III: Free Agents Suck
- Thread starter JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK
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Stepan only fits one piece of the puzzle. Adding another elite centerman probably serves a better fit IMO. Need elite C depth to be a contending team (unless ridiculously stacked with depth with franchise Wingers or Dmen). Stepan should probably be the only untouchable forward on the roster.
Clown Fiesta
Registered User
See how things go but as it stands the two best centers in the world have a goose egg against Boston, maybe they're not good enough to play 1st line minutes either?
Those two centers have rings and MVP accolades, they have proven for many years that they're more than good enough to play 1st line minutes.
I'd definitely wait to see how he plays in a different system next year "without shackles" when he will be 23 ... not 29 ... 23.
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
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Clown Fiesta
Registered User
Really? Gosh didn't know that.
Did I need the sarcasm smiley?
Like how Toews only scoring 1g is forgiven because he has a Conn Smythe? I forgive you Brad Richards.
Anyway, the point is we have a very capable young center at a point in time where we don't have a true #1 center so let's go sign one? Perhaps we could give Stepan a chance to prove himself? Something that will never happen if you continue to sign FA's to play in front of him.
I think you'll find that things won't be much different next season.
Let's find out, what is there to lose? You think his value will go any lower? It can go only up from here.
Clown Fiesta
Registered User
Don't think he's bad enough now to have cratered his value... It could easily go down.
Thirty One
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GMs don't react as strongly as this message board does. I'm sure he has plenty of value. I do think his value will go down just because he'll be 1/3 closer to unrestricted free agency, have a higher cap hit etc.
And I'm not saying that Del Zotto won't be better than he was this season. I'm saying if he does it will be because players go through ups and downs, and not because he's been shackled.
I don't think he can look any worse than he looked in the previous system.
Thirty One
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Clown Fiesta
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Forgot about his 2nd season already? Would he ever regress to that point? Doubt it, but let's not pretend he can't play worse. He easily could. Especially if he really started forcing the stretch pass like he used to and causing more turnovers.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
His play declined when Staal came back and they tried to transition him to the right. I'm not sure what his problem was this year beyond just being in a slump. Not knowing who his D partner was going to be from one shift to the next didn't really help him either. I also think he was starting to be confused about what Tortorella wanted him to do, exactly.
So, who knows where DZ is at in his development, really.
LaffyTaffyNYR
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- Feb 25, 2012
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Boston doesnt have one superstar center, yet look at them. Its all about depth and what players work well together. Pittsburgh is being manhandled by them even more than we were at times.
LaffyTaffyNYR
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13.5M cap space right now, say our RFAs get 10M of that. That still leaves almost 4M, and then richards buy out is an additional 6. Thats 10m in cap space to use towards next years UFAs, and we could also make more cap space available via trades etc. Its not as bad as people try to make it out to be.
But that can apply to any player on any team, right? He is 22 and has produced at a good clip in 3 out of 4 years, what's the hurry to trade him? What's the downside to wait and see how he plays in a different system?
That's where all Ranger fans need to temper our enthusiasm (for a soon to be 23 year old).
Derek Stepan took a huge step forward this past season. Let's hope he can stabilize this level, before projecting him to do even better. He's played his way into the #1C role, now he has to play against a league that will recognize this role and play him harder than ever.
He sure was, and we know that system was not conductive to creativity. He can blossom in a better system, can't he?
LaffyTaffyNYR
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- Feb 25, 2012
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I dunno why but I honestly think (at least to begin the season) we will see Del Zotto here, and I still believe Richards gets another year with a diff coach.
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
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Again, I think if you're expecting a magical system to improve all the players, you'll be just as disappointed as those who expected similar results with Torts.
Not a "magical" system. Just a more up tempo system would do. Pressure the points, allow some creativity instead of clear the puck around the walls, dump and chase ...
I don't know about you, but I was getting tired of that system, they were not winning and not entertaining.
We shall see how these players perform in another system, isn't that part of the fun?
Clown Fiesta
Registered User
Sure, why not? That's not really what I was trying to say, but whatever. I don't see a downside to waiting, other than his value certainly could go down. Not in a big hurry to trade him either way, just think if you can get a good top six forward in return you pull the trigger.
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