Speculation: 2014 - 2015 New York Rangers :: Roster building / proposal thread Part III

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Skjei needs another year of school. That's a really good team. All of the players stayed in school. If Minnesota had beaten Union, it could have been a different story. Most players need 3 years in school unless they're Toews or Kessel. Stepan is an anomaly. 2 years at Wisconsin and made the jump straight to the NHL. Brady is ready physically. He has gained 10 pounds. 6-3 210. Great skater. He started to show more offense at the end of the regular season. Continue to emerge as one of the or the best D in college hockey. Turn pro next spring. He attended summer school. The Rangers tried to sign Kreider after his freshman and sophomore years. Kreider thought he needed a 3rd year. The Gophers should be the favorite to win it this spring.
 
In terms of development, I think getting another year of NCAA hockey would be a good thing. Hopefully he makes the jump at the end of the year so he can gain some pro experience. They have a ton of d-men who are going to be looking for AHL time this year anyways
 
In terms of development, I think getting another year of NCAA hockey would be a good thing. Hopefully he makes the jump at the end of the year so he can gain some pro experience. They have a ton of d-men who are going to be looking for AHL time this year anyways

AHL time isn't really an issue when you're talking about someone of Skjei's caliber. Some veteran would just get shunted aside.
 
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Dog days of August. Camp opens on September 18 and the first game is on the 21. Not much more to do. All of the players except for Moore and Bourque have signed. The Rangers will be in on Kevin Hayes which begins on the 16th. Vigneault needs to hire a 3rd assistant. No word if the Rangers have talked to Staal's people about the contract. The Canadian dollar looks weak again. It broke through a support level a few weeks ago and it's dropped everyday since. Traders were short and the dollar began to rally forcing the shorts to be covered. A few weeks ago, it was reported there were more long positions than short. The dollar drops. So much depends on the Canadian dollar for the cap.
 
So Skjei is basically Weber-lite?

No.

He is a shutdown defender, with great intelligence, great skater, very solid fundamentals, good transition player. One day his offense might develop, but if it never does he is still a #2 shutdown LHD.

He is irreplaceable in our system. No other player, forward or otherwise, comes close to Skjei, IMO. Someone a week or so ago made a comment that Skjei "isn't even a top 10 defenseman in the NCAA" and that is completely and utterly false. You would be hard pressed to find a better shutdown defenseman in the NCAA, and in the US program all together at his age. He won't get the accolades because his offense isn't there yet and may never be.

Miller and Skjei are players that good teams don't trade. I would rank Miller, Skjei, and Halverson our top three prospects right now. All three are high end players at premiere positions.
 
At the same age, how would one compare McDonagh to Skjei?

Not that far apart. I would say McDonagh was a bit more polished at the same age and a bit stronger already. Mac was an absolute bull in college pretty much straight away. Skjei is strong, and a bit taller so he has a better reach but his skating is fluid like Mac's.

I think it's important to understand that there are very few players in the world as good as McDonagh at what he does.
 
Not that far apart. I would say McDonagh was a bit more polished at the same age and a bit stronger already. Mac was an absolute bull in college pretty much straight away. Skjei is strong, and a bit taller so he has a better reach but his skating is fluid like Mac's.

I think it's important to understand that there are very few players in the world as good as McDonagh at what he does.

Yeah, we were spoiled by Staal pre-head injuries and now by McDonagh especially.

Skjei, I have no doubt will be a very good player, but putting any pressure on him to be McDonagh or Weber is unfair.

To me, if Skjei's offense never develops, I would still be happy with him because of his intelligence, play on the defensive side, and skating. If the offense comes that is just gravy. Future #2 LHD behind Mac-Truck.

It would behoove us to develop an offensive defenseman onthe right side eventually.
 
correct me if im wrong here, but wasnt Skjei super meh all season long up until the last like 10 games of his season?

i havent seen him 1 bit, i just remember a bunch of ppl saying he looked ok, or average or what not, and then the last 10 games he exploded and then became the second coming of McDonagh.

maybe i am misremembering things...wouldnt be the first time...but it does seem like hes on the positive side of the what have you done for me lately way of thinking if i am remembering it correctly.
 
Yeah, we were spoiled by Staal pre-head injuries and now by McDonagh especially.

Skjei, I have no doubt will be a very good player, but putting any pressure on him to be McDonagh or Weber is unfair.

To me, if Skjei's offense never develops, I would still be happy with him because of his intelligence, play on the defensive side, and skating. If the offense comes that is just gravy. Future #2 LHD behind Mac-Truck.

It would behoove us to develop an offensive defenseman onthe right side eventually.

That's where drafting Walcott and Nanne come in. Low risk, moderate to high reward in the middle rounds. I absolutely love what the Rangers did this draft given the picks they had. If they can add a 1st rounder in 2015 I'll be ecstatic. But I digress.

Skjei is ready. Could probably best out John Moore on our opening night roster to be honest. The extra development year will only help him. He'll learn more playing 20 minutes a night in Minnesota than 10-12 in New York.

Marc Staal is going to command way too much money on his next contract. Washington set the market with that absurd Brooks Orpik contract. Staal has every right to command close to 6.5 million per year. Trade him. Get a prospect and a 1st rounder back. The Rangers will need the cap space to sign Stepan, Hagelin, and Zuccarello to new deals.
 
correct me if im wrong here, but wasnt Skjei super meh all season long up until the last like 10 games of his season?

i havent seen him 1 bit, i just remember a bunch of ppl saying he looked ok, or average or what not, and then the last 10 games he exploded and then became the second coming of McDonagh.

maybe i am misremembering things...wouldnt be the first time...but it does seem like hes on the positive side of the what have you done for me lately way of thinking if i am remembering it correctly.

Offensively he picked it up in the second half, but he was always himself defensively.

For anyone who looks at a stat sheet and says Skjei is meh, it's because the things he does aren't going to be found in text. Unless the NCAA started using Corsi and advanced stats...not to my knowledge.

He is a subtle player, a shutdown kind of player first and foremost. He has always been. Even in his freshman year he rarely made mistakes. And when he did he could cover them with his skating.

However, it should be noted that even though he won't blow anyone away with offensive numbers, still the only two defensemen for Minnesota that outscored him were older.
 
Yeah, we were spoiled by Staal pre-head injuries and now by McDonagh especially.

Skjei, I have no doubt will be a very good player, but putting any pressure on him to be McDonagh or Weber is unfair.

To me, if Skjei's offense never develops, I would still be happy with him because of his intelligence, play on the defensive side, and skating. If the offense comes that is just gravy. Future #2 LHD behind Mac-Truck.

It would behoove us to develop an offensive defenseman onthe right side eventually.

I always saw him as a Brett Hedican-type. Solid defensively, good IQ, great skater

correct me if im wrong here, but wasnt Skjei super meh all season long up until the last like 10 games of his season?

i havent seen him 1 bit, i just remember a bunch of ppl saying he looked ok, or average or what not, and then the last 10 games he exploded and then became the second coming of McDonagh.

maybe i am misremembering things...wouldnt be the first time...but it does seem like hes on the positive side of the what have you done for me lately way of thinking if i am remembering it correctly.

Defensively he was solid all year. Offensively he took a big step.

That's where drafting Walcott and Nanne come in. Low risk, moderate to high reward in the middle rounds. I absolutely love what the Rangers did this draft given the picks they had. If they can add a 1st rounder in 2015 I'll be ecstatic. But I digress.

Skjei is ready. Could probably best out John Moore on our opening night roster to be honest. The extra development year will only help him. He'll learn more playing 20 minutes a night in Minnesota than 10-12 in New York.

Marc Staal is going to command way too much money on his next contract. Washington set the market with that absurd Brooks Orpik contract. Staal has every right to command close to 6.5 million per year. Trade him. Get a prospect and a 1st rounder back. The Rangers will need the cap space to sign Stepan, Hagelin, and Zuccarello to new deals.

Not sure I agree. Lok at what Andrew McDonald got from the Flyers. That's a decent contract IMO.

Offensively he picked it up in the second half, but he was always himself defensively.

For anyone who looks at a stat sheet and says Skjei is meh, it's because the things he does aren't going to be found in text. Unless the NCAA started using Corsi and advanced stats...not to my knowledge.

He is a subtle player, a shutdown kind of player first and foremost. He has always been. Even in his freshman year he rarely made mistakes. And when he did he could cover them with his skating.

However, it should be noted that even though he won't blow anyone away with offensive numbers, still the only two defensemen for Minnesota that outscored him were older.

He is just like McDonagh where he lets the offense come naturally out of his defense.
 
That's where drafting Walcott and Nanne come in. Low risk, moderate to high reward in the middle rounds. I absolutely love what the Rangers did this draft given the picks they had. If they can add a 1st rounder in 2015 I'll be ecstatic. But I digress.

Skjei is ready. Could probably best out John Moore on our opening night roster to be honest. The extra development year will only help him. He'll learn more playing 20 minutes a night in Minnesota than 10-12 in New York.

Marc Staal is going to command way too much money on his next contract. Washington set the market with that absurd Brooks Orpik contract. Staal has every right to command close to 6.5 million per year. Trade him. Get a prospect and a 1st rounder back. The Rangers will need the cap space to sign Stepan, Hagelin, and Zuccarello to new deals.

I agree with everything you said here. And I agree with the draft. Some good value picks there that could end up paying off.

To be honest, in the near future I'd like McDonagh-Skjei-J.Moore on the left side. The mobility would be outstanding.
 
I agree with everything you said here. And I agree with the draft. Some good value picks there that could end up paying off.

To be honest, in the near future I'd like McDonagh-Skjei-J.Moore on the left side. The mobility would be outstanding.

I think you're more likely to see:

McDonagh
Staal
Skjei

And if I had to guess at the right side in a year or 2:

Girardi
McIlrath
Allen/UFA
 
I always saw him as a Brett Hedican-type. Solid defensively, good IQ, great skater



Defensively he was solid all year. Offensively he took a big step.



Not sure I agree. Lok at what Andrew McDonald got from the Flyers. That's a decent contract IMO.



He is just like McDonagh where he lets the offense come naturally out of his defense.

Yeah, I agree with that. He doesn't force the offense. No leap of faith rushes or pinches at awkward times.

I would love it if anyone keeps track of Corsi in the NCAA, i would bet that Skjei would be one of the top Corsi defensemen in the NCAA. He moves the puck to his teammates quickly on the transition also.
 
I think you're more likely to see:

McDonagh
Staal
Skjei

And if I had to guess at the right side in a year or 2:

Girardi
McIlrath
Allen/UFA

Think they're wishing Skjei would not go to school so they can see what he's got and if he can step it up so they can get rid of Staal by the trade deadline, get a return while not falling off a cliff if Skjei can step it up a bit (granted, it's unfair to give him the expectation of being a top four defenseman by March). Maybe a leap, but think them wanting him to go pro now may be part of them deciding what to do with Staal. They're wishing they had Staal signed one more year!
 
Think they're wishing Skjei would not go to school so they can see what he's got and if he can step it up so they can get rid of Staal by the trade deadline, get a return while not falling off a cliff if Skjei can step it up a bit (granted, it's unfair to give him the expectation of being a top four defenseman by March). Maybe a leap, but think them wanting him to go pro now may be part of them deciding what to do with Staal. They're wishing they had Staal signed one more year!

I say just re-sign him and then move Moore if need be. If Skjei keeps pushing, you can move Staal for a solid return and back-fill the 3rd pairing.
 
Think they're wishing Skjei would not go to school so they can see what he's got and if he can step it up so they can get rid of Staal by the trade deadline, get a return while not falling off a cliff if Skjei can step it up a bit (granted, it's unfair to give him the expectation of being a top four defenseman by March). Maybe a leap, but think them wanting him to go pro now may be part of them deciding what to do with Staal. They're wishing they had Staal signed one more year!

I say just re-sign him and then move Moore if need be. If Skjei keeps pushing, you can move Staal for a solid return and back-fill the 3rd pairing.

I think Allen may open a lot of eyes (and possibilities) in camp.

There's a reason they gave him a bigger contract (counting bonuses) LAST year than Haggerty/Bodie/McCarthy/Zamorsky got THIS year - and he showed it for the first four months of last season before he hit the college rookie wall. I think he pushes for real playing time this year.
 
It's all sales, everything is. The fact that you think having less bidders for something means that you can squeeze more out of that person is ludicrous. That's not the way the market works. That's not the way ANY market works.

It's not sales, its as pointed out, negotiation.

Two parties are getting interests back of equal proportion, or in each GM's respective mind, hopefully an upgrade in their commodity.

If there is only 1 player on the field, a GM can still dictate his value to release the player. Because there are more suitors does not mean that it automaticly will increase the potential if the roof is already set. In practical theory the outcome of 1 bidder and many bidders remains the same as long as the value of the tradeable asset is set. Which in the NHL it always is.

Supply and demand is a gross pop-culture simplifcation of the flow of sales. Sales is based on increase in revenue, Trades in the NHL are based on spesific need.

You're mistaken when you assume that many bidders means that teams will throw "a guy in there to increase value". No team does that. They are all out after equal value, with the upside of future potential.

You can say its sales, but thats just because you decided to define it as such, it doesnt mean its true
 
I think Allen may open a lot of eyes (and possibilities) in camp.

There's a reason they gave him a bigger contract (counting bonuses) LAST year than Haggerty/Bodie/McCarthy/Zamorsky got THIS year - and he showed it for the first four months of last season before he hit the college rookie wall. I think he pushes for real playing time this year.

I like Allen, but he needs to make a real push this year to make it. He is already 24.

I think Klein is more likely to be moved because they need the cap space.

I wouldn't be at all surprised by that in addition to Moore
 
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