Speculation: 2014 Offseason - Roster Building / Trade Speculation Thread

[slipknottin]

I still think we are lacking in a few areas.

I don't trust Pouliot to post 2nd line numbers with or with out a full season of Zuccs. As a player he is what he is, a solid 3rd liner capable of 30-35 points.

I'd like a little more size and determination from the wing position. Someone willing and capable of going to and staying in front of the net.

Still lacking the PPQB that haunted us thsi year, specifically in the PO's.

Also lacking a point shot. I like that John Moore is willing to pull the trigger as often as he does, but I'm not ready to trust him there.

I think the team still has a few holes that may not be detrimental during the regular season, but they almost cost us early this PO's and surely cost us in the Finals.

PPQB and Point shot COULD have been the difference against the Kings.

Well you could switch the Miller and Brassard line if you want. Don't think it matters as both lines will get about equal ice time.

Without a trade I don't see where they would be finding a ppqb and point shot. And frankly they just do not have the ammo to pull off any sort of substantial trade.

Allen does play some ppqb for Hartford so that's one option. Mcilrath might have the hardest shot on the roster. Though it is not particularly accurate at this point. But he may potentially be a better point option than girardi

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

How much is ROR going to cost? His QO is 6.5 mil. How are we affording that? Guess what, we aren't. Whatever upgrade you think ROR provides, it isn't worth more than double the cap hit. We would be better off trading Brassard than Stepan in that scenario.

I think the move the Avs did made it so his QO is not 15% less. That would bring it down to a little bit above $5.5 million.

 

[GAGLine]

I think the move the Avs did made it so his QO is not 15% less. That would bring it down to a little bit above $5.5 million.

Regardless, he still needs to be signed or the arbitrator has to decide on an award and those decisions rarely go in the team's favor.

ROR will probably get 6 mil per year on his next contract, if not more. Stepan might get a similar contract, but not until next year when the cap will be even higher and both Staal and MSL may be gone.

If we swap Stepan for ROR, then say goodbye to one of Zucc, Stralman or Brassard. We just don't have the cap space to make that deal and keep everyone, even with buying out Richards.

 

[FedorBure]

Bringing back Callahan and Jagr?

Hello I am new

It seems like our main issues in the playoffs that we were struggling on offense. Our defense is very solid and our goaltending is top notch.

Jagr would be controversial and I know he's older but he would great on the second line.

Any thoughts

 

[Ghost of jas]

Hello I am new

It seems like our main issues in the playoffs that we were struggling on offense. Our defense is very solid and our goaltending is top notch.

Jagr would be controversial and I know he's older but he would great on the second line.

Any thoughts

The Rangers would appear to be set at RW.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Hello I am new

It seems like our main issues in the playoffs that we were struggling on offense. Our defense is very solid and our goaltending is top notch.

Jagr would be controversial and I know he's older but he would great on the second line.

Any thoughts

Also Jagr already resigned w the Devils.

 

[Beer League Sniper]

There's no space for either Callahan or Jagr on this roster, cap or otherwise.

Jagr has been a hired gun since he left NY.

Callahan and his agent have made it quite clear he's going to the highest bidder. For that, he's going to rot on a bottom-feeder like Buffalo or Edmonton. He'll get his cash, though, so good for him.

 

[FedorBure]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

 

[Beer League Sniper]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

The cap is a concern. We're not going to be able to re-sign everyone. All Richards buyout really does is free up the cash to give guys like Kreider, Brassard, and Zuccarello raises on their next contracts. All the successful cup teams have had important roles played by rookies/young players, and that's due to the cap. We have to trust that guys like Miller, Lindberg, and Fast can step up and play important roles for us. We literally have no other choice with the salary cap.

 

[Zil]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

People are mostly focused with keeping the roster together since we're up against the cap. While I'd like for us to strike a deal for someone like Ryan O'Reilly, I understand that the cap makes that a longshot. Also, nobody knows what the cap is going to be. Capgeek has it at $71 million, but it might be closer to $69 million. Even at $71 million, squeezing in a major upgrade becomes difficult. Here's a possible roster where I deal Staal and Miller for Ryan O'Reilly:

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
FORWARDS
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / Ryan O'Reilly ($6.500m) / Rick Nash ($7.800m)
Chris Kreider ($2.250m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Benoit Pouliot ($1.800m) / Derick Brassard ($3.700m) / Mats Zuccarello ($4.200m)
Oscar Lindberg ($0.675m) / Dominic Moore ($1.300m) / Jesper Fast ($0.805m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.900m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m) / Dan Girardi ($5.500m)
John Moore ($1.500m) / Anton Stralman ($4.200m)
Conor Allen ($0.925m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)
Justin Falk ($1.024m) /
GOALTENDERS
Henrik Lundqvist ($8.500m)
Cameron Talbot ($0.563m)
BUYOUTS
Wade Redden ($0.000m)
Brad Richards ($0.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $70,691,250; BONUSES: $1,030,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $408,750

The bottom line is that while I'd love to do something like this, we have very little wiggle room unless the front office gets creative.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

All things being equal everyone on this site would want to upgrade the team to contend. It's just not overly realistic with the cap. Add it up and it becomes obvious. MSL was the big move.

Unless some/all of Staal, Stralman, Brassard, Zucc are let go. On top of Boyle being a given to walk. And then the question becomes how much of an upgrade is it? Rangers may be best served keeping as much of this team together as possible, letting kids step up, and reloading next summer when the cap is higher and those kids have either become valuable trade chips or made others expendable.

 

[Vitto79]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

sure but they can rent at the deadline. with the cap I think Miller/Fast need to play

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Another thing -- just reading through this thread. It seems that everyone is satisfied with effectively reducing the talent on our team when we were on the brink of the cup. I love the young guys, but lets face it, our team wont be getting any better next year if we dont upgrade it.

Everyone seems to want to bring up young guys and not bring in any more stars. We're so close though, isn't the point to win the cup?

There's a salary cap.....

 

[Trxjw]

Looks like Stepan killed another person's puppy.

I don't think the Rangers are as desperate to upgrade at center as we all would like to think. ROR would be a great addition to the center depth, but if the team is still high on Miller, for right or wrong, they'll probably try and spoon-feed him the 3rd line center spot in the fall.

It really all comes down to whether or not the team feels they can immediately return to where they left off, or if they might be forced to take a small step back and "reload" for another push after they see what they can get out of Miller, Fast, Lindberg, Haggerty, etc, etc, etc. Obviously the other side of that coin involves the ages of MSL and Lundqvist, but you can't always make decisions based on one or two guys.

To me, the biggest issue is getting more offense out of the blue line. With Richards leaving, someone has to man the point with McDonagh on the top PP unit. It ought to be a righty, but Girardi can't handle that and Stralman, despite his possession numbers, is not an effective option on the PP. I think the team could very well go after Dan Boyle, or, perhaps if they need to move a body, rekindle their interest in Cody Franson who no longer appears to be in the Leafs' plans.

The other move might be to add a right-handed shot to the wing that can play on the 2nd PP unit, but I don't know where he'd play with the current lineup/PP configurations. We need a shooting threat from that side, but if you replace Pouliot, there's nobody in front of the net.

 

[Captain Monglobster]

The cap issues are why I would look to get Nash to waive his NMC and move him at the draft, ideally. To me moving his salary is addition by subtraction, now you have some wiggle room to bring in a more consistent performer.

 

[charliemurphy]

I still think that a FA signing like Moulson will be too much for Sather to pass up on after freeing up salary from Richards. Not that I don't think Moulson would be a bad idea because I think he would play very well in AV's system and possibly have him be interchangeable with Krieder for the top 2 lines at LW.
Definitely think that players like Hagelin and J. Moore will be in talks as trade bait for a centerman, although I wouldn't mind seeing Miller get some serious time to see what he's got and I'm not opposed to him getting time centering the 2nd line with a veteran like St. Louis.
As for defense, I'm surious to see how they deal with both Staal and Stralman.
Huge off-season. A lot to do.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

Perhaps we should wait until we know exactly what the cap limit is going to be before we start claiming "there's no way we can afford him."

 

[OverTheCap]

All things being equal everyone on this site would want to upgrade the team to contend. It's just not overly realistic with the cap. Add it up and it becomes obvious. MSL was the big move.

Unless some/all of Staal, Stralman, Brassard, Zucc are let go. On top of Boyle being a given to walk. And then the question becomes how much of an upgrade is it? Rangers may be best served keeping as much of this team together as possible, letting kids step up, and reloading next summer when the cap is higher and those kids have either become valuable trade chips or made others expendable.

Agreed. MSL was our big splash for next season. In addition to cap concerns, some of the names being thrown around, such as ROR, will take multiple assets to acquire. I'm not really sure we have the depth on both the roster and organizational level to withstand another 3-for-1 or 4-for-1 trade. Becoming a top heavy team with little depth proved to be a faulty strategy in the 2012 offseason and I hope the front office has learned from it.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

Nash had 21 goals in 44 games and 26 goals in 65 games as a Ranger. That's 47 goals in 109 games. That's 35 goals over an 82 game season.

What exactly is he bouncing back from? His postseason? We'll have to wait until next postseason to determine that.

Nash also has a NMC. His value is the lowest it probably ever has been because of his playoff stats. He makes $7.8M. All of these things make it stupid to trade him and improbable he gets dealt. I don't think scoring 35 goals per 82 games is "declining." 3 players scored 40 goals last year. A full year of health and Nash will score 35+ goals. He also led the league in GWG, I believe. Yeah, he's not worth $7.8M, but he's worth $7M easily, and that extra million in cap space is not going to kill us.

Add in 25 playoff games and the fact that he was ice cold since returning from the Olympics.

You can manipulate stats to show almost anything, but recent history shows us absolutely nothing that would suggest Nash will score 35 goals this season.

Like I said, he'll bounce back to his average production which is 25goals and 55-60 points.

No, that's not worth 7 million, unless you plan on paying Stepan 7 million on his next deal, and Zucc 7 million and Brassard 6.5 million. Because 50-60 points is the high end of what those three players produce.

Nash was expected to improve on a better team with a better supporting cast.

It was expected that if he was that good at 23, he'd be that much better at 28.

Well, reality bites sometimes. He has not improved. He's the same 60 point player on average, and you just witnessed what a major down year looks like for him. Maybe he finds God and turns into a 40-40 player next season but his performances and statistics in recent years shows a trend that indicates otherwise.

 

[Tawnos]

Looks like Stepan killed another person's puppy.

I don't think the Rangers are as desperate to upgrade at center as we all would like to think. ROR would be a great addition to the center depth, but if the team is still high on Miller, for right or wrong, they'll probably try and spoon-feed him the 3rd line center spot in the fall.

I think the organization is high enough on both Miller and Lindberg to be comfortable with the two of them competing for that spot in camp.

 

[Ian]

Like I said, he'll bounce back to his average production which is 25goals and 55-60 points.

Think you need to check your math on that one.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Eric Staal's long-term future in Carolina is no sure thing. Management change. Karmanos doesn't look like he will pour much more money into that team. They will have to spend the floor but how much higher than that? $51M-$52M floor.

Right now they are at $52.6M with only 14 players signed so they'll have to go significantly above the floor to add 9 players. They could save some of $6M if they can move Ward (not likely all $6M though), but then they'd have to add 10 players which is surely still going to be well above the floor.

 

[NYR89]

Zipay on WFAN right now for those interested.

 

[Elevate]

I've gotten a little less upset with Rick Nash and his abysmal postseason. He's been a good goal scorer during the regular seasons and should definitely stay. Hopefully he'll stop choking in the playoffs. Brad has to go though and it's not really up for discussion. As much as I like the guy he just looks out of gas and for 6.6M a year isn't happening. I'd like to see as many guys as possible resigned and a good center added in Richie's place. Maybe I'd be ok with Staal being replaced by a more offensive d-man.

 

[Trxjw]

Add in 25 playoff games and the fact that he was ice cold since returning from the Olympics.

You can manipulate stats to show almost anything, but recent history shows us absolutely nothing that would suggest Nash will score 35 goals this season.

Like I said, he'll bounce back to his average production which is 25goals and 55-60 points.

No, that's not worth 7 million, unless you plan on paying Stepan 7 million on his next deal, and Zucc 7 million and Brassard 6.5 million. Because 50-60 points is the high end of what those three players produce.

Nash was expected to improve on a better team with a better supporting cast.

It was expected that if he was that good at 23, he'd be that much better at 28.

Well, reality bites sometimes. He has not improved. He's the same 60 point player on average, and you just witnessed what a major down year looks like for him. Maybe he finds God and turns into a 40-40 player next season but his performances and statistics in recent years shows a trend that indicates otherwise.

Uh, actually Nash's career goal scoring average works out to be 35 goals per 82 regular games.