Speculation: 2014 Offseason - Roster Building / Trade Speculation Thread

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

Yeah, but giving up Marc Staal is tough.

I would like it to be a real good return for us to deal Staal. At least thats how I feel right now, if Staal is injured again next season and breaks records with how long he is out, I will of course regret not pulling the trigger. But Marc Staal got a heck of a precense on a blueline. In some areas, he is like top 5 in the World. I don't mind ROR, he is a decent player and would be a decent fit as a top center. I would especialy like the 1-2-3 punch of Step-ROR-Brass in whatever order.



I get your point, but I think everyone in the Ranger community, Slats first and foremost, should be brainwashed into never again thinking in terms of "1st line"/"2nd line"/"3rd line". We could have won it this season, because we iced a good hockey team. Can Derek Stepan be a part of a good hockey team? Yes. Can Brassard center a line on a good hockey team that can play late? Yes. When we loose BR, can we ice a good enough PP? Questionable. How do we fix that then? That is a question that should be asked. We need players that will make the other teams adjust to them, match lines, that can take the match-ups against the best lines of the other teams. A typical heavy scoring line. We got a heavy 0-0 line, is that enough? Questionable. Can we fix that? How do we do that best? Move Nash? Upgrade Step? When is it possible to make these upgrades, now or at the deadline or next summer? All that are by my book reasonable questions.

I don't at all agree with any thinking in line of "4m per year is too much for a 3rd line center in Brass" or "Step is not good enough to be a 1st line center".



Agreed.

Staal is put into a cathegory that isn't very telling. Staal has numerous times been a No 1 D for a team that has made the POs. He has numerous times taken extremely tough match-ups against the best in the game, and handled himself really well. He avg 25:17 during 20 games in the 11/12 POs, he avg. 28:01 during the 10/11 POs. And so forth. Not many players have played more PO games or minutes than Staal the last handful of years.

There are at least a hanful of teams out there that with a very promising future offensively, but needs to make huge improvements defensively over the coming years to become real contenders. I mean, Marc Staal alone completely change the make-ups for those teams.

And its ridiculous to talk about those teams "waiting" to sign Staal until next summer. We are trading Staal or locking him up...

Great post, Ola.

ROR is my first choice.

Thornton or Spezza would be my second.

Thornton would work well with Nash, while I think Spezza could be a great fit for MSL as that right-handed centerman (a la St. Louis-Stamkos) that MSL can give and go with. Spezza could also be that big righty slapshot on the PP (let's not anoint Haggerty a NHL player yet, let alone a guy earning PP time as our trigger-man.) Both Thornton and Spezza should also help improve the PP and not feel the loss of Richards as much.

Any way we could get 2 of these 3 players?

ie:

Kreider Spezza St. Louis
Hagelin O'Reilly Nash
Pouliot Brassard Zuccarello
Carcillo Moore Dorsett

Perhaps Staal for O'Reilly and Stepan+Kristo for Spezza?

Lineup looks great to me, but perhaps it's too much overturn?

(Disclaimer: I don't hate Stepan or Staal. I love them. I just want us to keep getting better every year. So we need to win at least 2 SCF games next season. )


edit:

While I think Eric Staal makes too much, and don't see him being traded and leaving Jordan (who signed there to join Eric) there alone, the following line would be pretty great to see:

Kreider E.Staal Nash

Three huge bodies that can skate.
Average height = 6'3"
Total weight = approaching 700 lbs


*drool*

Ok back to reality, GO GET US ROR, Glen!

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Great post, Ola.

ROR is my first choice.

Thornton or Spezza would be my second.

Thornton would work well with Nash, while I think Spezza could be a great fit for MSL as that right-handed centerman (a la St. Louis-Stamkos) that MSL can give and go with. Spezza could also be that big righty slapshot on the PP (let's not anoint Haggerty a NHL player yet, let alone a guy earning PP time as our trigger-man.) Both Thornton and Spezza should also help improve the PP and not feel the loss of Richards as much.

Any way we could get 2 of these 3 players?

ie:

Kreider Spezza St. Louis
Hagelin O'Reilly Nash
Pouliot Brassard Zuccarello
Carcillo Moore Dorsett

Perhaps Staal for O'Reilly and Stepan+Kristo for Spezza?

Lineup looks great to me, but perhaps it's too much overturn?

(Disclaimer: I don't hate Stepan or Staal. I love them. I just want us to keep getting better every year. So we need to win at least 2 SCF games next season. )


edit:

While I think Eric Staal makes too much, and don't see him being traded and leaving Jordan (who signed there to join Eric) there alone, the following line would be pretty great to see:

Kreider E.Staal Nash

Three huge bodies that can skate.
Average height = 6'3"
Total weight = approaching 700 lbs


*drool*

Ok back to reality, GO GET US ROR, Glen!

That would never work cap wise. Your talking about $22 million tied up in Nash, Thornton or ROR and Spezza. Almost $31 million if you include Lundqvist.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

That would never work cap wise. Your talking about $22 million tied up in Nash, Thornton or ROR and Spezza. Almost $31 million if you include Lundqvist.

I think it's close.

If we assume ROR gets a 6.5 cap hit, he takes the cap-space immediately saved from Richards' buyout.

Spezza only makes about 3.25 million more than Stepan.

Boyle is walking. That opens up half (1.7) of that difference already. Boyle can be replaced by a cheaper player in that role.

If Stralman takes a slightly lower cap-hit in exchange for longer term (more job security for him and his family) and the negotiations with Brass, Zucc, and Pouliot go well, it's certainly possible.

We don't even know what the exact cap limit is going to be yet so it's difficult to say that a certain scenario won't fit under the cap. I think it would be close. Whether or not it would be the right move to make is the real discussion though.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Lundqvist: $8.5
Nash: $7.8
ROR: $6.5
Spezza: I think $7.0
MSL: $5.75
Girardi: $5.5
McD: $4.7
Brassard: $4.0
Zucc: $4.0
Stralman: $3.75
Klein: $2.9

Just doing the math in my head but I think that equals around $62 million for 11 players. Still need another 11 plus room for injuries.

 

[RangerBoy]

Upper limit of NHL's 2014-15 salary cap expected to be set around $70-million. Final accounting still being completed.

https://twitter.com/reporterchris/status/478538978422169600

Coyotes boss Anthony LeBlanc gave Don Maloney a budget

LeBlanc said team will be in middle of the pack when it comes to spending and cap number. Floor anticipated $51-52 mil and ceiling $69-70.

https://twitter.com/azc_mclellan/status/478980806413524993

That reporter Sarah McLellan got those numbers from LeBlanc. The new CBA changed the formula. Its no the standard $16M.

Midpoint is $60M-$61M.

 

[Elevate]

Kreider Spezza St. Louis
Hagelin O'Reilly Nash
Pouliot Brassard Zuccarello
Carcillo Moore Dorsett

Literally no way that this will fit while keeping Stralman etc. The lineup would land at about 76M without even counting extra skaters.

 

[RangerBoy]

Larry Brooks was on HNIC Radio yesterday

He doesn't think the Rangers have room to pay Stralman more than $4M but he might get offers in the $4.5M-$4.75M range

Brooks doesn't see the Rangers dismantling their team to get size down the middle. They can't do much because of the cap restraints. Amount of money already committed and the future commitments.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Sports/Hockey/Stanley+Cup+Playoffs/Stanley+Cup+Final/Audio/ID/2465586399/

Stop coaching Pat

Carl Hagelin, 25, left wing – Under contract, up in summer 2015: Like Stepan, Hagelin is entering a contract year continuing to try and earn a bigger payday in his third NHL deal. His blazing speed was an especially effective asset on New York’s penalty kill, and he posted 17 goals and 33 points in 72 regular season games. But Hagelin impressed more in the postseason, scoring seven goals in 25 games, second on the team only to Martin St. Louis (eight). He had 12 playoff points overall. Something to keep an eye on will be Hagelin’s fit into whatever becomes the Blueshirts’ new forward alignment. He tends to get lost in the shuffle when coaches tinker, or sometimes he’s shuffled too often as coaches look to spark other forwards with Hagelin’s speed. Mainly, it will be interesting to see who his complement at center will be, since Brad Richards is expected to be bought out. A fellow Swede, prospect Oscar Lindberg, is a candidate if he can take the next step. Also, I wouldn’t discount Hagelin potentially becoming a tradable asset at some point if his value increases but he remains unsigned into the season. If he starts to price himself out of a second-third line role but can’t move up in the lineup past Kreider, that could make him a useful chip. I’m not saying the Rangers should do that. Vigneault obviously values his speed. I’m just saying I could see them reaching that juncture with Hagelin for one reason or another.

Extras: The Rangers players and fans love unrestricted free agent Dan Carcillo, 29, but I’m not sure I see the value in bringing him back, particularly since he is always just one more elbow or snap away from a long suspension, as evidenced in the Eastern Conference Final … Some names to watch when training camp opens: J.T. Miller (it’s now or never to take the next step; can he pay attention to the details of the game enough to fill a gap at center?), Oscar Lindberg, 22 (a center the Rangers front office is very high on), Jesper Fast, 22 (has great chemistry with Lindberg, but can he score?), Ryan Haggerty, 21 (time to back up his unwillingness to start in the AHL).

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/ra...sion-looms-brad-richards-blog-entry-1.1833797

Hagelin will be a group II with arbitration rights next summer and can then become a group III in 2016.

I agree with stop coaching Pat about Hagelin.

The Rangers need to make a "turn the clock back" trade. Trade for a player(s)who are in their ELCs or are in their 2nd contracts. Hagelin will be signing a group III contract next summer considering he will be one year away from group III.

Staal's next contract will be a group III contract. This season is Staal's group III year and his salary is $5.45M. That is the starting point for his next contract.

Brassard and Zuccarello will be signing group III contracts this summer. Both of them are arbitration eligible this summer and one year away from group III. The Rangers will be buying group III years which is why both players will be $4.5M players. One year of salary arbitration. 3 or 4 years of group III years.

The Rangers need the cheaper players to complement the big money players. Not have a top heavy team.

 

[RangerBoy]

Paying Stralman $4M won't be easy with their cap situation.

 

[Zucc36]

Trade Nash to Buffalo for their 1st round pick in 2015

 

[Zil]

Yeah, lol, we supposedly are moving Marc Staal plus a bunch of assets like Hagelin and Miller for ROR at 6.5m per???

I wouldn't do Hagelin as the second guy, but I would do Miller if it came to that. I really like ROR. He'd be a phenomenal pickup any way you want to look at him. He puts up points. He drives possession. He wins faceoffs. He gives us the center depth we desperately need. I think we become absolute favorites in the East if we can flip Staal and Miller for ROR while retaining Stralman, Moore, and our RFAs. As good as Miller might eventually be, it's hard to see him reaching ROR's level.

My first choice would be to keep Miller out of the deal (plus I'd love to move Brassard instead and make Miller our third line center to create cap room), but Miller's probably the only expendable piece we have with the value to land us ROR. I'd try offering something like Staal plus Lindberg and Fast first though. Keeping Miller also opens up the ability to recoup some younger assets and free up cap space by dealing Brassard.

Paying Stralman $4M won't be easy with their cap situation.

It doesn't matter. They have to pay him. Losing Stralman would likely drop the Rangers out of serious Stanley Cup contention.

 

[Blue Blooded]

I wouldn't do Hagelin as the second guy, but I would do Miller if it came to that. I really like ROR. He'd be a phenomenal pickup any way you want to look at him. He puts up points. He drives possession. He wins faceoffs. He gives us the center depth we desperately need. I think we become absolute favorites in the East if we can flip Staal and Miller for ROR while retaining Stralman, Moore, and our RFAs. As good as Miller might eventually be, it's hard to see him reaching ROR's level.

My first choice would be to keep Miller out of the deal (plus I'd love to move Brassard instead and make Miller our third line center to create cap room), but Miller's probably the only expendable piece we have with the value to land us ROR. I'd try offering something like Staal plus Lindberg and Fast first though. Keeping Miller also opens up the ability to recoup some younger assets and free up cap space by dealing Brassard.



It doesn't matter. They have to pay him. Losing Stralman would likely drop the Rangers out of serious Stanley Cup contention.

I like Staal + Brassard for O'Reilly a lot. Brassard doesn't do much 5v5, which is masked by being on a line with perhaps our best 5v5 forward in Zuccarello.

That would give us:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello (Our best line all season, broken up too quickly)
Hagelin-Miller-Nash (Nash creates his own offence, Hagelin helps driving play, Miller gets to ride shotgun)
Pouliot-O'Reilly-St. Louis (St. Louis doesn't drive play at all, but ROR and Poo does. St. Louis drives Sh% though)
Moore-Lindberg-Fast (I want to keep the inexperienced guys in their natural positions)
Carcillo

What I'd like to try on D:

McDonagh-Strålman (Let's unleash McD without Girardi and see what he can do)
Allen-Girardi (Girardi needs a PMD, I don't trust Moore to be one)
Moore-Klein (What we currently have)
Diaz (Keep him)

"Safe" D corps:

McDonagh-Girardi
Moore-Strålman
Allen-Klein
Diaz

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

Does it ever happen that the highest-paid player gives back salary in order to afford someone else?

I keep thinking that, yes, Lundqvist wants to win, but recent seasons must have shown him that he needs a full team of decent or better players to have a chance.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I like Staal + Brassard for O'Reilly a lot. Brassard doesn't do much 5v5, which is masked by being on a line with perhaps our best 5v5 forward in Zuccarello.

That would give us:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello (Our best line all season, broken up too quickly)
Hagelin-Miller-Nash (Nash creates his own offence, Hagelin helps driving play, Miller gets to ride shotgun)
Pouliot-O'Reilly-St. Louis (St. Louis doesn't drive play at all, but ROR and Poo does. St. Louis drives Sh% though)
Moore-Lindberg-Fast (I want to keep the inexperienced guys in their natural positions)
Carcillo

What I'd like to try on D:

McDonagh-Strålman (Let's unleash McD without Girardi and see what he can do)
Allen-Girardi (Girardi needs a PMD, I don't trust Moore to be one)
Moore-Klein (What we currently have)
Diaz (Keep him)

"Safe" D corps:

McDonagh-Girardi
Moore-Strålman
Allen-Klein
Diaz

Pretty much all I will say is I really like this. From your keyboard to Glen's ears.

 

[Elevate]

I like Staal + Brassard for O'Reilly a lot. Brassard doesn't do much 5v5, which is masked by being on a line with perhaps our best 5v5 forward in Zuccarello.

That would give us:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello (Our best line all season, broken up too quickly)
Hagelin-Miller-Nash (Nash creates his own offence, Hagelin helps driving play, Miller gets to ride shotgun)
Pouliot-O'Reilly-St. Louis (St. Louis doesn't drive play at all, but ROR and Poo does. St. Louis drives Sh% though)
Moore-Lindberg-Fast (I want to keep the inexperienced guys in their natural positions)
Carcillo

What I'd like to try on D:

McDonagh-Strålman (Let's unleash McD without Girardi and see what he can do)
Allen-Girardi (Girardi needs a PMD, I don't trust Moore to be one)
Moore-Klein (What we currently have)
Diaz (Keep him)

"Safe" D corps:

McDonagh-Girardi
Moore-Strålman
Allen-Klein
Diaz

I'm 100% okay with this scenario. Would probably work well cap wise too.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

I like Staal + Brassard for O'Reilly a lot. Brassard doesn't do much 5v5, which is masked by being on a line with perhaps our best 5v5 forward in Zuccarello.

That would give us:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello (Our best line all season, broken up too quickly)
Hagelin-Miller-Nash (Nash creates his own offence, Hagelin helps driving play, Miller gets to ride shotgun)
Pouliot-O'Reilly-St. Louis (St. Louis doesn't drive play at all, but ROR and Poo does. St. Louis drives Sh% though)
Moore-Lindberg-Fast (I want to keep the inexperienced guys in their natural positions)
Carcillo

What I'd like to try on D:

McDonagh-Strålman (Let's unleash McD without Girardi and see what he can do)
Allen-Girardi (Girardi needs a PMD, I don't trust Moore to be one)
Moore-Klein (What we currently have)
Diaz (Keep him)

"Safe" D corps:

McDonagh-Girardi
Moore-Strålman
Allen-Klein
Diaz

Pretty damn good team, although losing Brass would suck

 

[Blue Blooded]

I'm 100% okay with this scenario. Would probably work well cap wise too.

Even if we give Kreider an longer deal @ 4M/year it could work.

I'm thinking $6M per for ROR's long term deal.

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Chris Kreider ($4.000m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Mats Zuccarello ($4.000m)
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / J.T. Miller ($0.894m) / Rick Nash ($7.800m)
Benoit Pouliot ($2.000m) / Ryan O'Reilly ($6.000m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Dominic Moore ($1.500m) / Oscar Lindberg ($0.675m) / Jesper Fast ($0.805m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.825m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m) / Anton Stralman ($4.500m)
Conor Allen ($0.925m) / Dan Girardi ($5.500m)
John Moore ($1.000m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)
Raphael Diaz ($1.000m) /
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: $69,036,667; BONUSES: $1,380,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,063,333

 

[Thirty One]

Next in my series of off-season targets: Christian Ehrhoff

http://rangersunlimited.com/2014/06/18/off-season-target-christian-ehrhoff/

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Even if we give Kreider an longer deal @ 4M/year it could work.

I'm thinking $6M per for ROR's long term deal.

CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Chris Kreider ($4.000m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Mats Zuccarello ($4.000m)
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / J.T. Miller ($0.894m) / Rick Nash ($7.800m)
Benoit Pouliot ($2.000m) / Ryan O'Reilly ($6.000m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Dominic Moore ($1.500m) / Oscar Lindberg ($0.675m) / Jesper Fast ($0.805m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.825m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m) / Anton Stralman ($4.500m)
Conor Allen ($0.925m) / Dan Girardi ($5.500m)
John Moore ($1.000m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)
Raphael Diaz ($1.000m) /
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: $69,036,667; BONUSES: $1,380,000
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,063,333

Interesting. If you're trading Brassard and not playing him with Zuccarello, I don't see a lot of reason to retain Pouliot.

And I have a tough time just handing top four minutes to Connor Allen.

 

[Elevate]

What worries me a little is that ROR has played as a winger for most of this season. Is he capable of putting up the same amount of points in the middle of the ice? He's never been above 20 goals in a season before and it leaves me wondering how much is due to development and how much is attributable to him playing LW.

 

[silverfish]

Next in my series of off-season targets: Christian Ehrhoff

http://rangersunlimited.com/2014/06/18/off-season-target-christian-ehrhoff/

I'm a fan. Great article, -31-!

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Next in my series of off-season targets: Christian Ehrhoff

http://rangersunlimited.com/2014/06/18/off-season-target-christian-ehrhoff/

Hey, its the offseason.

I prefer less prudent, realistic options and more pie in the sky BS, please. Thnx in advance.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

Like I said, it's time for Sather to get creative.

I just took 10 minutes and figured out a WILD, yet feasible way to get both Spezza and ROR on the team and fit under the cap with room to spare. It hinges on a few things working out in our favor of course, but the point is there are ways to get creative and make things work other than "trade 1 player for 1 player and call it a day!"

Here goes nothin...


Marc Staal for Ryan O'Reilly
Re-sign O'Reilly 6 years @ 6 mil per

Brassard, and TWO of [Kristo, Lindberg, McIlrath, Skjei] for Spezza (he's asked for a trade so I really don't think OTT will get much better offers than something like this)

Use the final compliance buyout on Richards


Now here's the creative part:

Use a NORMAL buyout on Rick Nash. It saves us ~5 million this season and would carry a 2.5mil penalty for the next *gasp* 6 years, but with the cap continuing to go up, it's something to consider when compared to keeping an untradeable ~8 million dollar penalty killer in the playoffs.

This gives us the room to bring in Spezza and ROR, while re-signing Zucc @ 4.5, Stralman at 4.0, D. Moore at 1.75, Pouliot at 2.0, Kreider on a bridge deal at 2.75, and J. Moore at 1.5.

Here's the Cap Geek spread:

CapGeek Armchair GM Roster



FORWARDS

Ryan O'Reilly ($6.000m) / Jason Spezza ($7.000m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Chris Kreider ($2.750m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Mats Zuccarello ($4.500m)
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / J.T. Miller ($0.894m) / Benoit Pouliot ($2.000m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.900m) / Dominic Moore ($1.750m) / Derek Dorsett ($1.633m)

DEFENSEMEN

Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m) / Anton Stralman ($4.000m)
John Moore ($1.500m) / Dan Girardi ($5.500m)
Conor Allen ($0.925m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)

GOALTENDERS

Henrik Lundqvist ($8.500m)
Cameron Talbot ($0.563m)

BUYOUTS

Rick Nash ($2.567m)
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: $69,531,667; BONUSES: $1,200,000
CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $1,568,333


Notice it also leaves us with 1.6 mil in cap-space for depth/injuries/call-ups, etc.

I know I'm going to get brutally flamed for this one, but try not to focus on this specific / exact scenario.

The POINT I'm trying to make is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Our options are not as limited as you may think. It just takes a little creativity and finding the right combinations to potentially improve this roster without sacrificing a guy like Stepan in the process. Is this a drastic move (buying out Nash)? Of course. I'm not saying we SHOULD do that. I'm just showing another interesting possibility and trying to make the case that we're not married to one specific way of building / growing the team. Sather has options, and I'm confident that he will make the right moves for this team to be back in the SCF sooner rather than later.

 

[RangerBoy]

With a handful of free agents Rangers can't give everyone a raise. Hearing Anton Stralman a guy NYR wishes to keep however.

https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/479254905379508224

 

[TheTakedown]

Like I said, it's time for Sather to get creative.

I just took 10 minutes and figured out a WILD, yet feasible way to get both Spezza and ROR on the team and fit under the cap with room to spare. It hinges on a few things working out in our favor of course, but the point is there are ways to get creative and make things work other than "trade 1 player for 1 player and call it a day!"

Here goes nothin...


Marc Staal for Ryan O'Reilly
Re-sign O'Reilly 6 years @ 6 mil per

Brassard, and TWO of [Kristo, Lindberg, McIlrath, Skjei] for Spezza (he's asked for a trade so I really don't think OTT will get much better offers than something like this)

Use the final compliance buyout on Richards


Now here's the creative part:

Use a NORMAL buyout on Rick Nash. It saves us ~5 million this season and would carry a 2.5mil penalty for the next *gasp* 6 years, but with the cap continuing to go up, it's something to consider when compared to keeping an untradeable ~8 million dollar penalty killer in the playoffs.

This gives us the room to bring in Spezza and ROR, while re-signing Zucc @ 4.5, Stralman at 4.0, D. Moore at 1.75, Pouliot at 2.0, Kreider on a bridge deal at 2.75, and J. Moore at 1.5.

Here's the Cap Geek spread:

CapGeek Armchair GM Roster



FORWARDS

Ryan O'Reilly ($6.000m) / Jason Spezza ($7.000m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Chris Kreider ($2.750m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Mats Zuccarello ($4.500m)
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / J.T. Miller ($0.894m) / Benoit Pouliot ($2.000m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.900m) / Dominic Moore ($1.750m) / Derek Dorsett ($1.633m)

DEFENSEMEN

Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m) / Anton Stralman ($4.000m)
John Moore ($1.500m) / Dan Girardi ($5.500m)
Conor Allen ($0.925m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)

GOALTENDERS

Henrik Lundqvist ($8.500m)
Cameron Talbot ($0.563m)

BUYOUTS

Rick Nash ($2.567m)
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: $69,531,667; BONUSES: $1,200,000
CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $1,568,333


Notice it also leaves us with 1.6 mil in cap-space for depth/injuries/call-ups, etc.

I know I'm going to get brutally flamed for this one, but try not to focus on this specific / exact scenario.

The POINT I'm trying to make is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Our options are not as limited as you may think. It just takes a little creativity and finding the right combinations to potentially improve this roster without sacrificing a guy like Stepan in the process. Is this a drastic move (buying out Nash)? Of course. I'm not saying we SHOULD do that. I'm just showing another interesting possibility and trying to make the case that we're not married to one specific way of building / growing the team. Sather has options, and I'm confident that he will make the right moves for this team to be back in the SCF sooner rather than later.

I like your thinking here. My only gripe is that you could easily trade Nash for even mirror pics if not one or two prospects. Maybe he's not a playoff performer but he still gets it done in the regular season. Doesn't really make sense to cut meat with him and not dangle him as a trade assets at all. A buyout actually cost us money and reap says no benefits

 

[Gardner McKay]

Pretty damn good team, although losing Brass would suck

I agree. It would be stupid to get rid of him and keep Miller. Brassard is a known quantity. Miller is still a serious question mark. ROR - Step - Brass as a our top 3 centers is pretty damn good. I like it better than ROR - Step/Brass - Miller.

Staal + Miller for ROR + 3rd. I think it is a fair deal for both sides. We improve down the middle. This is only if we can resign Stralman. Loosing both Staal and Stralman would be a big blow to our defense.