Speculation: 2014 Offseason - Roster Building / Trade Speculation Thread

[Richter Scale]

EDIT - This also seems very out of character for Jumbo Joe. Why would he want to come to the 'softest' team in the league?

So that he would fit right in. Clearly.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I seriously have to hope that Gorton, a guy who laid the foundation for Boston's sustained dominance and SCF victorious team, is one of the main reasons that the Rangers were able to get to the SCF for the first time in 20 years.

Sather has been here for what, 20? This is the farthest that his team has gone in that span. I'd have to imagine that Gorton has a significant pull with personnel.

Under that hope and faith, I have to believe that The Rangers will not be entertaining a trade for Joe Thornton, the guy that had put up over a 100 pt season for Boston, entering the prime of his career, and shipped out so that Gorton and Co. could build the team they wanted to build.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Perceived need? Come on buddy. You're the first person to call out the Rangers center depth game in and game out throughout the regular season.

Yea. Im also not dense enough to be willing to rip up the the depth around the rest of the roster.

If we are trading Staal and Brassard for a center upgrade, is that a net positive? Sounds like a lateral at best move to me.

 

[Bring Back Avery]

Man oh man, everyone seems to be all gung ho about giving up on our young guys for guys on the down side of their careers. I say we should buy out Richards and focus on re-signing as many of our RFAs and UFAs as possible. Whoever we can't get back, replace them with guys from within our system. If Step, Brass, Miller and Moore are our centers, so be it. Hopefully Fast, MacIlrath and Lindberg are ready to take the next step. And who knows just how close DuClaire will be to coming up next season. Don't throw away the future on some over the hill guys who MIGHT make us a little better next year. Chemistry means a lot and we had it this year. I'd try to keep as much of it as possible next year.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Yea. Im also not dense enough to be willing to rip up the the depth around the rest of the roster.

If we are trading Staal and Brassard for a center upgrade, is that a net positive? Sounds like a lateral at best move to me.

And if it was Staal for ROR straight up? Your thoughts?

 

[Fleury4ever]

Sather has been here for what, 20? This is the farthest that his team has gone in that span. I'd have to imagine that Gorton has a significant pull with personnel.

Is Neil Smith so easily forgotten? I'm only 31, I can't be old, right?

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Is Neil Smith so easily forgotten? I'm only 31, I can't be old, right?

From what I've been told, Sather ripped apart the Oilers team, traded Mess to the Rangers and came shortly after the cup victory. Like the year after or something.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

And if it was Staal for ROR straight up? Your thoughts?

I dont like it. Are you comfortable with John Moore as your #2 left defenseman?

 

[Fleury4ever]

From what I've been told, Sather ripped apart the Oilers team, traded Mess to the Rangers and came shortly after the cup victory. Like the year after or something.

Well, we can always use Wikipedia. But no, Smith was GM for the ECF run in 1997, and he signed my man Theo Fleury, Kamensky, Lefebvre etc. in the summer of 99.

He must have been fired in 2000 or 2001 when that didn't work out.

 

[Raspewtin]

Why do people want Spezza? Ottawa wants to trade him for a reason. He's a **** player, now.

 

[Richter Scale]

From what I've been told, Sather ripped apart the Oilers team, traded Mess to the Rangers and came shortly after the cup victory. Like the year after or something.

Not really, no. Sather joined the Rangers in 2000. Smith had plenty of time in the late 90's to **** up.

Edit: Also, I am very far from being a Sather fan; but it's not really fair to pin the Oilers' dismantling entirely on him in the late 80's and early 90's. A lot of the moves made were for financial reasons, forcing his hand. Not to mention he wasn't GM when the Gretzky trade was made; and that was at least in part a situation where the GM wanted to be sure he got something for Gretz rather than letting him walk for nothing as a UFA. Jari Kurri left on his own. Etc, etc.

 

[Raspewtin]

I dont like it. Are you comfortable with John Moore as your #2 left defenseman?

To be fair, it's nowhere near impossible to replace a 2LD.

I'm also in the crowd of "you can't lock up a top 4 as offensively incompetent as ours for almost 20 million a year". Staal WILL get paid.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I dont like it. Are you comfortable with John Moore as your #2 left defenseman?

Temporarily? Fine. I'd prefer Allen there, but he's an unproven commodity.

I'm surprised you're not relishing the opportunity to play more prospects and young players. Your core argument throughout the year comprised of building around youth for a team that had sustained dominance.

How is trading for a 23 y/o and playing other young guys a bad thing, in your eyes?

Eventually, Skjei will take that 2nd pairing position. While I'm all too familiar with this board's insistence that a player earn his spot and force another player out... it's not too familiar with maximizing value on assets before they begin to depreciate. Example: Del Zotto. Example: Rosival. Example: Gaborik. etc.

I'd think that trading a guy about to command a lot of money who isn't the best fit for the system of hockey being promoted for another guy that will become part of the core and add versatility to the club (the word you used to describe the Kings when you explained how they were able to command play vs. us) would be an opportunity that is too good to pass up.

 

[Fletch]

From what I've been told, Sather ripped apart the Oilers team, traded Mess to the Rangers and came shortly after the cup victory. Like the year after or something.

Sather didn't have a choice but to trade away pieces of the Cup winning teams. The league was changing and he couldn't afford to keep guys like Lowe, Messier, Beukeboom, Tikkanen, etc.

And Fleury, you're not too old. And no, Sather hasn't been here 20 years; it's 14. Still an amazingly long time. The Cup does seem like only a short time ago.

 

[Raspewtin]

I'm okay with trading Staal IF AND ONLY IF we re-sign Stralman.

If he leaves Staal is a must resign, and there's no way around it.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Perceived need? Come on buddy. You're the first person to call out the Rangers center depth game in and game out throughout the regular season.

It is amazing how the attitude changes depending on what the rest of the board thinks.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

To be fair, it's nowhere near impossible to replace a 2LD.

I'm also in the crowd of "you can't lock up a top 4 as offensively incompetent as ours for almost 20 million a year". Staal WILL get paid.

Ok, so now we're making ANOTHER move to improve the blue line; or we are over slotting current players/prospects in Staal's absence and pretending everything will be OK.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather lock up as much of the Stanley Cup final team as possible and then go from there. These proposals - especially any one involving Jason Spezza - are sickening. You'd think this team lost in the 1st round.

 

[stan the caddy]

If they find someone new to play 2C, do they trade Miller? I just don't get why he's not in this discussion. He's accomplished what prospects should in the ahl, he's a center, and his cost would be very, very small. If he's not in now, what do they do with him? Go back to the ahl and... Keep doing what you've already done?

I really think he's fit with hags and MSL. Right or wrong, any line with MSL on it won't need the center to do all the playmaking. He'd be able to play with fast players and he'd have a great, great set up man on his right.

There'd be growing pains, but the result would be well worth them. A young center on his ELC is exactly what they need if they want to avoid blowing the rest of this team up.

I rather see Miller play a 3rd/4th line winger role. I think third line center position is a really important role considering the Rangers play 3 even lines that could all be the first line on any given night. If Miller is handed that role and he struggles it's gonna hurt St. Louis who can't do it all alone. If Miller plays well, feel free to bump him into that role but I'm not willing to risk it at the start of the season.

 

[bernmeister]

I think we have a few different paths we can go down. All of which are dependent on the richards buy out.

1. We use his money to resign everyone who isn't pulling a Cally and asking for 1.5m more then anyone is willing to give.

JT Miller/D.Moore takes the third center spot with Brassard taking the 2nd.

We hunt for another 4th liner who can play Rangers hockey. **** no to Shawn Thornton.

2. We buy out richards let stralman walk and try and find a good center on FA.

We then trade Miller and Talbot (he will probably not resign after this next contract with no hope of ever being a starting goalie here) to try and find a D man to replace Stralman.

3. We resign stralman and trade Staal/Miller/Talbot for a 1st line center and bring up a D Man or try and get a steel on FA.

Not commenting on the rest of this, instead of letting Stralman walk for zippo, we could sign him for 4.25m for 4 yrs and IMMEDIATELY flip him to Washington for Caps 1st rounder, like 13th overall.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Sather didn't have a choice but to trade away pieces of the Cup winning teams. The league was changing and he couldn't afford to keep guys like Lowe, Messier, Beukeboom, Tikkanen, etc.

And Fleury, you're not too old. And no, Sather hasn't been here 20 years; it's 14. Still an amazingly long time. The Cup does seem like only a short time ago.

I was turning 2 when they won the cup. Born in '92. Never troubled myself to study Sather's tenure here.

Became a consistent fan around '97. Right in time for the dark ages. Richter's blown knees. Dunham. Weekes. Blackburn. Purington. Lockout. Henrik and Jagr revitalizing the sport in NY. Hollweg and Simon.

 

[Raspewtin]

Ok, so now we're making ANOTHER move to improve the blue line; or we are over slotting current players/prospects in Staal's absence and pretending everything will be OK.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather lock up as much of the Stanley Cup final team as possible and then go from there. These proposals - especially any one involving Jason Spezza - are sickening. You'd think this team lost in the 1st round.

You're absolutely right on the second part, trading for win now pieces really is stupid seeing as this is a predominantly young team that will only get better. Especially Jason Spezza, who's garbage.

That being said, there's a salary cap, and some places need serious improvement. You can't keep an entire team together the way Sather managed these contracts. Too many UFAs that he waited way too long to sign.

This would definitely be one of those "we have a chance to get a player that's REAALLY hard to get" situations with ROR. It's up to Sather if the risk is worth taking.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

It is amazing how the attitude changes depending on what the rest of the board thinks.

Or how an attitude can evolve when a team without a #1C makes the cup final, and how I don't want Sather ****ing up the depth that made that possible in search of said #1C.

....and especially not forgetting that Ryan O'Reilly, Paul Stastny, and Jason Spezza will not be the silver bullet people are looking for.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Temporarily? Fine. I'd prefer Allen there, but he's an unproven commodity.

I'm surprised you're not relishing the opportunity to play more prospects and young players. Your core argument throughout the year comprised of building around youth for a team that had sustained dominance.

How is trading for a 23 y/o and playing other young guys a bad thing, in your eyes?

Eventually, Skjei will take that 2nd pairing position. While I'm all too familiar with this board's insistence that a player earn his spot and force another player out... it's not too familiar with maximizing value on assets before they begin to depreciate. Example: Del Zotto. Example: Rosival. Example: Gaborik. etc.

I'd think that trading a guy about to command a lot of money who isn't the best fit for the system of hockey being promoted for another guy that will become part of the core and add versatility to the club (the word you used to describe the Kings when you explained how they were able to command play vs. us) would be an opportunity that is too good to pass up.

Trading Staal is fine because Connor Allen can play 2nd pairing left D and Skjei will be ready eventually.

I mean, do you realize how delusional this is, or do I really have to continue spelling it out?

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Or how an attitude can evolve when a team without a #1C makes the cup final, and how I don't want Sather ****ing up the depth that made that possible in search of said #1C.

....and especially not forgetting that Ryan O'Reilly, Paul Stastny, and Jason Spezza will not be the silver bullet people are looking for.

Again, if it was a straight Staal for ROR trade, how would it **** up our depth? It would make us deeper up front. We'd have to have our young guys step in and play well. If that's too much for them to handle, i'm sure others will be available that are better suited to play bigger minutes and responsibility.

Hell, LA's top 4 defense wasn't as talented as ours. They got the job done just fine.

 

[Fletch]

I was turning 2 when they won the cup. Born in '92. Never troubled myself to study Sather's tenure here.

Became a consistent fan around '97. Right in time for the dark ages. Richter's blown knees. Dunham. Weekes. Blackburn. Purington. Lockout. Henrik and Jagr revitalizing the sport in NY. Hollweg and Simon.

Season tickets opened up in '97 after Messier left. Was on the waiting list for four years. I was lucky enough to have tickets from then through the lockout. Good use of my funds.