Post-Game Talk: 8 Years, $92 Million

[Leonardo87]

Not many guys can say they took Jack Hughes and Cale Makar's souls in the same week.

Anytime Makar is embarrassed it’s a good day. lol

 

[SnowblindNYR]

This has always been a fun myth that I wouldn't hate to see debunked. I remember Hank having AT WORST some slow starts to the season. Just doing a quick glance (mostly because I don't feel like doing a deep dive) Hank's sv% going by monthly splits was never below the league average in his career (.911). He certainly never gave up the level of stinkers Shesterkin does in his prime years.


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He didn't stink the same month in his career. He would have one or two months (usually not consecutively) where he stunk. But it wasn't necessarily the same month every year.

 

[Levitate]

God, I'm gonna be 43 when Igor's contract is up.

Can I just die?

I was about to say I'm going to be 43 this year but then realized I am 43 and will be 44 this year

e: anyways, Panarin and Laf, if they convert a few of the chances they created then they'd be looking fine but they're just not converting.... I don't think either of them are actually playing terrible at the moment but things aren't going in

 

[McRanger92]

It

hitting the net would be a good start. I feel like Laffy has missed a few open nets

The teams shooting talent is average to subpar imo

Being nice. Our inability to hit gaping cages has been a meme in every playoff series we've lost (Kakko, Strome, Mika, etc.). The Rangers don't know how to score around the net unless their stick is in the air for a tip. I wonder why that's the only thing they practice.

 

[will1066]

It

hitting the net would be a good start. I feel like Laffy has missed a few open nets

The teams shooting talent is average to subpar imo

He's also had nothing behind his shot lately. Easy for goalies to nab. His two goals vs Dallas, first one was actually deflected by the defender on the way in, and the other was a breakaway backhand deke.

 

[Machinehead]

Because if Quick played in that game, we don't even get a point. I really didn't even think any of the goals Shesterkin gave up were soft. Kelly had about 40 feet a room on the first one, 2nd was a net mouth play with Lindgren on the ice and the OT goal was 3 on 3 pond hockey.

The standard for him is higher than "well it wasn't really his fault."

I expect him to singlehandedly win games at his salary.

 

[Machinehead]

Doesn't she already see him on the big screen at his concerts?

I don't know too many toddlers that go to those UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE UNCE shows.

 

[TheWrongWay]

Surely Hank never allowed a softy - that's why he has all these Vesina's

Every goalie allows softies, but Hank over time performed at a vastly different level than Igor has thus far.

I don’t follow hockey the way I once did. But I know hockey history pretty well. And I can make a strong case for Hank as one of the 10 best goalies in history.

I’d say (in no order) Hasek, Plante, and Roy are your all-time top 3. Hank for dead sure sits in the next 7-10 guys behind that top 3.

Igor, at least thus far, is not remotely near that level – but he’s gonna be paid like he is.

I don’t begrudge Igor for getting every dollar he can. But his salary demand also placed a self-created spotlight and expectation on him. And no one should be shocked when people measure him against the salary he demanded.

People do this with any player performing below their salary (especially higher-paid athletes).

 

[McRanger92]

The standard for him is higher than "well it wasn't really his fault."

I expect him to singlehandedly win games at his salary.

He's singlehandedly won a shit-ton on his 5x5.875 salary that he's currently getting paid. That just doesnt matter now because people get in their feels after losses? Panarin's rate of singlehandedly winning games on his 11.6 million dollar salary is much harder to find.

 

[Bob Richards]

Not many guys can say they took Jack Hughes and Cale Makar's souls in the same week.

Sam Carrick being just a guy who’s capable of showing up the best players on earth for no particular reason is such a funny bit.

 

[Fitzy]

The regular season really means jack shit when it comes to goaltending unless you're a bubble team. What matters is whether Shesty continues to be excellent in the playoffs. So far he's run a .928 there as compared to a .919 in the reg.

There's no reason to assume that his trends will continue, but if he finishes his contract with a .910 in the regular season and a .930 in the potseason, so be it.

 

[McRanger92]

Sam Carrick being just a guy who’s capable of showing up the best players on earth for no particular reason is such a funny bit.

Samwise the Brave @Leonardo87

 

[Machinehead]

He's singlehandedly won a shit-ton on his 5x5.875 salary that he's currently getting paid. That just doesnt matter now because people get in their feels after losses? Panarin's rate of singlehandedly winning games on his 11.6 million dollar salary is much harder to find.

He's going to be held to that standard each and every year. He hasn't even been a plus this year. He's 15th in save percentage.

 

[Machinehead]

The regular season really means jack shit when it comes to goaltending unless you're a bubble team. What matters is whether Shesty continues to be excellent in the playoffs. So far he's run a .928 there as compared to a .919 in the reg.

There's no reason to assume that his trends will continue, but if he finishes his contract with a .910 in the regular season and a .930 in the potseason, so be it.

Oh joy, we're paying him $11.5m to keep us in series we should be swept in.

 

[will1066]

If @duhmetreE were ever asked by the Rangers to devise a training plan and have it on their desk by next morning, especially for Laf, he'd send it in 20 minutes.

He's also behind the click-baity online ads I see for 30-day workout plans for men over 50 that use AI-generated images of Thanos-looking guys with Santa beards.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Still see zero justification for Igor getting almost 50% more than Saros.

It's an atrocious and unjustifiable contract.

 

[McRanger92]

He's going to be held to that standard each and every year. He hasn't even been a plus this year. He's 15th in save percentage.

Doesn't the team in front of him suck? Knock Igor all you want idc it's not about him it's just that Im trying to follow the bouncing ball on the "goalies dont matter" stuff and it's not adding up. It definitely matters in the playoffs because you can't win a Cup with a bad goalie. Kuemper and Murray and Binnington might be bad goalies now but they weren't playing bad when they won.

 

[TGWL]

God, I'm gonna be 43 when Igor's contract is up.

Can I just die?

I'm going to be 42 when the contract kicks in... Please save me a bullet.

 

[will1066]

Anytime Makar is embarrassed it’s a good day. lol

Dude, where's Makar?

 

[Leonardo87]

Dude, where's Makar?

 

[McRanger92]

Still see zero justification for Igor getting almost 50% more than Saros.

It's an atrocious and unjustifiable contract.

Saying Igor is a greedy bastard and selfish with his contract demands is a much more apt criticism than saying he should be stealing every game.

 

[Machinehead]

Doesn't the team in front of him suck? Knock Igor all you want idc it's not about him it's just that Im trying to follow the bouncing ball on the "goalies dont matter" stuff and it's not adding up. It definitely matters in the playoffs because you can't win a Cup with a bad goalie. Kuemper and Murray and Binnington might be bad goalies now but they weren't playing bad when they won.

Kuemper was playing bad when they won. The Avalanche won the Cup with a GSAA during the tournament that would make Mike Dunham blush.

That's an exception. There's always exceptions. The 2019 Blues won the Cup being good at absolutely f***ing nothing. It's not repeatable.

What is pretty repeatable is slapdash goalies being good enough if they have Hall of Fame centers in front of them.

You made the point that "we have to win this way because we don't have the Hall of Fame center." No. You need the Hall of Fame center. Period. Exclamation point. Umlaut.

We can have the conversation of "how much do we spend on a goalie?" after we formed the core that we're going to war with. Right now, Igor is a giant cap hindrance that's off-schedule from where the rest of the team is at this point.

People bring up Bobrovsky, but Barkov was coming off of a 96 point season when they signed him. They already had their piece. Igor doesn't fit any kind of window, and I think there was perhaps an opportunity to get assets for him.

There is no "we have to win this way." There is no other way. You need Hall of Fame talent up front. I know you want to turn it around quickly and that would be wonderful, but the only real way we're doing that is to acquire Hall of Fame forwards quickly.

 

[Atax]

Saying a player only needs to be good in the playoffs is pure cope. Especially when he's the highest paid goalie in the league. Pure cope.

 

[eco's bones]

This dude's agent came out and said he wanted to reset the market for goalies.

Ok, reset my expectations for goalies like Esposito, Hasek, Roy, and Lundqvist did.

Anything short of generational is disappointing now. You said it, Igor. You signed up for it.

We should hold people to account. These 4 years at $5.67 mil per Igor's over performed his deal or at least comparatively speaking. Starting next year he's going to making a lot more. The scrutiny towards him should ramp up with that. That said when the Rangers don't spend to the cap where do the savings go? Jimmy Dolan? He's already rich enough. I don't give a f*** about him. I don't care if some of that goes into Igor's pocket as long as he's playing like the best or arguably the best goalie in the league.

If we're looking at 25-26 these are some of the guys who could be on our team and none of them are going to be huge contracts.

Gabriel Perreault on an ELC
Brett Berard on his final year of his ELC at 867K
Adam Edstrom---will need to sign a new deal but it's probably less than $1.5
Will Cuylle--going into his second deal as well. The Rangers could lock him up or bridge him but if he's a 35/40 point player he's likely looking at $4.
Arthur Kaliyev--also needs to resign---I don't see that as a big deal of a contract.
Matthew Rempe---needs to resign---not breaking the bank for him either.
Adam Sykora, Brennan Othmann---still on ELC's.

Braden Schneider at 2.2 for one more year.
Urho Vaakaninen needs to resign and has one year left as a RFA---he's making $1.1 mil. He won't make much more than that.
Zac Jones if he's not moved--is making $825....if he resigns he won't make much more either.
Victor Mancini--one year of ELC left at $870K

Dylan Garand---likely to be the backup next year---going into his second contract needs to resign.

Not all these guys are going to make the Rangers or at least be with the Rangers all next year but Cuylle, Edstrom, Kaliyev, Schneider, Vaakanainen are already NHL regulars--Rempe, Berard, Jones and Mancini have significant NHL time already. The backup is likely open to Garand. Othmann and Sykora appear ready to push for NHL jobs. That's at least a third of the team playing pretty cheap and not even mentioning vets like Carrick and Brodzinski who still have time on their deals.

What the point is is the Rangers are in a position where they can spend top $'s for this or that player. The thing is then that player needs to deliver.

 

[McRanger92]

Kuemper was playing bad when they won. The Avalanche won the Cup with a GSAA during the tournament that would make Mike Dunham blush.

That's an exception. There's always exceptions. The 2019 Blues won the Cup being good at absolutely f***ing nothing. It's not repeatable.

What is pretty repeatable is slapdash goalies being good enough if they have Hall of Fame centers in front of them.

You made the point that "we have to win this way because we don't have the Hall of Fame center." No. You need the Hall of Fame center. Period. Exclamation point. Umlaut.

We can have the conversation of "how much do we spend on a goalie?" after we formed the core that we're going to war with. Right now, Igor is a giant cap hindrance that's off-schedule from where the rest of the team is at this point.

People bring up Bobrovsky, but Barkov was coming off of a 96 point season when they signed him. They already had their piece. Igor doesn't fit any kind of window, and I think there was perhaps an opportunity to get assets for him.

There is no "we have to win this way." There is no other way. You need Hall of Fame talent up front. I know you want to turn it around quickly and that would be wonderful, but the only real way we're doing that is to acquire Hall of Fame forwards quickly.

Is Panarin a hall of fame forward? We're paying him like one for the last 6 years. He was supposed to be that guy. No one has been blaming Igor at the end of the last 3 seasons. what I do find myself thinking is how things could be different if Panarin can score a clutch goal more than once a month. for that money, he should.