Around the NHL 2024-25 regular season

[Guttersniped]

Now watch them move Mika and get back the better player, a pick, and not retaining anything. Blows my mind how dumb GMs are. Rangers fans are all in shock they dumped him with nothing retained and got a pick back. Frankly, I'm not. Perpetual horseshoe franchise with other teams lining up to bail them out.

Trouba was always getting traded, not sure how that was a shocker.

They’re presumably stuck with Mika. There’s a very very slight chance they can find a sucker, because a large portion of the league always needs centers, but his contract runs until he’s 37.

Trouba will be 32 when his deal runs out after next season and Anaheim is drowning in cap space.

 

[JrFischer54]

igor is worth the contract like how can you go from elite goaltending to average? that is a massive drop off. then again i dont see how you have that money tied up in him and still try to build a team around him. they couldn't trade him because you already going to be losing that deal so they really have to sign him.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

the money doesn't matter to them so get that out of the way.

a 4th round pick is absolutely nothing but a lotto ticket.

they are going to flip him at the deadline next year or sooner for a bigger package. basically they are paying x amount of millions for a fringe prospect and a 2nd that can turn to a first round pick.

it doesn't matter if the money matters or not lol facts are facts. Trouba sucks, is expensive, and they traded an asset for him. Is a 4th round pick a positive asset or a negative asset?

and no, there is no guarantee anyone wants Trouba even at $4 million for any sort of value next deadline. To act like this is pre-determined is silly. Especially if he continues to decline as a player.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Meh. Even with the Igor deal they have a lot of cap space moving forward between the cap going up and removing Trouba. They probably will have between $12-13 million extra to spend in the offseason

Drury is the last person to trust with that money, I have no worries he'll f*** it up once again

 

[JrFischer54]

It’s bad because they had Drury over the barrel


Yea, I am not understanding the logic that he is going to be worth something next TDL - he will be the most expensive bottom pair option on the market.

I also continue to be perplexed as to why NHL GM’s let other teams use their cap space for nothing.

i've been saying this for years as proof that you don't need to worry about the back end contracts of players you give a long term deal to. just throw the team your trading with a 3rd or heck i guess a 4th round pick and see ya.

i will gladly sign any player to a long term deal squeeze every ounce of production out of him for the first 5-6 years and then pay a sweetener to get rid of them earlier you need to ditch the bigger the sweetener needs to be but still 10000000000000000000000000000000000% of the time.

 

[Hisch13r]

Idk, the core of their offense is aging before our eyes. I’m not saying they can’t recover, but they have issues to address

Panarin's still great. Trocheck/Mika isn't ideal but I still think you can contend with them. I look to move on from Kreider. He still probably has some value. I'd start to fully turn over the keys to the kids. Laf's sucked since signing the deal but he's a really good complimentary piece. think Kakko's a solid 2nd liner now. Cuylle's been great. Panarin/Laf/Kakko/Cuylle as the top 6 wings seems fine to me. Then you've got some mix of Berard/Othmann/Sykora/Perreault for the 3rd line wings. I agree they obviously have issues to address but I don't think anything is insurmountable and I don't think they're a hard fix when you have such a strong base of Panarin/Fox/Igor

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I still think they can be a threat even without doing that. Just replacing Lindgren and Trouba with 2 top 4 puck movers makes them a threat. Obviously easier said than done but I've been saying I think they will be a lot better next year. Just a matter of it Drury executes smart adds.

And we have no history of him doing that, the only decent UFA add he's made is Gustafsson and he fell the f*** off towards the end of last year. Quick is good too but anyone would be good with Allaire as their goalie coach.

 

[JrFischer54]

it doesn't matter if the money matters or not lol facts are facts. Trouba sucks, is expensive, and they traded an asset for him. Is a 4th round pick a positive asset or a negative asset?

and no, there is no guarantee anyone wants Trouba even at $4 million for any sort of value next deadline. To act like this is pre-determined is silly. Especially if he continues to decline as a player.

a 4th round pick is literally NOTHING its not a positive or a negative.

what is more likely in your scenario the 4th round pick turning into a productive nhl player OR trouba getting a better return at the next deadline then what was given up for him today?

 

[Hisch13r]

And we have no history of him doing that, the only decent UFA add he's made is Gustafsson and he fell the f*** off towards the end of last year. Quick is good too but anyone would be good with Allaire as their goalie coach.

While it's obvious Lindgren and Trouba are 2 problem children I do give him some credit for correctly identifying them as the problem because sooooooo many "hockey men" wouldn't

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Panarin's still great. Trocheck/Mika isn't ideal but I still think you can contend with them. I look to move on from Kreider. He still probably has some value. I'd start to fully turn over the keys to the kids. Laf's sucked since signing the deal but he's a really good complimentary piece. think Kakko's a solid 2nd liner now. Cuylle's been great. Panarin/Laf/Kakko/Cuylle as the top 6 wings seems fine to me. Then you've got some mix of Berard/Othmann/Sykora/Perreault for the 3rd line wings. I agree they obviously have issues to address but I don't think anything is insurmountable and I don't think they're a hard fix when you have such a strong base of Panarin/Fox/Igor

Absolutely not, last year was that year and they still couldn't get it done. Their centers are beyond cooked and will never them win a Cup. They won't get out of the Metro bracket unless Trocheck and Zib have second winds in their career

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Meh. Even with the Igor deal they have a lot of cap space moving forward between the cap going up and removing Trouba. They probably will have between $12-13 million extra to spend in the offseason

they'll be at like ~$72 million in commitments with only 12 guys signed. Sure they may have some space, but that space will dry up quickly with the guys they have to re-sign plus pay a backup goalie.

a 4th round pick is literally NOTHING its not a positive or a negative.

what is more likely in your scenario the 4th round pick turning into a productive nhl player OR trouba getting a better return at the next deadline then what was given up for him today?

so just to recap, it is a good move by Anaheim because they maybe might one day get a better asset in return in 15 months that would be ready to play for their organization in what, another 36 months after that?

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

While it's obvious Lindgren and Trouba are 2 problem children I do give him some credit for correctly identifying them as the problem because sooooooo many "hockey men" wouldn't

Stevie Wonder could do that, it's not an accomplishment. He's not a good GM plain and simple. The dude traded a 1st line winger for scraps, handed out deals to goons after the Panarin debacle, consistently bundles the blue line in UFA/trades, prospect coddles. As much as people bitched about Fitz here, myself included, he laps Drury as a GM

 

[Hisch13r]

Absolutely not, last year was that year and they still couldn't get it done. Their centers are beyond cooked and will never them win a Cup. They won't get out of the Metro bracket unless Trocheck and Zib have second winds in their career

A large issue with their centers is Chytil's health. If he's healthy and they make good top 4 adds I think you can make Trocheck/Chytil/Zib work.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

A large issue with their centers is Chytil's health. If he's healthy and they make good top 4 adds I think you can make Trocheck/Chytil/Zib work.

Again, what UFA dmen is going to make them good? Those guys usually have warts in their game usually as to why they get to UFA. You mentioned Petterson but he has a few hiccups, I don't think he fixes them. They legit need a complete overhaul on the defense, none of their guys can legit break the puck outside of Fox and Miller is a head case. Jones is good but they clearly don't trust him, he should've been in the Florida series to flip momentum but nope. And you're higher on Zibanejad and Trocheck than I am, I simply don't think they're good enough to be cup winning centers.

 

[JrFischer54]

they'll be at like ~$72 million in commitments with only 12 guys signed. Sure they may have some space, but that space will dry up quickly with the guys they have to re-sign plus pay a backup goalie.



so just to recap, it is a good move by Anaheim because they maybe might one day get a better asset in return in 15 months that would be ready to play for their organization in what, another 36 months after that?

yeah i mean i guess they could've gone your route kept the pick stayed in the basement and used it to help their rebuild.

Stevie Wonder could do that, it's not an accomplishment. He's not a good GM plain and simple. The dude traded a 1st line winger for scraps, handed out deals to goons after the Panarin debacle, consistently bundles the blue line in UFA/trades, prospect coddles. As much as people bitched about Fitz here, myself included, he laps Drury as a GM

just wait lou will get dumped on the island the same time dury gets the boot. lou will finish the metro challenge and tank the rangers

 

[Oneiro]

Knew Verbeek was a dinosaur but didn’t expect his entire FO to let him do something this dumb.

We should really explore the Palat market if it’s possible.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Panarin's still great. Trocheck/Mika isn't ideal but I still think you can contend with them. I look to move on from Kreider. He still probably has some value. I'd start to fully turn over the keys to the kids. Laf's sucked since signing the deal but he's a really good complimentary piece. think Kakko's a solid 2nd liner now. Cuylle's been great. Panarin/Laf/Kakko/Cuylle as the top 6 wings seems fine to me. Then you've got some mix of Berard/Othmann/Sykora/Perreault for the 3rd line wings. I agree they obviously have issues to address but I don't think anything is insurmountable and I don't think they're a hard fix when you have such a strong base of Panarin/Fox/Igor

I don’t at all see how that roster puts them any closer to a cup than the one from the last three years. And it’s pretty obvious that they were never real threats to get past the Florida teams.

 

[Alex NJD]

Rags now have ~71M tied to 9 forwards 2 dmen and Igor next season.

They will need 3 top 9 guys. 4 Dmen including 2-3 top 4 guys and a back up goalie not to mention 4 of their top 6 forwards will be 32+ next season.

I think they will still be a playoff team for sure but their cup window will close barring them hitting on a few prospects or cheap/minor league contracts that far outplay their contract value.

Last 5 cup winners Tampa/Colorado/Vegas/Florida all had high levels of depth with top 6 guys on the 3rd line and top4 caliber dmen on the 3rd pairing. (Maybe not Florida but they played like it). I don't see the Rangers managing to construct this type of roster in the coming years

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

yeah, you aren't winning shit with washed up Zib and old man Trocheck as your top 2 centers.

Some team will give them a bonafide 1C for Kakko and a 2nd round pick or some shit, teams always love to help them out

 

[Hisch13r]

Knew Verbeek was a dinosaur but didn’t expect his entire FO to let him do something this dumb.

We should really explore the Palat market if it’s possible.

I think Anaheim likely ends up on his no trade list. I don't know if Fitz ends up using the waivers threat but probably should

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

yeah, you aren't winning shit with washed up Zib and old man Trocheck as your top 2 centers.

Some team will give them a bonafide 1C for Kakko and a 2nd round pick or some shit, teams always love to help them out

I'd offer sheet Kakko if I'm Fitz, I think he legit has a Nichuskin type up spring to his career if he leaves NY

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Even if they managed to weasel out of Zibanejad’s contract, they’ll still have a gaping hole at 1C that they can’t magically fill. They’re in for some pain unless he figures it out.

Factor in that Panarin could fall off a cliff tomorrow and Kreider is already washed, they’re going to need a large scale re-tool with very few impact players in the system.

Honestly, I think their best move was to trade Shesterkin and move on to improve the rest of the squad. Don’t think they ever win anything with that team in front of Shesterkin.

 

[JrFischer54]

Knew Verbeek was a dinosaur but didn’t expect his entire FO to let him do something this dumb.

We should really explore the Palat market if it’s possible.

Palat has this playoffs to prove his case imo. After that ship him out with a second if that’s what it takes (it won’t)

 

[Oneiro]

I could also just see it as a cap floor move from Anaheim.

 

[Hisch13r]

Rags now have ~71M tied to 9 forwards 2 dmen and Igor next season.

They will need 3 top 9 guys. 4 Dmen including 2-3 top 4 guys and a back up goalie not to mention 4 of their top 6 forwards will be 32+ next season.

I think they will still be a playoff team for sure but their cup window will close barring them hitting on a few prospects or cheap/minor league contracts that far outplay their contract value.

Last 5 cup winners Tampa/Colorado/Vegas/Florida all had high levels of depth with top 6 guys on the 3rd line and top4 caliber dmen on the 3rd pairing. (Maybe not Florida but they played like it). I don't see the Rangers managing to construct this type of roster in the coming years

Let's say cap jumps to 95 mil. Shipping out Kreider probably gets you a solid return. Rough estimates for contract projections, lets say re-sign Kakko and Cuylle for like a combined 9 mil, Jones for like 2.5, Miller for like 5. Sign Pettersson for like 5 mil. Combination of Berard/Othmann/Sykora/Perreault for 3rd line wings. Fill out 4th line, back up goalie, and extras with guys making 1 mil or less. That leaves you with around ~4.5-5 mil to add a top 4RD. Do I think they ever end up winning a Cup? No probably not but I do think they could cobble together a Cup contending team. I think something like this is a contender

Panarin-Trocheck-Laf
Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko
Berard-Mika-Perreault
Sykora-Edstrom-Brodzinski

Pettersson-Fox
Miller-PMD RD
Jones-Schneider

Igor