Rumor: Blackhawks' Kevin Hayes on Rangers radar?

[Trxjw]

Get the kid in the organization, then worry about where he fits. That's how the team should be viewing it. Hayes' camp probably sees it differently of course.

 

[offdacrossbar]

Get the kid in the organization, then worry about where he fits. That's how the team should be viewing it. Hayes' camp probably sees it differently of course.

and chicago prob thinks that way too but his "people" are telling him to sign elsewhere.

 

[Championship*]

i would expect any roster moves for a winger to be a player who can step right in. in fact, that guy may already be here

Forgive my ignorance but who are you referring to here?

 

[Nyrvana]

Really wonder how Hayes looks like on our salary cap

900K is the max contract he can receive. He can get incentive bonuses, but they could be paid off the following year.

 

[BBKers]

Pretty sure he will sign elsewhere - which is a shame
I could see us taking a chance on Penner for ~$900 k as another fourth liner with size and one of Carcillo/Carter as a #13 spare being signed for slightly above league minimum
Miller/Lomabardi/Lindberg Battle it out for #3 C with two of them winning up in Hartford
Works capwise
We will also see a trade somewhere down The line

 

[free0717]

signing this kid would be like getting our First round pick back. Good Luck Sather

 

[free0717]

Pretty sure he will sign elsewhere - which is a shame
I could see us taking a chance on Penner for ~$900 k as another fourth liner with size and one of Carcillo/Carter as a #13 spare being signed for slightly above league minimum
Miller/Lomabardi/Lindberg Battle it out for #3 C with two of them winning up in Hartford
Works capwise
We will also see a trade somewhere down The line

Why would he sign elsewhere except FLA with his Brother.

Positives for signing with Rangers
3rd line wing spot open (has to beat out Stempniak et al)
His Buddy Kreider on team
Good team went to SCF last year
New York a fun place to live if you are making the kind of money these players make.

 

[BBKers]

Why would he sign elsewhere except FLA with his Brother.

Positives for signing with Rangers
3rd line wing spot open (has to beat out Stempniak et al)
His Buddy Kreider on team
Good team went to SCF last year
New York a fun place to live if you are making the kind of money these players make.

Hope you are right and Sather pulls this one outta his hat
Methinx not though

 

[RangerBoy]

Some of these teams mentioned aren't usually the teams pursuing college free agents. The Rangers and Hawks were in on all of the college free agents last spring. The Avs and Nashville haven't been big bidders for the college guys. Sather wouldn't know those players if he ran into them on the street. Gorton is the one talking to the agents. The Rangers landed Haggerty, Bodie and McCarthy last spring. The Rangers weren't the only team bidding for them.

 

[bernmeister]

Kevin Hayes, the future is Kreider.
If you can cut the mustard, you can play with him now (we can put Hags + MSL together). Miller is big enuf, fast enuf to hang with you 2.

Or if you and Kreidermeister can prove the chemistry, maybe we can get a supersized C with enough speed for a behemoth line!

It's the max ELC whoever you sign with!
Come here, give us first shot, we'll give you a bite of the apple.

 

[TheTakedown]

This team doesn't run its third line as a checking line though. That's the fourth lines role. Top three lines are scoring lines.

That's what I was oging to say. The 3rd line is still the same as the 2nd line on most other teams.

 

[Tawnos]

This team doesn't run its third line as a checking line though. That's the fourth lines role. Top three lines are scoring lines.

That was last year's team. You know, the one with 3 top-6 capable centers on it?

 

[Nyrvana]

That was last year's team. You know, the one with 3 top-6 capable centers on it?

Yeah but if JT is centering the line, it will have to be a scoring line. Because treating any line that has him on it as a checking line would be a huge failure.

 

[Ola]

It won't happen but I would consider:

Brass-Step-Zucc //I like Step's right handed shot at center ice with these two on the wing. I also like Step with much more creative puck possession players.
Kreider-Miller-Nash //Rhis line would need time, but has more potential than with Step at center ice. Miller can make more high quality offensive plays that brakes the pattern more. Miller could be to Nash hopefully what Dubi was to JJ.
Hags-Lombardi-MSL //Would be MSL show, and plenty of speed on the counter attack.
Stemp-Moore-Glass

 

[Tawnos]

Yeah but if JT is centering the line, it will have to be a scoring line. Because treating any line that has him on it as a checking line would be a huge failure.

You know, there's probably a labeling difference here. What you (and Lundqvist30) refer to as a "checking" line, I refer to as a "shutdown" line. To me, a checking line is a line that plays a forechecking game in the offensive zone. Create some energy, score some goals, play responsible defensively. Their main purpose is as a momentum driver. It's a distinctly different role than a scoring line, which relies more on finesse, or a shutdown line, which focuses more on defense.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

What i'm most interested in exploiting was our line mismatches.

Brassard + Zucc had heavily favorable match ups as our "3rd" line. Let's say Miller centers MSL and Hags on the "3rd" line and they'll get favorable match ups.

One line is bound to get the match ups. I like that. Keep that.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Does Hayes play RW or LW?.. That could be a big problem if he plays RW with the depth we have at that position (providing one of Nash/Zucc doesn't move to the LW)

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Right wing.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

It won't happen but I would consider:

Brass-Step-Zucc //I like Step's right handed shot at center ice with these two on the wing. I also like Step with much more creative puck possession players.
Kreider-Miller-Nash //Rhis line would need time, but has more potential than with Step at center ice. Miller can make more high quality offensive plays that brakes the pattern more. Miller could be to Nash hopefully what Dubi was to JJ.
Hags-Lombardi-MSL //Would be MSL show, and plenty of speed on the counter attack.
Stemp-Moore-Glass

Ola, I think you are one of the most accurate and intelligent posters on here, and I usually agree wholeheartedly with your assessments of players and front office decisions.

But this time you've completely lost me.

Brassard - Stepan - Zuccarello

Who's going to shoot the puck? All three are pass-first playmakers. Brassard and Zuccarello have never scored 20 goals in a season, and Stepan's career-high is 21 goals (2010-2011). Even more importantly, with our suspect center depth, how can we afford to play our second-line (and second best) center out of position on the wing?

Kreider - Miller - Nash

Again, J.T. Miller hasn't won a roster spot yet. He seems to be the front-runner for the open 3C spot, but he hasn't even proved he can be effective on a consistent enough basis to be relied upon as the third-line center, yet here you have him as our 2C, being asked to create plays for Rick Nash and Chris Kreider? Not only is it a huge assumption that he could even handle the MINUTES that come with that role, but it's putting unnecessary pressure on a rookie in a position to fail. Unless we think the Islanders model of developing players is a smart one, we need to ease Miller into the lineup in a position to succeed. A third-line role between two proven, reliable two-way players (Hagelin & Stempniak) is the way to accomplish that. Also, you lost me when you said "Miller can make more highly skilled offensive plays than Stepan." ...huh?

Hagelin - Lombardi - St. Louis

Hagelin is in the right spot. Lombardi may actually challenge Miller and Lindberg for the 3C spot. But St. Louis will not be wasted on a "checking" line like this. Not only should his ability to make his linemates better be maximized with our best players in the top-6, but again, it would be unwise to be giving MSL the same even-strength minutes as third-line role players, Hagelin and Lombardi, which is what we'd be doing if they're slotted on the same line at ES. Either Hagelin and Lombardi get exposed playing more minutes than they can handle, or (MSL) our best finisher's ES minutes are limited.

I don't have much issue with the fourth line you listed, other than the fact that Stempniak is the ideal winger for a third-line with Hagelin and Miller/Lindberg (or even Lombardi).


1) Keep the chemistry together.

2) Keep top-6 players in the top-6 as much as possible.

3) Don't force centers to wing, or wings to center unless absolutely necessary (especially when our list of proven top-9 centers starts with Stepan and ends with Brassard).

4) Ease rookies into the lineup, slotting them in positions and roles to succeed.

Kreider Stepan St. Louis
Nash Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Lombardi Moore Glass

or

Nash Stepan St. Louis
Kreider Brassard Zuccarello
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

or

Kreider Stepan Zuccarello
Nash Brassard St. Louis
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Glass Moore Lombardi

or

Zuccarello Stepan Nash
Kreider Brassard St. Louis
Hagelin Miller Stempniak
Lombardi Moore Glass


The first one makes the most sense to me because it keeps the proven chemistry together: [Kreider&Stepan] and [Zuccarello&Brassard]. Everyone is in a position to succeed and nobody is forced into an unfamiliar spot being asked to do more than they may be capable of.

 

[NYR713]

Why would he sign elsewhere except FLA with his Brother.

Positives for signing with Rangers
3rd line wing spot open (has to beat out Stempniak et al)
His Buddy Kreider on team
Good team went to SCF last year
New York a fun place to live if you are making the kind of money these players make.

A lot of talk was about him also being a good fit in Calgary where he'll be almost guaranteed playing time and reunited with his linemate from last season in Johnny Gaudreau.

 

[Zuccarello Awesome*]

A lot of talk was about him also being a good fit in Calgary where he'll be almost guaranteed playing time and reunited with his linemate from last season in Johnny Gaudreau.

Yeah.

Even Ola would look good playing with Gaudreau. He's going to be a superstar IMO.

 

[Ola]

Does Hayes play RW or LW?.. That could be a big problem if he plays RW with the depth we have at that position (providing one of Nash/Zucc doesn't move to the LW)

He is a natural center turned RW in College, I've never really seen a left shooting C be out of place at LW. I mean the center plays like the LW like X per cent of a game, of course any left shooting C can play there. Don't have to be an optimal fit, but it works.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

He is a natural center turned RW in College, I've never really seen a left shooting C be out of place at LW. I mean the center plays like the LW like X per cent of a game, of course any left shooting C can play there. Don't have to be an optimal fit, but it works.

Like Sharp and O'Reilly. Both could be considered natural centers, have played a lot on the wing.

Still, not sure about Hayes in the middle at this level if we were to get him. He isn't a great skater, not awful, but not great, and we already have a couple of centers who aren't the fastest skaters in the world. How is he on faceoffs.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

14 more days until he's a UFA!

 

[Zil]

14 more days until he's a UFA!

Feel the excitement!