Post-Game Talk: Grade Our Free Agent Day

[NYR Viper]

Kane will be invited to camp on a PTO. That's my guess

I think he’s out for the next 4-5 months. I think he signs late which allows for him to be squeezed in

 

[will1066]

I think he’s out for the next 4-5 months. I think he signs late which allows for him to be squeezed in

Yes, my bad. He's resurfacing his hip

 

[haohmaru]

Considering what he was working with? A.

Wheeler possibly a 3rd line RW for 800K?
Gustaffson for 800K?
Quick for 825K?
No NMC's.
All short contracts leading to next year where cap goes up

He did a whole lot with next to nothing.

 

[TheDirtyH]

I'd give a B+/A-

I think there were better discount forwards and I don't like the lack of footspeed, but there isn't a contract over a mil and he got us a RW, a third pairing PMD, and a backup which were the needs so I'm not gonna complain.

 

[17futurecap]

Voted B, but would go B+ if offered. Take the Wheeler and Gus deals all day. Good depth for Hartford. I think Quick is cooked, but we will see, Bonino and Pitlick are very meh. Hartford guys all have chances to make the roster, go earn it.

 

[its josh]

Older and slower.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I gave it an A. Terrific job by Drury. Limited funds to work with but had some great value and depth moves with nearly all short term and no risk. Drury could sign Gretzky in his prime for under a mil and there would be some people complaining. It's just the way it is.

 

[egelband]

Very solid day. Ive been hard on Drury as of late but he's made several under rated moves that help the team for cheap.

 

[Leonardo87]

The Quick deal brings it down a little for me so will give him a B+. Wheeler and Gustafsson deals were excellent.

 

[egelband]

I gave it an A. Terrific job by Drury. Limited funds to work with but had some great value and depth moves with nearly all short term and no risk. Drury could sign Gretzky in his prime for under a mil and there would be some people complaining. It's just the way it is.

“In 1981 dollars, a million….”

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Gave it a B

Quick deal is easily the worst, the rest are fine to good

 

[Daves a mess]

Between a B and C for me. They didn’t do anything egregiously awful which is a nice surprise but I don’t think they did anything to address this team’s weaknesses. Really banking on coaching and continued growth from the kids to make a big difference which I guess I am ok with.

I really would have preferred to see some speed and energy injected into the bottom six but maybe that just couldn’t happen with the space we had available.

Maybe Bobby Trivigno comes in and makes a good camp impression.

 

[Emptyvoid]

@nyr2k2 and @NYR Viper have put my thoughts into words already. I think this is easily a B+:A- to A given the constraints and giving this core one last shot.


As an aside, I know the forums typically are dead during the off season but I find the signal to noise ratio much higher

 

[RangersFan1994]

I wonder if Domi would consider singing a show me deal with a playoff team. He would add speed to the lineup. Takes stupid penalties but is an emotional player like his dad was.

 

[Matt Rentfree]

If there was a B+ option I would have chosen it. I have no faith in Quick which is what drags it down from an A

 

[haveandare]

On a day with a ton of horrendous deals, we didn’t sign any of them. That alone is a B. Wheeler has potential to be a steal. No long terms commitments to anyone. What’s not to like?

 

[Machinehead]

I give it an A. No terrible players and we did the best we could with what was available. Wheeler and Gustafsson demonstrated a good job identifying needs.

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

I’d say B, good day. Like the forward signings.
Word of warning though, Gustafsson is horrible at playing D like completely incompetent at this level. V good on PP though.

 

[Brutananadilewski]

Considering all we had in the bank was $.23, monopoly money, a button, and a dead squirrel, I think we did well.

 

[bobbop]

I was genuinely surprised by the veteran signings and the cost. Quick, Bonino, Wheeler and Gustafsson for under $4MM is quite a haul. The market is certainly softer than I expected and Wheeler in particular is a great signing. The experts who think he can’t skate anymore didn’t watch much hockey last year.

I saw Quick play 4-5 games in Vegas and was surprised at how good he looked. One was a shutout against Carolina and he looked terrific.

 

[Savant]

I’m giving this a D, they did what they could, but they aren’t better and somehow they got even slower. They also still at least one glaring hole; two if Gustafsson isn’t an everyday player. We will see what happens. Did they get better? Probably not. D+ maybe C- ; but they basically did what the Mets did last MLB off-season.

 

[Kakko]

B in a vacuum. A with what they could realistically do with limited space.
Flat cap has completely screwed teams and players this summer. You already saw it with RFAs not getting qualified all over the place.
I knew there'd be tons of good players available for cheap 1 year deals, because they simply didn't have a choice. BUT, I'm really impressed with the quality we got out of that pool.

 

[Priorae]

I went A given what we had to begin with, but if the goal is better things…it needs breaks and ALOT of development.

Devils and Rangers are going to be deep rivals for a few years. I don’t have a problem with that

 

[CasusBelli]

Happy with Gustafsson. To hell with the rest.

I’m giving this a D, they did what they could, but they aren’t better and somehow they got even slower. They also still at least one glaring hole; two if Gustafsson isn’t an everyday player. We will see what happens. Did they get better? Probably not. D+ maybe C- ; but they basically did what the Mets did last MLB off-season.

Exactly this for me too.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Really finding it hard to see how anyone can reasonably say it’s anything below a B, for me it’s an easy A.

No term, nobody signed over 1m. Addressed specific needs with players who fit those needs. Rebuilt the depth that was lost with next to no cap space available and there’s enough depth now we don’t have to put Othmann or Cullye or the other kids in a position where they have to make the roster even if they’re not ready yet like so often happened under Gorton.