How you see this build in 2 years

[Machinehead]

Destroying at both ends of the ice? I think you’re describing Bobby Orr and Larry Robinson lol.
Seriously tho Jones is already top 10 dman in the league and only gonna get better.

At any end of the ice.

Jones is good at mitigating damage. Here he is compared to a player who actively shuts down opposition.

 

[bl02]

At any end of the ice.

Jones is good at mitigating damage. Here he is compared to a player who actively shuts down opposition.

I like Ekholm but give me Jones if I’m starting a team. Like I said 25 years old and only gonna get better.

 

[Doctyl]

I like Ekholm but give me Jones if I’m starting a team. Like I said 25 years old and only gonna get better.

25 isn’t that young

 

[bl02]

25 isn’t that young

Overall true but for some dmen (like ADA) that's still young and still have another 5-6 improving years. Besides this year Jones has been pretty durable and healthy. I would imagine his game still has upward trajectory in the years to come.

 

[Vitto79]

All I know is the bad contracts are done in 1 year so they should be a more serious contender in 2

 

[cwede]

All I know is the bad contracts are done in 1 year so they should be a more serious contender in 2

yeah, its 2 things needed to pass, to get to summer'21, and addressing roster holes
- Staal, Hank, Smith, Shatty Cap Hits expire
- Seattle expansion draft passes - NYR can't really add a good young-ish top-4 LHD type until after that draft, already gotta protect/expose ADA, Trouba, Lindgren

 

[HonestGabe]

Chris Kreider / Mika Zibanejad / Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin / Filip Chytil / Kaapo Kakko
Vitali Kravtsov / UFA Vet / Julien Gauthier
Brendan Lemieux / Justin Richards / Morgan Barron/Karl Henriksson/UFA bottom 6 vet

Ryan Lindgren / Adam Fox
XXXX / Jacob Trouba
K'Andre Miller / Tony DeAngelo
Vet 7th D

I believe we will see some assets packaged for a stud shutdown Top 4 LHD to compliment Trouba on the left.

 

[Adam Fox Time]

For those worried about our LD depth, notice how everyone has ADA at 3D. If he continues to be a great offensive d-man, someone will want him as their 1D.

That's great news for us. We should be happy that our depth problem is at LD and not RD, because for most of the league it's the opposite. ADA could be an excellent trade candidate, for either a great forward (Barkov?) or a great d-man (Vince Dunn?), although I'm not familiar with what other teams are looking for or their salary situations. Or to go in another direction, ADA + draft picks for a Top 3 pick at some point.

 

[aufheben]

Panarin - Chytil - Kakko
Kreider - Zibanejad - 2RW
Di Giuseppe - 3C - Kravtsov
Lemieux - Howden - Gauthier
Barron

Lindgren - Fox
2LD - Trouba
DeAngelo - Lundkvist

Shesterkin
2G

I’d love to keep Buchnevich but Idk if he’ll still be here

 

[egelband]

Seth Jones is also a UFA in 2022.

I understand worrying about the cap, but I am more worried about an era of mediocrity, good but not good enough. Basically like the Rangers of the last decade or the 90s Knicks. The Leafs have shown that you can make a bunch of star players work even with the cap. The problem with the Leafs is that they focused too much of offense and not enough on defense, and it is still possible for them to get out of that with a trade. I think the Rangers definitely have room for another superstar player.

Via trade, possibly. JG will have a ton of chips. Another big free agent deal? I can’t see that. But I do think we can hope, and even expect, another top six forward and/or top pairing defender to emerge from the system.

 

[egelband]

For those worried about our LD depth, notice how everyone has ADA at 3D. If he continues to be a great offensive d-man, someone will want him as their 1D.

That's great news for us. We should be happy that our depth problem is at LD and not RD, because for most of the league it's the opposite. ADA could be an excellent trade candidate, for either a great forward (Barkov?) or a great d-man (Vince Dunn?), although I'm not familiar with what other teams are looking for or their salary situations. Or to go in another direction, ADA + draft picks for a Top 3 pick at some point.

Good point. Though I really like ADA. Hope they can find a way to make it work.

 

[egelband]

He's a good player but I wouldn't pay more than 6-7 for him. He'll probably get 12-13. He's big, he's fast, and he plays a lot. Checks off all the reputation boxes.

Meanwhile, he's pedestrian offensively, and is way more in the category of "nothing bad happens" than a dominant force.

He's a more narrative-driven Anton Stralman. I loved Stralman but think about what you'd realistically pay for peak Stralman.

I agree. I think he’s terrific but not a game changer like, say, Panarin. To me he’s Skjei but with much better judgment and a bit of a mean streak. Certainly a player we want but I don’t think we can afford.

 

[bl02]

I agree. I think he’s terrific but not a game changer like, say, Panarin. To me he’s Skjei but with much better judgment and a bit of a mean streak. Certainly a player we want but I don’t think we can afford.

we definitely can’t afford him. Unless he suffers a devastating injury he’s getting paid!!! We committed our big chunk of money on d with Trouba. Let’s just hope we can sign ADA

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

Did evreyone forget we have 2 picks in a stacked draft this year

 

[egelband]

I’d just pay ADA, give Strome two years, and maybe buyout Henrik. Though I hope they finish up this current season and Henrik can get a proper send off.
Staal and Smith have one year remaining, I suspect they’re able to digest those two and still pay ADA. But I haven’t done the math.
I wonder if ADA wants to do a one year deal, with the cap being such a bear for the next year or two. (Wouldn’t be my first choice, but the thinking is going to be affected by the economy).

 

[egelband]

Did evreyone forget we have 2 picks in a stacked draft this year

Check out the draft thread. We pumped

 

[aufheben]

At any end of the ice.

Jones is good at mitigating damage. Here he is compared to a player who actively shuts down opposition.

This is really surprising. I figured Jones as kind of a Pronger-lite for the Blue Jackets. Checks out though:

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I’d just pay ADA, give Strome two years, and maybe buyout Henrik. Though I hope they finish up this current season and Henrik can get a proper send off.
Staal and Smith have one year remaining, I suspect they’re able to digest those two and still pay ADA. But I haven’t done the math.
I wonder if ADA wants to do a one year deal, with the cap being such a bear for the next year or two. (Wouldn’t be my first choice, but the thinking is going to be affected by the economy).

I'm doubtful DeAngelo takes a 1 year after a career year. Its gonna be tight, sadly Fast is a likely casualty.

 

[egelband]

I'm doubtful DeAngelo takes a 1 year after a career year. Its gonna be tight, sadly Fast is a likely casualty.

I think the Rangers would like to lock him up long term. Or, at least, I would think that’s the wise thing to do. But seeing as the cap will be static it even lower, the market rate will be lower. So ADA might want to sign for one year and try for a bigger deal when, hopefully, there's a bit more money to go around.
Just suggesting it might be ADA’s preference.

 

[Mikos87]

I think the window opens in two years. But at the same time I expect that's the year where some of the kids you have in the farm now also get moved out for proven NHL commodities. When I say two years, I'm referring to the start of the season after next or 21-22 with all the cap space to work with after Smith, Staal and Hank's deals are off the books.

All in all, I do see a better defense corp, which may possibly consist of homegrown assets one top of the ones you have now. If you think about it, Staal is really the home grown defensemen right now, the rest were all traded for, or signed as UFAs. That's pretty remarkable when many pride themselves on the D-Core that's being built. I also think the Rangers end up with a similar set up with the forward group as their cup runs.

• Top 6 scoring unit that plays a two way game: Kreider-Zibs-Kakko
• Top 6 scoring unit that provides offense: Bread-Strome-xxx/trade
• Top 9 forward unit that provides offense, and gets mismatches: Kravstov/Barron-Chytil-Gauthier/Trade
• Bottom 6 checking unit that can match-up against a team's top 6: Lemeuix/Digi/Trade-Howden/Trade/UFA-Richards/Fast/Trade/UFA

• 5v5 Shutdown Pair with limited offensive looks: Key-Troubs
• Top 4 Two Way Pair: Lindy-Fox
• Offensive pair that creates mismatches: Hajek/Lundqvist-DeAngelo

• Benny Acolyte A: Shesty
• Benny Acolyte B: Georgiev/Trade/UFA/Huska

All in all, some of the pieces are locked in, but others are fluid. I can see the following happening:

• Buchnevich gets traded with a piece for a top 6 upgrade. Rangers get a more consistent asset that can play a two way game.
• Lemeuix gets moved if he can't kill penalties or check. He'll get a longer look in that role next year, but if he can't become a utility guy that can check, gets moved.
• Howden beefs up, but if his legs don't match his intentions, and he can't check, he gets moved.
• Third line that gets the sheltered minutes needs to step up. Gauthier needs to prove that he can play at a checking capacity, and hustle hard. Chytil needs to prove that he can pass the puck and make plays for others. Kravstov needs to prove that he's not an enigma.
• I can see a guy like Barron becoming a very reliable forward who plays a smart game. Quintessential middle six winger.
• The 4th line will need guys who can check. I would love to see Howden and Richards become a pair of centers that can shift to wing who can take any side of the draw and check the oppositions top 6.

I think the defense is more certain as some guys continue to push for a spot in the line-up. All in all, this team isn't going to contend until they get more guys that know how to play a winning role. Good news is that is mostly true for the bottom six, and you have a bunch of kids getting opportunities.

I would get the kids to look at St. Louis and show them how they have their players playing winning hockey. Like get Chytil to look at fellow draft mate Robert Thomas. That kids a winner. Plays wing, center, but more importantly does what is needed at the right time. Get Lemeuix to look at Sammy Blais, similar guys, but Blais can check. Get Howden to look at Sundqvist, Oscar plays big boy hockey, and embraces a checking role. Get Key to look at Parayko, and have him play that type of game. Get Gautheir to look at a guy like Sanford.

All of those guys on STL were a bit older, but still young guys that played a contributing role to winning hockey.

I also think that a trade along the lines of Buch, Robertson & a 1st in a couple of years can net you a really good piece to add. Buchevich posts up some very good numbers for his age bracket, and I know that some guys think he can rack 30 in the league, but to win consistently you need a top six that plays consistently. If Bread's nightly effort isn't rubbing off on Buch to do the same, then you move him for an upgrade.