Is Anton Stralman in a Tenuous Spot with Rangers?

[Thirty One]

First of all, if the Rangers are not a threat to unseat either the Bruins or Penguins in the next 3-4 years, then essentially no one is untradeable.

In recent years the Penguins and Bruins have been beaten in the playoffs by Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia.

 

[True Blue]

In recent years the Penguins and Bruins have been beaten in the playoffs by Tampa Bay, Washington, and Philadelphia.

Sure, but do you see the Rangers as a team that, on a yearly basis, can go toe to toe with Boston or Pittsburgh?

 

[Thirty One]

Sure, but do you see the Rangers as a team that, on a yearly basis, can go toe to toe with Boston or Pittsburgh?

I guess not, but I don't see why that means no one is untouchable.

 

[vipernsx]

Depth is good and you can never have too many quality blueliners. I say resign Stralman. When someone goes down, call up McIlrath if he's healthy. Allen and Skjei will be two other nice options to fill in for injuries. Having solid blueline depth protects the Rangers if Staal walks or gives them more options to trade him. If signed to a respectable contract, Stralman will continue to have value and can be traded as well, if it becomes prudent to do so.

McD - Girardi
Staal - Stralman
Moore - Klein

Where's the offense? Once Richards is bought out, this team will be devoid of another capable point presence on the PP. Moore is pure potential right now. He still hasn't established himself as an offensive threat. The Rangers need a creative point presence.

Everyone thought Richards would be bought out last season and he wasn't. There's no guarantee that he will be and the reasons you point out are some of them. However, Stepan has gotten a few shots at the PP blueline and could very well step into the same job if Richards was bought out. And as we all know, Stepan is a RH.

Not if he is signed long-term to more dollars than he is worth.

That's why you pay what he's worth and not more. The guy is only 27. In 2 years when he's 29 and making 3-4m a year for 2-3 more years, the Rangers could cash in with a truly quality return.

I say sign him to a 5year 17.5m contract that pays him 6 and 5 mil his first two years. Any team with an internal cap would take him after year 2 even if his cap hit wasn't worth it.

Over the next 5 years any player at or under 4m will be right on par with league average and far from overpaid.

Having a glut of capable defensemen is never a bad thing. And there is typically zero difficulty in finding a suitor for a guy signed to a reasonable deal (See: Kevin Kline).

Obvious answer is to resign Stralman to a 3-4 year deal for a reasonable price. If Moore/Allen/McI/Skjei/etc progress as expected, you trade him next offseason.

Exactly. And the price he'll be commanding won't be consuming too much cap space so he's worth keeping. I'd say 4-5yr

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I love Stralman, but with the Klein acquisition, he's a bit redundant, IMO. He's been a good soldier for us and a very effective middle pairing type guy, but if we re-sign Girardi, I think Stralman should be traded/let go. We desperately need a dynamic player on defense, and there's a spot on the right side that would be filled in perfectly by one should Stralman not be retained.

Also depends on what he's looking for. If he is re-signed, I would be happy with a 4x4 deal.

 

[n8]

if we can sign both Stralman and G to good contracts, it will make them more valuable should we ever have to deal one of them for promotion purposes.

 

[Thirty One]

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/ra...ive-system-sather-may-need-to-add-depth-vigne

Klein feels he is fitting in well, though. He is known as a steady defenseman and penalty killer, and Vigneault consistently seems to be experimenting with Klein as the right-side partner of Marc Staal on the second pair. (Perhaps GM Glen Sather wants to see what next season would look like if he doesn’t pay impending unrestricted free agent Anton Stralman).

 

[True Blue]

I guess not, but I don't see why that means no one is untouchable.

Because they can be worse than either team without him. Which means trading him for assets that will enable them to eventually be the better team.

 

[True Blue]

That's why you pay what he's worth and not more. The guy is only 27. In 2 years when he's 29 and making 3-4m a year for 2-3 more years, the Rangers could cash in with a truly quality return.

I say sign him to a 5year 17.5m contract that pays him 6 and 5 mil his first two years. Any team with an internal cap would take him after year 2 even if his cap hit wasn't worth it.

Over the next 5 years any player at or under 4m will be right on par with league average and far from overpaid.

Stralman should not be given a 5 year contract. He has been good for the Rangers. he has not been great. Not on a consistent basis has he performed like a top-4 defenseman. There is no guarantee you can trade him in two years. If he gets a 5 or 6 year deal and decides to coast, then it is rather difficult to try to trade that off.

 

[Raymones]

So now we're discussing to move our only RD-man who can actually pass the puck? Girardi is absolutely horrible at it, Klein I haven't seen enough of, but he's more in the Girardi category than the Strålman category. I would deal Girardi, simply because he will not be worth the money he will be asking for. Solid stay at home D, but he will also guarantee more often than not that defending is exactly what you will have to do.

The best D-men are those who make sure you don't need to even defend and Strålman is an alot more modern D-man in that regard than Girardi. Although, if the choice would then be to keep either Callahan or Girardi, I don't know. Deal one of them, but not both and not at the expense of Strålman, who is more worth the bang for the buck than either Callahan or Girardi, especially under AV.

Shutdown D-men comes at at a dime of a dozen. Mobile two-way D-men who can skate and move the puck don't and it's the former a modern hockey franchise wants and needs. That's my take on it.

Considering AV's prefered style of play it would be very odd if they chose that path. He's the one RHD that suits the system perfectly. Signing him to a new deal is a no-brainer IMO. Someone posted an article with him stating him and his family (3 or 4 kids) loves it in NY and would like to stay. I'm confident they'll be able to reach a deal that's fair for both parties.

He's okay. Again, I liken him to Rozsival in that regard. When given time, he can do good things with the puck. Under pressure, I often see him throw the puck to nowhere, or throw it into a teammate's skates. It's that lack of cool under pressure that keeps him from being a PP option.

People always say, "Oh, we can trade him later" but that doesn't always work.

I don't agree with this, at all. IMO he is very poised under pressure. Always looking to find a team mate to start the transition up ice. Throwing the puck into nowhere is the last way out. Yes, he occasionally throws a puck at teammate's skate, but that is because he is trying to make a creative play instead of smashing it along the boards a la Girardi, Staal or Klein.

 

[Ail]

What the hell is this forum coming to.....

This.









Wait, you weren't talking about how they made -31- a partner? Disregard.

 

[Raymones]

Stralman should not be given a 5 year contract. He has been good for the Rangers. he has not been great. Not on a consistent basis has he performed like a top-4 defenseman. There is no guarantee you can trade him in two years. If he gets a 5 or 6 year deal and decides to coast, then it is rather difficult to try to trade that off.

I don't think Sather would give him a five year deal. Three, maybe four at the most. I don't see the risk of coasting in this case. He is a guy who was let go from a training camp, got a chance to prove himself and had to completely change his style of play to stick on the Rangers. If he wanted to coast he could have taken the KHL offers earning twice as much.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/ra...ive-system-sather-may-need-to-add-depth-vigne

I don't understand this line of thinking. The Rangers have been looking for balance on D this whole season. Now they've got it. I hope they do everything they can to keep that balance. It won't be much of a problem cap wise, especially if they are looking to offload Richards and/or Callahan.

The Rangers have a very solid d-corps as it is. If no one is looking for absurd deals, I'd like to keep it.

 

[yrrebbor]

At least we have options for D; we still have a C problem to worry about. I would hate to see Girardi go, but maybe he can buy us a replacement for Richard or Cally.

 

[Crease]

Unless he's demanding a NTC, I see no reason not to extend him.

 

[LittleKev6D9]

I love Stralman and hope we can keep him, but there are a lot of guys that will need contracts this offseason.

He shouldn't cost more than 3M, so it's not completely ridiculous to resign both, especially with the cap going to increase next year and the following year.

 

[Slick Rick 61]

The Rangers need more offense from the backend. If you re-sign Girardi, you have to let Stralman go. Klein likely will slot in that spot. Even if he plays on the 3rd pair, he essentially replaces him. Though if you bring in another offensive-minded defenseman, you can't pair him with Moore unless you want another Moore-DZ headache. This off-season reminds me of what the Mets just went through. So many options.

 

[LittleKev6D9]

Now that I really think about it, where else would Stralman go?

He has 6 points this. 0 goals and 6 assists. On pace for 9 points this year. NINE!! The only team that really sees how valuable he is are the New York Rangers. He would get more money here than he would on the FA market. I feel pretty confident he will be back next year.

 

[3rdlineglory]

sign stralman. hes the better value player. hang on to anton stralman. imo, hes been one of our best 3 dmen all season long.

trade girardi. hell bring back more value in a trade. they wont trade him though.

we cannot count on what mcilrath may or may not do at this point. he may not even be healthy. he seems to be fighting the injury thing alot. not only does his overall game need work, but he hasnt shown that he can stay healthy playing the type of game he MUST play to bring anything to this team at all.

and all this talk about klein not being 2nd pair capable or whatever ?? since hes been here, hes helped stabilize the defense, played quality minutes, and has allowed john moore to freelance and play the type of skating game hes best suited to play.

moving stralman would not bring enough back to warrant that play. he should be resigned and part of our top 6 for the next few years.

with girardi, anton and klein, were all set on the right side. and that side of teh defense doesnt need mcilrath next season..... thats the sad fact.

but we could sure use vlad tarasenko and his 18 goals im thinking.

To be fair, Tarasenko is a RW so he would have to compete with the likes of Nash, Zuccarello, and Callahan for minutes just like McIlrath would compete for minutes with our current group of RD. With that said, I think Tarasenko is an awesome player. Dat release .

 

[3rdlineglory]

Now that I really think about it, where else would Stralman go?

He has 6 points this. 0 goals and 6 assists. On pace for 9 points this year. NINE!! The only team that really sees how valuable he is are the New York Rangers. He would get more money here than he would on the FA market. I feel pretty confident he will be back next year.

Can anyone give me a rational reason why Stralman isn't putting up points like he did on the other teams he's played for? Maybe to find a niche, he only focused on offense considering the stigma against European players?

 

[free0717]

Not if he is signed long-term to more dollars than he is worth.

RH Defenseman are a commodity in this leauge. Stralsy could be moved without a problem. Someone will bite

 

[17futurecap]

Can anyone give me a rational reason why Stralman isn't putting up points like he did on the other teams he's played for? Maybe to find a niche, he only focused on offense considering the stigma against European players?

Happy he got one last night, well deserved, his shooting percentage is at 1.4% compared to 6.1% last year. Think he will chip in more goals in the last quarter of the season.

I would be happy to have him back next year, hopefully they can come to an agreement. He is still a young enough guy where if he ever had to be moved teams would trade for him. I have no problem with giving the kids chances, but Stralman is pretty reliable out there, and you know what you are getting.

 

[Blue Blooded]

Interesting stat from yesterdays game:

NYR 5v5 shot attempts while the game was within 1 goal:

With Strålman: +18/-0 (in 5.5 minutes, and starting most shifts in the defensive zone)
Without Strålman: +11/-10 (in 10.9 minutes)

This is far from a one-off and while an extreme example displays Strålman's primary value as a player - he drives play from the back-end like few in the league do.

He is also +11 in his past 4 games. +/- a horrible stat in small samples, but considering the rotten PDO he's been getting most of the season it is a well deserved bump considering his possession play.

Extend him ASAP.

 

[TomLaidlaw]

He has been one of the most consistent and solid performers for this team for a couple of years now. He is only 27 years old. If you can get him for 3-5 years for 2.75-3.50 per you gotta do it. Guys like Stralman are key under the radar contributors to very good teams. Every good team has a guy like that. Someone who can eat up minutes and just play steady. Look what Rozsival did for Chicago.

 

[Ail]

I don't know what is going on with the Girardi situation, but either way I think they need to sign this guy. Soon.

 

[True Blue]

RH Defenseman are a commodity in this leauge. Stralsy could be moved without a problem. Someone will bite

Sorry, but in a salary capped league, a player who is signed for more money than he is worth and more years than he is worth does not get moved easily. It is one thing to be a Rh defenseman. It is another to be an RH defenseman who is getting $30m over 6 years and it not worth either.