Kitchener Rangers 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[rangersblues]

Rehkopf and Sale should return a fair amount of forward looking assets.
Ando could too but I see him being kept around as a leader and someone to put bums in seats.
You can't full on fire sale in Kitchener I don't think the fans will tolerate that..

Au contraire. I think next season most are at the point that we wouldn't tolerate anything less than a complete sell off. I don't see any other path.

 

[Matttheleaf]

Au contraire. I think next season most are at the point that we wouldn't tolerate anything less than a complete sell off. I don't see any other path.

I think it depends on the type of fan. I don't think most know what our draft cupboard looks like, and may see a team that has made it to the second round in 3 straight years and should be expecting to make more strides.

 

[rangersblues]

I think it depends on the type of fan. I don't think most know what our draft cupboard looks like, and may see a team that has made it to the second round in 3 straight years and should be expecting to make more strides.

I suppose. Myself I'd like to see another banner of some type hanging from the rafters. Even a division or conference. Enough of winning one playoff round.

 

[EvenSteven]

Rehkopf and Sale should return a fair amount of forward looking assets.
Ando could too but I see him being kept around as a leader and someone to put bums in seats.
You can't full on fire sale in Kitchener I don't think the fans will tolerate that..

The fanbase actually embraced the 08-09 complete selloff. The difference though was that it came off a championship season.

MM has no other choice but to sell. Our draft cupboard is as empty as it can get. It needs to be replenished no matter how we start next fall. A big portion of the fanbase expected last year to be a sell off year. Many were disappointed when we didn’t sell. Most (myself included) are excited to see the returns of a major sell off.

I expect Sale to return eventually. Likely the same timeframe Mesar came back last year. Like Mesar the year before, Sale didn’t show near what he needed to to suggest he’s too good for this league.

Sale, Rehkopf and Andonovski have to be on the block. No question all three should be moved.

I’d also have Swick and Parsons on the block as well.

 

[GeoBlue]

Rehkopf and Sale should return a fair amount of forward looking assets.
Ando could too but I see him being kept around as a leader and someone to put bums in seats.
You can't full on fire sale in Kitchener I don't think the fans will tolerate that..

Ando will get us great value in a trade, no way he will be sticking around. I think the rookies last year showed great promise and will be enough to get the fans to the seats. If they keep developing, and if this year's crew does the same, it should be a very good 3 year stretch.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Breaking news at the Memorial Cup..........Sawyer Boulton has been suspended for one game for incidental contact with a Moosejaw player.....wait for it.....at the end of the pre-game warmup!!
London fined $1,000.

This isn't grit. This is stupidity.

 

[sbpointer]

I have to disagree, the fans would totally understand and be supportive of a fire sale if the returns are good.

We shall see.

I probably should have been clearer in my communication
I have no doubt the typical fan on here would fully support a complete sell off as necessary.
I'm not sure Joe Public that makes up the other 5000 people at the Aud will understand the necessity and embrace the experience watching the team grow from the ground up..
I think you have great coaching in place to build something.

 

[rangersblues]

I probably should have been clearer in my communication
I have no doubt the typical fan on here would fully support a complete sell off as necessary.
I'm not sure Joe Public that makes up the other 5000 people at the Aud will understand the necessity and embrace the experience watching the team grow from the ground up..
I think you have great coaching in place to build something.

I agree that we now have the coaching in place to build something. But as ES has stated we don't have the draft picks to get the material to build anything. If we don't correct that situation, we'll just but spinning our wheels forever imo.

 

[Ward Cornell]

I agree that we now have the coaching in place to build something. But as ES has stated we don't have the draft picks to get the material to build anything. If we don't correct that situation, we'll just but spinning our wheels forever imo.

Fortunately, MM doesnt need to recover those picks all in one yr! Hopefully two yrs to have some colleterial when needed in about 3 yrs!

 

[RangerNation]

I probably should have been clearer in my communication
I have no doubt the typical fan on here would fully support a complete sell off as necessary.
I'm not sure Joe Public that makes up the other 5000 people at the Aud will understand the necessity and embrace the experience watching the team grow from the ground up..
I think you have great coaching in place to build something.

Joe Public will grab the pitchfork when the Rangers are dead last and trade Rehkopf with the comment "Why are we trading our best guy when we are last, we need him!!!" as if to think we are going all the way. It's why I stay off facebook/instagram comment section.

 

[EvenSteven]

Fortunately, MM doesnt need to recover those picks all in one yr! Hopefully two yrs to have some colleterial when needed in about 3 yrs!

True. But, this year’s trade candidates (graduating players) will bring a lot more in return than next year’s trade candidates (graduating players).

Next year’s graduating player’s (05 OA’s and 06’s who aren’t OA candidates are as thin a group as it gets.

Joe Public will grab the pitchfork when the Rangers are dead last and trade Rehkopf with the comment "Why are we trading our best guy when we are last, we need him!!!" as if to think we are going all the way. It's why I stay off facebook/instagram comment section.

To quote Steve B, “That's why they’re just fans.”

 

[All the Answers]

Next to no chance it happens, but if Hunter were back and available for trade bait... the cupboard would be more than re-stocked.

 

[rangersblues]

Fortunately, MM doesnt need to recover those picks all in one yr! Hopefully two yrs to have some colleterial when needed in about 3 yrs!

He needs to recover a lot of them this year and hopefully quite a few for the 25 draft. This is the year we have some prime trade chips that will bring premium return. I'm not sure how or who he can trade to recover them the next two years if the plan is to build for the 27 Memorial Cup.

 

[GeoBlue]

Next to no chance it happens, but if Hunter were back and available for trade bait... the cupboard would be more than re-stocked.

Oh my God! If Hunter came back along with Ando, Mesar, Sale and Rake, I can see MM being a buyer this year! LOL!

 

[Ward Cornell]

He needs to recover a lot of them this year and hopefully quite a few for the 25 draft. This is the year we have some prime trade chips that will bring premium return. I'm not sure how or who he can trade to recover them the next two years if the plan is to build for the 27 Memorial Cup.

Don't disagree.

 

[SFC]

I think it depends on the type of fan. I don't think most know what our draft cupboard looks like, and may see a team that has made it to the second round in 3 straight years and should be expecting to make more strides.

This is a super interesting framing---on the surface, "made it to the second round in three straight years" sounds like success but that's basically a full rebuild/contention cycle in the modern OHL. Not getting out of the second round in three years is pretty poor. For god's sake, both Sarnia and Windsor made it out of the second round in the last three years.

I have a bunch of thoughts on the playoffs, Cup, future, etc. that I was hoping to post, plus some funny stats about how many times during the season bobber threatened to "eat crow" and ES stated the Rangers needed to get Connor Punnett but we have a new baby over here so I don't think I'll be able to get to it. But I hope everyone is well and here's hoping MM shows he really is the guy to take this org back to where it belongs.

Also, a couple weeks late but holy crap, Oshawa, that was embarrassing. Has there ever been a better argument for 1-16 seeding?

 

[bobber]

This is a super interesting framing---on the surface, "made it to the second round in three straight years" sounds like success but that's basically a full rebuild/contention cycle in the modern OHL. Not getting out of the second round in three years is pretty poor. For god's sake, both Sarnia and Windsor made it out of the second round in the last three years.

I have a bunch of thoughts on the playoffs, Cup, future, etc. that I was hoping to post, plus some funny stats about how many times during the season bobber threatened to "eat crow" and ES stated the Rangers needed to get Connor Punnett but we have a new baby over here so I don't think I'll be able to get to it. But I hope everyone is well and here's hoping MM shows he really is the guy to take this org back to where it belongs.

Also, a couple weeks late but holy crap, Oshawa, that was embarrassing. Has there ever been a better argument for 1-16 seeding?

I was going to soo MM for all the crow pies I had to eat. His lawyer told me I didn't have probable caws.

 

[Slowpace]

I was going to soo MM for all the crow pies I had to eat.

Hope you ordered an extra pie for mocking Knights' fans that ordered Memorial Cup tickets a few months ago.

 

[rve24]

Breaking news at the Memorial Cup..........Sawyer Boulton has been suspended for one game for incidental contact with a Moosejaw player.....wait for it.....at the end of the pre-game warmup!!
London fined $1,000.

This isn't grit. This is stupidity.

What did he do? Never saw it.

 

[bobber]

Hope you ordered an extra pie for mocking Knights' fans that ordered Memorial Cup tickets a few months ago.

Got to get your shots in early. I knew how good the Knights were. Maybe I'll soo them for psychological torture of Ranger fans.

 

[rangersblues]

Got to get your shots in early. I knew how good the Knights were. Maybe I'll soo them for psychological torture of Ranger fans.

Knights fans play us like a bag of toys. Most don't even show animosity towards us. I think they actually feel sorry for us.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Also, a couple weeks late but holy crap, Oshawa, that was embarrassing. Has there ever been a better argument for 1-16 seeding?

At least, when you have the top 2 finalists in each conference, then reseed the teams.

 

[Matttheleaf]

At least, when you have the top 2 finalists in each conference, then reseed the teams.

I like this idea. Keep it 1v8 at the start of the year as the normal but if the top 2 teams come from the same conference then you switch it to 1-16. Can potentially keep it interesting down the stretch, and even if its know that there will be crossover it allows for a large amount of potential series.

 

[rangersblues]

At least, when you have the top 2 finalists in each conference, then reseed the teams.

I agree. And in a Memorial Cup hosting year when the host team wins their conference, it's possible for a weaker conference winner such as Oshawa to get to the Memorial Cup without winning anything. Can you imagine if Saginaw would have beaten London in the Western Conference Final? The league needs to do what they can to get the best two teams to the final.

 

[GeoBlue]

Also, a couple weeks late but holy crap, Oshawa, that was embarrassing. Has there ever been a better argument for 1-16 seeding?

I can't see this ever happening. The league will scream "travel costs".