Confirmed with Link: Kravtsov requests trade

[EpicDing]

If he had just reported to the AHL he'd be up for Kakko right now. So short-sighted.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

If there is any scenario that has him wearing a Rangers jersey again I’ll be furious.

 

[will1066]

I don't even think he feels regret. He's probably hanging out and training informally with Traktor.

 

[smoneil]

He should be in the top 9, he earned that spot
Laf zib kreider
Panarin strome Kakko
Goodrow chytil kravtsov

Blais put up 2 goals and an assist in 4 preseason games, with two of those points coming at even strength. Blais also hits everything that moves, has Stanley Cup experience, and scored at a higher clip (with similar useage) than Kravtsov in each of the last two seasons.

So Blais has the better performance history and had the better pre-season and brings the kind of intangibles which are generally desired for a third line player.

Other than the fact that you want it to be true, how can you claim that Blais should be demoted in favor of the guy he beat in literally every measurable way?

And to be clear--before pre-season, I had a similar line-up as yours (the only difference was that I had Kreider at 3LW, Kakko on the top line, and Krav on the Bread/Strome line, with Goodrow on the 3RW). But those lines were predicated on the players grabbing those spots, and me not wanting to see the pluses in Blais's game (I did not like the Buch trade). After camp, though? I just don't see how anyone can objectively demote a guy who so decisively won a role just to placate another player's sense of entitlement.

 

[gravey9]

He can't sign in the KHL until his ELC expires and he becomes an RFA at the end of the year. And if the Rangers didn't trade him and he refused to report all year you could also see a scenario where the Rangers try to toll his contract and then he wouldn't even be able to sign after the season, either.

The Rangers hold all the cards here. And they're not going to be rushed into trading the guy. Just like they shouldn't feel rushed or compelled to give him an NHL spot. Both send an equally dumb message to the rest of the org and other players.

 

[Kovalev27]

I want nothing to do with this kid. We screwed up badly drafting two primadonnas in Andersson/Kravtsov and Bobrov and his bossses heads rolled because of it as they should. Drury and Gallant as I’ve said owe this kid nothing. And all indications are he showed up to camp out of shape and didn’t want to take a conditioning assignment to Hartford after he got injured. He’d already be back instead? He flew back to Siberia. Total ass stay there. Don’t even trade him let him freeze his ass over there like he did the last time

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Blais put up 2 goals and an assist in 4 preseason games, with two of those points coming at even strength. Blais also hits everything that moves, has Stanley Cup experience, and scored at a higher clip (with similar useage) than Kravtsov in each of the last two seasons.

So Blais has the better performance history and had the better pre-season and brings the kind of intangibles which are generally desired for a third line player.

Other than the fact that you want it to be true, how can you claim that Blais should be demoted in favor of the guy he beat in literally every measurable way?

And to be clear--before pre-season, I had a similar line-up as yours (the only difference was that I had Kreider at 3LW, Kakko on the top line, and Krav on the Bread/Strome line, with Goodrow on the 3RW). But those lines were predicated on the players grabbing those spots, and me not wanting to see the pluses in Blais's game (I did not like the Buch trade). After camp, though? I just don't see how anyone can objectively demote a guy who so decisively won a role just to placate another player's sense of entitlement.

I never said blais should be dropped anywhere. Blais started the season on the 4th line, its Gauthier that was the one who should have been sent down.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

The Rangers hold all the cards here. And they're not going to be rushed into trading the guy. Just like they shouldn't feel rushed or compelled to give him an NHL spot. Both send an equally dumb message to the rest of the org and other players.

Rangers dont have any cards, he can play in Russia for the rest of his life if he wants.

 

[NYblades]

I want nothing to do with this kid. We screwed up badly drafting two primadonnas in Andersson/Kravtsov and Bobrov and his bossses heads rolled as they should. Drury and Gallant as I’ve said owe this kid nothing. And all indications are he showed up to camp out of shape and didn’t want to take a conditioning assignment to Hartford after he got injured. He’d already be back instead? He flew back to Siberia. Total ass stay there. Don’t even trade him let him freeze his ass over there like he did the last time

Flying back to Russia is not a good look. He either comes to his senses and accepts an assignment to the AHL or he's traded.

 

[nyr2k2]

I don't even think he feels regret. He's probably hanging out and training informally with Traktor.

Yeah, if I had to guess, he knew quite well that by refusing to report to Hartford, that would be it for him here. He didn't like his current situation and decided he would be willing to take the hit to try to force his way out. Paul Theofanous and now Dan Milstein, those are two of the biggest agents in the sport. Both represent a lot of Russian stars in the NHL. Theofanous I believe still represents Panarin. I'm sure this situation didn't happen spontaneously and without input from Milstein--and I'm sure he had conversations with Theofanous about never wanting to play in Hartford again, as well. There's no way this decision wasn't informed and intentional. He doesn't want to play here again and almost certainly won't.

 

[nyr2k2]

Rangers dont have any cards, he can play in Russia for the rest of his life if he wants.

If he was suspended all year for failure to report his contract would likely toll, meaning he'd still be playing the final year of his ELC until the situation was resolved. He needs for this year of his contract to count to become an RFA when he'd be eligible to sign in the KHL, at least per the terms of the NHL/KHL transfer "understanding" that's in place.

 

[smoneil]

I never said blais should be dropped anywhere. Blais started the season on the 4th line, its Gauthier that was the one who should have been sent down.

Blais earned a 3rd line spot over Kravtsov. Decisively. He started the season on that 3rd line wing and has played there in both games that he was healthy. Why should Kravtsov be given that spot and Blais demoted to the 4th line?

 

[patnyrnyg]

The Rangers hold all the cards here. And they're not going to be rushed into trading the guy. Just like they shouldn't feel rushed or compelled to give him an NHL spot. Both send an equally dumb message to the rest of the org and other players.

They may hold all the cards over Kravtsov. But, it does them no good for him to sit. I heard a scout on NHL radio yesterday morning. Said he comes from a tremendously wealthy family. So, not sure the threat of him not getting paid is going to matter. If there are NHL teams interested, and one is making an offer that is even somewhat realistic, they should try to get this done sooner rather than later.

 

[mas0764]

Well that's cool. You think your life experience is comparable to his? Did you have agents and advisors guiding you on how to handle your multi-million dollar future? Had you been living as a top-tier professional athlete for several years? Come on.

Do you think you know literally anything about Kravtsovs life? Well that’s cool.

 

[mas0764]

I don't remember anyone writing off my indiscretions at 21 because I was a kid. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Writing this kind of shit off as him just being a kid does a huge disservice to all his peers that are his age or younger and handle themselves in a mature, professional manner.

Taking a hard line is cool sometimes but sometimes you need to be forgiving and understanding rather than pushing a child away permanently. This would be one of those times.

 

[mas0764]

… I don’t think @nyr2k2 is saying that being 21 means you’re fully mature and immune to bad decisions. It means that age is not an excuse for them. We were all young and dumb at 21, but we were also damn sure going to be held responsible - as an adult - if we did something truly stupid. Kravtsov’s petulant behavior shouldn’t be written off and excused because he’s “just a kid”. He may not be fully mature but he has enough experience and mental faculty, not to mention professional advisors, to know that these tantrums won’t help his career in NA.

Some things you are held responsible for at 21 - committing serious crimes, for example.

Being an upstanding member of a work force who never makes mistakes? Not so much. Most kids are over drinking and skipping class at 21.

And obviously we want most athletes to be mature enough to handle demotions at 21. But when one goes nuts like Kravtsov there are better approaches than saying “Do what we tell you or go F yourself.”

 

[mas0764]

We throw away good players like it’s nothing.

If for no other reason than we have to stop the bleeding, that’s reason to crawl back to Kravtsov.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I want this guy to succeed as a Ranger. I want all Ranger draft picks to play awesome but if he does come back they may wonder how much they can count on him in the future (and look to trade him).

 

[mas0764]

Gallant’s answer about Kravtsov sounds kinda good. Drury & his agent are talking daily? There must be some sort of progress or attempt at it. I also like how he said that it’s not his choice and that’s on Drury, I am really suspect about the idea that Gallant thought Krav shouldn’t make the team. They choose him over Kakko to go out there to start OT then the next day he’s cut? His remark here makes it sound like it’s a Drury thing

Then Drury needs to get over himself.

 

[smoneil]

Taking a hard line is cool sometimes but sometimes you need to be forgiving and understanding rather than pushing a child away permanently. This would be one of those times.

This is hyperbole. "Kid" yes. He's not a child. Way different connotations. Also, I have no idea how "praising his future with the team while sending him to our top minor league affiliate with the intention of bringing him up full time later this season after a bit of work" translated into "pushing him away permanently."

Drury can't cave to his petulance--he would lose all credibility with the rest of his players, and it would almost certainly piss off many of the players who earned their spots on the team. The only person who can fix this is Kravtsov, and he's wearing sweatpants and cartoon t-shirts back home. Again.

Being an upstanding member of a work force who never makes mistakes? Not so much. Most kids are over drinking and skipping class at 21.

And obviously we want most athletes to be mature enough to handle demotions at 21. But when one goes nuts like Kravtsov there are better approaches than saying “Do what we tell you or go F yourself.”

Hypothetical: A 21 year old is working at Best Buy. Wants to be a sales manager. Two years earlier, at 19, the same employee walked out in the middle of a shift because he thought he was too good to be selling digital cameras. The GM already gave him a second chance, because of how much time was invested in training him to date. The kid came back and did okay. Had a nice sales pitch at times, though his closed sales numbers were pretty mediocre. Even so, the GM tells the guy (now 21) to work a few shifts on the sales floor because he needs more experience in computers and appliances before running the whole sales floor. Yeah, part of the issue is that the 21 year old isn't demonstrating wholly professional behavior (showing up a little un-kempt). This time, the kid doesn't even comply. He storms out of the store, goes home, and tells the store to transfer him to a different location where he can be a sales manager whether the GM thinks he's ready or not.

Be honest. What do you think would happen in that scenario? If you're honest with yourself, you know the answer is that "this isn't realistic, because the kid would have been fired at 19 and never received a 2nd chance to begin with."

 

[EdJovanovski]

This is hyperbole. "Kid" yes. He's not a child. Way different connotations. Also, I have no idea how "praising his future with the team while sending him to our top minor league affiliate with the intention of bringing him up full time later this season after a bit of work" translated into "pushing him away permanently."

Drury can't cave to his petulance--he would lose all credibility with the rest of his players, and it would almost certainly piss off many of the players who earned their spots on the team. The only person who can fix this is Kravtsov, and he's wearing sweatpants and cartoon t-shirts back home. Again.

LOL’d at this
Kravtsov needs to wear an oxford shirt & chino pants if he ever thinks he’s returning to the Rangers!

 

[mas0764]

This is hyperbole. "Kid" yes. He's not a child. Way different connotations. Also, I have no idea how "praising his future with the team while sending him to our top minor league affiliate with the intention of bringing him up full time later this season after a bit of work" translated into "pushing him away permanently."

Drury can't cave to his petulance--he would lose all credibility with the rest of his players, and it would almost certainly piss off many of the players who earned their spots on the team. The only person who can fix this is Kravtsov, and he's wearing sweatpants and cartoon t-shirts back home. Again.

Speaking of hyperbole…. Your second paragraph.

 

[Brief Candle]

From the limited amount we saw of Kravs last year, I loved the way he played. The fact is that at his age, regardless of how outwardly confident he may be, like any of us, he's a product of those around him. Have enough people around you telling you you're the second coming and soon enough you'll be holding mass. That's what this feels like.

Regardless of how we've gotten here, the truth is that I fully agree with everyone in that if they were to bring him over asap right to the big club without stint in the AHL, it sends a terrible message to the other players both up with the Rangers and down in Hartford.

 

[patnyrnyg]

I want this guy to succeed as a Ranger. I want all Ranger draft picks to play awesome but if he does come back they may wonder how much they can count on him in the future (and look to trade him).

If this is a work ethic issue and an off-season training issue, I don't think it is ever going to get better for him. He might just be one of those players that relies on his talent alone and would rather play in lower leagues in Europe ala Pavel Brendl.

 

[smoneil]

LOL’d at this
Kravtsov needs to wear an oxford shirt & chino pants if he ever thinks he’s returning to the Rangers!

Wasn't he watching the game in the owner's box with the owner or the GM of the team or something? When I have a meeting with a Dean, even if it isn't MY Dean, I don't show up in sweatpants and Bart Simpson-wear. Granted, I'm old, so there is that. I know it was jokingly said by someone earlier, but I would be really curious to see if this whole debate is split generationally, as both sides seem completely dumbfounded by the arguments of the opposition.