Larry Brooks: Rangers Aren't the Same Since Brandon Prust Bolted

[Gardner McKay]

The Prust contract was absolutely unreasonable. You don't pay a 28-year-old fourth liner 2.5 mill when the cap is where it's at. The problem is not failure to re-sign Prust. The problem is failure to acquire a 25-year-old kid on a cheap contract to replace what Prust brought.

Is that not what Dorsett was supposed to bring?

 

[AKrangerfan]

Prust was to expensive. And while Sather has made dumb decisions before, that doesn't make this one correct

Dubi was overpaid and not living anywhere up to his contract

Mitchell? Seriously? What on Earth did he ever do for us?

"Overpaid" is relative. You can make a point that all professional athletes are overpaid.

Half the players on the current team are "overpaid" for what they are producing IMHO.

Ultimately pro athletes salaries are market driven. Any thing is valued at whatever price a willing buyer and willing seller agree on.

 

[slipknottin]

Is that not what Dorsett was supposed to bring?

Yes. And Dorsett has done an admirable job.

But they haven't replaced Dubi, Anisimov, or Fedetenko either

 

[94now]

This team does miss Prust. He should be kept. Jagr shouldn't let go either. The only one that could be cut loose any moment is Sather.

 

[RangersHank*]

So we are where we are because Prust left? i understand he was a heart and soul guy, but when we lose a heart and soul guy, the GM needs to replace him with another heart and soul guy if he can. Sather didnt. Nobody wanted Prust for 2.5 and if they say they did they are lying.

 

[True Blue]

So we are where we are because Prust left?

We are where we are because Sather got rid of the glue of the locker room and it fell apart.

Nobody wanted Prust for 2.5 and if they say they did they are lying.

Looking like it would have been money well spent now.

 

[AKrangerfan]

We are where we are because Sather got rid of the glue of the locker room and it fell apart.

Looking like it would have been money well spent now.

Pyatt and Pouliot make 2.75 million combined. Who wouldn't trade those two for Prust right now?

Ryane Clowe was his closest replacement (when healthy) and his salary was 3.5 mil

It wasn't the loss of only Prust that changed our identity but he was a big part of it.

 

[LORDE]

Hindsight being what it is and all.

In retrospect, yeah, maybe we should'v given it to him. But at the time most folks thought 2.5M for a 4th line banger was ridic.

I was one of them.

As others have said, losing him wasn't the problem. The problem is we have a team that needs a guy like him to get them into it or they just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Fitting that they'll be playing golf this spring... they're members of a lovely Country Club and that's what you usually do at those places, right?

 

[bernmeister]

The Prust contract was absolutely unreasonable. You don't pay a 28-year-old fourth liner 2.5 mill when the cap is where it's at. The problem is not failure to re-sign Prust. The problem is failure to acquire a 25-year-old kid on a cheap contract to replace what Prust brought.

This^. And wasting $$ on Pyatt, etc. does not help. But Crease is right. Each guy has a range of what he should get paid based on what he is supposed to, and what he actually brings, factoring in job difficulty (scoring is difficult, so snipers make more).

Rangers drafted a big guy, would have been excellent for this.
Randy McNaught, if I remember name correctly.
Unfortunately he had some kinda leg injury, I think he's still listed as our property but can barely skate.

 

[True Blue]

This^.

$2.5 for a 3rd liner who is instrumental on the PK and is a locker room glue guy looks to be money pretty well spent right now.

 

[Sean C Billups]

$2.5 for a 3rd liner who is instrumental on the PK and is a locker room glue guy looks to be money pretty well spent right now.

You can't justify overpaying a 4th liner because he's the "locker room glue guy". He was effective at his role but wasn't/isn't irreplaceable.

 

[True Blue]

You can't justify overpaying a 4th liner because he's the "locker room glue guy". He was effective at his role but wasn't/isn't irreplaceable.

He was a 3rd liner and part of what held the locker room together.

 

[Sean C Billups]

He was a 3rd liner and part of what held the locker room together.

Fans don't know the locker room dynamic. We can observe, but our observations are guesses at best. Maybe trading Anisimov or Dubinsky is the reason the team currently lacks energy and effort. Maybe a combination of trading all 3. We don't know.

We're attempting to identify the loss of Prust as the single root cause of the team's current play. Not that simple (new coach, new system, etc.). I liked Prust, but Sather wasn't willing to give Prust an annual raise of $1.7 million. I didn't disagree then and I don't disagree now. If only Sather had replaced him...

 

[Uintah Bound]

I wonder how easy it is to find, replace a guy like Prust ? One things for sure, the current team sure makes losing him more acute.

 

[Edge]

My problem with getting guys like Prust go is that it always plays out like this:

1. Player "A" is a Free Agent and is only a third or fourth liner, he isn't worth it.

2. Player "A" receives offers from teams that feel he obviously is.

3. Rangers spend next 2 seasons trying to reacquire what they had in the first place.

4. Rangers finally find a replacement for "A".

5. Player "A" is a Free Agent and is only a third or fourth liner, he isn't worth it.

6. Player "A" receives offers from teams that feel he obviously is.

7. Rangers spend next 2 seasons trying to reacquire what they had in the first place.

 

[True Blue]

We're attempting to identify the loss of Prust as the single root cause of the team's current play.

It is not the single cause. It is an action that contributed to what is being seen.

 

[rkhum]

Slats won't give Prust 2.5 but he will give Brashear 2?

Yeh really, he gets frugal all the sudden.

Mitchell was proto-Pouliot. Parenteau too. No one liked them and they really weren't that good here despite showing signs. We might have thought Prust was more replaceable than he was. His contract + Clarkson's present an interesting face of what at least some general managers think of high-end grinders.

I think we got the best out of the CBJ trades, but a couple good playoff series played in a very specific, unorthodox system made this team's "core" look a lot better than it is.

Ah PA, another horrible move.

Those CBJ trades sucked, I'd redo them if I could, just to get the Pack Line back.

Slats ruined the black and blueshirt ID this team had and went back to overpay/build around ex stars from other teams.

At least with the Pack line and Prust, the Rangers fought every game.