Larry Brooks: Rangers will be selling

[JimmyG89]

I want AV fired as much as the rest, but if you're in the business of selling off right now, there is nothing to gain firing AV at this moment. You let the team flounder, sell off players, and move on in the offseason or after the TDL.

If the goal is to make it, firing AV is the only move to make. It'd give the team 4 weeks to see if AV was the issue. New direction from Arniel or Ruff, whether it is minor or not. A new voice. If it fails, you can sell off without question that this group had nothing else to give and clean house with this staff.

 

[NikC]

My guess would be the Rangers aren't DEFINITELY selling. They'll entertain the idea of selling if the prices are right probably. I can see them holding onto Nash and Grabner if they don't like the offers they receive. Just very glad there's no reports of them attached to buying.

Regardless of how you feel about Brooks, this isn't just his opinion. ..
NYR are moving players...

Gotta hope they get the max value...
Picks, prospects, and players!

AV may not need to go this season, but I can't see why they'd hold onto him with a new young core....

Gorton had his work cut out for him.
He can make or break this franchise for the next decade

 

[Harbour Dog]

I want AV fired as much as the rest, but if you're in the business of selling off right now, there is nothing to gain firing AV at this moment. You let the team flounder, sell off players, and move on in the offseason or after the TDL.

If the goal is to make it, firing AV is the only move to make. It'd give the team 4 weeks to see if AV was the issue. New direction from Arniel or Ruff, whether it is minor or not. A new voice. If it fails, you can sell off without question that this group had nothing else to give and clean house with this staff.

The only advantage to selling off AND firing AV that I can see, is getting a better look at our guys in a different system before we have some tough decisions in the offseason.

 

[McRanger]

Cut the fat. Move the UFAs. Fire the coach. Make some smart free agent signings. Listen to offers for anyone, but only move McDonagh if you can't pass up on the deal.

With the right moves the Rangers are both back in the mix next year and set up better long term.

 

[True Blue]

Cut the fat. Move the UFAs. Fire the coach. Make some smart free agent signings. Listen to offers for anyone, but only move McDonagh if you can't pass up on the deal.

With the right moves the Rangers are both back in the mix next year and set up better long term.

Well put

 

[Levitate]

As others said I think you wait until the offseason to fire the coach, but yeah with how inconsistent this team has been this year and their inability to really find an identity, it's time to sell on guys like Nash and Grabner and Holden, etc. I always said you don't sell on those guys if you're in the mix and could be considered a threat to go deep in the playoffs but I think this team has proven this season that they're not a team that can go deep.

I'd hold on moving McDonagh or Zucc for anything less than a fantastic deal though. You've still got another year on both of them so no reason to jump into a mediocre deal just to move them at this point. I could even see them re-signing McDonagh if they don't find a deal they want, and I think he could be an effective 1st pair guy for many more years, but it certainly is a risk to tie up that money in him through his mid 30's and into late 30's

 

[RangerBoy]

Darren Dreger was speaking about the Leafs on Tuesday morning and said "The question is, when it comes to McDonagh as an example, the assets you are going to have to deliver to acquire a piece like that are going to be enormous and probably more than Toronto is going to be willing to pay but we don't know yet, it's still relatively early. (TSN 1050)

The price the Rangers should have for a potential Ryan McDonagh trade

 

[E-Train]

The price the Rangers should have for a potential Ryan McDonagh trade

That's what I like to hear. Blown away or hold till the draft.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Brooks is basically a mouthpiece for the organization. As much as I hate him, he's got more sources than anyone out there.

Then, I guess we will see it. Until then, not buying it.

 

[haveandare]

I want AV fired as much as the rest, but if you're in the business of selling off right now, there is nothing to gain firing AV at this moment. You let the team flounder, sell off players, and move on in the offseason or after the TDL.

If the goal is to make it, firing AV is the only move to make. It'd give the team 4 weeks to see if AV was the issue. New direction from Arniel or Ruff, whether it is minor or not. A new voice. If it fails, you can sell off without question that this group had nothing else to give and clean house with this staff.

Imo, what they can gain is seeing how guys look in a different/better/simpler system, d men especially. For example, and I realize this is far fetched but it's purposely dramatic for the sake of making a clear example, if they got a different coach with a different system and McD suddenly looks like 2014 again, that probably changes things.

 

[patnyrnyg]

McDonagh is not being shopped , we are listening on offers but I highly doubt Gorton is dangling our top dman for s**** and giggles.

You have some kind of inside info here or are you speculating the way Brooks does?

 

[Edge]

From most reports, the Rangers are listening, not necessarily shopping certain players. That's a key difference to note.

 

[NYR]

Question/Observation

If AV was supposedly on the hot seat and the team is going in a new direction,
Why wait until the off season to fire him?

He’s still actively calling roster moves/player transactions.
Hell, JG brought in McLeod at AV’s request just a few days ago..

Why would JG allow him to be apart of the retool/rebuild process if he wasn’t going to be included in future plans?

Maybe his seat isn't so warm after all?

https://nypost.com/2018/01/26/rangers-sign-tough-fourth-liner-off-waivers/

Alain Vigneault laughed as he remembered exactly what Cody McLeod said to him from the ice on New Year’s Eve in Denver just over a year ago.
“He stood in front of my bench and said, ‘Hey coach, are you looking for a tough fourth-liner?’ ” Vigneault relayed Thursday morning, the day his Rangers claimed McLeod off waivers from the Predators. “So it took me a year to sort it out.”

 

[Edge]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say AV isn't on the hot seat right now. Right, wrong or otherwise, I think the Rangers feel they need a roster revamp, not necessarily a new head coach.

But if AV is on the hot seat, I don't see them doing anything prior to the offseason. I think they'd want a fresh start, with a fresh batch of candidates, without any distractions, and with an eye towards finding someone who fits the roster they are building (which would theoretically be a little more clear if they make any deadline or draft day moves).

So either way, I don't see anything as being imminent.

 

[NYR]

Yep, Those are pretty much my thoughts as well..

 

[Beacon]

"No more half-assed measures" also describes what Buffalo, Florida, Edmonton did.

By the time they did it, it was too late. You dress 20 guys each game. Drafting a couple of guys early plus getting a few extra picks around #20-#60 is not going to get you 20 NHL players.

The reason the Rangers have to do things now instead of letting MZA, McDonagh, Nash, Grabs get to the UFA is that they have a good core. Butcher, Zib, Miller, Kreider are 4 of the 6 top line players we need. Hayes, Fast, Vesey, Nieves, Cousin Vinny are 5 of the 6 bottom line guys. That means we have 3 whole to plug, 2 of which will hopefully get plugged by Lias and Chytil. If we could get someone like Nylander for McDonagh, we could be set up front for years to come.

On D, Skjei and Graves (left), and ADA and Pionk (right) should make for a good bottom-4, but we need 2 top defensemen. Maybe Skjei becomes a first pair guy, we'll see, but either way we need a pair of very strong blueliners. The good news is that this is a D-strong draft. With our own pick and the one we'd get for MZA, we can get a pair of good D prospects in the top 15. Since begin drafted in the first half of the first round guarantees you nothing, take a couple more defensemen with the picks we get for Nash, Grabner and our own second rounder. That's a very strong team going forward.

This is not a comparable situation to Edmonton completely stinking up the joint and then thinking that Hall+RNH will save the situation. Even McDavid is just 1 guy out of the 20 who have to get dressed.

 

[haveandare]

Keeping AV and making roster changes based on his input would be a fatal mistake imo. Keeping him till the seasons over to be able to focus more on finding the next guy would be a mistake but a recoverable one. Moving big guys out and bringing big guys in based on his opinion or how people perform in his wacky system would significantly increase these deals turning out to be mistakes.

Again, you can disagree the his player usage is counter productive or that his system does more harm than good (not very credibly, but part of those things can be opinion based) but I don't see how theres any debate over whether or not he's the guy going forward. NHL head coaches wear out with their teams, it happens to almost everyone. It's happening here right now and has been for quite a while.

Ask yourself, is AV a Babcock level guy who can stay for a decades deservedly? I don't see how anyone could credibly argue that he is.

 

[haveandare]

By the time they did it, it was too late. You dress 20 guys each game. Drafting a couple of guys early plus getting a few extra picks around #20-#60 is not going to get you 20 NHL players.

The reason the Rangers have to do things now instead of letting MZA, McDonagh, Nash, Grabs get to the UFA is that they have a good core. Butcher, Zib, Miller, Kreider are 4 of the 6 top line players we need. Hayes, Fast, Vesey, Nieves, Cousin Vinny are 5 of the 6 bottom line guys. That means we have 3 whole to plug, 2 of which will hopefully get plugged by Lias and Chytil. If we could get someone like Nylander for McDonagh, we could be set up front for years to come.

On D, Skjei and Graves (left), and DAD and Pionk (right) should make for a good bottom-4, but we need 2 top defensemen. Maybe Skjei becomes a first pair guy, we'll see, but either way we need a pair of very strong blueliners. The good news is that this is a D-strong draft. With our own pick and the one we'd get for MZA, we can get a pair of good D prospects in the top 15. Since begin drafted in the first half of the first round guarantees you nothing, take a couple more defensemen with the picks we get for Nash, Grabner and our own second rounder. That's a very strong team going forward.

This is not a comparable situation to Edmonton completely stinking up the joint and then thinking that Hall+RNH will save the situation. Even McDavid is just 1 guy out of the 20 who have to get dressed.

What you're describing are "half assed measures" Imo - and that's fine, that's what I think we need too. I don't think we should look to move all but 5ish guys as was proposed in the comment I quoted there.

For D, saying Pionk and Graves will be serviceable NHLers is optimistic as of now. I'd really look to get a top pairing young d back for McD rather than someone like Nylander. The hole at D without McD is a lot bigger than the hole at forward without Zucc and Nash. I'd move McD for a top young d and look to get a good winger ether for Zucc or for Zucc and some portion of the returns from Nash and Grabner.

 

[Beacon]

Agreed. Our half measures were taken from 07-2010 and it brought us 4 solid seasons of cup contention and we easily could've won had it not been for (imo) coaching, the death of one player prospect and career ending injury of another

It can be done right if a team is drafting well and trading for the right prospects with a little FA luck sprinkled in

We also got incredibly lucky by drafting arguably our best player ever in the 7th round and then trading a cap anchor for our 1D and captain who agreed to sign a ridiculously low contract. The odds that both of these things happen next time around are slim to none. Take Hank and McDonagh off the team and we fail to make the playoffs almost every year. I know some will wonder why I say to take them off the team, so let me spell it out: because that was incredible luck and odds are we will not get this lucky next time around, so if we follow the same strategy of collapsing for 6 years (1998-2004) and then half-assed quick rebuilding, we will not wind up with 3 ECFs, we will wind up consistently drafting 8-14 overall.

 

[Beacon]

For D, saying Pionk and Graves will be serviceable NHLers is optimistic as of now.

You're right, and that's why we should draft a bunch of defensemen this year, including with the draft picks I hope we acquire. That said, I think it's realistic that one of Graves, Crawley or Day almost definitely becomes a 3LD, while one of Pionk or Zboro has a reasonable (but lower) shot a 3RD. The right side of the blue line is pretty awful system-wide.

 

[leetch99]

Hard to know what will happen when the dust settles. In the meantime we were a team barely threading water and the shoreline was getting further away by the day . By getting Brooks to leak , that everybody was available trade info , JG has basically put his club on alert mode and collectively gave the whole organization a kick in the butt with a Dolan stamped approval . The results will be , either inspired play the rest of the season and a playoff spot with most of the current roster still intact minus Nash/Grabs or a complete failure as a motivation tool and we sink right to the bottom . If the latter happens ...then guys with some term still remaining might get moved in order to move up in the pecking order at the draft and a new look younger , faster hungrier Ranger team comes from it . Makes for some interesting days ahead for all of us . AV's tenure will be determined by whether they make the playoffs or not . He is safe for this season.