Ready to sell

[NYR713]

It's a shame to see how bad this team is. I'm one who usually tries to stay positive about a season when we haven't even hit the new year yet, but this is bad. I think it really hit me after the most recent Pitt game when they were basically playing their AHL squad including 5 of 6 d-men with barely any NHL experience and NYR could do nothing. This team doesn't have the skill or the heart to make up for the lack of skill.

I would love to see a rebuild. A team like NY has money to spend on UFA so I don't think you'd have to draw it out over too many seasons. My idea of this rebuild is to remove dead weight this season, see what some of our current prospects can do at the NHL level the rest of this season and solidify a young core to build around and supplement. Right now is a good time because the majority of the players on the team have contracts expiring this season or next.

Start with a new front office... although we've all called for that for years.

O Keepers: Stepan, Zucc, Kreider, Hags, Callahan(for leadership)
D Keepers: McD, J. Moore

Sell the rest(not considered rookie) for prospects and picks. I would consider keeping Boyle and Dorsett for the 4th line for their intangibles and defensive play at a discount. I think Nash and Girardi could land NY a couple quality prospects/picks to keep. The others could get NY a return some quantity picks, that could be condensed for quality in other deals, and maybe some young tough/hustle style players to fill in bottom 6. Richards won't move but will be bought out at end of season and he sits the rest of this season to avoid chance of injury (if it was my call in fantasy world).

Bring up any prospect they think has a future shot at the NHL to see where they're at in their process against the big boys. Give me Miller, Kristo, Fast, Lindberg, Hrivik, Beach, Yogan, Allen, McIlrath. At least these guys will hustle and the worst that happens is NY gets a better 1st rd pick and an idea of how these guys look against NHL players. The players that aren't up to par get to see what they need to work on.

Come next July, the organization has fully evaluated what they have in the AHL (still have solid prospects developing in other leagues too), dumped a crap load of cap space, picked up a couple NHL ready prospects(Nash/Girardi trades), had a decent 1st rd pick (at least in draft position), maybe another 1st or a couple 2nds if they can condense the quantity from other player trades, and can now start to supplement veteran defense and scoring through UFA and trade... hopefully with a new GM making the calls.

Now I know this is a fantasy post, starting with Sather being removed and continuing with dumping the entire team, for the most part. But, it's fun to dream. I also realize that the team would lose the majority of the games for the rest of this season, but at least they would be fun to watch the hustle of the young guys rather than all of this dead weight and superstar mentality that results in the idea that they are too cool to hustle. The over-paid goalie isn't going anywhere now so they might as well start over and hope to have a playoff contender in 5 years.

Click to read more...

 

[Mint Berry Crunch]

It is fun to dream. This is the ideal situation to come to fruition... therefore, it will not happen. Sad life is sad.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Sounds great - especially, because I don't think it would take 5 years. I think you could do it in 2 with some of the quality pieces they have.

If you're gonna do it, however, Cally should be one of the guys to go - he's the perfect guy to ship out in such a scenario (imagine the bidding war for him at the deadline among playoff teams, regardless of the fact that he's an UFA) and it's not like you're lacking for leadership if you've still got Stepan on the team and Hank at the back end.

But it'll never happen with Sather at the helm.

 

[Whiplash27]

If we look at the current roster, we can realistically say that Richards, Pyatt, Pouliot, and D Moore are gone after this season. The only other players I can see not retained are maybe Boyle and Brassard (who is RFA). I'd be surprised if Girardi and/or Callahan are let go. I wouldn't be opposed to the Rangers trying to trade Girardi at the deadline as a rental (they could always resign him in the summer anyway), but I'm not sure how much he'd fetch.

Staal is damaged goods at this point and won't fetch much in a trade. Nash isn't going anywhere either.

The fact is that this team isn't going to change that much next season as good as your idea sounds.

 

[KingStian]

I don't know about keeping Cally through a rebuild like this. His body is starting to break down and he's gonna want a last big long term contract after next year. Cally might be to big a risk going forward anyway, rebuild or not.

One big problem you gonna have with a rebuild like this is the fact that both Nash and Richards have No-Move clauses (Nash No-Trade from 2015-16) in their contracts, and we only have one buy out left. Girardi could be shipped off anywhere if there is any buyers, but is there anybody willing to takes Nash's 7.8 cap hit through 2017-18? And if there is somebody who are willing, is that somewhere Nash would want to go? I can't imagine anybody willing to take Richards' 6.6 through 2019-20.

But of course your biggest problem is the cigar in the front office. He's probably gonne move straight from his office to a nursing home.

 

[Raspewtin]

The thing that worries me is Lundqvist's contract. It tells me that Sather and the front office still believe in this core of players. I'd absolutely LOVE to gut the whole team but I don't think Sather feels the same, would require admitting he ****ed up which he'd never do.

However, if Callahan and Girardi wanted reasonable contract extensions, they'd probably have been signed by now, so hopefully they're pricing themselves out of NY.

 

[Whiplash27]

Well Richards is getting amnesty buyout after this season. There's no way around that. The Rangers would be insane not to.

As you said, no one is taking Nash's cap hit. The guy is still to this day unproven in the playoffs.

I wish that somewhere in a back room Nash and Lunqvist have discussed tanking for a year or two so that they can get a sick team for a 2015-16 Cup run and that's why they aren't playing too well

 

[Raspewtin]

I seriously disagree that Nash is untradeable. He's still an elite goal scorer, despite his stupid caphit. Teams that need offense would want him. No need to even consider amnestying him.

I'd trade him for at least a 1st, honestly.

 

[Whiplash27]

I seriously disagree that Nash is untradeable. He's still an elite goal scorer, despite his stupid caphit. Teams that need offense would want him. No need to even consider amnestying him.

I'd trade him for at least a 1st, honestly.

Can't amnesty Nash, that last one is going to Richards and his insane contract (worse than Nash's). Don't forget that Nash needs to approve any trade that is made for him.

 

[silverfish]

Threads like this are so pointless.

The Rangers are not selling. They're not going to waste a season, two seasons, three seasons of the epic contract they just signed Lundqvist to. The Rangers are in win now mode for the next 8 seasons. Get used to it.

What they can do, is re-tool, not rebuild. Very different.

I don't care that it's the holiday season, Sather, Gorton, and the front-office need to start working their ***es off to figure out where they're going to take this team when the freeze is over. Get some players in here who can play in AV's system. Sit down with AV and figure out what kind of players he needs, where they all see the team going.

This season is salvageable. AV needs to tweak the defensive system, and Sather needs to get more skill in here for AV.

There's a lot of losers in this locker room the team needs to purge.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I seriously disagree that Nash is untradeable. He's still an elite goal scorer, despite his stupid caphit. Teams that need offense would want him. No need to even consider amnestying him.

I'd trade him for at least a 1st, honestly.

Agreed. He's still an elite goal scorer and at this point he's essentially on the first year of a five year deal that pays $7.8MM per year in a league where the cap is expected to be over $70MM next year. As for the NMC, if the front office comes to him and says they're rebuilding, I'm fairly certain he'd be happy to waive it.

That said, I think you can get a lot done even without moving him. Each of Girardi, Staal, Callahan, Boyle and Moore should have good value at the deadline. If you decide to move Brassard and Stralman, they could also get you something of value back (particularly Stralman).

(BTW, I think technically you could even still move Hank, right? That new deal doesn't kick in until July 1. [Not that I'm advocating this.])

 

[KingStian]

I seriously disagree that Nash is untradeable. He's still an elite goal scorer, despite his stupid caphit. Teams that need offense would want him. No need to even consider amnestying him.

I'd trade him for at least a 1st, honestly.

I don't think you can build a winning team around Nash. He dosen't seem to have the winning attitude. If he's winning something in this leauge, it's probably has a complementary piece and a 7.8 cap hit makes a very expensive complementary piece. I think that is a very hard sell to a contender, which is would have to be for him to approv of being moved somewhere. New York City is probably a very good place to live if your going to lose anyway, so I don't see him going anywhere he can't win it right away.

 

[Kakko]

Well Richards is getting amnesty buyout after this season. There's no way around that. The Rangers would be insane not to.

As you said, no one is taking Nash's cap hit. The guy is still to this day unproven in the playoffs.

I wish that somewhere in a back room Nash and Lunqvist have discussed tanking for a year or two so that they can get a sick team for a 2015-16 Cup run and that's why they aren't playing too well

What a load of crap. Any team in the league will take his cap-hit if they're getting Rick Nash.

 

[Whiplash27]

What a load of crap. Any team in the league will take his cap-hit if they're getting Rick Nash.

Why? What has Nash done in his career besides score goals in the regular season?

 

[KingStian]

Agreed. He's still an elite goal scorer and at this point he's essentially on the first year of a five year deal that pays $7.8MM per year in a league where the cap is expected to be over $70MM next year. As for the NMC, if the front office comes to him and says they're rebuilding, I'm fairly certain he'd be happy to waive it.

That said, I think you can get a lot done even without moving him. Each of Girardi, Staal, Callahan, Boyle and Moore should have good value at the deadline. If you decide to move Brassard and Stralman, they could also get you something of value back (particularly Stralman).

(BTW, I think technically you could even still move Hank, right? That new deal doesn't kick in until July 1. [Not that I'm advocating this.])

Staal is, as mentioned here earlier, damaged goods. His concussion history is starting to pile up. I don't know if anybody would want to take a risk on him by trading away big assets.

Nash also has a history that could concern some in regards to taking on his huge contract.

 

[cd211]

staal is not damaged goods how can you guys even say that..

is his history good.. No!

But I can think of more then 10 guys off the top of my head that have been more injury prone..

he can come back and shine for us..

YOu guys are in lala land to think sather will sell and get rid of Callahan and G..

you dont get rid of guys that are your captains and leaders and give 25min+ a night..

MDZ, Brass, even hagelin will go before Staal, Girardi or Callahan

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

staal is not damaged goods how can you guys even say that..

is his history good.. No!

But I can think of more then 10 guys off the top of my head that have been more injury prone..

he can come back and shine for us..

YOu guys are in lala land to think sather will sell and get rid of Callahan and G..

you dont get rid of guys that are your captains and leaders and give 25min+ a night..

MDZ, Brass, even hagelin will go before Staal, Girardi or Callahan

I think you forgot to list 10.

Team's in a tough spot with a lot of injury prone players and players that should not be getting the minutes they do.

 

[doncherrysgrill]

Why? What has Nash done in his career besides score goals in the regular season?

Yeah what has this player done aside from the most important thing an offensive player can do for your team?!

I think Stepan, Kreider, and Callahan are the only forwards who should be 100% committed to. McDonagh and Moore on defense. This is exactly what I feared would happen the day of the Nash trade. I don't know how anyone could argue that the team is not significantly worse since that day. Obviously Dubinsky and Anisimov aren't top flight players but it's also obvious that this team's biggest issue last year was depth, and this year there's just NOTHING going on. If the top guys aren't scoring then the team isn't winning.

Sather's issue is still that he wants to be a team that makes headlines. He wants the big splash. Nash was the big splash, the team suffers long term because of it. It's really a shame that this team will probably always be run in this way.

 

[NYR713]

A couple general responses without quoting everyone individually...

I don't think Nash is un-tradeable (not a word but whatever haha). I just don't think you'd get the return you might want for a player of his caliber... or maybe I should say fame. A team that feels they are on the verge of being able to compete for a cup could see him as that final piece (like NYR thought 2 seasons ago) and with the cap expected to go up, could take take a shot. The return could be a single early round pick or prospect, rather than the classic idea of x amount of NHL top 6 something + prospect + pick type of thing these types of players could generally fetch.

I agree Callahan could also be moved, but if he'll extend at a reasonable amount, I feel like he is the type of player you would want to keep around as a veteran supplement to help lead the younger guys. He would have to extend at an amount that would be similar or less than having to get someone like him off UFA. Definitely debatable though, especially for the right trade return.

Staal has been pretty damaged recently, which is why I didn't really include him with Nash and Girardi as those I think could bring back that high level pick or prospect. I don't think he has no value because of his abilities, but to qualm his injury concerns NY might have temper expectations. If his value is too low, I'd say to keep him and hope he can get his health straightened out. He's got one more year under contract so no need to rush him out. NY won't lose him for nothing after this season, unlike a lot of other players.

As for why to do something like this when NY just signed Lundqvist to a big (over-priced) contract, that's also my reason for doing it. Before he signed, the notion was to go for it ASAP before you lose that goaltender to UFA or to convince him to resign with the team. Now he's signed, so in the same regard, they now have 7 seasons after this to try and win something with the goaltender they feel is able to help them do so. I don't think the current personnel the team has is close enough for a re-tool and that a rebuild would give them a better shot in the near future. But, that's just an opinion.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Ready to sell? I prefer maximizing the trade value of certain assets whose value appears ready to diminish.

 

[haveandare]

Trade everyone worth anything, field an NHL team made up almost entirely of a middle-of-the-road AHL team. Sounds like standard forum stuff. Fun to think about until you realize that you'd be rushing maybe a dozen prospects and end up icing a team that would get destroyed by even the basement dwellers of the league night in and night out. I'm sure all of those guys would develop nicely being thrown in completely over their heads with almost no support.

EDIT: Should probably add, I'm down for trading some big pieces, but it has to be surgical and it has to be thought out. The trade everyone - call up everyone idea is horrible. It'd ruin prospects and it'd lead to this team being beaten badly, worse than they have been, every single night. There are reasons none of those guys are in the NHL right now. Maybe one or two of them are behind marginal guys like Pyatt int he org's eyes - the rest just aren't ready.

 

[SireFather]

Threads like this are so pointless.

The Rangers are not selling. They're not going to waste a season, two seasons, three seasons of the epic contract they just signed Lundqvist to. The Rangers are in win now mode for the next 8 seasons. Get used to it.

What they can do, is re-tool, not rebuild. Very different.

I don't care that it's the holiday season, Sather, Gorton, and the front-office need to start working their ***es off to figure out where they're going to take this team when the freeze is over. Get some players in here who can play in AV's system. Sit down with AV and figure out what kind of players he needs, where they all see the team going.

This season is salvageable. AV needs to tweak the defensive system, and Sather needs to get more skill in here for AV.

There's a lot of losers in this locker room the team needs to purge.

Nice and idealistic, but in reality this would be virtually impossible to pull off. Especially in the middle of the season. We're not a couple of pieces away either. The players that would make a huge impact on this team aren't available through trade. You need to draft them. Limping into the playoffs this spring and getting embarrassed in the first round would do this organization absolutely no good anyway.

Epic Lundqvist contract? Great, so we have plenty of time to rebuild. Sell off the dead weight, and start thinking about that top 10(5?) pick and who can help us out right away.

 

[aufheben]

How is Nash untradable? We just traded for him

 

[Bullseyes]

Why? What has Nash done in his career besides score goals in the regular season?

What has Callahan done besides perform in the regular season? He's been terrible in the post season as well. You can blame it on injuries or whatever, but he hasn't performed there.

I'd move Nash for the right return, but lets not act like he's not a valuable player. He is. Scoring goals is important. He's tradable. What they'd get for him is another thing.

I'd sell the tradable assets the Rangers have, but I don't know or believe that Sather and co. will do that.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Scouting dept is good when it comes to prospect trading. So the dept needs to be kicking into overdrive. Philly tried. They jettisoned Richards and Carter. Unfortunately they seem to have done a bad job evaluating G and the prospects they were getting. But there is always an LA out there looking for that last great player or two. Girardi, Staal, DZ, Moore all could go. Cally, Nash, Boyle, so many guys who can go. Cant all go of course but any one of them could go in any single trade or two