Confirmed with Link: Reilly Smith (PIT) to NYR for a 2nd rounder + 5th

[eco's bones]

My gripe with Lindgren is he's not the player I want to partner with Fox anymore. I'd rather a larger and meaner player because IMO Fox was a target that opponents abused all of last year and particularly in the playoffs. Also I don't see a reason to overpay with a new contract a guy who's going to give us 20 points a year or at least not if he's not an elite shutdown D. Those are my issues with Lindgren.

Our D were unable to control the corners, back of our net and slot against Florida. They were dominated physically. Fox-knee, Trouba-ankle, Lindgren-ribs played a part in that but also it was a smallish defense corp and not a very physical one to begin with apart from Trouba and sometimes Schneider. Miller has size but he's not really a physical player. Our defense was too soft IMO.

 

[DevilDog99]

We excel at disinterest here especially in the playoffs. He'll fit in fine.

In fact, will be perfect with zbad and kreids. The LOI line. For lack of interest.

 

[Vitto79]

Smith could be a nice fit it’s just giving up picks that stinks

 

[jay from jersey]

My gripe with Lindgren is he's not the player I want to partner with Fox anymore. I'd rather a larger and meaner player because IMO Fox was a target that opponents abused all of last year and particularly in the playoffs. Also I don't see a reason to overpay with a new contract a guy who's going to give us 20 points a year or at least not if he's not an elite shutdown D. Those are my issues with Lindgren.

Our D were unable to control the corners, back of our net and slot against Florida. They were dominated physically. Fox-knee, Trouba-ankle, Lindgren-ribs played a part in that but also it was a smallish defense corp and not a very physical one to begin with apart from Trouba and sometimes Schneider. Miller has size but he's not really a physical player. Our defense was too soft IMO.

It was kind of a vicious cycle. Forwards were just as much to blame as the D imo.
FLA was physical yes, However, when the offense can’t sustain any zone time or complete 4-6 foot passes to each other on the break outs, and constantly loose 1 v 1 battles along the boards sans maybe 3-4 forwards, the already banged up D is going to be gassed from skating back the other way constantly and being pinned in the zone.
The single biggest contributing factor was foxs injury…..
He is a large part of our rush attack, best passer, most cerebral from the backend…..
He was castrated by not being able to skate normally, he was also beat up physically because that was panthers game plan on dump ins…..
Our team also had a lot of young kids, Fla mainly filled their group with experience vets with size.
Gus/trouba/miller/schneider/lindgren etc no one stepped up to fill the void when Fox was hobbled. It ruined our PP as well….
I know jones is a rookie, but his skill set is needed on the backend. Imo, we’ll see a major uptick from offense with him in Gus spot.
Carrick/smith add some solid vets in the top 12.
I agree we likely need more in a few places, but as it sits, we’re better today than the team that lost to FLA.
Looking fwd to Cuylle and Laf taking another step in development.
Both guys style of play is what the Forward group needs more of

 

[Uglybstrd]

My gripe with Lindgren is he's not the player I want to partner with Fox anymore. I'd rather a larger and meaner player because IMO Fox was a target that opponents abused all of last year and particularly in the playoffs. Also I don't see a reason to overpay with a new contract a guy who's going to give us 20 points a year or at least not if he's not an elite shutdown D. Those are my issues with Lindgren.

Our D were unable to control the corners, back of our net and slot against Florida. They were dominated physically. Fox-knee, Trouba-ankle, Lindgren-ribs played a part in that but also it was a smallish defense corp and not a very physical one to begin with apart from Trouba and sometimes Schneider. Miller has size but he's not really a physical player. Our defense was too soft IMO.

I`ve been thinking excactky the same.

 

[eco's bones]

It was kind of a vicious cycle. Forwards were just as much to blame as the D imo.
FLA was physical yes, However, when the offense can’t sustain any zone time or complete 4-6 foot passes to each other on the break outs, and constantly loose 1 v 1 battles along the boards sans maybe 3-4 forwards, the already banged up D is going to be gassed from skating back the other way constantly and being pinned in the zone.
The single biggest contributing factor was foxs injury…..
He is a large part of our rush attack, best passer, most cerebral from the backend…..
He was castrated by not being able to skate normally, he was also beat up physically because that was panthers game plan on dump ins…..
Our team also had a lot of young kids, Fla mainly filled their group with experience vets with size.
Gus/trouba/miller/schneider/lindgren etc no one stepped up to fill the void when Fox was hobbled. It ruined our PP as well….
I know jones is a rookie, but his skill set is needed on the backend. Imo, we’ll see a major uptick from offense with him in Gus spot.
Carrick/smith add some solid vets in the top 12.
I agree we likely need more in a few places, but as it sits, we’re better today than the team that lost to FLA.
Looking fwd to Cuylle and Laf taking another step in development.
Both guys style of play is what the Forward group needs more of

I agree. Mika's line stunk. Wennberg's line stunk. After Vesey got hurt the 4th line wasn't great either. Mika is like a lesser Barkov. He's got size and strength but he has to use it and still he's not quite as good a player but even so he didn't come with his best game....not that he was the only one. Florida went all the way to the Cup finals the year before and they had the horses up front as you say. They were the NHL team built the best to win and many of our posters would mention that time to time throughout the season and knowing that if we were to win the Cup we had to go through them.

Pointing all the blame at one or two players misses the point that the team on the whole wasn't good enough which doesn't mean that Drury shouldn't make some changes. No team stays the same from year to year as it is. Looking at prospects and the guys we have in Hartford it seems that the Rangers recognize the need to get bigger and more physical at least in their bottom 6 and become a team that's harder to play against and a lot of these guys look like they could become good players.

 

[n8]

My dark side is foreseeing Ehlers go for a 2nd and 5th later in the month.

 

[will1066]

In fact, will be perfect with zbad and kreids. The LOI line. For lack of interest.

 

[JCProdigy]

I think he's going to have a career year playing with Mika and Kreider.

I at first I was like: Holy hell, Will is being positive! Then I realized you meant career worst year....you got me, you got me.

it's not about the one 2027 2nd round pick. It's about we don't have a 2nd until 2028, and have only had 1 in the past 3 years. the pattern.

wild that this has to be explained!

Yeah it sucks because it can and will hurt the team in the future and us fans will be the one's dealing with it in the form of a bad team. Sucks to be a fan with no power no doubt.

But you know who likely won't be dealing with it, Drury if he doesn't get this team over the hump. That's the disconnect with Fans and GMs. We can afford to think about the long game. GMs less so. At least not at the expense of the here and now.

 

[will1066]

I at first I was like: Holy hell, Will is being positive! Then I realized you meant career worst year....you got me, you got me.

I'm always positive!

 

[GENESISPuck94]

This is what Drury has traded away since becoming GM. I only included the trades where picks were involved, which was most of them anyway. The rest were very minor deals.

2nd (Reilly Smith)
5th (Reilly Smith)
4th (Trade up for Boilard)
7th (Trade up for Boilard)
4th (Roslovic)
4th (Ruhwedel)
2nd (Wennberg)
4th (Wennberg)
3rd (Trade up for Fortescue)
7th (Trade up for Fortescue)
Grubbe (Trade for a 5th to pick Larsson)
2nd (Kane)
3rd (Kane)
4th (Kane)
Kravtsov (Traded for a 2026 7th and Will Lockwood)
Gauthier (Motte)
7th (Motte)
1st (Tarasenko and Mikkola)
3rd (Tarasenko and Mikkola)
Blais (Tarasenko and Mikkola)
Skinner (Tarasenko and Mikkola)
Reaves (Traded for a 2025 5th)
Lundkvist (Traded for a 1st and 4th, both of which we wasted on rentals)
2nd (Dumping Nemeth, who Drury signed as a UFA the year before)
2nd (Dumping Nemeth)
Georgiev (Got back two 3rds and a 5th)
4th (Motte)
Barron (Copp)
1st (Copp)
2nd (Copp)
5th (Copp)
3rd (Braun)
4th (Vatrano)
3rd (Reaves)
3rd (Trade up for Korczak)
6th (Trade up for Korczak)
Buchnevich (Traded for Blais and a 2nd)
Howden (Nick DeSimone and a 4th that became Laba)
7th (Goodrow's rights)

To sum that up, we traded away:

1st round picks: 2
2nd round picks: 6
3rd round picks: 6
4th round picks: 7
5th round picks: 2
6th round picks: 1
7th round picks: 4
Prospects/players: Grubbe, Kravtsov, Gauthier, Blais, Skinner, Lundkvist, Georgiev, Barron, Buchnevich, Howden


This is what we currently have in the organization as a result of all those trades:

Reilly Smith
4th (Boilard)
3rd (Fortescue)
5th (Larsson)
7th (2026)
5th (2025)
3rd (McConnell-Barker)
5th (Barbashev)
6th (Roobroeck)
3rd (Korczak)
4th (Laba)

If Smith has a good year, we won't be able to afford him. If he has a poor year, we won't want him. So, either way, it seems a foregone conclusion that he won't be on the team in 2025-26.

Barbashev might get an AHL contract if he earns one in development camp. The 2025 5th and 2026 7th are likely to be traded for rentals, given Drury's track record, but even if not, they aren't likely to produce NHL players.

For the rest, there are varying measures of hope, but the sum total is insignificant compared to what we gave up.

This isn't a sustainable strategy. Drury has pissed away assets and has nothing to show for it. We literally have 1 NHL player today as a result of all his moves, and that player won't be around for long.

Drury's drafting looks good on paper, but of the players he has drafted, we have a sum total of 3 NHL games (Othmann). Granted, it is early yet, but the 2020 draft (Gorton's last) has produced 606 games and counting. The team's success has been built on the back of Gorton's efforts. The only player Drury deserves credit for is Trocheck, but at best, that only makes up for his screw up with Buchnevich.

Drury hired Gallant and fired him 2 years later. He let Knoblauch get away. What exactly has he done to build this team? How does he deserve credit for the team's recent success?

It's worse than I thought.

 

[Kupo]

It's worse than I thought.

It really puts things into perspective. Traded away 28 picks, acquired 10.

-18 at-bats on draft day, traded away. That’s insane. I don’t even think Sather can come close to that.

Imagine what players might have been on the table around the league if Drury bundled a 1st, (3) 2nd’s and (3) 3rds. Probably some decent ones lol. Guys with term instead of rentals.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Smith could be a nice fit it’s just giving up picks that stinks

Isn't is a 2027 2nd? That's basically worthless and not the equivalent of a 24/25 2nd.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

In one sense I’ll say that Chris is being shrewd with finding ways to manage the cap while adding serviceable, not significant players that maximize cap percentages.

Smith falls into this group. Increases the depth but doesn’t really move the needle a ton.

In another sense, it’s clear that this cores window is now, like, this year and next and less possibly 3 seasons at the very most.

Which means you have to find ways to bring in more players with purpose that deliver and impact.

Part of the problem is clearing Troubas hit, but quite frankly I don’t give it shit, this summer needs to finish with an aggressive move that results in the needle moving.

 

[CasusBelli]

Reilly Smith is like a fine wine that gets better with age:
Traded in 2017 for a 4th.
Traded in 2023 for a 3rd
Traded in 2024 for a 2nd and a conditional 5th.
Maybe Drury can trade him at the TDL for a 1st.
3D Chess

Draisaitl with 50% retention on a long term deal.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Smith could be a nice fit it’s just giving up picks that stinks

I would rather give up picks than prospects who are close. The 2nd is a 2027 pick that if he makes it to the NHL it won't be until 2030.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

In one sense I’ll say that Chris is being shrewd with finding ways to manage the cap while adding serviceable, not significant players that maximize cap percentages.

Smith falls into this group. Increases the depth but doesn’t really move the needle a ton.

In another sense, it’s clear that this cores window is now, like, this year and next and less possibly 3 seasons at the very most.

Which means you have to find ways to bring in more players with purpose that deliver and impact.

Part of the problem is clearing Troubas hit, but quite frankly I don’t give it shit, this summer needs to finish with an aggressive move that results in the needle moving.

You might not give a shit but it's not going to happen if they can't trade Trouba. Just not enough money available especially with Laf, Miller, and Shesty needing to be signed net year. It's reality.

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

I don't even think Gallant would've traded a second rounder for Smith and he loves him

 

[Boris Zubov]

I don't even think Gallant would've traded a second rounder for Smith and he loves him

I get that Drury has been dealing away picks like he's giving away Halloween candy, but in a vacuum, it's really hard to squawk at acquiring a middle 6 forward who brings a lot to the table for a 2nd rounder. Especially when the alternative was him handing out some inflated long term deal to an underwhelming free agent. Plus Smith doesn't have a bunch of term to navigate around when our cap crunch takes effect next summer.

 

[RGY]

I think this was the safe move while seeing net positive results. We are in a better place than we were to start last season and how we ended. Smith is better than Wheeler & Roslovic. Remains to be seen if he is better than Kakko next season IF Kakko can have a bounce back year but that would be a good problem to have on the right side of your top 9.

This also allows for cap flexibility at the deadline should they not add anymore outside AAV beyond Lindgren and Schneider new deals. There really isnt anyone left to sign worth AAV’s above $2 million. With Tarasenko and even Roslovic off the board, which were only options if you were willing to have Cuylle slide to 4th line, you are only looking at 4th line PITAs who can PK such as a Clutterbuck or someone else of that ilk. They wont cost a ton.

So barring a trade, which would likely have salary going out, the Rangers should be going into next year with about $2 million in space that will accrue throughout the year. You can then re-evaluate who you want to add to the roster for the playoff push with likely a leg up on a lot of contending teams that probably wont have as much deadline cap space as us.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I don't even think Gallant would've traded a second rounder for Smith and he loves him

You do realize this is a 2027 second rounder which won't see the NHL until at least 2030 if he makes it at all. They could always gain picks again by trading roster players or prospects at some point. Not every one of Berard, Othmann, Sykora, Rempe, Edstrom, and others are going to make this roster because there aren't enough spots. There will be trades down the road for picks.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I care way less about dealing picks then I do continuously dealing them for rentals. Extremely inefficient way to fill out a team.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

You might not give a shit but it's not going to happen if they can't trade Trouba. Just not enough money available especially with Laf, Miller, and Shesty needing to be signed net year. It's reality.

I understand that but I meant that I don’t give a shit in the sense that Drury showed his hand and he’s gotta make it work

 

[Machinehead]

My prediction for Smith:

GP G A PTS +/-
75 25 35 60 +10

I don't see him getting anywhere near that. He won't be on PP1. 55+ even strength points is all-star level.

I think he's a good pickup and I'd be thrilled if he got 45.

 

[Machinehead]

I care way less about dealing picks then I do continuously dealing them for rentals. Extremely inefficient way to fill out a team.

We can't really afford anything but rentals with the cap being like $20.