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Speculation: Roster Building Thread LII: Countdown to Free Agency

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GAGLine said:
We can retain on 2 more contracts. Kreider at 2.3125 mil shouldn't be hard to move. Vesey has been linked to Buffalo, and they have more than enough cap room to take on Vesey's 2.75 mil cap hit. Yes, we would likely need to retain on Names, but that isn't a problem unless we were to retain on Kreider and Shatty. In that case, I don't really see a need to trade Names.
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I don't think we'll need to retain on Names. He's overpriced but still a useful player and there are teams that are likely going to have a lot of cap space like the Devils, Islanders, Blue Jacket, Avalanche, and Ducks. We may not really get anything for him but I think after some of the top FA go someone will take him when they miss out on other guys. Now whether or not they'll actually make a trade with one of the rival teams is a different question but they did link up recently with NJ for Grabner.
 
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Not exactly breaking news but it appears there will be a lot of teams with cap issues. I don't mind Gorton not getting in on the first couple deals. I think he'll eventually get some good players for cap space and also move a couple of our vets.

As many have pointed out, I would think Gorton wants clarity on the Kreider situation and maybe Vesey, too, before the season starts.
Should be a reasonably busy summer still.

I imagine the FO thinking is that 2019-2020 is the beginning of the next core growing together. They don't want any major distractions. That they can control, at least.

Are there any benchmark dates to keep in mind? Where things are more-likely to shake out?
 
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GAGLine said:
We can retain on 2 more contracts. Kreider at 2.3125 mil shouldn't be hard to move. Vesey has been linked to Buffalo, and they have more than enough cap room to take on Vesey's 2.75 mil cap hit. Yes, we would likely need to retain on Names, but that isn't a problem unless we were to retain on Kreider and Shatty. In that case, I don't really see a need to trade Names.
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Solid points. I'm very eager to see how free agency is shaping up. The Rangers need to backfill with a 4th line that plays a 4th line game.

If that is in the cards, then moving Vesey, Names... that's a no-brainer... and I liked what Names gave... but he's a better fit on another team.

I would still like to see the Rangers utilize their cap space by both buying and selling.

If Panarin is out of the equation, and Gusev can be acquired for cap relief... then you have a win-win scenario.

Rebuild keeps going with Kreider, Vesey and Names moved out for picks.
Team-Build gets better because you are addressing the Rangers shortcomings from last year... a veteran center, and a 4th line.
Development continues with better assets because you are adding youth to the team, and you can flip a guy or bury a guy you don't need.
 
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SA16 said:
Even teams that expect they will make the playoffs before the season starts often do not end up making the playoffs. 5 of the 16 playoff teams from 2017-18 did not make the playoffs in 2018-19. 7 teams that made it in 16-17 did not make it in 17-18. 7 teams from 15-16 didn't make it in 16-17.

So target the bubble teams/teams that just made it that think someone will put them over the top. Quite often they still will not make the playoffs.
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What I was saying is that you’ll never get an unprotected pick out of those teams.
 
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egelband said:
Not exactly breaking news but it appears there will be a lot of teams with cap issues. I don't mind Gorton not getting in on the first couple deals. I think he'll eventually get some good players for cap space and also move a couple of our vets.

As many have pointed out, I would think Gorton wants clarity on the Kreider situation and maybe Vesey, too, before the season starts.
Should be a reasonably busy summer still.

I imagine the FO thinking is that 2019-2020 is the beginning of the next core growing together. They don't want any major distractions. That they can control, at least.

Are there any benchmark dates to keep in mind? Where things are more-likely to shake out?
Click to expand...

IMO training camp in Sept 2020 is going to have the deepest Ranger team I've ever seen. That is a target date to me since a lot of the 17-18 picks will be coming over and turning pro... and there cap space is going to be there as well.
 
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Do you want ants said:
With Waddle playing hardball with Aho, what would it take to get him?

Chytil+ Or Andersson++?
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Those would need to be some really big pluses.

We really can't afford him. If we move out Kreider and Names without bringing money back, it's probably doable, but I don't see any chance that Carolina trades him. 21 years old and just put up 83 points in 82 games, plus another 12 in 15 playoff games. They have 20 mil in cap space even with Marleau's cap hit on the books.
 
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SA16 said:
The Flames just did it for Hamonic two seasons ago coming off a year where they were the WC team.
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They did. And so did Ottawa. I think teams aren't going to be quite as stupid in the future. Winnipeg put top 3 protection on the pick they sent us for Hayes and there was virtually no chance that they would miss the playoffs.

The only way unprotected picks are likely to change hands in the future is if the pick is based on conditions. Vancouver put a condition on the 1st they sent to Tampa. If they miss the playoffs this year, the pick becomes a 2021 1st, which would be unprotected. The 3rd we get from Dallas becomes an unprotected 1st if they re-sign Zucc.

I don't think we'll see teams agree to conditions on top of conditions. Like, the 3rd becomes a 1st if Zucc is re-signed, but if the 1st is in the top 10, then it becomes a 2021 1st.
 
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GAGLine said:
They did. And so did Ottawa. I think teams aren't going to be quite as stupid in the future. Winnipeg put top 3 protection on the pick they sent us for Hayes and there was virtually no chance that they would miss the playoffs.

The only way unprotected picks are likely to change hands in the future is if the pick is based on conditions. Vancouver put a condition on the 1st they sent to Tampa. If they miss the playoffs this year, the pick becomes a 2021 1st, which would be unprotected. The 3rd we get from Dallas becomes an unprotected 1st if they re-sign Zucc.

I don't think we'll see teams agree to conditions on top of conditions. Like, the 3rd becomes a 1st if Zucc is re-signed, but if the 1st is in the top 10, then it becomes a 2021 1st.
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Ottawa's was protected (they had a choice to push the first back a year or take the pick in 2018, chose to take Tkachuk and the pick to Colorado got pushed back a year), the pick teams send after the conditions on the first push it back a year are usually never protected though
 
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With the cap only being at 81.5m this year and possibly only going up to 83m and being set at that number for 2-3 years is a major reason I dont want the rangers to be buying anyone out. Shatty Smith and Staal have two years left on their deals. For the love of the rangers please just let them run out. We dont need (depending on who is bought out) 3-6m in dead cap space for 4 more years. We are not a playoff team and dont need to be in cap hell like the rest of the league. Shatty Smith and Staal all need to compete for jobs. 2 of the three can easily sit if kids beat them out and it's not bad at all to have vets that can step back in if the kids have trouble. I still believe shatty can and will be traded during the season with retention.

Vesey and krieder will be traded and I'm not sure for what or to who but I'm sure they dont want to wait till mid season and create the risk of losing anyone for no compensation.

Names can stay for now until the deadline, would be a great swiss army knife for a team in the playoffs. Makes 4m just for this year and then is gone. No rush to get rid of him since he is a ufa next year. Or take on a bad contract for him for the future. I see us getting a 2nd and 3rd next years draft at the deadline.

I love our team for the future, love the direction we are going, and love having cap space to be able to make the moves we need. I hope we play our asses off but I still see us getting a top 10 pick and getting hopefully a center of the future in that draft and with the cap space to be able to sign our players and maneuver trades that continue to push us to the 2021 season where we will begin to be a bubble/playoff team and eventually a cup contender for the next 10 years
 
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Do you want ants said:
With Waddle playing hardball with Aho, what would it take to get him?

Chytil+ Or Andersson++?
Click to expand...
My general theory is that teams keep their best players. Of course the guys occasionally shake free but I would assume teams are smart enough to keep their cornerstone players.
That's why I don't think Marner or Point are possibilities either.
 
People were bringing up Filpulla here to kind of be the old Finn in the room for Kakko. As you know I'm a pretty big fan of his, he's versatile, and his salary won't be so outrageous. It'll be on par with what it was with the Islanders which is not much for a player in NY. Him and Strome rotating as a 2C or 3W for a year isn't the worst idea.

Any two of Filpulla, Simmonds, Boyle, Brassard, Kunahckel are the kind of veterans I'd bring in and if they can clear some cap room I'd look into Perry on a higher one year deal or Tanev on a longer deal.

And we all know the usual names to clear out: Vesey and Namestnikov.
 
Lindberg Cheese said:
Who are the likely teams that would be in the market for Krieder or Shatty retained?
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I think Dallas could be a spot for Shatty. They don't have much cap space and they want to re-sign Zucc. They could be in the market for a RHD even if Johns is good to go. There was a rumor that some teams are asking about Honka. He may not be in Dallas' plans going forward, so they may want some depth.

We can trade Shatty to them with 50% retention and take back a bad contract. They have a lot of bad contracts, but none of them are high cap hits and none of them have more than 2 years left. Hanzal, Cogliano, Nichushkin, Comeau. If Hanzal is LTIR bound, they might want to keep him over the other guys. Nichushkin can be bought out for minimal cap hits due to his age. So maybe Shatty@50% (3.325 mil for 2 years) for Cogliano (3.25 mil for 2 years). That only saves us 75k, but it frees up a spot on defense and Cogliano's buyout isn't as bad.

Shatty buyout:

2019-20: 1.483 mil
2020-21: 6.083 mil
2021-22: 1.433 mil
2021-22: 1.433 mil

Shatty @50% and Cogliano buyout:

2019-20: 4.408 mil
2020-21: 4.408 mil
2021-22: 1.083 mil
2022-23: 1.083 mil

The Cogliano buyout would end at the same time as Girardi's.

We've got 4.225 mil in dead cap coming off the books next summer (Girardi's hit drops from 3.611 mil to 1.11 mil, Spooner's 900k is gone, and Beleskey (825k buried) is gone. So as far as dead cap is concerned, it's not that bad, and we'll have Hank, Staal and Smith off the books in 2021.
 
Chalfdiggity3 said:
With the cap only being at 81.5m this year and possibly only going up to 83m and being set at that number for 2-3 years is a major reason I dont want the rangers to be buying anyone out. Shatty Smith and Staal have two years left on their deals. For the love of the rangers please just let them run out. We dont need (depending on who is bought out) 3-6m in dead cap space for 4 more years. We are not a playoff team and dont need to be in cap hell like the rest of the league. Shatty Smith and Staal all need to compete for jobs. 2 of the three can easily sit if kids beat them out and it's not bad at all to have vets that can step back in if the kids have trouble. I still believe shatty can and will be traded during the season with retention.

Vesey and krieder will be traded and I'm not sure for what or to who but I'm sure they dont want to wait till mid season and create the risk of losing anyone for no compensation.

Names can stay for now until the deadline, would be a great swiss army knife for a team in the playoffs. Makes 4m just for this year and then is gone. No rush to get rid of him since he is a ufa next year. Or take on a bad contract for him for the future. I see us getting a 2nd and 3rd next years draft at the deadline.

I love our team for the future, love the direction we are going, and love having cap space to be able to make the moves we need. I hope we play our asses off but I still see us getting a top 10 pick and getting hopefully a center of the future in that draft and with the cap space to be able to sign our players and maneuver trades that continue to push us to the 2021 season where we will begin to be a bubble/playoff team and eventually a cup contender for the next 10 years
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Agree.
I think, of all the younger "vets", Namestnikov, at the right price, could stay longer term. He seems to fit in well and could fit the timeline.
The rest probably go this summer or as their contracts expire.
Fast might need to show he's healthy and build some value this year. But he would be a good TDL get for a contender.
And as you and @NYR Viper and others say, no buyouts, please.
 
GeorgeKaplan said:
Ottawa's was protected (they had a choice to push the first back a year or take the pick in 2018, chose to take Tkachuk and the pick to Colorado got pushed back a year), the pick teams send after the conditions on the first push it back a year are usually never protected though
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're right. My bad. But that just further proves my point that unprotected picks will only change hands based on a condition.
 
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