Speculation: Roster Building Thread LXXX: Going 8-0 to close out might not be enough!

[Miz]

Our NYR are 13th overall currently in the standings and 5 points from 10th!!!! Not too shabby

And we're more likely than not going to miss the playoffs....damn the East is stacked

 

[RangerBoy]

Hindsight is 20/20. The Rangers should have sent Howden to the AHL at the start of the 2018-19 season. Howden had a really good performance at Traverse City. Someone compared him to Toews. Howden was good for Moose Jaw in the 2018 playoffs. Having Howden play major minutes in the AHL probably would have been better for his development than playing bottom six minutes on the Rangers.

The salary cap will be flat for the next 4-5 years. The young guys will get their money. The group III free agents will not see the big bonanza waiting for them. Some of them will get paid like Pietrangelo did last fall. A good number of players will not get the type of contracts they expected to receive before Covid. The 2021 free agent class does have some good players. RNH. Dougie Hamilton. Gabriel Landeskog. Jaden Schwartz. Kyle Palmieri. Zach Hyman. None of those players re-signed with their teams. The teams know the market will be tight this summer. The Devils tried to keep Palmieri but they traded him after he rejected their contract offer. In normal times, we would have seen teams re-sign the top group III's before they reached free agency. Teams know money is very tight around the NHL. The older group III's will be lucky to get much more than the NHL minimum.

How much is Zibanejad worth as a free agent? Will the crazy offer he available as a free agent? Chris Kreider was not getting 7 years and $6.5M AAV as a free agent last fall. He would have gotten a decent contract but it wouldn't have been worth $45.5M over 7 years. The NHL landscape has changed dramatically in the last year. The Rangers are better off with Zibanejad than Eichel even if the latter is 3 1/2 years younger.

 

[BBKers]

Hot take - crab is better than lobster

(OT but I could not resist.) This above is a bold and interesting statement. As I have owned/managed several top end seafood restaurants (one of which was Michelin acclaimed) in 3 countries throughout my 37 years as a working professional; was one of Northern Europes largest seafood producers for several years; studied fishbiology at the University; worked at the Fullton Market in the 80s/90s, a s o, it might be thought that I have some insight on such a matter.

But one really does not. Taste is simply in the eyes of the beholder. And determined by the quality of the produce. A subjective and hardly an objective parameter that one can fairly judge upon. Fancy stats ain't gonna change that either. I love eating both of these shellfish immensely (warm-water lobster not so much), but in my preferred zone of taste I would have to go with the Kamchatka Crab as being #1 - but only by an inch or so. That being said, you have not tried my European lobster recipes (Homarus gammarus which IMO is overall a bit better tasting than the American lobster/Homarus americanus). If you had, then you also might have a different opinion... Fishy business! 4 sure

 

[Guyute]

I'd rather we keep our prospects, re-sign Mika, and sign Danault than trade everything for Eichel

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

(OT but I could not resist.) This above is a bold and interesting statement. As I have owned/managed several top end seafood restaurants in3 countries throughout my 37 years as a working professional (one of which was Michelin acclaimed), was one of Northern Europes largest seafood producers for several years, studied fishbiology at the University, worked at the Fullton Market inthe 80s/90s, a s o, it might be thought that I have some insight on such a matter. But one really does not. Taste is simply in the eyes of the beholder. A subjective and hardly an objective parameter that one can fairly judge upon. I love eating both of these shellfish (warmwater lobster not so much), but in my preferred taste zone of taste I would have to go with the Kamchatka Crab as being #1 - but only by an inch or so. That being said, you have not tried my European lobster recipes (Homarus gammarus which IMO is a overall bit better tasting than the American lobster/Homarus americanus). If you had, then you also might have a different opinion... Fishy business! 4 sure

Growing up on the east coast it was always blue crab so I'm a bit biased, but I've had lobster in Europe, not sure which, but it looked like US lobster without the big claws if I remember correctly and it was delicious. I've also had raw lobster in Denmark with some type of curry seasoning, wasn't a fan but I felt terrible not eating it because it was at a very nice restaurant with a client. Is Kamchatka crab the same as King Crab? If so, i'm right there with you. Snow crab is pretty delicious as well.

 

[BBKers]

Growing up on the east coast it was always blue crab so I'm a bit biased, but I've had lobster in Europe, not sure which, but it looked like US lobster without the big claws if I remember correctly and it was delicious. I've also had raw lobster in Denmark with some type of curry seasoning, wasn't a fan but I felt terrible not eating it because it was at a very nice restaurant with a client. Is Kamchatka crab the same as King Crab? If so, i'm right there with you. Snow crab is pretty delicious as well.

Yes. Also known as The Red King crab or the Alaskan King crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus).

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Yes. Also known as The Red King crab or the Alaskan King crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus).

Now I want crabs.

 

[BBKers]

Now I want crabs.

You wanna eat crabs, but not get the crabs...

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

You wanna eat crabs, but not get the crabs...

They'd have to be REALLY, REALLY good crabs for me to agree to that.

 

[RickChartraw]

.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

Howden has hit a glass ceiling for sure. I understand his compliments to the bottom six but I think his offensive abilities have been stunted and ruined by being fed to the wolves for so long now. He's serviceable in some areas of the game but I'm not sure how anyone can watch him and not wish for something better there.

I guess it's all fine for now, but that spot definitely needs an upgrade whether you're talking 4LW or 4C I think. Same as Blackwell playing with Art and Strome, I just see a lot of plays die with him in neutral or O zone or on a break out.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

Hot take - crab is better than lobster

Depends on the type of crab....Bairdi/Queen/King absolutely. Snow/Dungeness/Blue/Stone, while still very tasty, I'd rather have lobster.

(OT but I could not resist.) This above is a bold and interesting statement. As I have owned/managed several top end seafood restaurants (one of which was Michelin acclaimed) in 3 countries throughout my 37 years as a working professional; was one of Northern Europes largest seafood producers for several years; studied fishbiology at the University; worked at the Fullton Market in the 80s/90s, a s o, it might be thought that I have some insight on such a matter.

But one really does not. Taste is simply in the eyes of the beholder. And determined by the quality of the produce. A subjective and hardly an objective parameter that one can fairly judge upon. Fancy stats ain't gonna change that either. I love eating both of these shellfish immensely (warm-water lobster not so much), but in my preferred zone of taste I would have to go with the Kamchatka Crab as being #1 - but only by an inch or so. That being said, you have not tried my European lobster recipes (Homarus gammarus which IMO is overall a bit better tasting than the American lobster/Homarus americanus). If you had, then you also might have a different opinion... Fishy business! 4 sure

This would continue to more OT but I also could not resist. I think about the History of Lobster every time I hear the name. It haunts me. It used to be a poor mans protein in the 1880's when it first became mainstream.

The History of Lobster <worth a quick read if you like useless info and trivia

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Blue, stone, king, snow > lobster. Although blue crabs are a pain in the ass to eat.

I’m no expert, I think you are supposed to eat them with your mouth. I hope this helps.

 

[True Blue]

Now I want crabs.

There are creams for that

 

[RangersFan1994]

I'd rather we keep our prospects, re-sign Mika, and sign Danault than trade everything for Eichel

you know some of the not so smart fans rather deal everything for the new shiny toy. not a fan of Eichel and rather wait on Barkov and try to sign him as UFA if he makes it or trade for him, more complete player perfect for the playoffs. Eichel too much of a liability and drama

 

[Matt Rentfree]

You wanna eat crabs, but not get the crabs...

This conversation reminds me of the time I was tending bar in the mid 90's.

New Year's Eve, insanely inflated prices for the evening.

Prix Fixe menu, lobster entrée

Management ordered lobster for 600 people but apparently hadn't thought to order lobster crackers.

On top of that, the bread delivery never came. Kitchen sent the busboy out to scour open supermarkets for bread. The best he could do was frozen Lender's bagels.

We had 600 VERY pissed off people that evening.

 

[smoneil]

(OT but I could not resist.) This above is a bold and interesting statement. As I have owned/managed several top end seafood restaurants (one of which was Michelin acclaimed) in 3 countries throughout my 37 years as a working professional; was one of Northern Europes largest seafood producers for several years; studied fishbiology at the University; worked at the Fullton Market in the 80s/90s, a s o, it might be thought that I have some insight on such a matter.

But one really does not. Taste is simply in the eyes of the beholder. And determined by the quality of the produce. A subjective and hardly an objective parameter that one can fairly judge upon. Fancy stats ain't gonna change that either. I love eating both of these shellfish immensely (warm-water lobster not so much), but in my preferred zone of taste I would have to go with the Kamchatka Crab as being #1 - but only by an inch or so. That being said, you have not tried my European lobster recipes (Homarus gammarus which IMO is overall a bit better tasting than the American lobster/Homarus americanus). If you had, then you also might have a different opinion... Fishy business! 4 sure

I was an English major. Unless or until lobster comes in a Hot Pocket or a Lunchables, it's probably outside of my budget, haha.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I'd rather we keep our prospects, re-sign Mika, and sign Danault than trade everything for Eichel

I will take Zibanejad+Strome+the asset it takes to get Eichel... Over Zibanejad+Eichel or Strome+Eichel. Unless they somehow find a way to include Kreider into the deal, it's not worth it.

All things considered, cap hit, age, price to acquire, years remaining, Jack Eichel isn't in my top-5 targets for a center.

1. Barkov
2. Hintz
3. Lindholm
4. Danault
5. Reinhart

Yeah, I'd target Reinhart over Eichel if I really have to go for a center from Buffalo. Let another team overpay for Eichel with that albatross cap hit

 

[FIRE DRURY]

Leave it to HF to figure out what’s for dinner.

 

[redwhiteandblue]

I will take Zibanejad+Strome+the asset it takes to get Eichel... Over Zibanejad+Eichel or Strome+Eichel. Unless they somehow find a way to include Kreider into the deal, it's not worth it.

All things considered, cap hit, age, price to acquire, years remaining, Jack Eichel isn't in my top-5 targets for a center.

1. Barkov
2. Hintz
3. Lindholm
4. Danault
5. Reinhart

Yeah, I'd target Reinhart over Eichel if I really have to go for a center from Buffalo. Let another team overpay for Eichel with that albatross cap hit

Was just preaching this is the guy to target. I haven't heard his name out there, they may entertain a decent haul that's not too big but brings in some nice pieces to re-tool and add some value around the lineup. Plus Pavs probably has enough in them to stop gap and find another center.

I'm all in on Hintz because I don't see Barkov leaving Miami and Eichel is red flag central.

 

[Tawnos]

Howden has hit a glass ceiling for sure. I understand his compliments to the bottom six but I think his offensive abilities have been stunted and ruined by being fed to the wolves for so long now. He's serviceable in some areas of the game but I'm not sure how anyone can watch him and not wish for something better there.

I guess it's all fine for now, but that spot definitely needs an upgrade whether you're talking 4LW or 4C I think. Same as Blackwell playing with Art and Strome, I just see a lot of plays die with him in neutral or O zone or on a break out.

 

[LokiDog]

Forward, before I get blow back: this is a philosophical question about how to develop elite level offensive talent, not a complaint about the kids or the way the team has played. We should be a playoff team this year and are getting screwed by the realignment. I get that. This is about the fact that while a “good” team, we are also a team that is self-admittedly in the building stage and developing our prized draft picks into talents worthy of those draft picks is vital to the long term success of the rebuild and the ultimate goal of winning Cups. Plural. If we had to sacrifice wins in a year where we weren’t Cup contenders anyway, but it meant developing our talent better, I’d take that trade off. As it stands, it remains to be seen if our approach will end up helping/hurting the outcome of the kids, but I think we all know that we need Laf and Kakko to both become significant offensive talents with at least one being a legitimate star.

So, I do actually understand that depth and the team’s situation have some bearing and that it’s not all about minutes. And it’s not about me wanting to see shiny new toys out there. It is a legitimate question that we won’t see the outcome of for a few years regarding how you develop top offensive players. What we’ve done with Chytil, Kakko, Laf and now Krav is a departure from what virtually every other NHL team does. We’ll see if it pays off, but the objective, especially with KK and Laf isn’t to develop “good solid top six players” it’s to have them become the elite talent on this roster. It does interest me that we’ve taken an approach as an organization that is basically the opposite of others with rookie usage. There’s guys like Tolvinen and Kaprizov on teams in playoff spots in the screens below.

Our kids have earned more minutes down the stretch but can’t get them. Chytil’s ELC is over in 6 games. He had a slide year as well where he played 9 games. 4 seasons pro and he can’t get on the second PP above Colin Blackwell.

Keeping in mind Laf was the unanimous #1 pick in what was considered a strong draft here’s some numbers. This is just rookie forwards for this year. Then I have Kakko (last years #2), Chytil (#21 four years ago) and Kravtsov (#9 three years ago) numbers so we can see where they fit in among true rookies even though Kakko and Chytil are not:

View attachment 427609
View attachment 427610
View attachment 427612

Kakko’s at 14:21 per game, Laf is shown at 13:40, Chytil’s 13:09 per game and Kravtsov’s 11:24 per game for perspective.

On the PP Kakko gets 1:20, Chytil averages 35s per game in his 4th year and Krav averages 2s. Laf didn’t make the cutoff on that pic for PP time but he’s 24th among rookie forwards at 1:16. Kakko would be 22nd. Chytil is a 4th year pro and would be 100+. I don’t know that Chytil getting less minutes than ~60 rookies and no PP time is how we develop him into a top six center at this stage in his career.

 

[LokiDog]

Was just preaching this is the guy to target. I haven't heard his name out there, they may entertain a decent haul that's not too big but brings in some nice pieces to re-tool and add some value around the lineup. Plus Pavs probably has enough in them to stop gap and find another center.

I'm all in on Hintz because I don't see Barkov leaving Miami and Eichel is red flag central.

Living in Dallas, I’ve already had a Hintz jersey for 2 years. Knew he would be great. If Chytil goes the other way and they think he has top six upside, maybe they’d consider it but they really have no incentive to move him. He’s on a great contract and still under team control after, so it’s going to have to be a big time overpay. Dallas fans would say Hintz, Robertson and Heiskanen are the untouchables. Lindholm is probably a more realistic target with Calgary needing changes and he’d be a great addition for this team. I’d be happy with Lindholm. But Hintz would be BEASTLY with Panarin

 

[Narcissus]

Hindsight is 20/20. The Rangers should have sent Howden to the AHL at the start of the 2018-19 season. Howden had a really good performance at Traverse City. Someone compared him to Toews. Howden was good for Moose Jaw in the 2018 playoffs. Having Howden play major minutes in the AHL probably would have been better for his development than playing bottom six minutes on the Rangers.

The salary cap will be flat for the next 4-5 years. The young guys will get their money. The group III free agents will not see the big bonanza waiting for them. Some of them will get paid like Pietrangelo did last fall. A good number of players will not get the type of contracts they expected to receive before Covid. The 2021 free agent class does have some good players. RNH. Dougie Hamilton. Gabriel Landeskog. Jaden Schwartz. Kyle Palmieri. Zach Hyman. None of those players re-signed with their teams. The teams know the market will be tight this summer. The Devils tried to keep Palmieri but they traded him after he rejected their contract offer. In normal times, we would have seen teams re-sign the top group III's before they reached free agency. Teams know money is very tight around the NHL. The older group III's will be lucky to get much more than the NHL minimum.

How much is Zibanejad worth as a free agent? Will the crazy offer he available as a free agent? Chris Kreider was not getting 7 years and $6.5M AAV as a free agent last fall. He would have gotten a decent contract but it wouldn't have been worth $45.5M over 7 years. The NHL landscape has changed dramatically in the last year. The Rangers are better off with Zibanejad than Eichel even if the latter is 3 1/2 years younger.

Welcome back Larry

 

[Boris Zubov]

Leave it to HF to figure out what’s for dinner.

That looks amazing, tons of meat, toasted roll

But, nothing annoys me more than restaurants that use mayo in a lobster roll.