Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Off-season Part I

[EdJovanovski]

Shoutout @ramp5 for finding this



"Incredibly inventive player when it comes to how he operates around the net area, down low, if you compare him to say for instance, Vitali Kravtsov. Kravtsov is one of the best puck handlers around the boards in that area that you'll ever see. I know it hasn't translated at the NHL level yet, but believe me when I say in the KHL we've seen ton of examples, and internationally; tons of examples where he can just make defensemen look really foolish, as a result of knowing how to time using the net to pass the puck back to himself around defensemen and pull and create exit routes for himself, create fake contact points, trap door scenarios where he creates an exit route while bypassing defense who are trying to cover him." - Greg Allen of HockeyProspect

He also claims that Slafkovsky studies the great Kravtsov, as I've said many times before Kravtsov is ahead of his time and he may not be appreciated through the lens of a modern day hockey fan. If he doesn't reach my record shattering point projections, it may simply be that he transcends the very concept of statistics. Can you really reduce the performance art, the beauty & grace, the drama surrounding his career similar to that of early post-modernist Soviet playwrites, the Machiavellian way in which he's already plotted his entire career; to a mere stat in the goals & assist column? Maybe one day when stats become advanced enough we'll be able to pin down exactly what made Kravtsov so special. I'm shocked that prospects are already studying Kravtsov as I thought it would take a lot longer, perhaps Slafkovsky has been reading my posts on here about Kravtsov though.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Yeah, he's a shit until he's on your team.

Half this fan base still worships Sean Avery. The Rangers need a guy, or a few guys, like Perry.

If perry did any of the shit i watched him do on this playoff run, I'd loathe him.
And also that love affair with avery is the dumbest thing ever. Dude was a shit as well, only he tried to be cute about it.

 

[Kocur26]

Edmonton might be interested in Georgiev but so are the Devils .

We only have 4-5 draft picks and Edmonton doesn’t have much to give pick wise.

I’d want a player

I don’t wanna see Georgiev shut us out 3-0 @ the Rock .

 

[Chalfdiggity3]

just stop playing Reaves, let Rooney walk, and play Jones. idk what you do with that second middle 6 center spot or the last wing on the 4th line but that's already a massive improvement

Kreider-Zib-Laf
Panarin-Chytil-Kakko
Kravtsov-Stastny-Blais
Hunt-Goodrow-Larsson/Rask/Ryan/Raffl

we're not going anywhere if the kids don't get any better. that's it, that's the end game.

We can also let Johnny B and Anthony Greco get some time up here on the 4th line. They showed they belong and deserve more ice time

 

[Kocur26]

We can also let Johnny B and Anthony Greco get some time up here on the 4th line. They showed they belong and deserve more ice time

Greco is gone to Europe

 

[RangerBoy]

Hornqvist has a $5.9M cap hit. Where are the Rangers finding the space for that cap hit? Trading Nemeth at $2.5M and Gauthier doesn't help the cause. Are the Rangers qualifying Gauthier and Hajek? What's the point? Allow them to get fresh starts somewhere else. They have no futures here. Staple reported Drury was trying to trade Gauthier for a pick. Nobody is doing that.



Barclay Goodrow contract coming up.

 

[Thirty One]

If Perry was a free agent, he would be exactly the type of guy the Rangers should and would target. However, he isn't, and would sign in Colorado even if he was.

 

[McRanger92]

Again this is true to an extent, but it may mean sacrificing youth for win now pieces.

Some of us want to win AND have more chances to do so because a lot of it is luck.

The Avs were a terrible team 5 yrs ago... they dealt with that shit and built a for real team. Even after losing in the 2nd rd last season after being a fav.

We could go hard after Malkin or Khadri or insert vet C name, or we could attempt to build a longer term core that will have chances... plural.

We should be going for it in a weakened Metro Division while we are able to keep this team together. No matter what, the Rangers will lose core pieces due to the salary cap in 2023 & 2024. I have no interest in Malkin or Kadri but they need more veteran help, not less.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Hornqvist has a $5.9M cap hit. Where are the Rangers finding the space for that cap hit? Trading Nemeth at $2.5M and Gauthier doesn't help the cause. Are the Rangers qualifying Gauthier and Hajek? What's the point? Allow them to get fresh starts somewhere else. They have no futures here. Staple reported Drury was trying to trade Gauthier for a pick. Nobody is doing that.



Barclay Goodrow contract coming up.

Johan Larsson is as good of a player and will come in at at least a million per year cheaper. Durability would be my only concern.

 

[SA16]

hornqvist is cooked. he was down to under 13 mins a game this year, had 28pt in 65 games, and he is 36 next year. he isnt the player your remember from pitt and he wouldnt be able to keep up in a top 6 role. he also has a 5.3m cap hit next year.

That's great production for his role. He's really good. He's also not really a fit. He's mostly a net front PP guy which is absolutely not a need. If he was cheap it would be worth a flier since he's a very strong 5v5 player still however he is not cheap.

 

[bleedblue94]

rangers absolutely missed a chance this year. that tampa injury list that just came out is INSANE.

game three should be haunting this team even more now...

 

[SA16]

Johan Larsson is a good 4th line center who is inept offensively coming off a year with very flukey and unsustainable offensive numbers that he's never come close to before. He will most definitely be overpaid and a bad contract.

 

[bleedblue94]

That's great production for his role. He's really good. He's also not really a fit. He's mostly a net front PP guy which is absolutely not a need. If he was cheap it would be worth a flier since he's a very strong 5v5 player still however he is not cheap.

agree to disagree. i dont care about his stat production in the reg season for a historical offensive team.

watching him play he is cooked, and if he wasnt he would be playing more than 13mins a game.

in the playoffs he had 2 points in 10 games playing under 11mins a game.

he is a 4th liner at this point and people are here saying he should be the winger with panarin...

 

[RangerBoy]

Some Pittsburgh items

Numerous agents have told me that, after conversations they’ve had with Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, they believe it’s unlikely that Evgeni Malkin is returning to Pittsburgh. Some people I’ve spoken with in the Penguins organization feel the same way.

So, is Malkin gone?

It’s impossible to say, but here’s what I know: Hextall is willing to sign him at a certain price. However, sources said the two sides haven’t been speaking regularly after initial talks when the Penguins’ season ended on May 15. Hockey people who speak with Hextall on a regular basis are very much under the impression that Malkin’s return to the Penguins is no sure thing.

Florida will need to create cap space to pay Malkin. Their owner Vinnie Viola hired Paul Maurice because he felt a veteran coach was a better fit than a rookie coach. He wants to beat TB.

Barkov
Malkin
Lundell

JT Miller and Vincent Trocheck are back home for the summer.

They’re both Pittsburgh-area people, and I believe both would love the opportunity to play for the Penguins. If Malkin leaves, Trocheck is perhaps the most logical replacement on the open market. He’s not a future Hall of Famer like Malkin, but he is a very good two-way center who would be a perfect fit in coach Mike Sullivan’s system. Trocheck’s speed, strong defensive work and overall tenacity would no doubt please Sullivan. Trocheck is the kind of guy coaches love.

Trocheck is going to want a deal of around six years in length. He’s going to want in the neighborhood of $6 million to $6.5 million annually. On the open market, he’ll probably get those numbers. Would he be willing to offer a hometown discount? It’s tough to say, but given Hextall’s stinginess, it might be necessary if the two sides engage in serious talks.

How much? Brooks thought Trocheck would be cheaper than Copp and Strome.

 

[SA16]

agree to disagree. i dont care about his stat production in the reg season for a historical offensive team.

watching him play he is cooked, and if he wasnt he would be playing more than 13mins a game.

in the playoffs he had 2 points in 10 games playing under 11mins a game.

he is a 4th liner at this point and people are here saying he should be the winger with panarin...

Is Vatrano cooked? He played 12 mins/game in Florida. Hornqvist would be a good fit with Panarin. Hornqvist has never been a huge ice time guy. Even in Pittsburgh when he was on the top two lines and top PP he played 15-16 minutes/game.

And what does a "historical offensive team" have anything to do with his offensive production? He played mostly with Luostarainen and Lomberg. How does Barkov/Huberdeau scoring a lot have any effect on that?

 

[Thirty One]

Gonna be a big summer for the Penguins. Still, the most engaged their fans will be is when Trouba posts something on Instagram.

 

[EdJovanovski]

If Miroschnichenko is still around in the 20's-40's we should trade up to get him

I remember creating this guy a couple years ago in NHL video games because he was supposed to be amazing, then he got cancer. He ranked #2 for this draft at the start of the year and is free-falling because he had cancer and Russian factor

 

[bleedblue94]

Is Vatrano cooked? He played 12 mins/game in Florida. Hornqvist would be a good fit with Panarin. Hornqvist has never been a huge ice time guy. Even in Pittsburgh when he was on the top two lines and top PP he played 15-16 minutes/game.

vatrano is 28, hornqvist is going to be 36 and as for pp time he has 20ppg in the last four years combine (14 in the last three years) when he had 15 in 2018 alone, he isnt supplanting kreider in front of the net on the pp.

hornqvist also went from 16:47 per game last year down to 12:40 this year. he is on the down turn without question

vatrano prior to the trade was playing mostly in line with all of his norms

good luck with any argument drawing a parallel for success here going forward between these two guys.

 

[JimmyG89]

When it comes to the getting that 2C, they're going to either need to sign Strome/Copp or make a trade. I'm not sure anyone else fits the bill outside of promoting Chytil and signing a 3C instead. The other options are too expensive to fit with the cap.

While I wouldn't want to move Schneider, it might need to be done for the long term 2C if Chytil is not the guy they want in that role. Maybe it's Zac Jones that is the key to getting the center they need. We have a plethora of prospects still, just maybe not upper echelon ones.

Wouldn't shock me if they do try and go the Colin White route with this. Clearly needs a new place to play. Ottawa has younger/cheaper options at center they want to use (Norris/Stutzle/Pinto). 4.75 lines up with what Strome was making last season, so the cap implications would be minimal. Maybe you get Ottawa to retain a little bit as well.

 

[bleedblue94]

If Miroschnichenko is still around in the 20's-40's we should trade up to get him

I remember creating this guy a couple years ago in NHL video games because he was supposed to be amazing, then he got cancer. He ranked #2 for this draft at the start of the year and is free-falling because he had cancer and Russian factor

great talent but hard for a team to invest a top pick into a kid battling cancer. hate saying that but unfortunately cancer isnt a torn acl.

 

[MrAlmost]

Hornqvist has a Cap hit of 5.3, not 5.9. Not saying it will happen, but bottom 6 depth is needed and his contract is only 1 year. This year isnt an issue. Next offseason is more of a crunch, but even then we should wait and see what happens with revenue and the Cap.

 

[Thirty One]

Hornqvist has a Cap hit of 5.3, not 5.9. Not saying it will happen, but bottom 6 depth is needed and his contract is only 1 year. This year isnt an issue. Next offseason is more of a crunch, but even then we should wait and see what happens with revenue and the Cap.

Next year's cap is more of an issue, but this year's is absolutely an issue too.

 

[SA16]

vatrano is 28, hornqvist is going to be 36 and as for pp time he has 20ppg in the last four years combine (14 in the last three years) when he had 15 in 2018 alone, he isnt supplanting kreider in front of the net on the pp.

hornqvist also went from 16:47 per game last year down to 12:40 this year. he is on the down turn without question

vatrano prior to the trade was playing mostly in line with all of his norms

good luck with any argument drawing a parallel for success here going forward between these two guys.

That's why he's a bad fit at his salary. He's a good player though. If he was a FA he would be the perfect guy to try to get as a cheap vet deal. Extremely high volume shooter, one of the highest in the league, big time net front guy, blocks shots, perfect complementary player to play with a great playmaker.

Stop using the low ice time as a point that he's not good. He's a RW on a team that had Reinhart/Verhaeghe ahead of him and was PP2 on a team with very heavy PP1 usage. Then late in the season it dropped as they added another RW in Giroux. Which of those guys did you expect him to play over?

He's old and slow therefore he's bad. We hear this same narrative about every player in that group.

 

[McRanger92]

Some Pittsburgh items


Florida will need to create cap space to pay Malkin. Their owner Vinnie Viola hired Paul Maurice because he felt a veteran coach was a better fit than a rookie coach. He wants to beat TB.

Barkov
Malkin
Lundell

JT Miller and Vincent Trocheck are back home for the summer.



How much? Brooks thought Trocheck would be cheaper than Copp and Strome.

6 x 6 for Trocheck? No thank you

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

I'm really just hoping Drury waits to see who shakes out via buyouts and/or cap casualties who need to be traded.

Curious who could be out there but there's always a few unexpected players who become available.