Speculation: Roster Building Thread Part III: Day by Day

[silverfish]

Perhaps some insight as to why the Rangers chose to buy out Girardi instead of Staal...?

There's no denying that Staal is notgood, but he's miles better than Girardi is.

Staal gets a super-terrible rep this off-season because of his playoff performance, which was also notgood, but, highlighted by being on the ice for three (was it three?) late goals against. I still believe that Staal was better than G in the playoffs, and one of those guys has the added bonus of being carried around by McDonagh.

This post reads like I'm trying to defend Staal, which I am not. I'm just saying he's not the absolute dumpster-fire bad AHL d-man that Girardi is these days.

This team would be far better-off without Marc Staal and his $5.7m AAV on the books. Not gonna happen, tho.

 

[mike14]

I remember some here telling me that they wanted the Finals to end because the off-season is far more exciting.

This seems to be a really lazy shot at me so in response;

I absolutely stand by my statement. I found the Finals to be so uninteresting that I only watched 2 and a 3rd of the games, and have found the two days of the draft (plus the lead up), the Stepan trade, the beginning of FA and the ongoing questions regarding our centre position far more interesting/exciting.

As discussed at the time, it's different strokes for different folks; but just because it doesn't float your boat why get up others about it?

 

[nyrage]

There's no denying that Staal is notgood, but he's miles better than Girardi is.

Staal gets a super-terrible rep this off-season because of his playoff performance, which was also notgood, but, highlighted by being on the ice for three (was it three?) late goals against. I still believe that Staal was better than G in the playoffs, and one of those guys has the added bonus of being carried around by McDonagh.

This post reads like I'm trying to defend Staal, which I am not. I'm just saying he's not the absolute dumpster-fire bad AHL d-man that Girardi is these days.

This team would be far better-off without Marc Staal and his $5.7m AAV on the books. Not gonna happen, tho.

I don't know. They're both elite of the terrible tier of defensemen.

At least Girardi could block shots and play the body. He was pretty bad at everything else.

Staal is just a black hole back there. Dump it deep and that puck is never getting out. I guess those injuries impacted his vision. Once the puck is near his skates, it takes him forever to find it. Once he finds it, it takes him forever to decide what to do with it. Fugly.

Plus he used to be physical. Now he gets out-muscled by little guys. Not to mention that he's awful in this man on man system. He finds himself out of position consistently.

If they don't trade/buy him out, than I pray he sits out as the 7th guy. Sadly AV cannot be trusted with that decision.

 

[eco's bones]

Girardi was good against Montreal in the playoffs--not so great against Ottawa. Girardi beat up on Pacioretty and knocked Andrew Shaw out of game 6. He broke 3 ribs before it was over. Staal was concussed towards the end of the season and played like he was concussed throughout the playoffs. He was by far the worst player on the ice for both teams in both series against Montreal and Ottawa. The Rangers should buy him out too.

With McDonagh, Shattenkirk, Skjei, Smith, DeAngelo, Holden, Bereglazov, Pionk, Graves and Kampfer--the Rangers certainly don't need to be paying Marc Staal $5.7 mil a year. The first 6 and arguably the last 4 would all be better options to play. The only black hole is the one that's going to be sucking up $5.7 mil.

 

[Irishguy42]

A bit OT...

 

[Ola]

I feel Franson is slowly reaching Ehrhoff-territory

Becoming? He has never been a decent hockey player.

 

[RangerBoy]

This is a huge couple of years for the Rangers. HUGE. The Rangers have the Girardi buyout on the books. $3.6M in 18-19 and 19-20. The two years where the Rangers have so many key free agents to re-sign. Big decisions. The Rangers are not getting rid of Staal scot-free. That's more cap space to get rid of Staal. Buyout. Retain money in a trade. They have no contracts longer than 4 years. Lundqvist. Staal. Shattenkirk. Smith. The Rangers have the flexibility to trade the last two. No major commitments at forward. Three more seasons for Kreider. Two more seasons for Zuccarello. Fast just signed his 3 year contract. Not a huge number at $1.85M. Two more years at entry level for Buchnevich. Big contract if he becomes a quality top 6 forward. Arbitration eligible. Zibanejad will sign a new deal in the next 5-6 days. The Rangers need Andersson and Chytil to become quality NHL players. Quality young depth in the middle. You build a team down the middle. The Rangers brought in DeAngelo,Bereglazov(Arbitration) and Pionk(Arbitration). All of them are signed for the next two years. Bereglazov will get a nice contract if he can become a Zaitsev type of player. Not as good offensively but a better all around player. KHL factor. Good problem to have. Gorton needs to make one more Brassard for Zibanejad/Stepan and Raanta for Andersson and DeAngelo. Younger players with more upside. He needs to acquire one more first rounder in 2018. Four first round picks in two years. The Rangers went four straight years without a first rounder. Make that up in two years. That's rebuild on the fly. Some of the Rangers younger forwards take that next step(Buchnevich and Vesey). The Rangers have big decisions with Miller and Hayes. Vesey too. Their next contracts will cover group III years. Same situation as Zibanjejad. The Rangers also have Skjei. It's too hot to talk about McDonagh and his situation. The Rangers haven't signed Zibanejad. They will but just think about having four arbitration cases next summer. Gorton can pull off the rebuild on the fly. No more bad contracts. Have the younger players develop and emerge. One or two of the young D emerge. DeAngelo. Bereglazov. Pionk. The Rangers aren't winning in the near future but they could have a really good team soon.

 

[Irishguy42]

This got RT'd into my TL.

 

[Hire Sather]

Yep close up shop no chance to win next year!

 

[Ola]

This is a huge couple of years for the Rangers. HUGE. The Rangers have the Girardi buyout on the books. $3.6M in 18-19 and 19-20. The two years where the Rangers have so many key free agents to re-sign. Big decisions. The Rangers are not getting rid of Staal scot-free. That's more cap space to get rid of Staal. Buyout. Retain money in a trade. They have no contracts longer than 4 years. Lundqvist. Staal. Shattenkirk. Smith. The Rangers have the flexibility to trade the last two. No major commitments at forward. Three more seasons for Kreider. Two more seasons for Zuccarello. Fast just signed his 3 year contract. Not a huge number at $1.85M. Two more years at entry level for Buchnevich. Big contract if he becomes a quality top 6 forward. Arbitration eligible. Zibanejad will sign a new deal in the next 5-6 days. The Rangers need Andersson and Chytil to become quality NHL players. Quality young depth in the middle. You build a team down the middle. The Rangers brought in DeAngelo,Bereglazov(Arbitration) and Pionk(Arbitration). All of them are signed for the next two years. Bereglazov will get a nice contract if he can become a Zaitsev type of player. Not as good offensively but a better all around player. KHL factor. Good problem to have. Gorton needs to make one more Brassard for Zibanejad/Stepan and Raanta for Andersson and DeAngelo. Younger players with more upside. He needs to acquire one more first rounder in 2018. Four first round picks in two years. The Rangers went four straight years without a first rounder. Make that up in two years. That's rebuild on the fly. Some of the Rangers younger forwards take that next step(Buchnevich and Vesey). The Rangers have big decisions with Miller and Hayes. Vesey too. Their next contracts will cover group III years. Same situation as Zibanjejad. The Rangers also have Skjei. It's too hot to talk about McDonagh and his situation. The Rangers haven't signed Zibanejad. They will but just think about having four arbitration cases next summer. Gorton can pull off the rebuild on the fly. No more bad contracts. Have the younger players develop and emerge. One or two of the young D emerge. DeAngelo. Bereglazov. Pionk. The Rangers aren't winning in the near future but they could have a really good team soon.

Great post and I agree all the way. I am torn on McD, but I would deal him if we could get a young top tier forward back. Like a Draisatl/McKinnon type.

But I don't like that they are snoozing the rebuild on the blueline. We have five guys around 30, McD, Holden, Staal, Smith and Shatty. It's not old, but even if we will play for it we are building for the coming years. These guys will not (i) peak AND (ii) be cheap in a 2-5 year period. I constantly get jumped when I point that out, I don't get why, but I just think it's too many vets on that blueline. If we are taking a step back to regroup before we are going for it, why not really give the kids we have on the blueline a good shot to establish themselves? I have a very hard time understanding why that is so controversial -- it should be a given that clearing space there should be something Gorton just must get done, no matter what. There is just zero purpose going forward with almost an all vet blueline. Skjei should and will play a lot. But so should DeAngelo. Offensively he should get a top 4 role, and Shatty cannot be given every single offensive minute. And Bereglazov should play too. Sooner rather than later. Maybe not a must to play from day 1, but he should be close to it.

 

[RGY]

This got RT'd into my TL.

So were interested in Gelinas?

 

[Hire Sather]

Rangers aren't winning this year but might in the future when McDonagh and Zucc are gone or paid more? Same with upcoming RFAs. We have a better chance next year than 3 years from now..

 

[Ola]

Rangers aren't winning this year but might in the future when McDonagh and Zucc are gone or paid more? Same with upcoming RFAs. We have a better chance next year than 3 years from now..

Some players will stay, we won't change the entire team in 12 months.

 

[Ola]

I like Gelinas thanks to his shot, don't see any room for him though.

 

[Hire Sather]

Some players will stay, we won't change the entire team in 12 months.

Right. But i dont understand how tbe team will be better when we may lose guys or lose cap space by paying them more. Having mvdonagh and Zucc on their contracts right now is a good thing. An advantage. Something we lose in 2 years but RB says the team will be better.

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

I can't help but think of Martin Gelinas and his cheap shot of (who was it, Jay Wells?) when I see Eric Gelinas


"MARTIN GELINAS, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?"

 

[Doctyl]

**** this guy






Still better than Staal.

 

[RGY]

Dont understand where Gelinas would fit at this point.

 

[Vitto79]

Dont understand where Gelinas would fit at this point.

2 way deal ? That's worth a shot for depth especially if Holden goes

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

This is a huge couple of years for the Rangers. HUGE. The Rangers have the Girardi buyout on the books. $3.6M in 18-19 and 19-20. The two years where the Rangers have so many key free agents to re-sign. Big decisions. The Rangers are not getting rid of Staal scot-free. That's more cap space to get rid of Staal. Buyout. Retain money in a trade. They have no contracts longer than 4 years. Lundqvist. Staal. Shattenkirk. Smith. The Rangers have the flexibility to trade the last two. No major commitments at forward. Three more seasons for Kreider. Two more seasons for Zuccarello. Fast just signed his 3 year contract. Not a huge number at $1.85M. Two more years at entry level for Buchnevich. Big contract if he becomes a quality top 6 forward. Arbitration eligible. Zibanejad will sign a new deal in the next 5-6 days. The Rangers need Andersson and Chytil to become quality NHL players. Quality young depth in the middle. You build a team down the middle. The Rangers brought in DeAngelo,Bereglazov(Arbitration) and Pionk(Arbitration). All of them are signed for the next two years. Bereglazov will get a nice contract if he can become a Zaitsev type of player. Not as good offensively but a better all around player. KHL factor. Good problem to have. Gorton needs to make one more Brassard for Zibanejad/Stepan and Raanta for Andersson and DeAngelo. Younger players with more upside. He needs to acquire one more first rounder in 2018. Four first round picks in two years. The Rangers went four straight years without a first rounder. Make that up in two years. That's rebuild on the fly. Some of the Rangers younger forwards take that next step(Buchnevich and Vesey). The Rangers have big decisions with Miller and Hayes. Vesey too. Their next contracts will cover group III years. Same situation as Zibanjejad. The Rangers also have Skjei. It's too hot to talk about McDonagh and his situation. The Rangers haven't signed Zibanejad. They will but just think about having four arbitration cases next summer. Gorton can pull off the rebuild on the fly. No more bad contracts. Have the younger players develop and emerge. One or two of the young D emerge. DeAngelo. Bereglazov. Pionk. The Rangers aren't winning in the near future but they could have a really good team soon.

The Unibomber couldn't have said it better.....

 

[nsvoyageurs]

Great post and I agree all the way. I am torn on McD, but I would deal him if we could get a young top tier forward back. Like a Draisatl/McKinnon type.

But I don't like that they are snoozing the rebuild on the blueline. We have five guys around 30, McD, Holden, Staal, Smith and Shatty. It's not old, but even if we will play for it we are building for the coming years. These guys will not (i) peak AND (ii) be cheap in a 2-5 year period. I constantly get jumped when I point that out, I don't get why, but I just think it's too many vets on that blueline. If we are taking a step back to regroup before we are going for it, why not really give the kids we have on the blueline a good shot to establish themselves? I have a very hard time understanding why that is so controversial -- it should be a given that clearing space there should be something Gorton just must get done, no matter what. There is just zero purpose going forward with almost an all vet blueline. Skjei should and will play a lot. But so should DeAngelo. Offensively he should get a top 4 role, and Shatty cannot be given every single offensive minute. And Bereglazov should play too. Sooner rather than later. Maybe not a must to play from day 1, but he should be close to it.

Rebuilds on the fly aren't easy; I'd rather just blow the bleeping thing up, but I know that won't happen. Getitng the extra 1st this year is a good start; hopefully Andersson and Chytl pan out; wait and see. Would like to add a couple more first rounders in the next year or two. With the next 2 NHL Drafts supposedly being very good, that won't be easy. Catch a team in a go for it or bust situation, i.e. desperate to make the playoffs/make a long Cup run. Still move Nash at the deadline if team doesn't look like its long for a playoff run. Losing Klein as an asset stings a little.

 

[Cassano]

Rangers aren't winning this year but might in the future when McDonagh and Zucc are gone or paid more? Same with upcoming RFAs. We have a better chance next year than 3 years from now..

They will never win without a #1C. We may have a chance next year when JT signs here

 

[vladmyir111]

Rebuilds on the fly aren't easy; I'd rather just blow the bleeping thing up, but I know that won't happen. Getitng the extra 1st this year is a good start; hopefully Andersson and Chytl pan out; wait and see. Would like to add a couple more first rounders in the next year or two. With the next 2 NHL Drafts supposedly being very good, that won't be easy. Catch a team in a go for it or bust situation, i.e. desperate to make the playoffs/make a long Cup run. Still move Nash at the deadline if team doesn't look like its long for a playoff run. Losing Klein as an asset stings a little.

Still don't get the blow it up people. Why would you want to watch 5+ years of garbage hockey with 0.0% chance of a cup in exchange for maaaybbbbee getting a generational player? Which in itself is a much lower chance now due to the changes in the lottery.

I mean the oilers, pens, caps, and hawks had to be disgustingly bad for a decade or so. And it hasn't even worked out for 2 of the 4 yet. This doesn't even take into account the other 5 or so teams that are ultra bad every year who never get anyone amazing at all.

Much rather have a team to root for that can actually win if things fall into place.

 

[RGY]

They will never win without a #1C. We may have a chance next year when JT signs here

No clear #1 center in 2014. Were some bad bounces and misfortunes away from having a commanding lead in the SCF. They were in every game.

But i mean sure theres just simply no way they can win...

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

People wanting to blow it up make no sense to me.

The Rangers are closer to winning the East this upcoming season than they are needing to blow it up. If the Rangers can add a 2C, whether it be Andersson stepping in and being awesome right away or a player acquired through a trade, I can totally see the Rangers being the top team in the Metro.

I think people aren't realizing just how much of a difference having a top 4 D of McD-Shatty and Skjei-Smith is going to make not only for improved defense and transition game, but offensively as well, Deangelo too.

A fantastic top 4 D, all in their prime with Skjei still scratching the surface of his potential, as well as a forward corps that although lost a big key part down the middle, is still very deep and explosive. We are still looking at a team where the bottom 6 wingers will be JT Miller, Jimmy Vesey, Jesper Fast and Michael Grabner.

No clear #1 center in 2014. Were some bad bounces and misfortunes away from having a commanding lead in the SCF. They were in every game.

But i mean sure theres just simply no way they can win...

Seriously, with a little bit of luck in that series, if we could've hung on and won Game 2, who knows. Even still, we lost the SCF and then the next year lost in Game 7 of the ECF. Both years with no "true #1C" yet people still think you can't be good without an elite 1C. It obviously is what you want, but it's not the only way nor is it guaranteed success when you have one. The Islanders have won 1 playoff series with JT as their #1 center, the Avalanche are a tire fire with MacKinnon as their 1C. Look at all the other great 1Cs and their teams that have done far less in the playoffs than the Rangers did with Stepan-Brass/Stepan-Zib.