Speculation: Roster Building Thread: Part LXVIII

[True Blue]

well thats the thing half of America won’t take it you know that.

secondly the vaccine isn’t a 100% cure all immunity card. It will be similar to the flu vaccine in terms of effectiveness.

And it will take a year minimum to be widely available.

so it will still be with us even after that. And then you have to think hey is it worth it to go to a game risk my health or spend money so many don’t have now or safely watch on my giant 4K tv.

Sitting and waiting for it to go away from an NHL standpoint is silly. They need to keep their product viable and in front of their fan base whether they are at home or in person or they’ll be in even worse trouble a year from now.

Imo missing January 1 winter classic (pick a place that will allow 25% capacity) is a huge mistake. It’s their biggest tv draw every year

Agree with a lot of your points here. IMO, the Jan 1 classic will have partial capacity and will be the season opener this year.

 

[Edge]

By the way this would be a real depressing offseason if we hadn’t won first overall and Lafrenière.

I mean we did nothing. Replaced Staal and McKegg with Rooney and Johnson

watch Hank and Fast walk away (a good thing)

but talk about uninspiring. We would not have done anything other than hope some guys developed.

I think even under the best of circumstances --- this wasn't going to be a huge, big splash off-season. I think trades were always a possibility, but the free agent signings were likely going to be few and far between.

But it's also hard to ignore the impact that winning the top pick had on the budget. You have to factor in all the bonus money that goes into getting a kid like that.

Then you have COVID, which admitedly changed the landscape of the trade and free agent markets out there. Suddenly, you have teams backing off of any talks regarding Strome and even ADA, and you have a flat cap.

All those factors add up to a pretty decent chunk of change.

 

[NYSPORTS]

By "many" you mean internet message board posters?

Mostly the media. I do believe he was ranked #1 on the trade market by many.

 

[NYR Viper]

I think even under the best of circumstances --- this wasn't going to be a huge, big splash off-season. I think trades were always a possibility, but the free agent signings were likely going to be few and far between.

But it's also hard to ignore the impact that winning the top pick had on the budget. You have to factor in all the bonus money that goes into getting a kid like that.

Then you have COVID, which admitedly changed the landscape of the trade and free agent markets out there. Suddenly, you have teams backing off of any talks regarding Strome and even ADA, and you have a flat cap.

All those factors add up to a pretty decent chunk of change.

Barring nothing else happening, do you get the feeling they may look to acquire another depth piece or two or do you think that has been done sufficiently in their opinion?

 

[Edge]

lack of movement and excitement isn't a bad thing...this is going to be the new norm for us IMO. a lot of the pieces are in the system and now its just a matter of patience and waiting for the team to grow. We might have 2 key moves left if there is cap space for a 2C and 1LD but beyond that there likely won't be any major changes over the next few years

I realize that I went into this off-season with a very different expectation than some others. I didn't expect to make a big splash unless some trades went through.

For me, this off-season was partially decided last year when the Rangers committed $20 million to Panarin and Trouba, and then really finalized when Kreider was re-signed and we knew we'd be adding Lafreniere.

With bonuses, that's somewhere in the ballpark of $30 million.

I can't really say there's any names out there this summer that I am lamenting not being able to sign.

I feel like we've splurged on some big ticket items from Best Buy over the last 12 months and we're disappointing we couldn't go shopping at the Dollar Tree.

 

[Edge]

Barring nothing else happening, do you get the feeling they may look to acquire another depth piece or two or do you think that has been done sufficiently in their opinion?

I think right now, they're probably in a wait and see mode like the rest of the NHL. I think trades remain a possibility --- assuming there is a talent and/or dollar match to be made. But for the most part, I kind of feel like the Rangers feel like they have some talent that will already be battling for roster spots.

 

[Chytilmania]

Has there been any news recently on AHL plans?

They could do what MLB did, simply send their "taxi squad" at the AHL location and have them train/practice without playing any games.

Obviously not ideal, but not sure what the other option is.

Why don't the AHL squads of the NHL teams that are playing that night, play during the day?

 

[DutchShamrock]

There's a happy medium here like most things. Center Ice, at least to me, is incredibly affordable to the point it's a no brainer for me to purchase every year. Increasing it by $50 per subscription is more than likely not going to turn people away from purchasing it. Especially when you start to show the match of $/game even in a 60 game season.

Plus there will probably be increased demand this season. STHs will be stuck home. We all have fewer options in our lives to go out in general.

The NHL needs to get creative here. Find a way to create programming beyond a televised radio show. Maybe Center Ice could carry post game content too to add value.

 

[Chytilmania]

Plus there will probably be increased demand this season. STHs will be stuck home. We all have fewer options in our lives to go out in general.

The NHL needs to get creative here. Find a way to create programming beyond a televised radio show. Maybe Center Ice could carry post game content too to add value.

Make it like NFL Red Zone lol.

 

[NYR Viper]

Plus there will probably be increased demand this season. STHs will be stuck home. We all have fewer options in our lives to go out in general.

The NHL needs to get creative here. Find a way to create programming beyond a televised radio show. Maybe Center Ice could carry post game content too to add value.

Maybe partner with large outlets for podcasts or radio shows, etc.

There seems to be an opportunity to make this work. As you said and I said before, it just requires some creativity.

 

[Ruggs225]

Why don't the AHL squads of the NHL teams that are playing that night, play during the day?

I was thinking about this too but realized that it could screw up the ice for the NHL teams.

Not sure how long it takes to fix ice after a game.

 

[Off Sides]

By the way this would be a real depressing offseason if we hadn’t won first overall and Lafrenière.

I mean we did nothing. Replaced Staal and McKegg with Rooney and Johnson

watch Hank and Fast walk away (a good thing)

but talk about uninspiring. We would not have done anything other than hope some guys developed.

I guess I am boring, I would have liked to see the Rangers proceed similarly regardless. (Probably not JJ but...)

In a way I think them being more or less forced to organically grow the roster turns out better in the long run than if they started importing/swapping a whole bunch of stuff. I think they'll have more time now to evaluate what they have, who they want to move forward with, etc and be able to make more informed choices when they do eventually start importing/swapping players. I also tend to think the market for doing so improves in the Rangers favor as they are one of the teams who can better withstand any negative financial impact.

 

[Kovalev27]

Maybe partner with large outlets for podcasts or radio shows, etc.

There seems to be an opportunity to make this work. As you said and I said before, it just requires some creativity.

this is the same league that’s still running the Bare Naked Ladies out there to kick off their major events.

 

[Kovalev27]

I guess I am boring, I would have liked to see the Rangers proceed similarly regardless. (Probably not JJ but...)

In a way I think them being more or less forced to organically grow the roster turns out better in the long run than if they started importing/swapping a whole bunch of stuff. I think they'll have more time now to evaluate what they have, who they want to move forward with, etc and be able to make more informed choices when they do eventually start importing/swapping players. I also tend to think the market for doing so improves in the Rangers favor as they are one of the teams who can better withstand any negative financial impact.

It’s honestly not that I wanted additions. I’m on record many times saying I want Chytil at 2C and Miller to make this team.

I think not finding a buyer for Strome. Then signing a guy like Jack Johnson that obviously is going to block a kid has really deflated me.

feels like we didn’t do enough one way or the other

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I was thinking about this too but realized that it could screw up the ice for the NHL teams.

Not sure how long it takes to fix ice after a game.

It works for tournaments (WJC etc)

 

[Harbour Dog]

The armchair GMing on here is one thing. The armchair MDing is something else.

Only just realizing how confusing these cliches must be for somebody who makes armchairs for a living.

 

[Crease]

No big splashy signings/trades, but this offseason involved a major transition for the Rangers—between seeing off the old guard (Lundqvist, Staal and Fast) and bringing in the new face of the franchise (Lafreniere). I’m excited. 2021 will be about developing a new identity/leadership core and getting to a place where they can add one or two guys next offseason that will put them into contention in 2022. This will arguably be the last year of the rebuild.

 

[True Blue]

Mostly the media. I do believe he was ranked #1 on the trade market by many.

You mean the NY Post speculated this with the caveat of IF they could not get a long term deal done? Even as our own insiders were telling us that conversations were being had?

 

[Off Sides]

It’s honestly not that I wanted additions. I’m on record many times saying I want Chytil at 2C and Miller to make this team.

I think not finding a buyer for Strome. Then signing a guy like Jack Johnson that obviously is going to block a kid has really deflated me.

feels like we didn’t do enough one way or the other

I agree with the Strome thing, however I always kind of thought he would be a tough move for any returning value given his one remaining RFA year. JJ I think is more of a thing where it's mostly about PK and familiarity and while I don't love that idea, I think it was probably the lesser of the likely other worse ideas.

I think whenever they play again the Rangers have maybe the most youth potential of any team out there. How long it takes, and/or how much that translates is kind of the story line I am most looking forward to.

From there seeing what they do to round the team out I think will be interesting, and probably the most difficult thing for them to get right at this point. Which kind of brings me back to not minding them taking their time to try to get it correct.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

October is the new July, November the new August. We're in for at least a month of absolutely no juicy hockey news . The trade and FA markets are straight up deceased right now.

 

[NYSPORTS]

You mean the NY Post speculated this with the caveat of IF they could not get a long term deal done? Even as our own insiders were telling us that conversations were being had?

No, i never mentioned the NYpost. NHL tonight, NHL Radio Network on Sirius and random articles.

Was mentioned the Rangers would only part with Kreider for a #1 and wouldn’t give him away. Was mentioned the risk of signing players close to 30 years of age long term and considered them “cap killers”. Mentioned the Rangers are still in a rebuild and are (were) still a long shot to make the playoffs . . . the only true power forward on the market is worth a lot, etc.

 

[NYRangers16]

True - i think the luck of Laf and Kakko along with Fox strong arming Carolina gives the Rangers a nice ratio of hits vs misses even if the others don’t develop.

This is a lot more promising than if the Rangers had not rebuilt. Can you imagine Zuccarello and others still here with Nils the only prospect to look forward to? Could have happened.

It killed me to see Zucc traded. Wore his jersey in MN to the Wild game after and so many locals were sympathetic. But logically, if we gave that contract to him we’d be done. It’s been a great rebuild... arguably one of the fastest and best I’ve seen in any sport... minus that Penguins collusion lol

 

[NYRangers16]

You have to trust your picks and give them the chance to prove you right or wrong otherwise why did you even draft them? It's more of a gamble for us then them as they have a better feel for what they have.

Trust, but verify. I think the team has done the best they can. Lias was the first fail. There will be others. But ultimately we’re on a great path.

 

[RGY]

That'd be great, but how are they affording Granlund?

Send some of the excess guys down. Trade Smith to a cap floor team. Attach a 4th round pick to him if you have to.

I think they could find a way to make Granlund or Haula fit.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Send some of the excess guys down. Trade Smith to a cap floor team. Attach a 4th round pick to him if you have to.

I think they could find a way to make Granlund or Haula fit.

Not that Smith is great, but the LD is already awful. Trading him takes a weakness and worsens it