Roster Building Thread - Part XI (Off-season edition)

[Shesterkybomb]

I'm still of the opinion that Mika/Kreider would be a much better and dangerous line if it wasn't always shorthanded when they are on the ice. It's not just that they suck or give no effort. They are literally always playing effectively shorthanded.

Meaning, it's literally them two plus a plug against a cohesive 3 man line like Barkov's line. Having no set RW, and noone they can play with makes defending them awfully easy.

I'm of the other side of that coin, that everyone that lands on that line looks worse than they do in another line. How can so many wingers not fit on a line? If those guys are the players they think they are by their salaries then it shouldn't be that hard to find someone good enough to play with them.

 

[UnSandvich]

im gonna keep banging the Zib for Danault drum until it happens.

Besides the obvious "should be gones" of Lindgren, Trouba, and Goodrow, I'd be happy to move guys like Othmann in the right deal. Only non-roster untouchable for me is Perreault

 

[surlysailor]

I said it the day Igor signed. Settling for a 4 year contract when he was clearly going to be a future superstar was one of the dumbest moves this organization has made. He was a Hart Trophy nominee that season. He is the best goalie in the playoffs year after year. He will walk in 2025 and this window will close.

Remember mid season when almost everyone wanted to trade him for a bag of pucks?

 

[SA16]

Remember mid season when almost everyone wanted to trade him for a bag of pucks?

Will Lindbom be ready when Igor's contract is up?

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Trouba will have value, it's whether the franchise wants to move on from him or not. I know he was bad, I also feel he was hurt and as much as he'd deny it I think having the C created a burden for him to try and do more than he was capable of. He's not an 8 mill player, he's probably a 3.5 to 4 mill player when healthy and playing basic hockey, but I'm unsure if this team will move on from him and the other side of it, where would he put as the 15 teams? Probably cap tight teams and new york close teams, isles, jersey, Buffalo etc. We wanna give him to Jersey or the Isles and have him taking runs at Lafreniere?

Will Lindbom be ready when Igor's contract is up?

Garand is the next one

 

[bbny]

It’s time for some future years thinking. Trading Kreider and trading Trouba w/ retained money are the moves. Flush out the core leaders of the team. Trading Kreider isn’t because it instantly makes the team better. It makes them worse. That’s ok. Step back temporarily to jump forward later. I believe they can get a lot for him, even at 33 y.o, and it’s time to think about setting the stage for Laffy’s 20s and prime. Return for Kreider? Think Brassard for Zibanejad (ok, cue the jokes about how we should wish this never happened right now).

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I certainly hope Larry is right and they do have a discussion about asking Mika to waive his No-move. It would show that Drury understand the limitations of this group and that they aren’t good enough to win a cup. And I don’t think Larry is wrong. Of course we want more skill, but that skill kinda has to be big and strong. Strong at the very least, this team has been so bad when it comes to retrieving pucks and winning battles.

I don’t think you need to be big and strong to retrieve pucks.

Carolina is anything but big and strong and they retrieve pucks better than anyone.

It’s a skillset. I wouldn’t go as heavy with it as Carolina has but it would be nice to add a bit more of it. I wouldn’t get too caught up in having an identity either, it’s totally okay to have 3 or 4 lines that do things differently, as long as they all do those things well.

 

[bl02]

I think Cuylle can be a 20-25 goal next season. He scored 13 with limited ice time.. Anyone else agree? Anyone feel he can get 2ed PP time and maybe 2ed and 3rd line ice time next season. Id rather see Cuylle get more ice time than more of Kakko.

I agree I am certainly not giving up on a guy who is 22 and type of player we need more of. He should be part of the now and future.
I think he can certainly slot into the 2nd line when needed. Maybe he can be a Jake DeBrusk lite kinda player.

 

[Jagr676]

Trouba will have value, it's whether the franchise wants to move on from him or not. I know he was bad, I also feel he was hurt and as much as he'd deny it I think having the C created a burden for him to try and do more than he was capable of. He's not an 8 mill player, he's probably a 3.5 to 4 mill player when healthy and playing basic hockey, but I'm unsure if this team will move on from him and the other side of it, where would he put as the 15 teams? Probably cap tight teams and new york close teams, isles, jersey, Buffalo etc. We wanna give him to Jersey or the Isles and have him taking runs at Lafreniere?

If it means he’s not skating on our roster by all means!

Garand is the next one

 

[qwertyaas]

I'm of the other side of that coin, that everyone that lands on that line looks worse than they do in another line. How can so many wingers not fit on a line? If those guys are the players they think they are by their salaries then it shouldn't be that hard to find someone good enough to play with them.

Fair but it is what it is. If they won't split them up, they have to find a wing that fits otherwise we're running shorthand everytime they are on the ice.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I'm kinda against trading Kreider, I know he didn't have a great series but I feel he should be a life long ranger, no idea why I feel that but I do

 

[DanielBrassard]

I don’t think you need to be big and strong to retrieve pucks.

Carolina is anything but big and strong and they retrieve pucks better than anyone.

It’s a skillset. I wouldn’t go as heavy with it as Carolina has but it would be nice to add a bit more of it. I wouldn’t get too caught up in having an identity either, it’s totally okay to have 3 or 4 lines that do things differently, as long as they all do those things well.

True, I guess they could do it with speed too like the 13-14 team. It’s more of that specific skill set than the physical ability in and of itself.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Fair but it is what it is. If they won't split them up, they have to find a wing that fits otherwise we're running shorthand everytime they are on the ice.

They have to finally split them up, and imo there has to be other conversations as well like...
Should Trochek and Chytil be our top 6 centers and Zib to line 3
How can Lafreniere not be on pp1 over Zib, and would that help both pp's?
Othmann, Berard, Jones and possibly Robertson and Sykora should be given a lot of time with the big club before trading pieces away for quick fix players.

 

[pld459666]

I'm gonna be honest, not that big on Cuylle either. guy was a nobody out there

Hes a complimentary player that needs a play driver.

But yes, he was a non-factor

 

[bl02]

im gonna keep banging the Zib for Danault drum until it happens.

Besides the obvious "should be gones" of Lindgren, Trouba, and Goodrow, I'd be happy to move guys like Othmann in the right deal. Only non-roster untouchable for me is Perreault

I think the Kings made the PLD mistake. Don't think they wanna make another with Zib.

Add Berard. One of the best prospects Hartford has produced in a while and we need those.

One of the biggest x factors is Chytil. I still feel if healthy he could be a terrific 2C with size and speed. Unfortunately, I don't see him staying healthy enough.

 

[irishlaxburger2]

Can Mika play RW?

 

[n8]

It’s time for some future years thinking. Trading Kreider and trading Trouba w/ retained money are the moves. Flush out the core leaders of the team. Trading Kreider isn’t because it instantly makes the team better. It makes them worse. That’s ok. Step back temporarily to jump forward later. I believe they can get a lot for him, even at 33 y.o, and it’s time to think about setting the stage for Laffy’s 20s and prime. Return for Kreider? Think Brassard for Zibanejad (ok, cue the jokes about how we should wish this never happened right now).

Zib + 2nd for Brass + 7th? Do that trade 1000/1000. The big complaint I have with Zib and many other Rangers is Drury giving them all NMC or NTC. How the hell did Drury give Zib a NMC til the age of 37??? I wish they could do away with them in the next CBA but give players some other form of protection such as a trade buyout clause. I dunno. That's probably a bad solution. NMC are bad for the game.

 

[SA16]

Zib + 2nd for Brass + 7th? Do that trade 1000/1000. The big complaint I have with Zib and many other Rangers is Drury giving them all NMC or NTC. How the hell did Drury give Zib a NMC til the age of 37??? I wish they could do away with them in the next CBA but give players some other form of protection such as a trade buyout clause. I dunno. That's probably a bad solution. NMC are bad for the game.

Getting rid of NMCs will likely just result in more players holding out.

 

[UnSandvich]

I think the Kings made the PLD mistake. Don't think they wanna make another with Zib.

Add Berard. One of the best prospects Hartford has produced in a while and we need those.

One of the biggest x factors is Chytil. I still feel if healthy he could be a terrific 2C with size and speed. Unfortunately, I don't see him staying healthy enough.

I agree on the PLD note, but his career high is 63 points. Zibanejad has had 70+ in 5 of the last 6 years

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I'm kinda against trading Kreider, I know he didn't have a great series but I feel he should be a life long ranger, no idea why I feel that but I do

Because he can skate, is still the best net front presence in the game, is a leader, and scores 40 goals a year, many of which are big goals. Those are good reasons to keep a guy that makes 6.5 mil a year. The real question is why would anybody want to trade him.

 

[bbny]

Zib + 2nd for Brass + 7th? Do that trade 1000/1000. The big complaint I have with Zib and many other Rangers is Drury giving them all NMC or NTC. How the hell did Drury give Zib a NMC til the age of 37??? I wish they could do away with them in the next CBA but give players some other form of protection such as a trade buyout clause. I dunno. That's probably a bad solution. NMC are bad for the game.

Yeah hah I was just kidding because the Zib contract is getting slammed across Rangers fan universe right now. The worst part is it is buyout proof to boot so they can’t even bite the bullet in 3-4 years if they have to.

 

[n8]

Getting rid of NMCs will likely just result in more players holding out.

Yea, totally ok with that. NMCs are freaking awful.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

If Mika is here to stay it’s going to require a pretty sizable downgrade in how the team uses him.

He’s our 3rd line center behind Trochek and (god willing) Chytil. He doesn’t belong on the top power play unit. Laffy gets his spot there.

He kills penalties well which is a bonus. But make no mistake, he’s our third line center from here on out. Counting on him to be more than that just sets this team up to fail.

 

[irishlaxburger2]

Can Mika play RW?

This is a serious question, by the way. He’s right handed and we’re likely stuck with him, so might as well try to make the most of it.

Maybe the answer to finding a player to play with Mika and Kreider isn’t finding a RW. It’s moving Mika to RW and finding a Center who drives play.

 

[JimmyG89]

Hes a complimentary player that needs a play driver.

But yes, he was a non-factor

We don't know the full story on what Cuylle is but that's what you can kind of expect from a rookie that is billed like he is.

Could he become a 2nd line type player? It's possible, but for now he is a cog in the machine. The issue became when the players surrounding him could not elevate and he is not ready to yet.

He's going to have competition for ice time moving forward though, which is a good thing. Let's see if he can add to himself and become a 20G 15A guy. Let's see if he can PK.

He is an important piece for the bottom of their lineup moving forward. Brings a physical game and is a strong skater. Underrated shot as well.