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

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I can fully understand some disappointment that Kakko didn't come in and light the world on fire, and have had to put up with injuries prohibiting linear development... but wanting to get rid of him for a guy like Ross Colton is a severe mismanagement of assets.

37 EV points last year, injury year, still young, a trend in the right direction. Get rid of him for a guy plateaued at age 27? I get he's a good player, but wut?

I have faith in Drury. If we shop Kakko this year I won't be surprised and I'm sure Drury will extract proper value if he does.
 
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GoAwayPanarin said:
I mean goal scoring centers are a thing now and there are plenty of wingers over the last 15 years who have done things for their line that a "traditional" center will do. On that end, I don't think it's really tone deaf.

I think he's way off in his assessment with what his line needs. His line needs a passer, a transporter, a forechecker and someone who isn't afraid to get into the paint.

Said it before, his line needs Crosby. There are guys out there who can check a box, maybe 2 but theres no one out there who can do all 4.
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It sounds like they need a 1C. Because everything being described is the role a 1C traditionally plays and very few wingers can (which is why none of have ever worked with them).
 
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McRanger92 said:
I think my main issue with Kakko is that the Rangers cleared the decks for him to have opportunities very early on (Buch trade) and we've been waiting for him to grab it for 3 years. To the detriment of our ability to win a Cup.

I'm just tired of the excuses, I'm tired of the deadline RW deals and I'm tired of knowing our ceiling and still running it back with the same supporting cast.
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youre saying it right here - you blame kakko for the buch trade. who you really should be blaming is the Rangers.

deadline RW deals again have nothing to do with Kakko the player and everything to do with the cap hits of our top paid players.

if you personally don't like the kid or his style of play or his face, that's fine. i can respect it.

just don't scapegoat him for the teams mistakes and tell me it's a hockey reason.
 
Vitto79 said:
Was on waivers last year lol
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Well then it will be on brand to sign him for $3.9M then.
We're pros at given away or passing on great assets and then overpaying for them later. You watch us give away our 2025 1st (strong draft I here) + Othmann to get Buchnevich back this year.
 
noncents said:
youre saying it right here - you blame kakko for the buch trade. who you really should be blaming is the Rangers.

deadline RW deals again have nothing to do with Kakko the player and everything to do with the cap hits of our top paid players.

if you personally don't like the kid or his style of play or his face, that's fine. i can respect it.

just don't scapegoat him for the teams mistakes and tell me it's a hockey reason.
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I dont blame him for the trade (I accept the Buch trade for what it was), and I dont blame him solely for it not working out. But the fact is... it didnt work out with him in the top 6, and we had to make trades to remedy it multiple times.

And im not making him the scapegoat, he's just one of a few tradeable players and I think he's the most likely to leave. he can stay if the make major improvements in some other way.
 
The answer also can't simply be "improvement" or "pretty good" for that top line. It needs to be elite. Even if you do find a magical wing that get's Mika to 50% xGF 5v5 in the Playoffs, it's still probably not good enough once you start facing the elite centers in the last two rounds.

The Rangers need exceptional to win the Cup. Simply hoping for a little bit better and praying a team like 2024 Florida, 2022 Colorado, 2014 LA Kings does not exist is why we have 1 cup in 84 years. There will always be that team. The question is whether the Rangers can be better than that team. They won't be with folks like Trouba or Mika in their roles.
 
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McRanger92 said:
No because they havent played with a top 6 RW since. Mika also had 91 points last year. How soon we forget
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The player Mika was 4-5 years ago is different than the player he is now. He's a PP specialist. He's good at it. But he's awful at ES. Would a world class RW improve the line? Absolutely. But we dont have the cap space for it. We wont have the cap space to get a top RW after we upgrade the D. So that means its up to Kreider/Mika to elevate their line at ES. Which they dont.

Thats why I say I dont want to hear about their success with players from 5 years ago. It's just not relevant in any capacity.
 
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noncents said:
okay if we're talking literally then please clarify - you were pleased with Kakkos *effort* last year, or his *production*? Do you acknowledge that ES point production is sometimes dependent on variance like on ice shooting %?

Secondly - you've said that the issue is last year as opposed to 22-23. in your mind, if he's capable of scoring 37 points at ES with 3rd line minutes, what was the reason for his worse production last year relative to the year before? You use the word effort and it seems to imply that you think the player chose not to try hard enough to score, to succeed.

i don't want to speak for you though so i present the question:

knowing as we do that Kakko can put up ~40 points at even strength with 3rd line minutes and deployment, what was the reason he failed to do so this past year?
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I'm not in the building so I can not tell you why KK declined this season. Some years are better than others for most players and right now the 37/40 point season in 2022-23 was the peak. Will he set that as his norm? Will his norm be better? Worse? I honestly do not know. If I had the answers I would demand a raise in my pay as hockey commentator. I do think KK gave his best effort in 2022-23. I think he came in ready to prove something after being benched in the last playoff game. Or maybe he was coming in looking to play for a contract. I did not think he gave as good an overall effort this season. Some games his effort was there. Others he was invisible. I do not think it is all about effort though. I think their are skating, puck carrying, vision and mentality issues that need to be improved. I honestly do not know what to make of KK. During the season I was not impressed with his passing but towards the end of the season and playoffs he made a few really good passes. Its that kind of sporadic flashes that leave me very confused when it comes to KK. I hope he puts it all together for us next season but if he just continues exactly what he has done the last 5 seasons then I think he will be moved.
 
Atax said:
The player Mika was 4-5 years ago is different than the player he is now. He's a PP specialist. He's good at it. But he's awful at ES. Would a world class RW improve the line? Absolutely. But we dont have the cap space for it. We wont have the cap space to get a top RW after we upgrade the D. So that means its up to Kreider/Mika to elevate their line at ES. Which they dont.

Thats why I say I dont want to hear about their success with players from 5 years ago. It's just not relevant in any capacity.
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Let's give the offseason more than a day before we talk in absolutes like this. And I agree with you that shit from 5 years ago is no longer relevant, but it doesnt stop people from bringing up the Buchnevich trade every other day.
 
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CLW said:
Yeah we always hear that Drury is "aggressive" from the media. Then he trades Buch for Blais e.g. (lol)
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This isn’t really true lol.

The talk has always been about how he’s been hamstrung by the cap and can’t do
Anything. This is the first year where he has a bit of breathing room and a chance to open up even more space to make adds. Whether or not that is a good thing is a different question entirely.
 
Have there been any discussion here about WHY this team is bad 5v5? I’ve been harping on having to fix the defense. Any chance that getting some competent puck movers back there drastically improves our overall 5v5 play? I refuse to believe that Zibanejad and Kreider are just somehow worse players than Evan Rodrigues at 5v5.

These guys are elite on the PP because you’re not relying on the defense to advance the puck on the PP. Get some guys that can retrieve and move the puck on the blueline and watch the team’s 5v5 metrics turn around.
 
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Synergy27 said:
Have there been any discussion here about WHY this team is bad 5v5? I’ve been harping on having to fix the defense. Any chance that getting some competent puck movers back there drastically improves our overall 5v5 play? I refuse to believe that Zibanejad and Kreider are just somehow worse players than Evan Rodrigues at 5v5.

These guys are elite on the PP because you’re not relying on the defense to advance the puck on the PP. Get some guys that can retrieve and move the puck on the blueline and watch the team’s 5v5 metrics turn around.
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Both players have no motor. They slow the play down as much as they can. Can’t blame all that on the defense
 
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