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

[Guyute]

Sabres are interested in Trouba, you say?

Maybe Sabres fans should get a billboard in Times Square...

They are?

 

[TGWL]

Would anyone want Kevin Labanc on a PTO or league minimum signing? He can still skate or add much needed speed?

I have less than 1% interest in that signing.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I’m a middle aged man that’s been posting on this board for twenty years and who constantly shits on my younger teammates who are exactly that new generation you speak of. I dislike Matt Rempe the hockey player because he sucks at hockey and is an unnecessary sideshow on an otherwise very seriously contending team.

We lost this year because our defense sucked but it would have been nice to have been trotting Edstrom out there instead of Rempe. Edstrom got such a raw deal this year.

Didn't Edstrom have an injury that kept him in Hartford?

 

[nyr2k2]

Cap friendly is now closed. RIP. Rotten Caps

It's unfortunate. I don't like the alternatives that exist. PuckPedia is fine I guess but it would be a big adjustment.

I know we went through this with CapGeek before, but it still sucks.

 

[bernmeister]

Would Montreal trade Matheson? Great skating dmen with a great shot. Always played well under Sullivan’s system in PIT, and he has 2 years left at $4.875M. His numbers skyrocketed last year because he got PP time, but he’s normally been good for 30 points a year.

Depending what Lindgren wants, it could be worth it as a short-term upgrade. I think Key could learn a bit to model his game after him too

need to move on from Lindy regardless, we should have sold earlier for higher
sell now

Math I get but don't see Habs selling cheap

Am optimistic 'bout LD would gamble, accept growing pains on Scanlin, expect Fortesc next yr.

RD is crazy thin
We may have to play Trouba at 4RW instead of 3RD, like it or not, to help w/skating

from MON am interested in the price on Barron -- a late 1st now no longer elc, shows some potential but has neither wowed nor disgraced.

I would also keep an eye on Helleson, a big 2nd rounder ANA has had for coupla yrs. Won't give away cheap, but I could see an F for D deal w/them that would = win win.

 

[bhamill]

"Rempe needs to be a healthy scratch. We gotta get Connor Carrick in there!" - said no one ever

I think the 4th line is going to be Rempe Carrick and Edstrom at times. Which would be a horror show for opposing Dmen retrieving the puck in their end.
NYR are going to have some options.

He’s not going to play that many games lol

There’s a very real chance he’s not even making the team out of camp

Hahahaha. Who knows? He's at that age where large improvements can start happening just from him growing into his body and becoming less awkward. On top of that, if he works on his game that way he seems to be committed to, you never know.
The kid WILL be an NHL regular, if not this year then next, if not here, then somewhere else. The NYR seem to have plans for him, so I will not be surprised if he DOES make the team out of camp or if he ends up playing close to 70 games.

 

[bernmeister]

Thats exactly the type of offense we need from the fourth line. We dont get that type of offense from any of the other lines. Dump it in, hit a defenseman, go to the net. I think rempe is capable of that.

It is a long journey to go from this origin pt to Tim Kerr/LeClaire -- am I remembering his name correctly? -- for Eds/Rempe and also prob Chmelar -[sp?].
Howev and that said, no reason we can't utilize where they are at now and try to have them grow into their best possible versions.

 

[EdJovanovski]

If Rempe wants to have any future in the league he needs to tell the coaches he wants work on the penalty kill and he needs to learn to become good at it. Otherwise you have a guy who is going to be among the worst offensive players in the league who is going to be a large negative in penalty differential which is not exactly what you want from your role players. Can he learn to PK and play well defensively? Maybe. I have zero hope for his offense though. This is a guy who has not scored much in any league he has every played in going back to when he was 15 years old. Way worse than even Ryan Reaves. Basically John Scott level, who did last a long time, but that was a different era.

Lol what?

Career WHL stats:
Rempe age 17-19
0.53 PPG

Reaves age 18-20
0.39 PPG

Then John Scott was playing.... Junior B hockey at 17 where he scored 0 goals in 40 games. Then from ages 19-24 he put up 0.14 PPG n the NCAA.

 

[bernmeister]

Sabres are interested in Trouba, you say?

Maybe Sabres fans should get a billboard in Times Square...

I would be happy to move on w/JT going north... howev, in the short term that appears problematic.
Jettisoning JT right away looks like NJ or LI.
Would prefer to add Panarin ++ and get Dobson

As for BUF,
mulling something around

Shesty 50% retained final yr + Zib + Lindy + Jones
for
Dahlin + Power + small to moderate expiring cap dump

have to give perm to extend Igor now, cap hit effective next season, no prob

that helps pretty much resolve our D issues

we gamble Garand can arrive sufficiently quickly, w/Quick + Domingue supporting
yeah pivot depth reduced, but Zib value repurposed, first step to move forward

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Didn't Edstrom have an injury that kept him in Hartford?

Not sure if this will answer your question but when Edstrom was sent down and Brodzinski and Rempe were kept on the roster, Adam got injured with the Wolf Pack in the first few games.
Edstrom did recover and seemed to be playing injury free when he was recalled with the Black Aces for the playoffs.

 

[kovazub94]

In terms of the PK, Kakko and Edstrom should be full time PKer's this season. Problem solved there.

....

Zibanejad - Kreider, Trocheck - Smith / Kakko (?), Carrick - Vesey. That's 7. I don't see Edstrom getting PK time next season

 

[NYR Viper]

Zibanejad - Kreider, Trocheck - Smith / Kakko (?), Carrick - Vesey. That's 7. I don't see Edstrom getting PK time next season

Smith only had 57 minutes of PK time last year. It would seem he played less there than in years previous. I'd be more inclined to see:

Kreider-Zibenajad
Trochek-Kakko
Carrick-Edstrom
Vesey/Smith

 

[bhamill]

Zibanejad - Kreider, Trocheck - Smith / Kakko (?), Carrick - Vesey. That's 7. I don't see Edstrom getting PK time next season

With Zib and Kreids not getting any younger, maybe spread around the PK a little more.

 

[RGY]

Edstrom should have been inserted into the lineup for the Panthers series. Big body that plays well below the goal line. He would’ve been a pain for the FLA defense. Didn’t agree with Brodshitsky over him at all.

 

[TGWL]

I would be happy to move on w/JT going north... howev, in the short term that appears problematic.
Jettisoning JT right away looks like NJ or LI.
Would prefer to add Panarin ++ and get Dobson

As for BUF,
mulling something around

Shesty 50% retained final yr + Zib + Lindy + Jones
for
Dahlin + Power + small to moderate expiring cap dump

have to give perm to extend Igor now, cap hit effective next season, no prob

that helps pretty much resolve our D issues

we gamble Garand can arrive sufficiently quickly, w/Quick + Domingue supporting
yeah pivot depth reduced, but Zib value repurposed, first step to move forward

Whatever you took this morning, you need to sleep it off. You want to trade Zibanejad and Lindgren, why? I know why and It's the same reason you're not going to get that return from Buffalo, even with adding Shesterkin. There's not a chance Buffalo does that.

 

[kovazub94]

Smith only had 57 minutes of PK time last year. It would seem he played less there than in years previous. I'd be more inclined to see:

Kreider-Zibenajad
Trochek-Kakko
Carrick-Edstrom
Vesey/Smith

I just don't see Vesey and Smith being behind Kakko and Edstrom in the PecKing order.

 

[bernmeister]

Whatever you took this morning, you need to sleep it off. You want to trade Zibanejad and Lindgren, why? I know why and It's the same reason you're not going to get that return from Buffalo, even with adding Shesterkin. There's not a chance Buffalo does that.

We need to move on from Lindy.
I appreciate what he'd done but there is already way too much wear and tear
we should have sold high on him already
let it go

As for Zib, we need to repurpose his value.
Unfortunately, ditto Shesty

If we run more of the same, we will get more of the same
We are better off gambling on Garand [with Allaire's help] and hoping to stretch our pivot depth short term, but at least we add legit solutions to our D picture.

As to Buf would never,
never say never.

We need 1 team to take Zib. He is not cap dump bad, but we are better off selling high/repurposing him now than in 2-3 yrs.
We package Shesty w/Zib
whether it's TOR [for Nylander +] or BUF
lets move on.

Sabes wanna win now
This is fastest way to do so.
They downgrade D but add a solid C and an elite G
So I wouldn't jump to your conclusion

 

[kovazub94]

With Zib and Kreids not getting any younger, maybe spread around the PK a little more.

I honestly don't know what it means: i.e. PK rotation is essentially 3 pair units and at this stage I cann't see Zibanejad and Kreider to be outside of 6 total forwards given them being the most dangerous pair offensively not only on the Rangers but among those in the whole NHL. Trocheck, Carrick and Vesey will be part of this group 99.9% confidence level. I thought Smith was part of the PK rotation for Pens last season at least more PK minutes outside of the top-5 I above, so I gave the 6th slot to him "by default". Kakko would be next and I'm not even sure how many games Edstrom will get in the first place. I'd actually put more odds on Lafreniere getting some PK time than Edstrom.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Super interested in seeing:

78-93-13

Laffy would carry this line. Maybe this gets 93 out of his slump finally. If Othmann can grind and bang some pucks in, he would fit perfectly here. Sets up the rest of the lineup like this:

10-16-24(Maybe 10-16 are the unlock that Kappo needs)
20-72-R.Smith(very solid 3rd line, pray 72 stays healthy)
50-Carrick-Edstrom/Rempe/Berard

 

[bhamill]

I honestly don't know what it means: i.e. PK rotation is essentially 3 pair units and at this stage I cann't see Zibanejad and Kreider to be outside of 6 total forwards given them being the most dangerous pair offensively not only on the Rangers but among those in the whole NHL. Trocheck, Carrick and Vesey will be part of this group 99.9% confidence level. I thought Smith was part of the PK rotation for Pens last season at least more PK minutes outside of the top-5 I above, so I gave the 6th slot to him "by default". Kakko would be next and I'm not even sure how many games Edstrom will get in the first place. I'd actually put more odds on Lafreniere getting some PK time than Edstrom.

My point was merely that those two are getting older, maybe cutting some of their ice time per game would be beneficial in a long season and hopefully post season. And the PK may be the place to do it. I would also say that we should put together TWO powerplay units, 1A and 1B. The last two postseasons have shown having your ONE functioning powerplay go cold can be VERY costly. their are some good options to mix up BOTH the PK and PP and it would be smart to go into the post season with that potential realized...

 

[TGWL]

We need to move on from Lindy.
I appreciate what he'd done but there is already way too much wear and tear
we should have sold high on him already
let it go

As for Zib, we need to repurpose his value.
Unfortunately, ditto Shesty

If we run more of the same, we will get more of the same
We are better off gambling on Garand [with Allaire's help] and hoping to stretch our pivot depth short term, but at least we add legit solutions to our D picture.

As to Buf would never,
never say never.

We need 1 team to take Zib. He is not cap dump bad, but we are better off selling high/repurposing him now than in 2-3 yrs.
We package Shesty w/Zib
whether it's TOR [for Nylander +] or BUF
lets move on.

Sabes wanna win now
This is fastest way to do so.
They downgrade D but add a solid C and an elite G
So I wouldn't jump to your conclusion

I think you misunderstood my point. I didn't say keep him. There's a reason you want to move on from him. The same reason you want to move on from Lindy is the same reason you're not getting a kings ransom here with that package.

 

[eco's bones]

If Rempe wants to have any future in the league he needs to tell the coaches he wants work on the penalty kill and he needs to learn to become good at it. Otherwise you have a guy who is going to be among the worst offensive players in the league who is going to be a large negative in penalty differential which is not exactly what you want from your role players. Can he learn to PK and play well defensively? Maybe. I have zero hope for his offense though. This is a guy who has not scored much in any league he has every played in going back to when he was 15 years old. Way worse than even Ryan Reaves. Basically John Scott level, who did last a long time, but that was a different era.

John Scott had 17 points in 200 career AHL games starting when he was 24. Rempe has 24 points in 96 AHL games starting at 20 years old. Scott converted from D to F because he was more or less a pylon and a very slow player. He was very slow in the few games he played here. Rempe is not slow---he's somewhat awkward with balance issues but he moves really well and with some lateral mobility. It's not unusual for a player as tall as Rempe to have these issues and often as the player gets a little older these things smooth out a bit. Both the Rangers and Rempe seem committed to that. Scott turned pro after 4 years college and basically just to fight and his skating was what it was....never really got better. Kurtis MacDermid is a better today comparable.

Just going on AHL production for 23-24. Rempe with 8 goals and 12 points in 43 games as a 21 year old. Edstrom with 11 goals 16 points in 40 games as a 23 year old. Edstrom's a more balanced and smoother skater but their numbers are pretty close. I expect Rempe to make the Rangers out of training camp. I think Edstrom has a very good chance and that if he does they'll almost certainly be on the 4th line. They probably won't score a lot of goals but that's more the job of the top two lines and hopefully the 3rd can add and the 4th chip in here and there.

 

[RangerBoy]

Cuyle was the best 5 on 5 player for the Rangers this past season. He did not get any PP or PK time. All of his goals were even strength I believe. Hopefully he gets some PK and PP time in preseason and a legit chance in the regular season. He would be another good option to have to screen the goalie.

Cuylle should play on the top line. The Rangers need more size and strength in the top 6. Those players are hard to find in trades.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Cuylle should play on the top line. The Rangers need more size and strength in the top 6. Those players are hard to find in trades.

He would be a horrible fit with the wonder twins.

I can get behind playing him with Zibanejad, but they would need a puck carrier/facilitator on the other wing.

Line combos are less about just stacking talent or trying to shove certain elements in because it's what a team can use in a certain area (when this works, it's because one or more guys on the line can do a bit of everything) and more about finding the right fits. Throwing a guy just because they bring "toughness" or "size" is a dumb reason to do it. I think Cuylle has some elements that can certainly enhance a top 6 line, but I'm not sure that we have the right combo of guys on the roster right now to do it and have it really make sense, especially if they're not going to break up Zibanejad and Kreider.

I know everyone has a hard on over Florida's Tkachuk-Bennett combo but that combo works because they can both play the walls and Bennett is excellent at carrying the puck up ice. The trio of Tkachuk-Bennett-Rodrigues has 2 guys on it that excel and zone entries (Bennett, Rodrigues) and 2 guys on it that are great along the walls/in the paint (Bennett, Tkachuk.) When you can attack an opponent in multiple ways and be good at both, of course its a combo thats going to work.

Adding Cuylle to Zibanejad and Kreider doesn't make them any better at getting the puck up ice and while you add a more physical component to the line, I don't think it makes them any better off the walls (Zibanejad can't play that game, Kreider, when ever he's with Zibanejad, just won't play that game.)

 

[RangerBoy]

If you didn't listen to Vince Mercogliano's podcast today, save the 57 minutes and do something else.

This team is so screwed.

He would be a horrible fit with the wonder twins.

I can get behind playing him with Zibanejad, but they would need a puck carrier/facilitator on the other wing.

Line combos are less about just stacking talent or trying to shove certain elements in because it's what a team can use in a certain area (when this works, it's because one or more guys on the line can do a bit of everything) and more about finding the right fits. Throwing a guy just because they bring "toughness" or "size" is a dumb reason to do it. I think Cuylle has some elements that can certainly enhance a top 6 line, but I'm not sure that we have the right combo of guys on the roster right now to do it and have it really make sense, especially if they're not going to break up Zibanejad and Kreider.

I know everyone has a hard on over Florida's Tkachuk-Bennett combo but that combo works because they can both play the walls and Bennett is excellent at carrying the puck up ice. The trio of Tkachuk-Bennett-Rodrigues has 2 guys on it that excel and zone entries (Bennett, Rodrigues) and 2 guys on it that are great along the walls/in the paint (Bennett, Tkachuk.) When you can attack an opponent in multiple ways and be good at both, of course its a combo thats going to work.

Adding Cuylle to Zibanejad and Kreider doesn't make them any better at getting the puck up ice and while you add a more physical component to the line, I don't think it makes them any better off the walls (Zibanejad can't play that game, Kreider, when ever he's with Zibanejad, just won't play that game.)

Cuylle is a LW. Break up the twins.