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

[GENESISPuck94]

How is it a crutch? He is a part of the team. That would be like saying a team should yet rid or a top center or an elite defenseman because it a crutch, which also makes no sense.

It makes perfect sense when a goaltender has a 10+ million cap hit, it's a crutch. How many times the last 19 years (back to Henrik's rookie season) has the team relied nearly 100% of success on the goaltender and it hasn't worked. Rangers got to the ECF on Shesterkin's back in 2022 and got there again on his back in 2024. If the skaters were better the organization wouldn't constantly be gambling on a goaltender to make every save and keep opposing teams down to 2-3 goals to win games because the offense is incapable of surmounting that deficit and the defensemen are incapable of helping the goaltender surrender less than that.

The Rangers success (if it can be called that) has relied solely on the goaltender since 2005.

Perhaps building a team with better skaters, like every other Cup championship team over that period of time, is the better route.

Or do you belive the Rangers have enough upfront and on the blueline to spend 10+ more likely 11 or 12 on a goaltender. Did we not learn from the entirety of Lundqvist's career?

 

[Synergy27]

What does winning the Vezina that season have anything to do with it? How many teams won with a top goalie would be a better stat. Brodeurs, Roys, Haseks, Fluery etc

How many of those guys won before the cap was implemented? This really isn’t that difficult. The cap makes it next to impossible to piece together a cup winning team around a goalie that makes 14%. It can be done but it’s threading the needle.

The difference between a goalie making 14% and one making 8% isn’t huge, and the 8% guy can easily be better than the 14% guy for a series, or even a whole season. That pretty much never happens with skaters.

This ain’t about how good Igor is.

 

[RangersFan1994]

I'd offer Kakko and 30th for signed Rutger McGroarty. RW depth is a need and be can play center too. Goes hard to the net. Get this done on draft day Drury

 

[B17 Apricots]

I'm not crazy about Shesty making 10 million either but I wouldn't be too concerned. The cap is jumping 4 million this summer, they're projecting possibly another jump of 4 million next summer. Tuba and Panarin are coming off the books in 2 seasons, that's almost 20 million right there. Igor had some cold stretches here and there but ultimately he's a franchise level goalie, one of the best on the planet. He has Hank's ability to steal games and keep them in games they have no business being in. Price and Bobrovsky have had a cap hit of 10 million while the salary cap has been low. If Igor comes in at 10 it's really not an issue when the cap is going to be 90 million or more.

We've been lucky to have goalies of this quality. I agree that you don't want to pay out the ass for a goalie, but ~10 is plenty fair for what the cap is going to. You don't wanna be one of those teams playing goalie carousel and wind up paying a chunk to an average goalie in the hopes they can stabilize the position. Theres a ton of teams in that situation.

I think people need to remember the cap is going up and contextualize what these contracts will look like when the salary cap is +90 million

 

[Savant]

I'd offer Kakko and 30th for signed Rutger McGroarty. RW depth is a need and be can play center too. Goes hard to the net. Get this done on draft day Drury

Other teams are going to have/be able to give better offers

 

[GENESISPuck94]

How many of those guys won before the cap was implemented? This really isn’t that difficult. The cap makes it next to impossible to piece together a cup winning team around a goalie that makes 14%. It can be done but it’s threading the needle.

The difference between a goalie making 14% and one making 8% isn’t huge, and the 8% guy can easily be better that the 14% guy for a series, or even a whole season. That pretty much never happens with skaters.

This ain’t about how good Igor is.

The only players that should be taking up that much of the cap are elite forwards that score 100 points per season or close to it. And if it's not a forward, a defenseman that logs 24+ minutes per game and puts up 60-65+ points per season at minimum.

You can't dedicate that much cap on one player that prevents goals against when you don't have enough players that create enough goals for.

We don't even have enough legit top 6 forwards and we probably don't have enough legit top 4 defensemen currently and we are debating allocating maybe 11+ million cap hit on a goaltender.

it's going to be Henrik's era all over again. Great goalie with a not good enough team in front of him.

Let's try the great team with average goaltender for a change.

I love Igor. But the hard decision is, maybe it's time to try the other way for a change.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Other teams are going to have/be able to give better offers

Miller and Kakko for McGroarty, Colby Barlow and Samberg

 

[Savant]

Miller and Kakko for McGroarty, Colby Barlow and Samberg

dumb from Rangers.

If Jets trade Rutger, it will probably look like the Gauthier/Drysdale trade

 

[bhamill]

Of course he should improve everything, but he hasn't improved anything...which is exactly my point. He looks worse than he did 2 seasons ago...& the injury had nothing to do with it.

Coming out of preseason last year, expectations around here, including mine, were beginning to pick up steam because he looked like a star in the preseason games. Absolutely none of it stuck once the games began to count. He was given a top line role that he couldn't hold on to, for multiple reasons. Not all of the blame was his, because nobody can fix the BFFs, but KKs play was just as bad as theirs.

I don't want to keep going back & forth, it's clear we simply see things differently & that's fine. As I said earlier, I'll be the first to eat crow if he becomes a legit top 6 RW. I don't see it happening, but as I've tried to make clear, I'm not in the camp to move him simply for the sake of moving on. A hockey trade where he's part of a package for a top 6 winger or a top pair d man or a deal for this kid McGroaty are the types of trades we should be exploring. I'm just not sure it's realistic given his current value around the league.

Dude. His numbers improved EVERY year over the pervious (just like Laf’s did) season til this season with the serious knee injury.
I’m not bagging on you, youre a good reasonable dude, and I’m not going to “I told you so” if I end up right. It’s really just stepping back from my disappointment from his draft position, and rationally looking at the normal progression young players take. If he was a 2nd rounder we wouldn’t be near as disappointed right now. At this point, D+5, his draft position is mostly irrelevant.

I haven’t followed McGroarty since that draft so I’m not sure if Kakko for him is a good deal or not. I’m not opposed to trading him, I’m opposed to selling low on him. That’s all. He had a 40 EV point season last year as a 21-22 year old. There’s value there.
I’ll drop it too, bud. I think we both know where each other are coming from.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Is this Ruger McGillicuddy even any good?

 

[RangersFan1994]

Is this Ruger McGillicuddy even any good?

Yes

 

[Guyute]

I'd offer Kakko and 30th for signed Rutger McGroarty. RW depth is a need and be can play center too. Goes hard to the net. Get this done on draft day Drury

“Working with Barb Underhill on his skating”

Make the trade Chris.

All kidding aside, Kakko for McGroarty makes way too much sense. The Jets will have Lambert and Heinola playing full-time next year. Heinola won a spot on the Jets during training camp until he broke his ankle in the last pre-season game and needed surgery. Kakko is from a small town in Finland. Many of us have said Kakko’s biggest issue is confidence. He will feel much more comfortable with some of his former teammates in a smaller town like Winningpeg.

 

[RangersFan1994]

“Working with Barb Underhill on his skating”

Make the trade Chris.

All kidding aside, Kakko for McGroarty makes way too much sense. The Jets will have Lambert and Heinola playing full-time next year. Heinola won a spot on the Jets during training camp until he broke his ankle in the last pre-season game and needed surgery. Kakko is from a small town in Finland. Many of us have said Kakko’s biggest issue is confidence. He will feel much more comfortable with some of his former teammates in a smaller town like Winningpeg.

Drury better make a move like this. Rangers have had success with college players that signed here but drafted by another team. Make this trade.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

It makes perfect sense when a goaltender has a 10+ million cap hit, it's a crutch. How many times the last 19 years (back to Henrik's rookie season) has the team relied nearly 100% of success on the goaltender and it hasn't worked. Rangers got to the ECF on Shesterkin's back in 2022 and got there again on his back in 2024. If the skaters were better the organization wouldn't constantly be gambling on a goaltender to make every save and keep opposing teams down to 2-3 goals to win games because the offense is incapable of surmounting that deficit and the defensemen are incapable of helping the goaltender surrender less than that.

The Rangers success (if it can be called that) has relied solely on the goaltender since 2005.

Perhaps building a team with better skaters, like every other Cup championship team over that period of time, is the better route.

Or do you belive the Rangers have enough upfront and on the blueline to spend 10+ more likely 11 or 12 on a goaltender. Did we not learn from the entirety of Lundqvist's career?

I'm still not understanding, why does signing one of the best goalies in the league, during his prime, mean we are relying on him 100%?

Are there not other things the team can do? To improve the team in front of him? Do we just automatically need to put out lackluster teams in front of him because we paid him 10M?

We still have 78M to work with. Get rid of Panarin if we are going so crazy over a large cap hit. Get two 2nd line players that will put up 55 points to replace his 11M cap hit, maybe one of those 2 players will actually show up during the playoffs when i counts..

Somehow the Panthers were able to ice a complete team with a goalie making 10M, but the Rangers can't?

Moot point anyway, Drury isn't an idiot and isn't getting rid of Igor. He will sign, and he will sign for a lot. Like it or not.

 

[RangersFan1994]

“Working with Barb Underhill on his skating”

Make the trade Chris.

All kidding aside, Kakko for McGroarty makes way too much sense. The Jets will have Lambert and Heinola playing full-time next year. Heinola won a spot on the Jets during training camp until he broke his ankle in the last pre-season game and needed surgery. Kakko is from a small town in Finland. Many of us have said Kakko’s biggest issue is confidence. He will feel much more comfortable with some of his former teammates in a smaller town like Winningpeg.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Other teams are going to have/be able to give better offers

Eh I think value wise it’s not far off.
Who else is going to step up with something better? They’re going to want more now pieces than futures.

I’d even go as far as throwing Lindgren into the mix and seeing what else needs to be added for Ehlers.

 

[TominNC]

Can’t wait until we get to the ECF with a non-Igor goalie, then lose because he’s not the random “get hot” guy that year. Oh the hand wringing

 

[nsvoyageurs]

Bro what........

Bobrovsky makes 11, Carey price got 10.5 like a decade ago...

8 for Shesty would be a steal.

If Shesterkin signs for 8m AAV, I'd get that contract notarized/filed into the league office/whatever, etc, before Shesterkin/his agent sobered up.

 

[Savant]

Eh I think value wise it’s not far off.
Who else is going to step up with something better? They’re going to want more now pieces than futures.

I’d even go as far as throwing Lindgren into the mix and seeing what else needs to be added for Ehlers.

Yeah I just don’t think they are going to want to do a complicated multi-piece deal. I feel like they probably try to move him for an ELC Dman or something. I don’t think they move him to roll the dice on Kakko

 

[bbny]

Making an educated decision on Igor really requires gauging what can be had in a trade. I'd rather give him $11 million before trading him for peanuts or letting him walk UFA. Have to make that decision this summer though in my opinion.

 

[nsvoyageurs]

But it's not just this year. If the Oilers win, 4 of the last 5 Cup winning goalies are...

Jordan Binnington
Darcy Kuemper
Aidan Hill
Stuart Skinner

We all saw first hand how Hank's contract was a bit of an anchor. Hopefully they can find a middle ground with Igor that doesn't hamstring the team.

If Shesterkin wants 12M AAV, I'm trading him. Say to him; "Good luck with Utah HC."

 

[AirGut]

anyone remember how much 5v5 time Kane got with Kreider and Zibanejad after we picked him up? All I remember is Gallant gluing Kane on Panarin's line and trying to force chemistry that didn't exist.

#88 might be the closest thing to Messier today and this team is still lacking that type of leader.

 

[Hire Sather]

you destroyed NOTHING
you were intellectually pummeled into submission
based on your continued inability to directly counter valid points made

you simply don't know when to give up and stay down
This is not "The Last Word" and you are not Lawrence O'Donnell

quit while you are way behind
unless you actually have something on point to contribute, which so far, obviously, is beyond you

Keep telling yourself that.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Rangers face intriguing Braden Schneider contract decision after role grew

It’s fitting that Braden Schneider’s entry-level contract is set to expire this offseason.

nypost.com

 

[17futurecap]

Would take a flyer on Brannstrom if they are just trying to dump him, still young, can move the puck, good underlying numbers the past two years.