Speculation: Roster Building thread: Part XIX (Thanks, Sam)

[maddskkilz]

Drury and Rangers brass has not proven their ability to evaluate talent. Their is a never ending fascination with drafting and collecting big, tough defenseman that are solid in their own zone. And where does that get us - nowhere. Defenseman need to be able to move the puck and contribute offensively ideally through their skating and passing. Not a single defenseman besides Fox would grade out as above average in their offensive ability.

Thats the biggest concern. The more I think on it the more I think Rangers need to pursue Marchand as someone who sets the tone in the locker room along with at least one more top 6 (Ehlers, Boeser) and a top 4 defenseman (Schmidt, Provorov, Ekblad).

Rangers aren’t dead in the water but they’ve had the same core for 4+ years and haven’t been able to get over the hump.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Drury and Rangers brass has not proven their ability to evaluate talent. Their is a never ending fascination with drafting and collecting big, tough defenseman that are solid in their own zone. And where does that get us - nowhere. Defenseman need to be able to move the puck and contribute offensively ideally through their skating and passing. Not a single defenseman besides Fox would grade out as above average in their offensive ability.

Thats the biggest concern. The more I think on it the more I think Rangers need to pursue Marchand as someone who sets the tone in the locker room along with at least one more top 6 (Ehlers, Boeser) and a top 4 defenseman (Schmidt, Provorov, Ekblad).

Rangers aren’t dead in the water but they’ve had the same core for 4+ years and haven’t been able to get over the hump.

Don't think you'd be able to fit all of that under the cap for next season unless you are able to move Zib and Kreider without taking any cap back, which is doubtful. Or move Kreider and Panarin under the same no cap back

 

[McRanger92]

Trocheck doesn't make much sense there for Minnesota.

I had read they were interested in him back in December.

 

[majordomo]

There is no logical reason why Chris Drury should be retained. None. If you think he should be kept, you're ignoring the fundamental flaws of this organization. Drury has absolutely destroyed this team and its culture.

He was handpicked by Sather. And The Dolt fired Gorts and JD in order for him to ascend to the top. After Sather, he's the next "yes man" in line that won't give The Dolt any lip.

 

[Slaydagnar]

In all fairness, the pass actually got tipped and went behind Laf. If not Laf had a gimme. Gabe is likely going to be a point machine once he and his linemates get familiar. He’s excellent at using/feeding his linemates. Having top NHL talent to work with he’s going to take off in the next couple of seasons.

We need a young center. I’m seeing Laf and Perrault as first line talents. JT will be fine for a few years but CENTER , particularly 1C is a need for the future.

To my mind Cuylle could also end up being a first line talent. He’s a power forward type who is barely 23. He’s got a couple more years till he’s a finished product. And he will work himself into improvement. He’s a 2nd liner at worst.
Othmann is also the exact type of player we need, and I think he could easily top out as a second line talent, if not, a third liner with some scoring. And he just turned 22 this year he’s got lots of runway as a physical winger.
We have about 12 candidates for bottom 6 slots. Maybe a couple will surprise and be top 6. But filling those roles with “cheap” homegrown contracts will give us a lot of room to maneuver.
Emery, Dorrington and Fortescue are going to give us a D that’s not easy to play against… but it’s going to be a few years. And Fox, Miller and Schneider are all reasonably young as well.
We are set at goalie position unless something happens to Shesty.

Brings us back to Center. Troch and Zibs are unfortunately starting to slide. IMO, f*** BPA, draft centers, unless a non center is head and shoulders above or a particularly coveted non center is available.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Laf is dogshit

 

[maddskkilz]

Don't think you'd be able to fit all of that under the cap for next season unless you are able to move Zib and Kreider without taking any cap back, which is doubtful. Or move Kreider and Panarin under the same no cap back

I assume Kreider is on the way out and most likely at least 1-2 current vets.

I know it’s a lot of shakeup for a veteran team but I can’t foresee Drury running it back again. He must know they need more skill and leadership and it’s easier to pay for it than to develop it.

Only keepers are Miller, Fox, Shesterkin, Cuylle, Perrault, Berard, Edstrom, and probably Panarin. These players slot into their roles effectively and can make a difference.
Everyone else should be on the table for upgrades and to reconfigure the roster.

We are set in goal with Shesty and Quick this year and longer term I expect Garand will be given an opportunity as a backup.

On defense - maybe we go back to Fox - KAM but the bottom 4 need a ton of work.

Schneider might be a serviceable 5 but he hasn’t shown great defensive instincts or skating / transitioning ability. Sure he’ll have a nice rush once in awhile but nothing to get overly excited about. Borgen also should be 3rd pair. To be a competitor we need upgrades on both Schneider and Borgen to push them down to 3rd pair.

Unfortunately there aren’t any upcoming, promising D prospects. At minimum we need another top pair D and we can try to create pairs around NEW GUY - Fox - KAM - Schneider.

Up front we need to address our long term center depth. Miller, Trochek, Zibanejad are fine for now but they are all going to get pretty long in the tooth pretty quick so we either need to replace them or shift them to wing. Maybe Miller can be a serviceable 1C next year and Trochek is 2C, and Zibs is on the wing leaving us holes at 3 and 4C.

Winger options are plentiful but besides Panarin there’s no one else proven. Laf may or may not breakout. Cuylle feels like a middle 6 guy and Perreault is juuuuust getting started. Berard, Othhmann, Edstrom, and Rempe are more suited for bottom 6 and don’t portend to be impact players. So we have a hole in the top 6 on wing and on the bottom 6 down the middle.

Honestly it’s surprising how we have traded away a 1st, Chytil, Kakko, Lindgren, Trouba and don’t have much to show for it.

 

[GAGLine]

I had read they were interested in him back in December.

I don't think they are winning a cup with Eriksson Ek and Rossi as their top 6 centers, but I'm not sure how much Trocheck would move the needle. He's significantly better on faceoffs than anyone on their team, and has better size than Rossi, but he isn't a #1 center.

They added Nyquist at the deadline, but he hasn't produced much and is 35 years old. He probably won't be re-signed.

I wonder if they might be interested in Mika. Maybe he can find his game again playing with the likes of Kaprizov, Zucc and Boldy. If so, he would make a significant difference for them, but it would be a big gamble.

 

[IDvsEGO]

I assume Kreider is on the way out and most likely at least 1-2 current vets.

I know it’s a lot of shakeup for a veteran team but I can’t foresee Drury running it back again. He must know they need more skill and leadership and it’s easier to pay for it than to develop it.

Only keepers are Miller, Fox, Shesterkin, Cuylle, Perrault, Berard, Edstrom, and probably Panarin. These players slot into their roles effectively and can make a difference.
Everyone else should be on the table for upgrades and to reconfigure the roster.

We are set in goal with Shesty and Quick this year and longer term I expect Garand will be given an opportunity as a backup.

On defense - maybe we go back to Fox - KAM but the bottom 4 need a ton of work.

Schneider might be a serviceable 5 but he hasn’t shown great defensive instincts or skating / transitioning ability. Sure he’ll have a nice rush once in awhile but nothing to get overly excited about. Borgen also should be 3rd pair. To be a competitor we need upgrades on both Schneider and Borgen to push them down to 3rd pair.

Unfortunately there aren’t any upcoming, promising D prospects. At minimum we need another top pair D and we can try to create pairs around NEW GUY - Fox - KAM - Schneider.

Up front we need to address our long term center depth. Miller, Trochek, Zibanejad are fine for now but they are all going to get pretty long in the tooth pretty quick so we either need to replace them or shift them to wing. Maybe Miller can be a serviceable 1C next year and Trochek is 2C, and Zibs is on the wing leaving us holes at 3 and 4C.

Winger options are plentiful but besides Panarin there’s no one else proven. Laf may or may not breakout. Cuylle feels like a middle 6 guy and Perreault is juuuuust getting started. Berard, Othhmann, Edstrom, and Rempe are more suited for bottom 6 and don’t portend to be impact players. So we have a hole in the top 6 on wing and on the bottom 6 down the middle.

Honestly it’s surprising how we have traded away a 1st, Chytil, Kakko, Lindgren, Trouba and don’t have much to show for it.

I’m sorry
traded away trouba - bottom 6 lhd
No retention
Lindgren a 2nd and 4th
Chytil + 1st - jt miller top 6 forward who is locked up on a good deal (no Chytil health concerns)
Kakko - Borgen top 4 RHD

We didn’t retain on trouba, we didn’t add on trouba, we didn’t have to buy him out. And you’re complaining.

Jfc. Drury did a good job at trades so far this year.

 

[McRanger92]

I don't think they are winning a cup with Eriksson Ek and Rossi as their top 6 centers, but I'm not sure how much Trocheck would move the needle. He's significantly better on faceoffs than anyone on their team, and has better size than Rossi, but he isn't a #1 center.

They added Nyquist at the deadline, but he hasn't produced much and is 35 years old. He probably won't be re-signed.

I wonder if they might be interested in Mika. Maybe he can find his game again playing with the likes of Kaprizov, Zucc and Boldy. If so, he would make a significant difference for them, but it would be a big gamble.

Mika does make sense on paper but they are about to be out from under the Suter/Parise buyouts and I doubt they want to take on another huge contract, especially from a known headcase. K'Andre for Rossi makes a ton of sense though. KAM is a Minnesota native and they are light on the left side. Both pending RFAs. One to watch maybe.

 

[McRanger92]

I’m sorry
traded away trouba - bottom 6 lhd
No retention
Lindgren a 2nd and 4th
Chytil + 1st - jt miller top 6 forward who is locked up on a good deal (no Chytil health concerns)
Kakko - Borgen top 4 RHD

We didn’t retain on trouba, we didn’t add on trouba, we didn’t have to buy him out. And you’re complaining.

Jfc. Drury did a good job at trades so far this year.

Ive always been a Drury guy and hes not perfect by any stretch, but a lot of people lashing out and blaming him when this season is clearly on the players and Laviolette. Drury is a distant 3rd as far as the blame goes. As you said, at least he tried to fix it. This roster coming in was more than capable of breezing to a playoff spot, even if they werent the contender some thought. And clearly he had designs to make bigger changes last summer. He should have ripped the bandaid off with Trouba in July, thats my main issue with him. But we also dont really know for sure what was going on with the team behind closed doors.

 

[GAGLine]

Mika does make sense on paper but they are about to be out from under the Suter/Parise buyouts and I doubt they want to take on another huge contract, especially from a known headcase. K'Andre for Rossi makes a ton of sense though. KAM is a Minnesota native and they are light on the left side. Both pending RFAs. One to watch maybe.

I don't love KAM but trading him for an undersized center doesn't seem like our best option in terms of team building.

As you noted, Rossi is an RFA. He's going to get as much, if not more, than KAM, so no cap savings there. We already have JTM, Zib and Trocheck at center. Even if one of them plays the wing, that still relegates Rossi to the 3rd line. Maybe the plan is to move one of Zib or Trocheck in a separate deal and then use that cap space to get a replacement for KAM, but as has been discussed, there aren't a lot of options out there.

I don't think Drury, or anyone else if he gets fired, is going to be able to totally remake this team in one summer. I think we are better off re-signing KAM and trying to fix other parts first. KAM has 2 RFA years left. We will be able to trade him at any point between now and June 30th, 2027. Maybe we change the coaching staff, go back to a zone scheme, and KAM figures it out. Or maybe he remains inconsistent, and we trade him. We've got time yet to let that play out.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Has Lav been fired yet?

 

[bernmeister]

If the wild are gonna trade Rossi, I’d offer them Kandre or Trocheck

NO
tro is lateral and KAM is better asset

I assume Kreider is on the way out and most likely at least 1-2 current vets.

I know it’s a lot of shakeup for a veteran team but I can’t foresee Drury running it back again. He must know they need more skill and leadership and it’s easier to pay for it than to develop it.

Only keepers are Miller, Fox, Shesterkin, Cuylle, Perrault, Berard, Edstrom, and probably Panarin. These players slot into their roles effectively and can make a difference.
Everyone else should be on the table for upgrades and to reconfigure the roster.

We are set in goal with Shesty and Quick this year and longer term I expect Garand will be given an opportunity as a backup.

On defense - maybe we go back to Fox - KAM but the bottom 4 need a ton of work.

Schneider might be a serviceable 5 but he hasn’t shown great defensive instincts or skating / transitioning ability. Sure he’ll have a nice rush once in awhile but nothing to get overly excited about. Borgen also should be 3rd pair. To be a competitor we need upgrades on both Schneider and Borgen to push them down to 3rd pair.

Unfortunately there aren’t any upcoming, promising D prospects. At minimum we need another top pair D and we can try to create pairs around NEW GUY - Fox - KAM - Schneider.

Up front we need to address our long term center depth. Miller, Trochek, Zibanejad are fine for now but they are all going to get pretty long in the tooth pretty quick so we either need to replace them or shift them to wing. Maybe Miller can be a serviceable 1C next year and Trochek is 2C, and Zibs is on the wing leaving us holes at 3 and 4C.

Winger options are plentiful but besides Panarin there’s no one else proven. Laf may or may not breakout. Cuylle feels like a middle 6 guy and Perreault is juuuuust getting started. Berard, Othhmann, Edstrom, and Rempe are more suited for bottom 6 and don’t portend to be impact players. So we have a hole in the top 6 on wing and on the bottom 6 down the middle.

Honestly it’s surprising how we have traded away a 1st, Chytil, Kakko, Lindgren, Trouba and don’t have much to show for it.

disagree w/most of this
zib not a great pivot
and you are among many who dis contributions from solid contributors like Brodz + Rempe that are not glamor name guys but are delivering and deserve mo mins

Mika does make sense on paper but they are about to be out from under the Suter/Parise buyouts and I doubt they want to take on another huge contract, especially from a known headcase. K'Andre for Rossi makes a ton of sense though. KAM is a Minnesota native and they are light on the left side. Both pending RFAs. One to watch maybe.

better to sign mid 20s KAM to 8 yrs 5.5, get great cap value going forward, and just get correct partner for him to have chem w/
rossi = ok for what he is, but subsized and not enuf of a dynamo to warrant surrendering a key asset

 

[bernmeister]

I don't love KAM but trading him for an undersized center doesn't seem like our best option in terms of team building.

As you noted, Rossi is an RFA. He's going to get as much, if not more, than KAM, so no cap savings there. We already have JTM, Zib and Trocheck at center. Even if one of them plays the wing, that still relegates Rossi to the 3rd line. Maybe the plan is to move one of Zib or Trocheck in a separate deal and then use that cap space to get a replacement for KAM, but as has been discussed, there aren't a lot of options out there.

I don't think Drury, or anyone else if he gets fired, is going to be able to totally remake this team in one summer. I think we are better off re-signing KAM and trying to fix other parts first. KAM has 2 RFA years left. We will be able to trade him at any point between now and June 30th, 2027. Maybe we change the coaching staff, go back to a zone scheme, and KAM figures it out. Or maybe he remains inconsistent, and we trade him. We've got time yet to let that play out.

this ^
this post shows it has been thought thru, no impulse overreaction

smart move here is lock up KAM long term, drive down annual salary/cap hit, and "let that play out"

 

[McRanger92]

Has Lav been fired yet?

Its going to really piss me off when Laviolette gets fired by the Rangers and is sitting between Hank and Biz for the later rounds of the playoffs. He is more checked out than any player, and thats saying a lot.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

I’m sorry
traded away trouba - bottom 6 lhd
No retention
Lindgren a 2nd and 4th
Chytil + 1st - jt miller top 6 forward who is locked up on a good deal (no Chytil health concerns)
Kakko - Borgen top 4 RHD

We didn’t retain on trouba, we didn’t add on trouba, we didn’t have to buy him out. And you’re complaining.

Jfc. Drury did a good job at trades so far this year.

He's made one good move. The Trouba trade. Everything else has been underwhelming at best. Add to that the ridiculous extension he gave Igor and brining in a 32 year old center, he should be shit canned the moment the season ends.

 

[will1066]

If the wild are gonna trade Rossi, I’d offer them Kandre or Trocheck

Funniest comment about Rossi is from @KirkAlbuquerque, calling him a koala.

In Austria, the tourist and novelty shops sell "No kangaroos here!" and "No koalas here!" T-shirts lol.

 

[UnparalledPark]

The culture was destroyed by the players. The players hate drury because he is trying to destroy their country club, hence why kreider and company cried a river when goodrow and trouba were traded and to an extent jim ramsey’s firing.

Drury should absolutely be here through the summer to finish the job and ship out these loser players.

The worst thing we could have happen is we get s new GM that caters to these vets, then you will see nothing change next season.

Drury isn’t trying tu destroy the “country club”, he has destroyed it. He dismantled a final 4 team and turned it into a non playoff team. Good job drew. Long live the king!

 

[McRanger92]

Drury isn’t trying tu destroy the “country club”, he has destroyed it. He dismantled a final 4 team and turned it into a non playoff team. Good job drew. Long live the king!

He traded Goodrow, Trouba and Lindgren like everyone has been asking him to do for years. The team got dismantled because it wasnt good enough to get past game 6 of the ECF on the back of our elite goalie.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Drury isn’t trying tu destroy the “country club”, he has destroyed it. He dismantled a final 4 team and turned it into a non playoff team. Good job drew. Long live the king!

All he had to do was run it back and if the team stunk, he could have started the dismantling at the deadline with zero drama. Instead he signs a goalie to an insanely dumb contract, brings in a lunatic 1C, and still has a piss poor prospect pool. He's a joke.

 

[IDvsEGO]

All he had to do was run it back and if the team stunk, he could have started the dismantling at the deadline with zero drama. Instead he signs a goalie to an insanely dumb contract, brings in a lunatic 1C, and still has a piss poor prospect pool. He's a joke.

Oh my god

The retcon here is insane.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Oh my god

The retcon here is insane.

What part of what I said was untrue?

 

[McRanger92]

All he had to do was run it back and if the team stunk, he could have started the dismantling at the deadline with zero drama. Instead he signs a goalie to an insanely dumb contract, brings in a lunatic 1C, and still has a piss poor prospect pool. He's a joke.

What is this post lol. Drury Derangement Syndrome

 

[UnparalledPark]

I had read they were interested in him back in December.

Yeah, the Wild have probably the weakest center group in the NHL.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

What is this post lol. Drury Derangement Syndrome

I get it, you love the guy because he's solving imaginary problems you've made up in your own head. What part of his year has impressed you? Overpaying his goalie by about 3m a year? Getting an ok defenseman for a former 2 OA pick? Bringing in defensive titans like de Haan and Soucy? Or brining in a mentally unstable 32 year old 1C, who couldn't even play for John Cooper, when the team will struggle for the next few years. They have maybe 1 decent defensive prospect, and 1, maybe two, forward prospects that look like they can be legit top 6 skaters.