Speculation: Roster Building Thread: Part XLIX

[bobbop]

My concern is that these long term answers are not a given for #1 position and generally not close time-wise to becoming NHLers. Lindgren can be a 2nd or 3rd pair so I think there's no harm in "forcing" the situation and acquiring someone who could become either #1 or a strong #2 on the left side. Somewhat similar to how we acquired Trouba while "knowing" that Fox is coming and ADA and Lundkvist developing nicely.

If you do this, you have to find a way to free up money. And if you do, you then have to free up a protection spot. There’s only one logical conclusion.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I don’t think anyone in the front office is waiting around to see if our D prospects are ready or to waste a year now that we have Alexis. There will be a move for a LD - as for the expansion draft, I imagine a roster player will go the other way to make it possible... Considering the 3 current D men being kept are Trouba(NMC), Lindgren, and TDA, I think it’s pretty obvious what a deal will look like. Or potentially it could be done with 2 moves - TDA for a 2C and a forward for a 1LD. But I don’t see how TDA is kept.

Ok who is the 2c and which forward is moving for the 1D?

 

[SA16]

The potential to have to expose Lindgren is most definitely not going to keep me from trying to acquire a quality LD if possible.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

I for one am shocked that Tony is in fact, an ass

who could have seen that coming?

 

[kovazub94]

A nice bit of comic relief here. Buffalo is October’s team every year!

When got to make a point - sometimes going to extreme examples.

 

[DanielBrassard]

The potential to have to expose Lindgren is most definitely not going to keep me from trying to acquire a quality LD if possible.

Would agree with this.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Before Calgary/Stars starts, let me just say, and I've been saying this for a long time, Sam Bennett should be at the top of the Rangers radar.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Who is this mystery back up D for DeAngelo?


LD should be priority #1, bar none. We have Lindgren who is solid, Smith who is basically replacement level and Staal who is bottom of the barrel bad. Even if there is depth at the position in the minors, it's going to take a lot of time before any of those guys are ready to contribute and effectively eat top 4 minutes. I think its possible we see K'Andre at some point next year, but hes likely going to be doing the bottom pair/limited PK duty for the foreseeable future. Even if hes better than expected sooner than later, I'd still want a quality veteran who can eat top pair minutes and PK effectively. I'm not interested in forcing a kid into that role, defense is way to difficult of a position to do that at this level and not everyone is Adam Fox.

I'm much, much, much more comfortable with Zibanejad-Strome-Chytil down the middle 1-2-3 than I am with Lindgren-Smith-Staal.

Offer sheet Sergachev?

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Every year I see a “watch out for Buffalo” thread in october, and every year I laugh.

I think that a Large beast is heading toward me and Kevin Costner will take it down with one shot

 

[Lone Ranger]

I'm pretty sure the Rangers would throw one of us out there with Trouba before they put Tony out there with him lol

Ok I'll do it, but when my advanced stats are better than Staal's don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[kovazub94]

If you do this, you have to find a way to free up money. And if you do, you then have to free up a protection spot. There’s only one logical conclusion.

Yeah, I said it before - ADA is the most likely be moved one way or another. I'm just a proponent of moving him for a similar LD (instead of a multiple moves via acquiring a forward in a separate transaction then moving one of our wingers or finding an immediate replacement for Strome) , which with the premium assigned to RD spot, should be easier. $0.02

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Seems more conservative an approach than to move assets for another question mark for the top pairing, one that would probably also require protection in the expansion draft and require us to expose Lindgren.

Well wouldn't we have to protect Deangelo if we kept him?

 

[Avery16]

More asinine. I’m not taking DeAngelo out of a role he did very well, to roll the dice. Not that I want Smith there either, but I don’t want to risk DeAngelo being less productive. Just find a LHD Stopgap for a year. It’s not like they don’t have assets to do so.

Disagree. It is decidedly more asinine to have a Smith/Trouba top pairing.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Offer sheet Sergachev?

I don't think wed ever do it, but I'd certainly explore a trade.

Dude straight up became a monster player this year.

 

[Avery16]

Well wouldn't we have to protect Deangelo if we kept him?

We have three D protection slots, unless we sacrifice F protection slots. Trouba, ADA and Lindgren seem to be the consensus (I would hope) for those slots. If we were to add a 1LD, and aren't subtracting ADA, then we would likely have to expose the 1LD we just spent assets to acquire, or Lindgren. So even if we could add a top-4 LD without selling the farm (unlikely), we're likely to lose another and be back where we started.

 

[aufheben]

Not just if I buy the NHLe stat, but it would sure suck to trade Buchnevich and watch this happen:

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Buchnevich being moved before his next deal is pretty much a certainty at this point

 

[Rangerfan4life90]

Buchnevich being moved before his next deal is pretty much a certainty at this point

Most likely, and it's unfortunate.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I don't think Buchnevich makes it through the offseason.

Not really any fault of his, but they either can't or won't move the other top 6 guys.

 

[pblawr]

I've wondered if something centered around Lundkvist for Sergachev wouldn't make sense. The Lightning need RD and players on ELC's and we need LD and have more cap flexibility than they do. It would probably make more sense after next season when Lundkvist is actually coming over, Sergachev is arbitration eligible, and we have more cap room, but it seems to me like the basic logic of it should be reasonable.

 

[Trxjw]

If we trade Buch I still hope he takes off offensively. It would be nice to see. I just want to make sure we get good value back that can do the same for us. Unfortunately for him he's the best forward we have that we're also willing to move. When 3 of your projected top-4 wingers are Panarin, Lafreniere, and Kakko, having Buch as that 4th guy is probably a luxury we can't really afford. Throw Kreider in there and the writing is on the wall.

 

[Rangers in 7]

I mean I guess you can try. Won't know until you try. We've moved lots of guys around over the years--Zuccarello from side to side, Hayes from wing to center, Miller at W and C, Vesey on both wings, Nash on both wings, Namestnikov at C and W. Pretty sure we moved Fast to both sides, Boyle of course played W and C, as did Dom Moore. Towards the end we did the same with Richards, although that was a bit different.

All of those guys were shuffled around where they lined up, but each one I think pretty clearly had one spot where they were much better and more comfortable than the other. It's good to be versatile but it's also important to have a minimal drop-off in play when you move around the lineup. I liken it to be and being "ambidextrous"; I can do almost everything with both hands/from both sides, but each activity I absolutely have a dominant hand/foot/side that is pretty significantly better than the other.

I played soccer at various levels for 25+ years and while my left foot is fine, if I'm playing in the field I'm far more comfortable and effective on the right. I can just do more things down the right side with the ball on my right foot. I play differently if I'm on the left as I'm often looking to cut back into the center to use my right than to send a ball into the middle from my left. It changes the approach.

Anyway, I agree that you don't know until you try. One of Krieder's best attributes is setting up in front of the net. I wouldn't expect that to be impacted by which side he played on. I would say his second-best attribute is streaking down the wing, beating a guy outside, and going hard to the net. If he's on the right and carrying the puck on his backhand, I could totally see that being an impediment.

I see him cutting onto his forehand streaking down the right side as a bigger advantage that having to cut across on his backhand.

 

[Avery16]

Buchnevich being moved before his next deal is pretty much a certainty at this point

Hey if it allows us to lock in Strome at 5 x 6 million, good riddance!

 

[Trxjw]

Sergachev would be great but I'd be really shocked if he was available. Again, the Bolts can clear cap by moving Killorn, Palat, or Johnson. It's not like they have anchors that nobody is going to want.

 

[UnSandvich]

Not just if I buy the NHLe stat, but it would sure suck to trade Buchnevich and watch this happen:

That's what happens when you sign mediocre, soon to be declining players to long-term deals taking them deep into their 3o's because "he's been here longer and he's a core leader"