Speculation: Roster Building Thread : Part XVI (Playoffs or Retool?)

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I truly think this gets solved this offseason. Gavrikov is the guy. The key will be what depth Drury can manufacture behind Fox and his partner. Schneider will be around. What about Vaak and Borgen? Miller? Would anyone be upset with:

Gavrikov-Fox
Miller-Borgen
Vaak-Schneider
There are definitely options for the 4-6 spots in free agency. And the hope is you find someone you can sign to a Mikkola type contract to slot him in over Vak.

I would extend Borgen as well.
 
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There are definitely options for the 4-6 spots in free agency. And the hope is you find someone you can sign to a Mikkola type contract to slot him in over Vak.

I would extend Borgen as well.
Do you move Mancini then for forward depth? Otherwise I think he might be in play next year.
 
There is so much incorrect information in this post I’m not even sure where to start lmao
Elaborate.
Do you remember when Drury was knee-deep and involved in the Eichel trade talk? He's been wanting to do a blockbuster since he was made GM.

Friedman even mentioned this a few weeks ago, Rangers are looking to do something big, Rangers are looking to make a huge splash.
All of this lines up & tracks. I can see exactly why Drury wants to get a 1C like J.T. and is desperate for him. What I respect about Drury is he's standing pat on his offer right now. Vancouver has ZERO leverage.
 
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Elaborate.
Do you remember when Drury was knee-deep and involved in the Eichel trade talk? He's been wanting to do a blockbuster since he was made GM.

Friedman even mentioned this a few weeks ago, Rangers are looking to do something big, Rangers are looking to make a huge splash.
All of this lines up & tracks. I can see exactly why Drury wants to get a 1C like J.T. and is desperate for him. What I respect about Drury is he's standing pat on his offer right now. Vancouver has ZERO leverage.
Sounds like someone wants to impress "Daddy".
 
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Miller beefed with Horvat and ran him out of town too so color me skeptical that it’s Pettersson’s fault Vancouver’s locker room sucks.

He’s also had plenty of in-game incidents that make him look like a total dick. Screaming at teammates on the ice, banging his stick on the goal to get the goalie to go to the bench even though the coach hadn't pulled him, arguing with Luke Schenn on their way off the ice after a period ended. Guy’s just an ass hole.
 
This team beeds add bt subtravt more than add by add its like constipation yiu dont beed more food you beed to relax drink water abd poop
 
This team beeds add bt subtravt more than add by add its like constipation yiu dont beed more food you beed to relax drink water abd poop
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I find our system pretty mid given the lack of blue chip prospects and the club’s record of not developing them into stars anyway. The only guy that excites me is Perrault and there’s still a 75% chance they turn him into a tepid grinder.
Because of Perrault size and personality, I don’t ever see him being a grinder.
 
Elaborate.
Do you remember when Drury was knee-deep and involved in the Eichel trade talk? He's been wanting to do a blockbuster since he was made GM.

Friedman even mentioned this a few weeks ago, Rangers are looking to do something big, Rangers are looking to make a huge splash.
All of this lines up & tracks. I can see exactly why Drury wants to get a 1C like J.T. and is desperate for him. What I respect about Drury is he's standing pat on his offer right now. Vancouver has ZERO leverage.
Let’s address the most egregious points from your post

First the leadership thing. It’s all bullshit. This guy has been kicked off of 3 straight teams. He rubs people the wrong way because he’s an asshole. I expect him to be hated by his teammate's here, more than anything else. He’s not going to change the vibe for the better

Second, I have no idea what you’re referring to when you say the Rangers have this pipeline of promising young players that every team wants. The core of this team is guys in their mid 30’s and Fox. None of the players under 25 are thought of that highly. The prospect pipeline is in the bottom third of the league. Even on a good day, the youth on this team is lacking.

And finally, I’m fine with Drury making a big trade. The difference between making a move for Eichel and making a move for JT is in two different stratospheres lol
 
Elaborate.
Do you remember when Drury was knee-deep and involved in the Eichel trade talk? He's been wanting to do a blockbuster since he was made GM.

Friedman even mentioned this a few weeks ago, Rangers are looking to do something big, Rangers are looking to make a huge splash.
All of this lines up & tracks. I can see exactly why Drury wants to get a 1C like J.T. and is desperate for him. What I respect about Drury is he's standing pat on his offer right now. Vancouver has ZERO leverage.
This is exactly it. When you look at the core-altering moves Drury has made, it's basically:

Traded away Buchnevich
Signed Trocheck
Traded away Trouba
Traded away Kakko

Otherwise it's been deadline rentals and signing then dumping Goodrow, and other smaller moves to the fringes. He's basically been tweaking the team he inherited from Gorton. Drury pretty clearly wants to make a franchise-altering deal. Whether a person is comfortable with him doing that is up to them.
 
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Miller beefed with Horvat and ran him out of town too so color me skeptical that it’s Pettersson’s fault Vancouver’s locker room sucks.

He’s also had plenty of in-game incidents that make him look like a total dick. Screaming at teammates on the ice, banging his stick on the goal to get the goalie to go to the bench even though the coach hadn't pulled him, arguing with Luke Schenn on their way off the ice after a period ended. Guy’s just an ass hole.

The Miller Horvat stuff wasn't real.

The Isles are interested in him now. Lou is an old moron, but he isn't that stupid.
 
The Miller Horvat stuff wasn't real.

The Isles are interested in him now. Lou is an old moron, but he isn't that stupid.

I mean i'd disagree with that last assertion. Do you really think Lou cares if two guys dont get along in his locker room if he thinks they help him keep his job?
 
We're iffy to make the playoffs. Even with miller. If we somehow luck out into a top 3 pick and get miller, I'm not missing the opportunity to fill a massive hole.
There are 3 players I'd love to grab. I'm also higher on Misa than most.
I can’t even imagine getting a top 4 pick, but it’s possible. But frankly picking that high doesn’t seem like the Ranger’s forte. There are some nice C and D choices in the top 15 though, but it is considered a mediocre draft class. I’ll take the odds and go with Miller for a few years.
 
I can’t even imagine getting a top 4 pick, but it’s possible. But frankly picking that high doesn’t seem like the Ranger’s forte. There are some nice C and D choices in the top 15 though, but it is considered a mediocre draft class. I’ll take the odds and go with Miller for a few years.
the rangers under gorton took the consenus pick.

top 3 the worst case scenario is Martone. Hagens or Schafer are perfect for us.
 
Do you move Mancini then for forward depth? Otherwise I think he might be in play next year.
I don’t know how much value Mancini has right now. At least in terms of bringing an NHL body back or one on the cusp. So with that said it makes sense to hold onto him and see if he develops more while still being in play for a spot next year.

However, if Drury goes and acquires JTM now, even if he deals Mika in the offseason, he will then re-allocate that money to Rantanen or someone else. A move for JTM signifies a belief the window is open for 2-3 more years minimum. And with that said I don’t see Drury and Co trusting the last defensive spots to Mancini and Vak, that is if they have the ability to bring the right guys in while possibly retaining who is here such as Borgen. Gavrikov is one name. Other options in consideration could be Provorov, Chychrun, Orlov. I don’t think they look at Ekblad at all given his health history. Outside of that group there is not much else. So if they cant grab 2 of that group and a trade isnt out there then yea Mancini and Vak will be competing for the 6th spot. But again I dont see Drury being ok with that.
 
This is exactly it. When you look at the core-altering moves Drury has made, it's basically:

Traded away Buchnevich
Signed Trocheck
Traded away Trouba
Traded away Kakko

Otherwise it's been deadline rentals and signing then dumping Goodrow, and other smaller moves to the fringes. He's basically been tweaking the team he inherited from Gorton. Drury pretty clearly wants to make a franchise-altering deal. Whether a person is comfortable with him doing that is up to them.
Does Miller count as 'franchise altering'? I would have thought that Igor at $11.5m per (and even long term Laf) is far more altering than a Miller trade unless it involves Laf, something else from the roster/top prospects and at least 2 firsts.
Drury has to assume that he's going to be GM for a while, and as such needs to ice a team both tomorrow and 2 years from now. They happen less often now, but Miller seems more 'change of scenery' then truly 'altering'
 
Bringing back JT Miller feels like the bit from the office where they hate Todd Packer and trick him into going to Florida... only for him to return and poison the team with cupcakes

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Again, Miller can't even fix the room on the team he's already a member of. Yet he's gonna storm in here and change the culture of this group?

The guy has caused a giant rift amongst his teammates. He's rumored to have feuded with numerous players during his tenure there. His name was in rumors before he signed his extension. The team is actively trying to get rid of a player who put up 100pts for them last season.

This guy is wearing a giant red flag and Rangers fans think it's a f***ing cape and he's Superman.
Kreider and Trochek are amongst his best friends. If he goes off they’ll just laugh at him, as will Panarin. His attitude will help everyone be more intense, especially the younger guys. He won’t be a problem.
 
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I wanted to expand on the Miller thing yesterday but I had to work. Seems like most people beat me to the punch. I think part of the hang up there for some people is they hear the name and think our top prospects are going the other way. That's not what the reports have been. They wanted Schneider since 2022. It doesn't sound like Drury will budge. It'll likely center a first, Chytil and some lesser prospects. Maybe Lindgren. That's pretty easy to live with when you break it down.

Miller is a major upgrade to Chytil. I'm about as big of a picks/prospects guy on this board... but that first is not going to be what it was a month ago. The chances that we end up picking near the top 5 are more and more unlikely by the game. When I started this post in the morning we are 3 points away from the last wild card spot. The BJs and Senators hold the last 2 spots... regardless if you want a top pick or not, we probably aren't finishing with one. We won the presidents trophy last year with Lindgren and Tuba playing in the top 4. There's still a good group of player in here but we need some adjustments. If you go out and land Miller it doesn't negate the moves that still need to be made.

You're still going to sell off the spare parts. Kreider to me makes sense as a summertime move. There's going to be a number of suitors. Lots of cap space around the league. I look at LA. Theyre a fit, they will have cap space. Minnesota will have a ton of space, I see them as a fit. Dallas could make sense. If Drury can fleece someone at the deadline this year then I'm all for it. Teams pay crazy prices at that time of year. So if you're giving up a first in the Miller deal you have a good chance to recoup it, it's not a huge issue. So in total you're really not losing much of anything but you're gaining a 1C.

When people talk about doing a retool, selling off.. that sort of stuff, I'm all for it. But this is a way to go about doing it. We've came real close with this group. We've been exposed for being over reliant on the powerplay and goaltending. Our 5v5 play over the years has been average at best and bottom half of the league at worst. When you talk about retooling, this makes sense to me. You're reloading with a new 1C. You're inserting youth like Cuylle, Berard, Othmann, Perreault, etc.. The new core of players will have a real solid mix of skill and jam. Restock the middle rounds with Smith, Quick, Lindgren, etc... maybe you get a 2nd in there.

Ideally I think you'd still want to see if Mika would waive in the summer, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Maybe a switch to RW? Find a cheap 3C.

See if Chychrun doesn't stay in Washington. That's the big free agent fish this summer. If he isn't available I like Matheson in Montreal. I don't think the ask on him will be much. Dont think you need to shoot for the stars in the trade market for LD.

You can still get your prospects, add some picks and not mortgage the future by adding Miller. A trade for Miller does not mean we settle on the complacent core we currently have.
 
On a side note. If the Rangers are buyers at the deadline, one name I would love to have is Nick Bjugstad. Really liked how he played against us. Used that big frame a lot. Played with energy. Would be great next to Edstrom and Carrick.
 

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