Speculation: Roster Building Thread : Part XVI (Playoffs or Retool?)
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will1066
If you score four, you better f'n win the game
- Oct 12, 2008
- 51,717
- 74,527
As I watched this season play out, I’m not convinced Drury knows what he’s doing, but this is what I see will be, or should be done before the Rangers hit the ice in October 2025:
I’m a Kreider guy, but I am convinced he will be gone and Laf will be returned to LW. Give him every opportunity to succeed. Even if he stays at RW, we have too many other LW in the system to keep Chris.
Bread stays another year to finish out his contract. Both sides will work out what to do in summer of 2026. For better or for worse, Zib will be here next season as well. He should be motivated to get in shape over the summer, and RW may rejuvenate him.
Lindgren gone. With Kreider leaving, getting rid of Ryan won’t cause as much angst. Him getting 2.5 mil more than he should have this year was the Rangers giving him a parting gift and saying “thanks”.
Defenseman Miller will be gone. There is no way any team can win a SC with a Dman who makes as many incredibly dumb mistakes as he does. Don’t get me wrong. He’s capable of making 2 or 3 great plays during a game, and with his talent should and could score 50 points a season, but even if he scores 60 points in a season, somewhere during the playoffs he’s going to screw up bad and lose them a game or 2. Its no longer a lack of experience, but a lack of being able to process what a Dman needs to, to be successful. He’s a forward.
Schneider will be traded as well. Vaak will be only LW remaining from this year. Between Kreider, Schneider, Key and cap space, LW will be upgraded.
I’m a Kreider guy, but I am convinced he will be gone and Laf will be returned to LW. Give him every opportunity to succeed. Even if he stays at RW, we have too many other LW in the system to keep Chris.
Bread stays another year to finish out his contract. Both sides will work out what to do in summer of 2026. For better or for worse, Zib will be here next season as well. He should be motivated to get in shape over the summer, and RW may rejuvenate him.
Lindgren gone. With Kreider leaving, getting rid of Ryan won’t cause as much angst. Him getting 2.5 mil more than he should have this year was the Rangers giving him a parting gift and saying “thanks”.
Defenseman Miller will be gone. There is no way any team can win a SC with a Dman who makes as many incredibly dumb mistakes as he does. Don’t get me wrong. He’s capable of making 2 or 3 great plays during a game, and with his talent should and could score 50 points a season, but even if he scores 60 points in a season, somewhere during the playoffs he’s going to screw up bad and lose them a game or 2. Its no longer a lack of experience, but a lack of being able to process what a Dman needs to, to be successful. He’s a forward.
Schneider will be traded as well. Vaak will be only LW remaining from this year. Between Kreider, Schneider, Key and cap space, LW will be upgraded.
McRanger92
Registered User
- Jun 7, 2017
- 14,043
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Kreider isnt in the top 6and Reilly Smith is a rental. We are obviously in win now mode but more changes are coming.
I really think the rebuild gave people a false impression of NHL team building. Cap ceiling teams are always in win-now mode unless otherwise stated. What is the other option? The letter got sent out 7 years ago. By every metric it's been fantastically successful. Every other team that says they are rebuilding is in the midst of a decade long playoff drought. We scoff at ECF appearances that other teams fanbases would die for. The Rangers are going to buy and sell at this deadline because that's what teams that are actually trying do. We are also probably still going to make it. Once upon a time people got excited for playoff races, but our entitled fans want to quit and go for the 10th overall pick because the road appears difficult. Mentally weak. It's a shame.
NYR Viper
Registered User
The answer here is that Kreider and Smith are likely to be traded between now and next season, pushing Cuylle and Lafreniere up (Lafreniere is really in the top-6 now).
Where the team is actually pretty young already is on the back-end.
Fox - 26
Schneider - 23
Miller - 25
Borgen - 28
JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK
Twenty f*ckin years
- Oct 8, 2010
- 79,906
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idk. if he doesnt wanna stay there i think trading for a guy who’s already locked in long term and could have more upside than he’s shown is the move. sens save money, get four more sigjed years out of Laf than Tkachuk, and (ideally) don’t noticeably downgrade to do so. Seems like a slam dunk, really.
I think theres a reasonable chance that half of that "top 6" is not here to start next season.
JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK
Twenty f*ckin years
- Oct 8, 2010
- 79,906
- 17,472
Bjugstad for the 4th line wing next to Carrick and Edstrom.
But who for the 3rd line C?
Still time. Could be a situation in which Mika slots to 3C. However, he has had more jump since playing wing next to Miller.
But who for the 3rd line C?
Still time. Could be a situation in which Mika slots to 3C. However, he has had more jump since playing wing next to Miller.
KirkAlbuquerque
#WeNeverGetAGoodCoach
how can we be in Win Now when we're most likely missing the playoffs?
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
McRanger92
Registered User
- Jun 7, 2017
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We have as high as a 40% chance on some sites. Id put it higher on the McRanger92 prediction model. Isles just lost Barzal and the Blue jackets just lost Marchenko. There is plenty of season left. It's not like you are going to stop watching if they fall completely out of it. We are all posting on an online message board lol. We're in it to the end.
IronBloodedLion
Registered User
I think the team is going to look a lot different next year.
The cap rising so much is going to make for some really interesting moves and roster shakeups around the league IMO.
NickyFotiu
NYR 2024 Cup Champs!
- Sep 29, 2011
- 16,791
- 8,689
We really should keep in mind that a few guysay be playing roles to showcase them for possible trades.
2026 Opening Night Top 6 will have a good mix of old/young.
McDavid/Kaprizov (29)
JTM (33)
Mika/Trocheck (33)
---------------
Laf (25)
Cuylle (24)
Perreault (21)
Othmann/Berard (24)
Yeah but the Rangers have Lindgren. Thats a bigger issue than the Isles missing Barzal or the Jackets missing Marchenko. It's not a question of whether or not he's going to f*** them out of wins between now and the TDL, it's how many wins is he going to f*** them out of.
They can probably afford to drop at maximum 10 more games between now and the end of the season.
Did anyone even see what happened?
Raspewtin
Stay at home defenseman hater
- May 30, 2013
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MrAlmost
Beer league hero.
- Jun 3, 2010
- 2,891
- 3,684
Harbour Dog
Registered User
I think it happened on an attempted zone entry. He got rubbed out along the boards pretty hard.
I thought it looked like something that might cause an injury, but he never seemed phased; not sure if he took another shift after. I'd guess shoulder or collarbone if that's when it happened.
Edit - never mind, just noticed "lower body". Still think it happened on that play though.
- Jul 28, 2011
- 17,237
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It's the 4th line, but that creates a much bigger hole than some will realize.
NYR Viper
Registered User
When I saw the play, it appeared as though his left foot kind of whipped into the boards at speed with his heel taking direct contact there. I am betting it's a broken foot of some kind
