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

I was more than fine starting the season with him on the first PP unit. In fact he did get some reps on PP1 when Mika was really struggling, but he did less than nothing with the opportunity. Not that I don't think that the knucklehead coach went back to Mika a bit too soon when the PP didn't improve.

Fast forward to the present & yes I have a huge problem handing him a spot now when he's shown so many lazy traits, specifically in his own end where he refuses to backcheck. His biggest issue is that he keeps imitating his linemate who is also immune from accountability, but is a turnover machine with the worst lazy habits on the team.

Maybe if he was disciplined or sat for a game a two, then comes back moving his feet while being fully engaged for more than a week, I'd have no problem giving him another shot with the 1st unit. Until I see some of that laziness coached out of him, he's just another member of this entitled core who got paid, then checked out.
Don’t get me started. ……
it’s actually crazy to say I’d rather trade a guy who produces points like Bread then have him on the current roster.
Most will probably think I’m crazy, but for the fans who actually watch every minute of each game know that when he’s gone it will be addition by subtraction for the good of the overall team……
Everyone that plays with him for an extended period of time seems like their entire overall play suffers and as you said, imitations of his style and overall type of game he plays seems to rub off on his linemates. And not for the better. Laffy has certainly picked up some of his bad habits. Zibby should be a case study for how his overall game changed……..
Panarin had world class vision and hockey sense with a filthy pair of mitts as well. But he will never abandon his cross ice fancy passes and allergy to body contact even when It’s clear as day that it has a .0001 chance of working in tight meaningful big games…..
He and Zibby both add to their stats tremendously on the PP where they take the lions share of the time and benefit from the other team having a man less on the ice. It drives me up a wall.
It’s great you can score on a man advantage, but in the playoffs when the game is tighter, opposing teams PKs are better, and penalties overall take a dip in being called, you’re left with what exactly ????
Gutless p***yfied 5 V 5 play and high danger low chance offense….
It’s also obvious that winning 1v1 lose puck opportunities take a giant dip as well….
I rather sink or swim with Laffy getting the minutes and put him on millers wing at even strength and hope he mimics the style of a star player who has the skill+will combo opposed to skill vs will style Panarin has….. high end skill, but unwilling or unable to do what separates winning from losing in big time games at big time moments…..
What absolutely killed me was our last game against FLA in the conference finals last year. Guy is invisible and timid most of the series, and when the panthers drop the nail in the coffin and take the 2 goal lead, bread not only wins a loose puck battle, stick handles in a high danger area thru the middle of the ice,( where he never was all series long), and rips a filthy wrister under the bar to beat BOB.
He waited for the game to all but over before giving maximum effort and actually taking a chance by putting his body on the line to make a needed play with a minute left and 2 goals down?!?!
he was a ghost for the entire game and shows heart in the 58/59th minute after going down 2??
Overall, it wasn’t his worst playoff showing with the rangers either. But that entire sequence of events and the way it all played out just made me really sour on the type of player he is and style he has. My feelings now are the End of his deal can’t come soon enough.
Hes not a leader. In the room. He pretends to to speak any English.
Doesn’t really do any interviews or questions with reporters, when is the last time you heard him going out of his way to help a rookie? Take him under his wing and mentor him?? Be a role model??? Never. And never will. Just not type of guy he is…. That is fine. He doesn’t have to be because I want him to, but it’s also not the type of guy/vet player I want schooling my younger guys and teaching them his bad habits either.
Zibby is pretty similar in every metric.
Kreider at least does those things those other guys don’t. Even when he runs cold for stretches or just had a terrible year like he’s having now. Hes also getting on in years. But imo, for them length of his current contract, he still has gas in the tank due to how hard he trains and how he keeps his body.
As long as Artemi gets paid and keeps producing ( points wise) he’s good with that. If he can get a cup, great. But it’s obviously not a top priority to him.
I’m just done….

Panarin/KAM/Lindgren/vesey/smith
I want you all gone from this team.
Zibby too, but ain’t happening this year/offseason

Kreider, I love ya, but it’s time for you to go as well. I hope you get traded to a contender with a chance for you to hoist the cup on the remaining years of your current contract. You’ve been a class act and a great ranger since you steeped in the ice.

Cuylle/laf in top 6 min/situtations/ special teams….
Make way for Perrault. Give him an opportunity to make the big club in a top 9 role.
Sign or trade for a very good top pair D for Fox and make his life easier for a change
Get some youth/hunger injected in the line up with some smart vet signings that have leadership and can play
 
Don’t get me started. ……
it’s actually crazy to say I’d rather trade a guy who produces points like Bread then have him on the current roster.
Most will probably think I’m crazy, but for the fans who actually watch every minute of each game know that when he’s gone it will be addition by subtraction for the good of the overall team……
Everyone that plays with him for an extended period of time seems like their entire overall play suffers and as you said, imitations of his style and overall type of game he plays seems to rub off on his linemates. And not for the better. Laffy has certainly picked up some of his bad habits. Zibby should be a case study for how his overall game changed……..
Panarin had world class vision and hockey sense with a filthy pair of mitts as well. But he will never abandon his cross ice fancy passes and allergy to body contact even when It’s clear as day that it has a .0001 chance of working in tight meaningful big games…..
He and Zibby both add to their stats tremendously on the PP where they take the lions share of the time and benefit from the other team having a man less on the ice. It drives me up a wall.
It’s great you can score on a man advantage, but in the playoffs when the game is tighter, opposing teams PKs are better, and penalties overall take a dip in being called, you’re left with what exactly ????
Gutless p***yfied 5 V 5 play and high danger low chance offense….
It’s also obvious that winning 1v1 lose puck opportunities take a giant dip as well….
I rather sink or swim with Laffy getting the minutes and put him on millers wing at even strength and hope he mimics the style of a star player who has the skill+will combo opposed to skill vs will style Panarin has….. high end skill, but unwilling or unable to do what separates winning from losing in big time games at big time moments…..
What absolutely killed me was our last game against FLA in the conference finals last year. Guy is invisible and timid most of the series, and when the panthers drop the nail in the coffin and take the 2 goal lead, bread not only wins a loose puck battle, stick handles in a high danger area thru the middle of the ice,( where he never was all series long), and rips a filthy wrister under the bar to beat BOB.
He waited for the game to all but over before giving maximum effort and actually taking a chance by putting his body on the line to make a needed play with a minute left and 2 goals down?!?!
he was a ghost for the entire game and shows heart in the 58/59th minute after going down 2??
Overall, it wasn’t his worst playoff showing with the rangers either. But that entire sequence of events and the way it all played out just made me really sour on the type of player he is and style he has. My feelings now are the End of his deal can’t come soon enough.
Hes not a leader. In the room. He pretends to to speak any English.
Doesn’t really do any interviews or questions with reporters, when is the last time you heard him going out of his way to help a rookie? Take him under his wing and mentor him?? Be a role model??? Never. And never will. Just not type of guy he is…. That is fine. He doesn’t have to be because I want him to, but it’s also not the type of guy/vet player I want schooling my younger guys and teaching them his bad habits either.
Zibby is pretty similar in every metric.
Kreider at least does those things those other guys don’t. Even when he runs cold for stretches or just had a terrible year like he’s having now. Hes also getting on in years. But imo, for them length of his current contract, he still has gas in the tank due to how hard he trains and how he keeps his body.
As long as Artemi gets paid and keeps producing ( points wise) he’s good with that. If he can get a cup, great. But it’s obviously not a top priority to him.
I’m just done….

Panarin/KAM/Lindgren/vesey/smith
I want you all gone from this team.
Zibby too, but ain’t happening this year/offseason

Kreider, I love ya, but it’s time for you to go as well. I hope you get traded to a contender with a chance for you to hoist the cup on the remaining years of your current contract. You’ve been a class act and a great ranger since you steeped in the ice.

Cuylle/laf in top 6 min/situtations/ special teams….
Make way for Perrault. Give him an opportunity to make the big club in a top 9 role.
Sign or trade for a very good top pair D for Fox and make his life easier for a change
Get some youth/hunger injected in the line up with some smart vet signings that have leadership and can play
every time. you rant and rant and preach to the choir about bread, kreider, zib, echoing sentiments most posters here have largely acknowledged.

then you go and inexplicably lump K Miller in. what's your issue with him??
 
They were not playing together. Is your argument that the mere precense of Kreider on the bench the factor in getting Mika going?

More ad hominems. You are running out of runway fast.
"they were not playing together."
It is factually true that sometimes they were and sometimes not
your continued attempt to misrepresent = bs

"Is your argument that the mere precense of Kreider on the bench the factor in getting Mika going?"
no
and = mo bs by you
 
every time. you rant and rant and preach to the choir about bread, kreider, zib, echoing sentiments most posters here have largely acknowledged.

then you go and inexplicably lump K Miller in. what's your issue with him??

People still haven't processed the fact that K Miller was being weighed down by the mother of all anchors and haven't updated their view on him.
 
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I don't want to complain just worried: JT Miller looked great in games 1-2, the last 3 he's looked slow and like an older version of first stint Rangers Miller (a 50 point player).

If they can replace Lindgren and get Yanni Gourde for 3C at a coupon price, cool, if not just go with what you have and playoffs are house money. There are going to be some major changes as soon as the trade deadline and definitely during the week leading up to the draft.
Lavi got his hands on him...only explanation
 
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"they were not playing together."
It is factually true that sometimes they were and sometimes not
your continued attempt to misrepresent = bs

"Is your argument that the mere precense of Kreider on the bench the factor in getting Mika going?"
no
and = mo bs by you
Seriously Bern? Zibanejad and Kreider did not play on the same line for over a month. Your statement that poor Kreider is being forced to play just to get Mika going is lunacy.

This is ridiculous. I am done.
 
The salary cap tab is still running. If you're a team with limited space, why use that space for a player when your next game is not until February 22? The player will not be able to skate with the new team because everyone else is on vacation or just relaxing at home. I remember hearing on the Rangers broadcast before the trade to Vancouver Filip Chytil is going back home to Czechia during the break. He could already be there. I read the players who aren’t participating in the 4 Nations are required to report on February 18. They have about nine days off. Maybe teams will make a trade around the 18th so the new player can join the team and they save cap space by waiting until then.
 
I do not follow our AHL team much but just looking at stats I was not blown away. Are there any players there you view as impressive? Seems like our best hopes may be the guys we have in college. Garand does seem to be having a good year though.

The problem is that nobody is developing the way they should, and imo Hartford is where players go to stay the same or regress. The fact this franchise ranks top two every year in value yet can't hire the very best in development staff is truly remarkable in a bad way. I look at guys like Robertson, who had every attribute you'd want in a dman when he came to Hartford, he's gotten worse, Othmann who should be trending in the direction of a top 6 winger but has just kind of existed there. There's an issue there since a long time, Schneider didn't look good there at all and he might still be there if we didn't have injuries that brought him to the nhl where he looked entirely like a different player. You mentioned the college guys, the only reason they look like better prospects is because they haven't hit the wall that is the Rangers Development. Lafreniere was a bonifide star, Kakko should have been a can't miss player for us, neither one has become anything close to what they should be with us, and in any other franchise they'd be top players in the league imo, Lafreniere for sure, but Kakko should have been a top 6 winger for us. The whole process is rotten to the core.



Please claim Englund, to replace Lindgren

We need someone else to complain about?
 
The Rangers need to buy and sell. Drury should be looking for a Granlund/Ceci return with Smith/Lindgren. I know everyone thinks Lindgren sucks but he’s the kind of defenseman teams love to acquire right before a playoff run. Chiarot. The list goes on. At 50% retention on both to a contender. Trade Vesey for a 2026 or 2027 mid round pick (4th or so).

Replace Smith internally. Plenty of options. Berard, Othmann, Sykora.

Look to use some prospect depth on the wing and mid round picks to acquire a D who’s signed beyond this season. If not give Brannstrom or Jones some run. Jones, a guy like Chlemar, a 3rd/2nd from Lindgren smith deal, something like that, for a guy to fill Lindgren’s spot with a decent cap number for next season. Let the chips fall where they may.

Deal with Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider in offseason. One will probably have to go
 
uh Marner, Rantanen, Ehlers, Marchand and Chychrun is “dogshit”?? Do you remember years like 2016 or?
Yes. That class sucks.

Rantanen is going to get $14m to lead a team which he's never done. Has Panarin written all over it. Marner is a documented failure in the playoffs with plenty of evidence. Marchand is 92 years old. Ehlers and Chychrun are guys. None of them play center. I've combed over 2025 free agency as I do every year and I can't find a single piece I'm excited about.
 
Yes. That class sucks.

Rantanen is going to get $14m to lead a team which he's never done. Has Panarin written all over it. Marner is a documented failure in the playoffs with plenty of evidence. Marchand is 92 years old. Ehlers and Chychrun are guys. None of them play center. I've combed over 2025 free agency as I do every year and I can't find a single piece I'm excited about.

I like Gavrikov or Chychrun or Provorov to fill a top 4 LHD vacancy if the price is right but that's about it. Maybe there will be some buyout candidates to buy low on this summer but other than that, this UFA class will not solve all of our problems.

Now the 2026 UFA class on the other hand.... let's just say we should keep some cap space open for next summer.
 
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I like Gavrikov or Chychrun or Provorov to fill a top 4 LHD vacancy if the price is right but that's about it. Maybe there will be some buyout candidates to buy low on this summer but other than that, this UFA class will not solve all of our problems.

Now the 2026 UFA class on the other hand.... let's just say we should keep some cap space open for next summer.

The price is not going to be right. You're probably talking 7M+ for Gavrikov/Chychrun. Provorov isn't good so whatever he is will be too much.
 
Yes. That class sucks.

Rantanen is going to get $14m to lead a team which he's never done. Has Panarin written all over it. Marner is a documented failure in the playoffs with plenty of evidence. Marchand is 92 years old. Ehlers and Chychrun are guys. None of them play center. I've combed over 2025 free agency as I do every year and I can't find a single piece I'm excited about.

Should have happened a few years ago but we should be focused on developing the players we have instead of going out looking for older versions of them. The rebuild really didn't take at all really, we're still relying on players from other teams instead of making cheap stars ourselves. Said it when it happened that the rebuild was a waste the day Gorton got canned. Laf, Kakko, Schneider, Robertson, Chytil, should be the basis for a good team, they totally dropped that idea as soon as Drury was hired.
 
Should have happened a few years ago but we should be focused on developing the players we have instead of going out looking for older versions of them. The rebuild really didn't take at all really, we're still relying on players from other teams instead of making cheap stars ourselves. Said it when it happened that the rebuild was a waste the day Gorton got canned. Laf, Kakko, Schneider, Robertson, Chytil, should be the basis for a good team, they totally dropped that idea as soon as Drury was hired.
They dropped it before that. It wasn't Drury who started buying less than two years after the letter.
 
Yes. That class sucks.

Rantanen is going to get $14m to lead a team which he's never done. Has Panarin written all over it. Marner is a documented failure in the playoffs with plenty of evidence. Marchand is 92 years old. Ehlers and Chychrun are guys. None of them play center. I've combed over 2025 free agency as I do every year and I can't find a single piece I'm excited about.

100% agreed, some good players but def not people to pay ufa prices for. This is also why Drury should still sell because too many teams are still in the hunt, a lot of the ufa trade targets have been moved so some team might get desperate to add what Drury should have available.
 
Yes. That class sucks.

Rantanen is going to get $14m to lead a team which he's never done. Has Panarin written all over it. Marner is a documented failure in the playoffs with plenty of evidence. Marchand is 92 years old. Ehlers and Chychrun are guys. None of them play center. I've combed over 2025 free agency as I do every year and I can't find a single piece I'm excited about.
it’s better than any class in years by far. find me any in the last 10 years that had more quality players available. Marner is gonna hit 100 points again, who’s the last player who hit 100 points to even make it to free agency?

i don’t think we should sign these guys (outside of Chychrun) but it’s still the best class in a long time

if we’re going with “they’re UFAs so they’re gonna get overpaid no matter what” then you might as well just say that every single UFA class sucks
 
I'd sign Gavrikov for a number close to $7m. Maybe not $7m, but $6.5m? $6.75m? Yeah I'm in for that.
agree gav is worth considering
whether or not we go a tad over is not as critical as term and, most importantly, per bern NO MORE FUGGIN NMCs GOING FORWARD [extensive ntcs where applicable are sufficient]

No on Chych or Prov
 
it’s better than any class in years by far. find me any in the last 10 years that had more quality players available. Marner is gonna hit 100 points again, who’s the last player who hit 100 points to even make it to free agency?

i don’t think we should sign these guys (outside of Chychrun) but it’s still the best class in a long time

if we’re going with “they’re UFAs so they’re gonna get overpaid no matter what” then you might as well just say that every single UFA class sucks
Yeah, UFA is always a risk to an extent, but you can't say that the level of impending buyer's remorse that's about to happen this summer happens in every single UFA class.

It's the "not a real star but I'm going to be paid like one" class.

2026 has some legit players in it. It's deeper, has more talent, and will have a bigger salary cap.
 
You could convince me that a signing of a couple of mid-tier LD's would actually be the more prudent approach to the off-season over signing Gavrikov. Orlov. Dumoulin. Grzelcyk (I'm never spelling that name correctly). Maata. Kovacevic.

Maata-Fox
Miller-Borgen
Orlov-Schneider
Vaak

Or

Schneider-Fox
Miller-Borgen
Orlov-Kovacevic
Vaak
 
Yeah, UFA is always a risk to an extent, but you can't say that the level of impending buyer's remorse that's about to happen this summer happens in every single UFA class.

It's the "not a real star but I'm going to be paid like one" class.

2026 has some legit players in it. It's deeper, has more talent, and will have a bigger salary cap.

2026, as it stands currently, is probably the best UFA class in the NHL since the salary cap was implemented. Is this why people keep acting like 2025 is bad?

If Kaprizov and McDavid re-sign it becomes mediocre in a flash
 
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