Speculation: Roster Building Thread : Part XVIII ( TDL is March 7th)

[The Crypto Guy]

They want established vets. Most teams can offer more than that.

It was just a joke. Of course he will go for much more than that.

 

[Machinehead]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

 

[Siddi]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

And to be honest been pretty meh since joining. Not the elite second coming of Messier some believed.

 

[bernmeister]

I brought up the idea of fox and laffy for dahlin and cozens prior to the deadline. No idea what else we would have had to add but I thought then and still believe that kind of trade would have been great for this team. Out of all those players dahlin is the least likely one to be traded.

The fox watch is going to be on this summer

Zac Jones is proving he is not an NHL defender for any team that wants to win a Stanley cup. It's his lack of size, poor defensive reads, and his size. Offensively he's fine but it's starting to feel like I'm watching John gilmour again. He would get eaten alive in a playoff series.

I suggested Mika shifting to the wing over. Month prior to the Miller trade. Mika and his career are on an arc to be a worse version of stamkos. Stamkos played the center role for awhile and then became a pp left dot specialist. His 5v5 game continued to be erratic and he was moved to the wing to free him up a bit and give the harder responsibilities to other centers. Mika is now in the same spot. He's still being asked to do too much for what he is at this point but that's bc this roster is a mess.

....

first draft: presume
we miss and have our 2025 1st pick
Drury calls Shesty in and says, I'm not gonna lie, it's rough and it will get worse before it gets better. Can we pls deal you to a US based team [no issue w/finances] for a haul we desperately need.
Igor says what if I say no?
Drury says ok, don't take this the wrong way, but then you put a gun to my head and I need all options and selling Garand cheap before he establishes himself is not one of them. So we'd have to make you backup for a season or 2 while his value builds.
Shesty relents and agrees to deal before his nmc kicks in

Now, given bread will be asked and sensibly waive to an acceptable relocation, this leaves Fox. He is also asked to agree and accepts a deal to BUF, which despite losing record, is closer to fielding a winning team.

Zib sees what is happening and that the band is being broken up, whether he likes it or not. He is told accept trade to Sabes w/understanding from them that give it a yr, if it is not a fit, they will try to help relocate to city of choice.

ok then....

Fox + NYR 2025 1st + Zib max retained 4.25 to = 4.25 per + Berard
for
Sabes 2025 and 2026 1sts (both unprotected) + Peterka + cap dup Lafferty = 2 per x 2

rationale:
Sabes want win now, make POs. Main board laments and asks what this yrs likely lottery selection gets.
And they prefer/need to do this w'o shedding an upgraded Power until his value is higher after raw talent is developed. They are not so so deep they can go vet for vet.
They added Norris to improve pivot picture. Zib deepens that, or at 4.25 w/term gets something useful from a Nashville. Berard has to be sure he doesn't get killed, but while a long career is pushing it, we an see him as a 3-4 yr cheap sparkplug.

Rs need to undo stupidity of not listening to bern, listening to win now crowd and pissing away draft capital on useless rentals, and instead build
The BUF 1st this yr is prime to be a very high pick.
Next yr's pick BUF will be a better team, but if there is injury, we are sitting pretty to capitalize.
And we land Peterka, which helps us get bigger, stronger, still fast on W
Lafferty may be a useful stop gap/trade fodder at reasonable price.

There would of course be more trades incl
Shesty + Tro + to LA for Byfield, Clarke, Dvorak + Helenius
bread at half + to DAL for Bischel + 2026 1st

now we get into what if
possibly LaF to highest bidder depending on return
possibly JTM, who grew up very close to Pitt, to play w/Sid at his swansong and become 1C heir apparent [Malkin too far gone]
let's say for fun, ok hold LaF build his value, sell high on jtm
jtm for Rs 2025 1st, 2027 2nd returned and Pit 2026 1st
...
which after juggling some other moves would get us something like

Kreider/healthy alternate* - Byfield - Peterka
Cuylle - Carrick - LaF
Edstrom - Helenius - Rempe
Kaliyev - Parssinen - Brodz
with some compete opportunity for bigger/better, like Roo, Chmelar, Vaisanen
* I forgot Gabe P. Let's figure unless he fully heals this is CK exit yr w/Gabe breaking in while he has options

D adds signif youth, Clarke, Dvorak, Bischel to mix

we gamble on Garand, Quick, Domingue


somethin like dat..

The teams in no man’s land and it’s gonna be multiple years of pain while wonder boy Drury figures it out. Let’s regale

They need to trade at least two of Panarin/Mika/Kreider this summer in order to have the cap space to make other serious moves. Two of them have NMC so you’re basically at their mercy for where they end up and probably the return because of it. Kreider moves like he’s days away from walking with a cane the rest of his life so I’m sure the return on him will be mid. And once you trade these guys, you need to replace their production, which won’t be easy.

They have no top level prospects in the system sans Perreault. The center pipeline is barren and will take time to rebuild. Drury thrown away picks like their garbage over the last 3 years.

And they have a bunch of money committed to guys who assuredly be out of their primes by the time all this shit gets fixed. JT, Trocheck, Igor, maybe Fox

Drury has been trying to paper over the legitimate holes the last 4 years and it’s coming to a head. Literal no man’s land.

yeah just remember who warned you against going in all vets win now

 

[bernmeister]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

we were desperate for a jump start
we needed to go other currency for jtm, like BMB, Sykora +, but could not force
VAN's hand

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

The jail that my father worked out completely redid the fire alarm system throughout the whole complex right before they closed it. It’s a NY thing

 

[UnparalledPark]

I brought up the idea of fox and laffy for dahlin and cozens prior to the deadline. No idea what else we would have had to add but I thought then and still believe that kind of trade would have been great for this team. Out of all those players dahlin is the least likely one to be traded.

The fox watch is going to be on this summer

Zac Jones is proving he is not an NHL defender for any team that wants to win a Stanley cup. It's his lack of size, poor defensive reads, and his size. Offensively he's fine but it's starting to feel like I'm watching John gilmour again. He would get eaten alive in a playoff series.

I suggested Mika shifting to the wing over. Month prior to the Miller trade. Mika and his career are on an arc to be a worse version of stamkos. Stamkos played the center role for awhile and then became a pp left dot specialist. His 5v5 game continued to be erratic and he was moved to the wing to free him up a bit and give the harder responsibilities to other centers. Mika is now in the same spot. He's still being asked to do too much for what he is at this point but that's bc this roster is a mess.

Laffy = LOL
What a clown. Haven't liked him since he started here. He's never seemed to take this seriously and just always acted like he was handed things. Last year he looked like he finally got it and committed, it's looking more and more like his agent got in his ear about needing a big season to negotiate his contract, since he signed he has been a shell of the player he was last year in the playoffs. It's seriously embarrassing.

How the f*** does Phil Housley still have a job? It was a terrible hire at the time and it's insane he is still here. The literal basics of defending are constantly absent with this team regardless of the personnel

Put otter up with Panarin and Trocheck and see what happens. Put laffy in the press box for a game, at some point he needs the embarrassment

Can this coaching staff adjust their "breakout" to finally NOT have two forwards on the offensive side of the red line when their own defense is trying to break the puck out? One I can understand to stretch the d a little, but putting two on that side of the red limits easy pass plays and puck support. The defense makes so many bad plays breaking out the puck but it's usually bc there are no legitimate options for them based on where the forward support is. How many times have we watched them just resort to the flip and lob nonsense? It's because they have no options

This could be a very dangerous summer where Dolan decides he wants a certain something and tries to force Drury to make it happen.

Be on another hand, what the living hell is the actual plan right now within the org? A lot was said that Drury made moves to send a player out and gain another player and an asset (pick or prospect) which is great, but what is the plan? What is the vision for the team and how it plays?

It's becoming sad to watch trocheck go out there and try every game bc I believe he wants to be able to be as good as he was last year but his body won't let him. He's worn down and his back to playing like the player he was before he signed in nyr. The rangers need to find a 2c and push Trocheck down the lineup to the 3c role which is where he really belongs on a contending team.

The team has become a disappointing mini series that your excited to watch and then you see it's not good but you're already invested and feel like you need to see it out to the end. If they somehow make it into the playoffs it's most likely going to be an extremely embarrassing showing.

C is one of the hardest positions to fill on a team. I think Mika has a couple years of quality play at C left in him. He needs a play making winger and a coach that will sit his rear end down every time he passes the puck to his wing when he is at the middle of the ice 15 feet from the net. Someone on his line who can forecheck would be nice as well.

I hear you about the forwards leaving the zone to early, but it would be helpful if our D didn’t play the puck like they are eating marbles with chopsticks.

Trochek does look exhausted, but you can say that about most of the vets.

I agree that they have no discernible plan. What a mess, but if we do get someone that knows how to put a team together, we do have some good pieces to be a contender next year, though due to age, not for very long perhaps.

 

[Machinehead]

we were desperate for a jump start
we needed to go other currency for jtm, like BMB, Sykora +, but could not force
VAN's hand

We could have just not traded for him. That's an option that was on the table.

 

[UnparalledPark]

It was just a joke. Of course he will go for much more than that.

Oooops. Carry on.

 

[bernmeister]

We could have just not traded for him. That's an option that was on the table.

yes, and fair, but I don't consider him to have been useless, unproductive dead weight.
I'm agreeing you as to currency that should have been offered
we should look at selling high on BMB, Sykora, possibly Laba and Lamb also if Roo and the other guys look like a good enuf bet

also, per my other post.
I could see if he is amenable to return home
something around jtm, maybe small +, for
return 2026 1st [presum we keep 2025 1st]
Pens 2026 1t
return our 2027 2nd

somethin like dat

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I get the sense that the coaching staff and the GM are on different pages. The GM is clearly looking beyond this year. The coach is not. Kaliyev, Parsinnen, Berard, Othmann, Jones. These guys need to be playing. Win or lose. See what you have.

I don't think so.

They were (still are) close enough to a spot and the GM brought in vets to offset the ones he sent out. You can look beyond this year (and he did, he brought in some pieces that have term, for better or worse) while still giving your current group a chance to push for a spot.

Drury knows who his HC is and what he's most likely going to do. If he wanted those guys to get their minutes, he wouldn't have brought other guys in/kept those guys around.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

That trade is the only one I'm remotely interested in. The trades for other teams 6/7 dmen and guys we have no interest in playing is what bothers me.

Drury can't be here to reshape this team any longer, I said this before Christmas. He is in over his head. The guys he has been "targetting" for a long time are junk. He has no clue

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

yeah just wish he would play like he wanted to be here

 

[Machinehead]

That trade is the only one I'm remotely interested in. The trades for other teams 6/7 dmen and guys we have no interest in playing is what bothers me.

Those guys are going to be very easy to move on from. We committed to JT Miller for five years.

They need to tear this roster up like it's old carpet. Don't call it a rebuild if that makes you feel more comfortable but that's what they need to do. I think it's going to be very difficult to fit Miller into any sort of realistic timeline.

At the very least, this team is going to be all over the place next season. If everything goes right, you have something in place the following year. Now he's 33 going on 34.

Any notion of completing this project over the summer is a fantasy.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

This fan base is so doom and gloom it’s worse than Met fans

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

This fan base is so doom and gloom it’s worse than Met fans

the mets have more championships since 1940 than the rangers

 

[Machinehead]

This fan base is so doom and gloom it’s worse than Met fans

I don't think it's doom and gloom to say this group of players is old and their time came and went. It's reality.

I'd actually be very excited to start a new project.

Maybe Miller fits into the next iteration of the team in some capacity, but right now it just feels like one more shot at loading up for this team when it seemed, for most of the season, that Drury understood the run was over.

I sincerely hope he has a plan and didn't just get fooled by them getting hot for two weeks.

 

[NYR Viper]

I don't think it's doom and gloom to say this group of players is old and their time came and went. It's reality.

I'd actually be very excited to start a new project.

Maybe Miller fits into the next iteration of the team in some capacity, but right now it just feels like one more shot at loading up for this team when it seemed, for most of the season, that Drury understood the run was over.

I sincerely hope he has a plan and didn't just get fooled by them getting hot for two weeks.

If Drury moves Kreider and Panarin this summer, which seems somewhat likely, they have ample cap space and opportunity to make some moves to properly re-tune this roster. That's not to say it's a finished product, but that is some MAJOR changes in the matter of a year (Goodrow, Trouba, Kakko, Panarin, Kreider and Miller in).

They have ample players who are young and appear to have NHL futures on the wing. Trading from that position makes sense to bring in someone they will likely target in the off-season. I'm still not sure Gavrikov re-signs in LA. That was rumored but nothing is across the finish line there.

 

[bernmeister]

yeah just wish he would play like he wanted to be here

Just wish he was still able to go there, i.e., not injured, and fans would speak to the truth and admit that, instead of false narrative like he is 111% fully able to play full tilt all the time so he must be dogging it

we are in 2 dif places, I am wishing you were here...

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

because we're the Rongos, thats what we do

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Developing wingers is literally the easiest position to fill lol

They have no young centers who will make an impact, and they have no defensemen who project to be top line players

I get people want to color this rosy but it’s really not

 

[DanielBrassard]

With Mika now appearing to be a winger, this will be the umpteenth offseason in a row where we desperately need a middle 6 center...

We really need a true #1 center to push Miller and Trocheck down, that’s the problem. Better hope Eichel is available somehow in 2026.

 

[DanielBrassard]

Can somebody remind me why we traded a 1st round pick for a 32 year old center?

We put new flooring in a building getting wired for demolition.

Nope, but Drury had to do it and it was too great of an opportunity to pass up or something. Never mind that by the time the rangers might be anything worth a damn Miller will be turning 34 or 35.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Just wish he was still able to go there, i.e., not injured, and fans would speak to the truth and admit that, instead of false narrative like he is 111% fully able to play full tilt all the time so he must be dogging it

we are in 2 dif places, I am wishing you were here...

listen bern i’m an OG Kreider fan but the excuses are weak. if his injury is affecting his play why is playing?

 

[Machinehead]

We really need a true #1 center to push Miller and Trocheck down, that’s the problem. Better hope Eichel is available somehow in 2026.

People don't aim high enough imo at the most important positions.

Same thing on defense. Everyone is looking for a partner for Fox. That's K'Andre Miller.

What they really need is a top pair defenseman to play on the second pair to comfortably push Miller up, without Miller having to stay on the second pair to carry some corpse.

That could be a lefty, or hell, stack up on the right side. I don't care. They need another excellent defenseman. Accept no substitutes.