Speculation: Roster Building Thread: Part XX (WTF are we going to do this Off-Season edition)

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I would trade Laf (plus) to acquire a chicken parm hero.

Bump that up to a veal parm and we have a deal

 

[Machinehead]

Bump that up to a veal parm and we have a deal

That'll cost you a 1st. Sorry, no useless grinder in three years.

 

[Beliveau]

Rangers’ lost season full of controversies is finally over

Right through the final day of the Rangers’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season, the off-ice issues were a constant.

nypost.com

 

[duhmetreE]

I don’t know… Svech seems like a better Kakko to me.

I want to see Laffy with a good modern NHL coach. We saw the glimpses last year. I think he’ll have a great year next season imo he really has to train this season though.. his shot has major room for improvement

 

[duhmetreE]

They keep trading for discontented pending free agents thinking they're just gonna fall head over heels for Raleigh, North Carolina.

They did it with Adam Fox.

Trading Necas without a deal in place should get a GM fired

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Ownership is an issue here, Drury and Lav should have been shown their walking papers at Christmas, then you see how the team reacts to new coaching, then you decide where to go from there. We have no idea right now what players to keep or get rid of, was Laf, Miller, Kreider, Trochek and Mika's year because of the management and coaching issues or is this where they are? There's no way Drury should have been allowed to make that Kakko deal, it's infuriating to see this team get worse and worse with each trade. Soucey??? Are you kidding me?

 

[Machinehead]

I have friends who are more casual followers or just not fans of the Rangers that are still in awe that this vaunted roster isn't good.

There are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon but a big one that I would like to address as we build is that our more middling forwards -the guys that aren't star scorers- aren't good all-around forwards and do nothing but score 45 points.

Lafreniere is good at finishing and finding an incisive pass. He sucks at everything else. He doesn't carry the puck well. He doesn't forecheck or cycle well. He's one of the worst defensive players in the NHL. Suggesting we put him on PP1 to get more scoring, assuming that holds, doesn't really solve the problem.

Cuylle is a terrible at defense and while he hits a lot, his impact on forechecking and cycling is limited for a player with that many hits. Granted, he doesn't play with anybody who's good at that. He's also not a pick carrier but again, who is? Panarin, that's it. We traded our only other decent one to Vancouver (and yes, I know he's made out of glass). I like Cuylle and I think he has the most potential with the right pieces around him but his limitations are things we're already bad at as a team.

BTW I'm counting Panarin and JT Miller as top tier scorers. That's probably generous to Miller but he scored a lot after the trade and I don't feel like rehashing it. Let's just say he's one of our scorers.

Nobody else justified their existence by scoring alone. Whatever Mika and Kreider did besides scoring kind of disappeared this year, especially Kreider who definitely used to be a good all-around player. Trocheck has the vibes of being a hustle guy but tbh he was always more offense-first than he gets pegged for.

For, again, a variety of reasons, they have some sexier than average names, which leads to certain expectations, but it's just not a very well put together group of forwards when you look at how their individual abilities fit together.

We have 12 forwards and 10 of them suck at carrying the puck (Panarin, and again, I'll give you Miller). ZERO of them have back-off speed. ZERO of them are great defensively. Only one of them tries to shoot for the volume and he's not even in the regular 12.

You could also say zero of them tend to live in the slot, but you know, teams try to take away the slot. It might be open more if we did anything well.

 

[Machinehead]

Trading Necas without a deal in place should get a GM fired

I agree.

 

[TGWL]

I have friends who are more casual followers or just not fans of the Rangers that are still in awe that this vaunted roster isn't good.

There are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon but a big one that I would like to address as we build is that our more middling forwards -the guys that aren't star scorers- aren't good all-around forwards and do nothing but score 45 points.

I know fans wanted to see a lot more youth involved last year and this year, but the gap last year between the core and the rest of them was astronomical, and now that some of the core didn't produce on the score sheet, the team took a nose dive. Yeah, we had some other structure, gap control or confused reasons, but the improvement between the non-core didn't cover the gap difference. This was bound to happen when the core didn't produce enough to win games.

 

[haohmaru]

Zibanejad now has as many goals as a Ranger as Messier did.

I know there's a lot of vitriol circling around Mika, but I felt like he was trash for half the season and decent for the rest of it. Hope he turns it around next year playing with Miller. I guess that can be said for about half of this roster.

Kreider is gone for sure after last night's swan song which was kind of sad. Wish the two parties could just get over it and make it work. He hurt his legacy this year and that's too bad for such a smart guy.

Really curious how much Drury wants to get done and how much he actually does this summer. It's going to be interesting.

 

[Machinehead]

I know fans wanted to see a lot more youth involved last year and this year, but the gap last year between the core and the rest of them was astronomical, and now that some of the core didn't produce on the score sheet, the team took a nose dive. Yeah, we had some other structure, gap control or confused reasons, but the improvement between the non-core didn't cover the gap difference. This was bound to happen when the core didn't produce enough to win games.

Right, and the guy's we've drafted to start filtering in, just aren't good.

Cuylle is the best one. Again, I like Cuylle, but this ain't Wyatt Johnston or whatever the good McLeod's name is.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Why is this sack of shit coach still employed?

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Zibanejad now has as many goals as a Ranger as Messier did.

I know there's a lot of vitriol circling around Mika, but I felt like he was trash for half the season and decent for the rest of it. Hope he turns it around next year playing with Miller. I guess that can be said for about half of this roster.

Kreider is gone for sure after last night's swan song which was kind of sad. Wish the two parties could just get over it and make it work. He hurt his legacy this year and that's too bad for such a smart guy.

Really curious how much Drury wants to get done and how much he actually does this summer. It's going to be interesting.

He’s been trash for like 2+ seasons. And just because he went from an F - to a D+ as the season went on doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be shown the door ASAP, he’s a major component of the rotten core

 

[Homelander]

Just checking in to see if Laviolettedown and Dreary are still employed

 

[TGWL]

Why is this sack of shit coach still employed?

Because Drury didn't want to make this a Bad Friday.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

If I'd have to guess, Rangers will definitely trade Kreider and will look to move Panarin. Kreider has 2 years left and I'm assuming even at his AAV, after this past season the Rangers will have to retain some. What are we realistically looking at in return? B level prospect and a 1st?

Panarin, even with the recent news, will return a pretty penny. Young roster player, good prospect and a 1st.

K. Miller i think is 50/50 he is moved.

Then question is how to effectively use that cap space.

 

[RangersFan1994]

 

[Crease]

If I'd have to guess, Rangers will definitely trade Kreider and will look to move Panarin. Kreider has 2 years left and I'm assuming even at his AAV, after this past season the Rangers will have to retain some. What are we realistically looking at in return? B level prospect and a 1st?

Panarin, even with the recent news, will return a pretty penny. Young roster player, good prospect and a 1st.

K. Miller i think is 50/50 he is moved.

Then question is how to effectively use that cap space.

They’ll add another 4 years and $50 million to Igor’s contact.

 

[TGWL]

He works hard and is defensively responsible. Would like to see more to his offensive game, but I could see bottom 6 potential on his size and effort.

 

[80shockeywasbuns]

Carolina's best team was the one they had last year. That roster was legitimately good and they crushed off the rush as much as they did their "shoot from everywhere" BS. The NYR PP (when it was good) was an awful matchup for their super aggressive PK and Rod didn't really back off of it until they were 3 games in the hole. If you look at the teams that have knocked them out, they've been the ones that have roasted their PK which has generally been top 5 (if not #1) in the league.

They aren't nearly as good this year but sometimes matchups and timing are really all that matter. NJD and then one of WSH/MTL is about as easy a road as it gets. The Atlantic is a bloodbath so by the time they get there they may be getting a shell of an opponent that would normally wipe them. I wouldn't write them off because their road to the finals may be really, really light depending on how taxing the road for the ATL finalist is and even more so for who ever comes out of the West.

The west is wide open. Even the WC teams are interesting as f*** (StL being fire for the 2nd half of the season, Minnesota being healthy.)

Shame Dallas is as banged up as they are. Can still see them beating Colorado even with out Hesikanen and Robertson - Colorado's got a ton of red flags that no one seems to want to mention (they don't really score 5v5 and their defense after the top pair is shit.)

Ceci/Lyubushkin/Petrovic/Dumba. I dont see it happening

 

[JimmyG89]

If this team doesn't trade Panarin, we're going to be stuck in the middle of the league and are likely left holding the bag and losing him for nothing.

I can't see Drury leaving thing as is up front. There is a clear cut group of 7 forwards that would be considered making a big change. Mika got out in front of it and said he isn't waiving. He just signed Lafreniere, can't see that happening either. Same goes for Miller. He's not trading Cuylle. I doubt Trocheck is dangled, but it might be wise to answer calls.

That leaves Kreider and Panarin. With their youth on the wings, these are the two that could and should be moved. The sticker prices for free agents are going up. Kreider I would hesitate on retaining money for a deal, but Panarin is only one year, they should be doing that to get even more value.

If not, what changes to the core are being made if you don't move one or both? I'm sure there will be more moves for the backend, but you've invested a good amount of draft capital on wingers, you need to use them or trade them.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Ceci/Lyubushkin/Petrovic/Dumba. I dont see it happening

Yeah it’s rough on D for them too.

They have the edge at forward and in goal though.

 

[Dfence033]

Svech being a worse version of Kreider is lunacy.

In what ways his Svech an actual improvement on Kreider (minus Kreider’s awful season this year)? Svech has scored 30 or more goals in a season exactly once (and it was exactly 30). He averages 26 goals and 62 points per 82.

Kreider has scored 30+ 3 times (36, 39, 52) and averages 30 goals and 54 points per 82 - including his awful season this year. Neither player is a stalwart defender, neither is overly physical.

For $6.5M cap hit vs $7.75M, I’m not seeing what makes it “lunacy.”

 

[duhmetreE]

I have friends who are more casual followers or just not fans of the Rangers that are still in awe that this vaunted roster isn't good.

There are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon but a big one that I would like to address as we build is that our more middling forwards -the guys that aren't star scorers- aren't good all-around forwards and do nothing but score 45 points.

Lafreniere is good at finishing and finding an incisive pass. He sucks at everything else. He doesn't carry the puck well. He doesn't forecheck or cycle well. He's one of the worst defensive players in the NHL. Suggesting we put him on PP1 to get more scoring, assuming that holds, doesn't really solve the problem.

Cuylle is a terrible at defense and while he hits a lot, his impact on forechecking and cycling is limited for a player with that many hits. Granted, he doesn't play with anybody who's good at that. He's also not a pick carrier but again, who is? Panarin, that's it. We traded our only other decent one to Vancouver (and yes, I know he's made out of glass). I like Cuylle and I think he has the most potential with the right pieces around him but his limitations are things we're already bad at as a team.

BTW I'm counting Panarin and JT Miller as top tier scorers. That's probably generous to Miller but he scored a lot after the trade and I don't feel like rehashing it. Let's just say he's one of our scorers.

Nobody else justified their existence by scoring alone. Whatever Mika and Kreider did besides scoring kind of disappeared this year, especially Kreider who definitely used to be a good all-around player. Trocheck has the vibes of being a hustle guy but tbh he was always more offense-first than he gets pegged for.

For, again, a variety of reasons, they have some sexier than average names, which leads to certain expectations, but it's just not a very well put together group of forwards when you look at how their individual abilities fit together.

We have 12 forwards and 10 of them suck at carrying the puck (Panarin, and again, I'll give you Miller). ZERO of them have back-off speed. ZERO of them are great defensively. Only one of them tries to shoot for the volume and he's not even in the regular 12.

You could also say zero of them tend to live in the slot, but you know, teams try to take away the slot. It might be open more if we did anything well.

On Laffy, he’s shown he could carry the puck. That’s what was different last season. It’s not just him though, the whole team plodded and coasted all season. I’ve never seen a team this bad at it.

I don’t think Cuylle is bad defensively. I honestly can’t grade anyone on defense based on this season.

I don’t think you need blazing speed but you have to play fast and attack as a unit.

 

[Mike in Houston]

My fantasy, very unrealistic, hence fantasy, would be for Kreider to finish his contract and retire here. Then move right in and kick Colton Orr, Tanner Glass, and Jed Ortmeyer out of player development.