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

[Tawnos]

Riiiiiight. So McDonagh was ecstatic to be on a shit team in Nashville instead of being in Tampa Bay and being basically forced to go there or risk being on waivers and going to an even worse team? Got it. And then has the opportunity to go back to a playoff team or go golfing in Nashville. Really tough call there.

If these players (Mika & Co.) were on TB there still would’ve been a divide because they’re soft as a babies ass AND somehow feel like they should have input into what the GM is doing or behaving.

See: Rantannen and how Mackinnon & Co reacted to that. They were professional and business like and moved on instead of caving in their season over how “nice” the GM is.

This is more about the weakness of that group than it is about Drury being a prick.

Don’t insult me with the “video game” reference. The person being more realistic, and business like, in this discussion certainly isn’t you.

Who said McDonagh was ecstatic? Honestly, I didn’t even read past that point.

A player will be more likely to understand and respect a hard decision like that if the GM is up front about it. That doesn’t mean they’re ecstatic about it or even like it.

 

[RangersFan1994]

Another future Canes Rangers trade???



Fits a need

 

[bernmeister]

Serious question and not trying to be an ass, but why do you feel the need to keep sticking up for Mika?

Mika was absolutely terrible for about the first three months of the season. Yes, he got better in the second half of the season, but I cannot unsee what he did during the first half because it was that bad.

It's not personal. I want to like Mika and would gladly post about how great he is if he goes back to being a PPG+ player, tries to play defense and battles for pucks.

I'm not sure Sam Bennett is the answer because he will be expensive. However, this team needs a culture change that emphasizes battling for pucks and leading by example. Guys that look like they actually give a damn. Yes, we need scoring, but Mika does not bring enough of that to make up for his other definicies I just mentioned. If he was putting up 100+ points, I could overlook a lot of the other stuff but he's not.

The poster you refer to has a right to his op, then an obligation to defend it if he wants it to pass muster/be taken seriously.
Given that, you have a right to challenge his position as we all do of each other.

I would say for the entirety of the WHOLE SEASON, meeka was good about 13-ish wks. He had 1 strong run offensively around Christmas [tho his def still gagged big time] and even that could not make it to end of the year.

Given what we pay this guy, there is no excuse, unless his mental issues are so severe he just effin LTIR and retire

 

[RangersFan1994]

I want Bennet and Hagel



Eichel also is worth a shot

Drury should have dealt for Hagel when he had his chance. Misses out with a talented player in his mid 20s like he always does

 

[bernmeister]

yes on KAM
no on Gust
when he was here, he was solid half a season then fully ran out of gas
coupla seasons older, he must have even less in the tank



yes, yes it is, but again
bern >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
stupidity of not developing due to win now bs
capitulate to that fact

quoting myself b'c this is relevant to the same poster who will argue with me that water is not wet, yet once again, to give me ha-ha without any substantive rebuttal, and oh wait, why is that?
BECAUSE HE'S GOT NUTTIN
learn w da bern!

 

[LOFIN]

Speaking for myself, I just want a player who gives a shit. That's the difference. I'm sure Mika cares in his head, but he can't seem to translate it on the ice for months at a time. Just give a shit is all I ask for and 90% of the team seem to just give up when it gets a little tough.

This is how you end up with a Barclay Goodrow

 

[leetch99]

DO NOT SHOOT THE MESSENGER . This stuff came from a Major Junior Hockey Scout who shall remain nameless .

I got some juicy stuff for you guys to digest over the weekend . The source is good . I'm just not sure how to relay it all . Some good stuff....stuff most of us are already well aware of .

The team management /and coaching had nothing against Trouba other than they figured he made too much and they could replace him cheaper . Common knowledge as we were well aware of .

Now the best one.....The owner took Turk and Kelly out for a pre playoff dinner before they faced NJ and he asked Turk what to expect ...He was told by the coach it would not be good because the team was a Fuc**ng bunch of p***yes and that will not play as a team !!!! LMAO when I read that.....and we all knew it as well . and then we watched it unfold . I wonder if Drury knew he had a pre playoff dinner with the two ????? We should get Larry Brooks on that one .

Most of us this figured this out . Turk was pretty pissed when Kane arrived ....was not what he wanted . Kelly had mentioned it to his PEI family right after it happened .

I left some stuff out for another day....some Kreider/TBL playoff series stuff ............

 

[80s Kid]

The poster you refer to has a right to his op, then an obligation to defend it if he wants it to pass muster/be taken seriously.
Given that, you have a right to challenge his position as we all do of each other.

I would say for the entirety of the WHOLE SEASON, meeka was good about 13-ish wks. He had 1 strong run offensively around Christmas [tho his def still gagged big time] and even that could not make it to end of the year.

Given what we pay this guy, there is no excuse, unless his mental issues are so severe he just effin LTIR and retire

I agree with you in principle, however, it can be tough to get a read on people sometimes when you're just reading words without room for nuance. While I think the poster has been eerily pro-Mika over the past week or so, I wanted to leave open the possibility that I misread the situation because I was referring to multiple posts over a period of time that I don't feel like going back and digging up.

Regardless, I pretty much agree about Mika. The bar was set so low after the first few months that it wasn't too difficult for his play to improve. If Drury can move him out of here for a reasonable cost, he should do it (I'd give Drury a lot of latitude on moving Mika due to his contract). I don't what Mika was so worked up over but he should have gone through the player assistance program if it was that bad. At the very least, Lavi should have benched him because his play was atrocious.

He's looked better as a RW but we're paying him to be a C. Quite frankly it looks like whoever plays with JT Miller looks better.

 

[Siddi]

I just got the sense that your posts over the past week or two seemed to have a theme of sticking up for Mika when other people posted negative comments about him. If I misinterpreted the situation and nature of your previous posts...my bad.

I just got the feeling that you didn't like people promoting guys who are more "hardasses" (for lack of a better term) over someone like Mika. Not just Bennett, but JT Miller was another. I'd like Bennett on the Rangers but probably not for what he's going to cost. As for JT Miller, while I'm not crazy about trading someone that age, I think it was a reasonable gamble to take on someone who has the potential to be a leader while also being able to put up pretty nice point totals.

Once again, it is about the double standard.

For example, you see JT as this potential leader but how do you explain him moping for half a season followed by him getting benched because of his lackluster play and then the very next day after getting benched takes his ball and goes home leaving his team out to dry for a month. How is that leadership?

Zibanejad gets shit on for being perceived as a soft moping bitch but when JT does the same thing, crickets. This is the double standard I am sick and tired of.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

DO NOT SHOOT THE MESSENGER . This stuff came from a Major Junior Hockey Scout who shall remain nameless .

I got some juicy stuff for you guys to digest over the weekend . The source is good . I'm just not sure how to relay it all . Some good stuff....stuff most of us are already well aware of .

The team management /and coaching had nothing against Trouba other than they figured he made too much and they could replace him cheaper . Common knowledge as we were well aware of .

Now the best one.....The owner took Turk and Kelly out for a pre playoff dinner before they faced NJ and he asked Turk what to expect ...He was told by the coach it would not be good because the team was a Fuc**ng bunch of p***yes and that will not play as a team !!!! LMAO when I read that.....and we all knew it as well . and then we watched it unfold . I wonder if Drury knew he had a pre playoff dinner with the two ????? We should get Larry Brooks on that one .

Most of us this figured this out . Turk was pretty pissed when Kane arrived ....was not what he wanted . Kelly had mentioned it to his PEI family right after it happened .

I left some stuff out for another day....some Kreider/TBL playoff series stuff ............

tell us the Kreider stuff so i can hate him more.

 

[80s Kid]

Once again, it is about the double standard.

For example, you see JT as this potential leader but how do you explain him moping for half a season followed by him getting benched because of his lackluster play and then the very next day after getting benched takes his ball and goes home leaving his team out to dry for a month. How is that leadership?

Zibanejad gets shit on for being perceived as a soft moping bitch but when JT does the same thing, crickets. This is the double standard I am sick and tired of.

It's a fair point but I did previously bring up the fact that the majority of Vancouver fans still liked JT Miller and preferred EP traded as he was viewed as the root of the problems.

 

[leetch99]

tell us the Kreider stuff so i can hate him more.

LOL....I'll leave that one for tomorrow or Sunday . I'm hoping to get a bit more clarification on it.....That bit above about the dinner party is classic Turk....he will say what is on his mind .

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Wdym he swung an absolute coup for Borgen whom he had targeted for a while iirc

 

[Greschner4]

The dinner without Drury would explain the Game 5 shouting match, especially if Dolan told Drury Turk thought his team was a bunch of wimps.

 

[haohmaru]

Who said McDonagh was ecstatic? Honestly, I didn’t even read past that point.

A player will be more likely to understand and respect a hard decision like that if the GM is up front about it. That doesn’t mean they’re ecstatic about it or even like it.

I stopped reading after “Who said”.

See? I can do that junior high bullshit too.

Anyway, done with this conversation. You’re entitled to your opinion. As am I.

 

[bleedblue94]

Would a laffy for slafkovsky trade make sense this summer? Change of scenery for two 1 overall picks making similar money.

 

[Machinehead]

Drury should have dealt for Hagel when he had his chance. Misses out with a talented player in his mid 20s like he always does

Guys go to the Lightning and get better. I feel like Hagel is still the guy he was on Chicago if we trade for him.

 

[Kendo]

Wdym he swung an absolute coup for Borgen whom he had targeted for a while iirc

That's the funny thing. I actually really like Borgen for his role. We paid 350 cents on the dollar to acquire him, but he's a nice piece.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Guys go to the Lightning and get better. I feel like Hagel is still the guy he was on Chicago if we trade for him.

And people forget that at the time, the trade was seen as a MASSIVE overpayment by TB.

 

[Machinehead]

And people forget that at the time, the trade was seen as a MASSIVE overpayment by TB.

You can do stuff like that when you're capable of identifying potential

 

[mrhockey193195]

Once again, it is about the double standard.

For example, you see JT as this potential leader but how do you explain him moping for half a season followed by him getting benched because of his lackluster play and then the very next day after getting benched takes his ball and goes home leaving his team out to dry for a month. How is that leadership?

Zibanejad gets shit on for being perceived as a soft moping bitch but when JT does the same thing, crickets. This is the double standard I am sick and tired of.

I'm waiting for the same people who make "DJ Mika" jokes to non-stop question JTM's commitment to hockey now that we know he's trying to qualify for the US Open in golf.

 

[bleedblue94]

DO NOT SHOOT THE MESSENGER . This stuff came from a Major Junior Hockey Scout who shall remain nameless .

I got some juicy stuff for you guys to digest over the weekend . The source is good . I'm just not sure how to relay it all . Some good stuff....stuff most of us are already well aware of .

The team management /and coaching had nothing against Trouba other than they figured he made too much and they could replace him cheaper . Common knowledge as we were well aware of .

Now the best one.....The owner took Turk and Kelly out for a pre playoff dinner before they faced NJ and he asked Turk what to expect ...He was told by the coach it would not be good because the team was a Fuc**ng bunch of p***yes and that will not play as a team !!!! LMAO when I read that.....and we all knew it as well . and then we watched it unfold . I wonder if Drury knew he had a pre playoff dinner with the two ????? We should get Larry Brooks on that one .

Most of us this figured this out . Turk was pretty pissed when Kane arrived ....was not what he wanted . Kelly had mentioned it to his PEI family right after it happened .

I left some stuff out for another day....some Kreider/TBL playoff series stuff ............

Turk is tight with Doug McLean and McLean often alludes to some very not good stuff in nyr without diving into it, but each time he brings it up he seems to mention something different to the puzzle. Definitely feels like Drury hired Turks bc he thought he has the best choice in the moment and was stable/vet enough to counter the first time college coach thing. We all know turk did not love that roster but turk was also a hands off coach that gave the room to the players. That was part of the trouba turk issue is trouba was trying to babysit the room but he wanted/needed turk to hold the puke heads accountable and not just give them ice time even when the effort was missing. It's the battle for every coach. If you stop playing your best players to send a message to them and you lose them your record takes you closer to being fired, and if you lose while playing the vets then it's easier to try to put the losses back on the players. This is a big part of in the modern day why coaches just don't last. They all resort to what's safe or expected in an effort to not be second guessed and to keep their jobs. A GM coach marriage would be nice for a chance...

 

[Machinehead]

Once again, it is about the double standard.

For example, you see JT as this potential leader but how do you explain him moping for half a season followed by him getting benched because of his lackluster play and then the very next day after getting benched takes his ball and goes home leaving his team out to dry for a month. How is that leadership?

Zibanejad gets shit on for being perceived as a soft moping bitch but when JT does the same thing, crickets. This is the double standard I am sick and tired of.

They'll post videos of Avery dunking on Zibanejad and just ignore that Avery was out of the league at 31 because he wanted to model and play fake celebrity in the Hamptons.

 

[bleedblue94]

Once again, it is about the double standard.

For example, you see JT as this potential leader but how do you explain him moping for half a season followed by him getting benched because of his lackluster play and then the very next day after getting benched takes his ball and goes home leaving his team out to dry for a month. How is that leadership?

Zibanejad gets shit on for being perceived as a soft moping bitch but when JT does the same thing, crickets. This is the double standard I am sick and tired of.

Haha you have no idea what has happened in Vancouver the last two years eh...

 

[Machinehead]

I've been watching the Lightning with their board in the playoffs and it's the same platitudes we use. Nobody works hard except the team that wins the Cup.

I don't like the way we play any more than anybody else but we need to address real issues with the way the roster is made up.

If we make it all about attitude we're just gonna end up with another bad team that, at best, offers performative solutions only, and people will ultimately get tired of them too and offer the same critiques.