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

[Machinehead]

You're welcome!

I do think Fox needs to play faster, though. I'm not talking about skating, but decision making. It's been an issue since the Devils series 2 years ago. That's different from him being more aggressive, and really has nothing to do with his partner.

I think you could say that about a lot of guys, and I've started beating the drum of "how many coaches can this core get?" but Fox is one guy that we know is capable of it.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

wait are people actually debating matthews/fox?

it isnt even close lol.

if toronto makes matthews somewhat available we should do everything in our power to trade for him. no one should be off limits

No thanks, he's a ghost in the playoffs, softest big player I've ever seen

 

[17futurecap]

Peca going to be assistant for Hawks.

 

[Tawnos]

I think you could say that about a lot of guys, and I've started beating the drum of "how many coaches can this core get?" but Fox is one guy that we know is capable of it.

The "how many coaches" question drives me a little crazy. Like... sure, the players were playing like shit last year. That doesn't mean that Laviolette wasn't also coaching like shit. They were supposed to hold on to a guy who is a problem because other people are also a problem?

Fix both. It doesn't matter which order it happens in.

 

[bl02]

Im a Schneider fan but hes a 3rd pair defenseman and plays the minutes of one. Is he capable of more? I think so. Are the rangers going to pay him over Borgen or on the left in the top 4 consistently? Doesn't look like it. Byram has missed 9 games over the past 2 seasons, played 82 this year at 22 minutes a night.

If we want to make changes to the team we actually have to be willing to make changes. Not pearl clutch every player on a roster that isnt good enough.

Rather take that risk on looking for a young center. I know not easy to do but don't wanna have to cringe everytime Byram takes a hit from behind when he goes to retrieve a puck.

 

[Machinehead]

The "how many coaches" question drives me a little crazy. Like... sure, the players were playing like shit last year. That doesn't mean that Laviolette wasn't also coaching like shit. They were supposed to hold on to a guy who is a problem because other people are also a problem?

Fix both. It doesn't matter which order it happens in.

I'm on board with that.

 

[LokiDog]

I know most on here are not big Schneider fans but I am not trading a guy who has been reliable and hasn't missed any games for another guy with concussion issues. We just traded our best young player because of this and I am not willing to take a risk for another guy with concussion issues.

Byram played 73 and 82 games the past two years for 155 out of 164 games (some people glance and see 55, 18, 82 but the 55 and 18 are the same year, just different teams).

Chytil played a total 140 over the past 3 seasons, out of 246 possible. Byram’s injury concerns are over blown.

In 22-23 he missed 40 games with a hip injury. He hasn’t had a concussion in almost 4 years.

Two years ago he said “Throughout my injuries, I’ve learned a lot about taking care of my body, warming up, nutrition. I feel like everything is kind of starting to come together here, and hopefully my play continues to elevate.”

And he’s missed 9 games since.

As others have said, I don’t think Fox is your typical offensive D who needs a steady stay at home partner. Fox is good defensively. He’s a bad skater. Having a mobile partner who can do something with the puck is a far better solution for him. If Miller worked so well with Fox, Byram is 18 months younger and a much better puck mover and probably an even better skater. I think they’d fit very well together. Girard and Dahlin weren’t good partners for Byram. They also want to be mobile with the puck. Fox is perfect. He’s cerebral. He’d end up having to skate less and have a partner who can actually do something when he finds him open with space. I’d wager a career year for Byram playing with Fox.

 

[Vitto79]

Peca going to be assistant for Hawks.

So new staff completely likely
Muse still around ?

 

[Machinehead]

I have my issues with Byram but he's not like, terrible. It's not something I would dismiss out of hand.

 

[MrAlmost]

Not a fan of losing peca. Led a massive improvement to faceoffs and a really good PK.

 

[bl02]

Byram played 73 and 82 games the past two years for 155 out of 164 games (some people glance and see 55, 18, 82 but the 55 and 18 are the same year, just different teams).

Chytil played a total 140 over the past 3 seasons, out of 246 possible. Byram’s injuries concerns are over blown.

In 22-23 he missed 40 games with a hip injury. He hasn’t had a concussion in almost 4 years.

Two years ago he said “Throughout my injuries, I’ve learned a lot about taking care of my body, warming up, nutrition. I feel like everything is kind of starting to come together here, and hopefully my play continues to elevate.”

And he’s missed 9 games since.

As others have said, I don’t think Fox is your typical offensive D who needs a steady stay at home partner. Fox is good defensively. He’s a bad skater. Having a mobile partner who can do something with the puck is a far better solution for him. If Miller worked so well with Fox, Byram is 18 months younger and a much better puck mover and probably an even better skater. I think they’d fit very well together. Girard and Dahlin weren’t good partners for Byram. They also want to be mobile with the puck. Fox is perfect. He’s cerebral. He’d end up having to skate less and have a partner who can actually do something when he finds him open with space. I’d wager a career year for Byram playing with Fox.

I am sure Chytil and most athletes do the same. Unfortunately, its a fact when you have had multiple concussions you are more prone to getting another. (up to 9 times more likely).

Bowen Byram admits that he contemplated ending his hockey career due to concussion concerns

Post-concussion syndrome can be an absolute nightmare to go through, feeling fine one minute and downright awful the next. But

www.markerzone.com

 

[LokiDog]

I have my issues with Byram but he's not like, terrible. It's not something I would dismiss out of hand.

I’m only basing this off of my feelings about the player and the tools he has, but regardless of whether Byram becomes a Ranger, I think this will be looked back on very similarly to when Bennett was on his way out of Calgary. Great buy low opportunity on a guy that has not met draft expectations but shows a lot of signs that he could. That’s just a hunch but I won’t be surprised if in 3 years he’s a 26 year old 65 point 20+ minute D and teams are saying they wish they traded for him when his value was low.

 

[LokiDog]

I am sure Chytil and most athletes do the same. Unfortunately, its a fact when you have had multiple concussions you are more prone to getting another. (up to 9 times more likely).

Bowen Byram admits that he contemplated ending his hockey career due to concussion concerns

Post-concussion syndrome can be an absolute nightmare to go through, feeling fine one minute and downright awful the next. But

www.markerzone.com

That article is 4 years old and he hasn’t had a concussion since. Chytil can’t go 40 games without one. Man, I guess we’d have been dumb to acquire Crosby after those concussion concerns early on. He’s been riddled with them since.

 

[bl02]

That article is 4 years old and he hasn’t had a concussion since. Chytil can’t go 40 games without one. Man, I guess we’d have been dumb to acquire Crosby after those concussion concerns early on. He’s been riddled with them since.

I know the Crosby comparison everyone uses. For every Crosby there is a Michael Ferland type.
4 years or not unfortunately its a fact he is more prone to getting another concussion which would be number 4 or possibly more.

 

[LokiDog]

I know the Crosby comparison everyone uses. For every Crosby there is a Michael Ferland type.
4 years or not unfortunately its a fact he is more prone to getting another concussion which would be number 4 or possibly more.

You could write the same thing about 50% of the NHL at that point. Between juniors and the NHL, virtually half of players have sustained a concussion or two, and not all go detected. I didn’t say there aren’t injury concerns, I said they’re overblown. And we’re not talking about signing a Michael Ferland type player, we’re talking about the potential to add a 23 year old possible top pairing D man. Is there risk? Of course, there is in any trade, injury concerns or not. I think it’s a good gamble, and his health has been steady.

 

[HonestGabe]

So hypothetically, if Schneider goes in a Byram deal you have

Byram Fox
Miller Borgen
Soucy ???
Vaakanainen

Every summer there are at least 4-5 quality #4-5ish defensemen that can be had for ~$2m AAV on a short term deal. Florida has 3 of them (Mikkola, who has become a solid #3, Kulikov, and Schmidt). There may be buyouts, players who overplay their hand on the market looking for long term deals, and unqualified RFAs that hit UFA.

Good teams find these players all the time. We did this with Stralman. We desperately need to add a player like that to turn that group into a good one. But the potential is there.

Like others have mentioned, Byram isn't perfect but I'm taking my chances with both Byram and Miller in a system that emphasizes defensemen that push the pace. In any event, that would be worlds better than what the team trotted out there last season.

 

[bl02]

You could write the same thing about 50% of the NHL at that point. Between juniors and the NHL, virtually half of players have sustained a concussion or two, and not all go detected. I didn’t say there aren’t injury concerns, I said they’re overblown. And we’re not talking about signing a Michael Ferland type player, we’re talking about the potential to add a 23 year old possible top pairing D man. Is there risk? Of course, there is in any trade, injury concerns or not. I think it’s a good gamble, and his health has been steady.

I would rather take a lesser risk somewhere else if I am trading a young asset like Schneider who for sure has good value around the league.
Not sure about the factuality of 50 percent of the players in this league having multiple concussions but I know Byram (by his own admission) has had serious side effects from his previous ones.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Losing Peca sucks. We better keep Muse.

 

[Alluckks]

Sounds like a coach that would actually play guys like Berard in a good spot.

 

[Alluckks]

If Sullivan’s system likes aggressive quick skating wingers then that exactly fits a guy like Peterka as well

 

[NYRnine94]

Why does every defenseman need to be 6'5 230 pounds all of a sudden? Fox is one of the best and he's not even 6 feet tall. Makar is probably the best defenseman in the league and he's only a little bigger than Fox. Just because a cup winning team had some big defensemen doesn't mean we just go out and trade every small player we have. Fox does something that nobody in this organization can do, score points and move the puck. A NYR defenseman who can score and put up points is like hitting the lottery and getting struck by lightning at the same time. Keep Fox.

 

[Charlie Conway]

Not a fan of losing peca. Led a massive improvement to faceoffs and a really good PK.

Peca's a blow.

With Sullivan, sounds like Drury's committed to being competitive. Not like Sullivan has a history of working well with young players.

If he's running it back again, I don't see how we're any better than last year barring Cuylle, Perreault, Othmann, etc. taking a step forward and getting more from the depth guys like Parssinen. This sounds like another year of retooling and growing pains.

I think Mika's showed his cards at this point, and while he's fine in a top-6 role, he doesn't have that same dynamic level anymore. JT Miller is going to be the 1C because we don't have better options and he's the best candidate. Just worried that C group is going to age fast and we have no one to even consider for any of it.

Cap's going to be tight. If moving Kreider is an option, it's one worth exploring, especially if they want Othmann, Perreault, and Berard getting meaningful minutes.

I'd much rather watch a hungry young team fighting to figure it out than whatever it was we got last year. First time in over a decade I skipped a lot of games.

 

[Charlie Conway]

Why does every defenseman need to be 6'5 230 pounds all of a sudden? Fox is one of the best and he's not even 6 feet tall. Makar is probably the best defenseman in the league and he's only a little bigger than Fox. Just because a cup winning team had some big defensemen doesn't mean we just go out and trade every small player we have. Fox does something that nobody in this organization can do, score points and move the puck. A NYR defenseman who can score and put up points is like hitting the lottery and getting struck by lightning at the same time. Keep Fox.

Drury just seems to really value size on D. Most NHL GMs are size queens.

But those guys need to be smart and have mobility. Size means nothing if everyone just zooms around them and they're too slow to catch up or lack the IQ to even make a play. Drury just keeps rolling the dice.

Physicality may help in the playoffs, but it's no use to us if we can't even get there in the first place.

 

[NYRnine94]

Drury just seems to really value size on D. Most NHL GMs are size queens.

But those guys need to be smart and have mobility. Size means nothing if everyone just zooms around them and they're too slow to catch up or lack the IQ to even make a play. Drury just keeps rolling the dice.

Physicality may help in the playoffs, but it's no use to us if we can't even get there in the first place.

I agree, i just feel like people are forgetting how important Fox is for THIS team. You need a good balance and a mixture of everything. Fox gives us something that no other dman gives us and his size should not even be a concern. Guy puts up 70+ points a year consistently as a dman and every Ranger fan knows that offensive dmen are like a myth to this organization. You keep Fox and get him help. Put other good dmen around him instead of putting it all on Fox. It's like we got one good defenseman and then thought the defense was set. Getting a legit top 4 LD is my main priority this offseason

 

[NYRnine94]

To add to that, i don't understand how we sign Igor to that deal and then put a shit defense around him. Unless they think Igor can just do everything? Rangers are obviously built from the back end as usual, why not get an elite defense to go with it for once?