Blais skates like rookie Kakko. He’s not an awful skater, it’s just not a strength. His game isn’t predicated on being a strong skater either; that’s one of the reasons he has potential. He’s learned(learning) to play to his strengths, which are tenacity, being a disruptive guy who creates space, a strong shot with a good release he doesn’t need time to get off. He acquitted himself well every time he had opportunities with talent in St. Louis. I’ve been watching him pretty keenly since their SC run. Always felt he’d be a great bottom six addition. I definitely think he has more than enough talent to be a third liner on his own merit and may well end up being a fit across from Panarin. There’s several candidates for that spot. He paced for 17 goals and 34 points last year. A change of situation could certainly see him succeed in a third line role.
Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XXI
- Thread starter Krams
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I'm not comparing him to Buch.
He was drafted 174th at 5'9 165lbs as an offensive player. He grew into a 6'2 205lbs frame. He is being deployed in a completely different role as what he's been used to. Sometimes that takes time. You also can't develop if you're hurt. That's the biggest concern.
Maybe Berube demanded him to be a grinder. He's been coached by Berube from the AHL to the big club. Maybe if they can turn the dial a little bit closer to the center, his skill can show while still maintaining the edge.
Liking Blais does not mean I like the trade or it's value. Gallant has worked wonders with similar talents
The principle makes sense. They are the 2 toughest positions to fill. Neither franchise trades their guy. But it makes sense.
Fox to EDM for Drai. Same principle, won’t happen lol
Kodiak
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WojtekWolski86
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- Nov 14, 2019
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Let's not fall in love with "potential" like everyone's obsession with Gauthier. To say he may end up across from Panarin seems to be really selling a penny stock turning into Apple.
NYSPORTS
back afta dis. . .
- Jun 17, 2019
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so i can't remind myself and others how well the Rangers did by getting Fox b/c the Buch return wasn't to some fans liking or we weren't sure how good Fox he would be? If that's the case shouldn't we wait for what Goodie brings to the table?
Kodiak
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I think there is some room for overlap in the two cores. Panarin’s game is built around smarts and shiftiness, so he could be an effective offensive player for a long time. Trouba and Kreider could be grizzled veteran leaders and (overpaid) depth players. It would require careful cap management to fit them all, but any deal to move them would probably require us retaining salary or taking a bad contract in return. So we’re dealing with this contracts or dead cap space regardless of how it plays out.
He’s significantly more established than Gauthier, and the difference here is Blais IS an NHL player who MAY have the upside to be a third liner rather than fourth. Slotting opposite Panarin has nothing to do with potential in so much as it really is completely up to the Breadman who he bestows his chemistry upon. Last year it was a career AHLer. The year before it was perennial (excellent) bottom sixer Jesper Fast.
That’s not me saying “Oh, Blais could be a top six player!” That’s just Panarin has a propensity for playing with guys who play with tenacity and create space for him. But Blais being an established 4th liner who looks like he can be a third liner isn’t the same thing as Gauthier’s potential.
Gauthier is a magic bean that doesn’t really look like he has the game to be a dedicated 4th liner unless he adjusts, but so far outside of some flashes here and there hasn’t shown that he can earn a spot higher up the lineup. If Gauthier had been a 4th round pick he’d likely be out of opportunities already, but his draft pedigree is keeping him above water. Blais has just shown that he has enough talent/tools that if he can stay healthy (an issue so far) he looks like a 15 goals 30 point physical shit stirrer, which is good enough for most third lines.
Kodiak
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This team has missed the playoffs for the last 4 years. I don’t think winning a Cup in the next 2 years is realistic.
Fitzy
Very Stable Genius
- Jan 29, 2009
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I can see Panarin around for a second window, for sure. It'll be interesting once Laf hits his potential how NYR get them both out there for the biggest moments of a game. They will be our two best forwards. MAYBE Zibanejad if he re-signs, I'm more optimistic about his aging than others here. I think he can still be a 60 point second line center when he is 33-34 years old.
I think Kreider and Trouba are going to inevitably be moved for cap space in the summer of 2024. 3 years from now. That'll be a symbolic changing of the guards. We also have another big decision to make that summer as to whether we trade or extend Ryan Lindgren. He'll have a lot more miles on him then. The development of Miller, Robertson, Jones et al will have a big impact on that choice as well as Lindgren's health.
If this offseason they give Kakko a 2 year bridge, he'll come up for contract the same summer, which I think would be a wise move. Give Fox and Lafreniere the long term deals.
But of course, we have three very fun years to hopefully enjoy before we start remolding the team again.
I can't believe we're still on this all contracts can just be moved to Arizona thing. To have nearly a quarter of your cap space (over the next SIX years) tied up in Kreider, Goodrow, and Trouba is a really big problem. That those guys all have trade protection through their deals is also a huge obstacle. And the only possible way to mitigate that problem is to find major value elsewhere in the lineup, or to move out players that you don't want to. Buchnevich just got moved for pennies on the dollar. This organization is still paying for buyouts: Girardi, Staal, Shattenkirk, DeAngelo, Henrik--we all forget so quickly that a HUGE reason we could stay competitive after our cup run was because we were gifted an amnesty buyout to use on Brad Richards. And we still lost Poulliot and Stralman that summer.
The Rangers have consistently paid top dollar and term for UFAs, given low term to RFAs, exercised buyouts, and traded or let walk very good players when they feel the crunch. This matters a lot. And I think it's a lot more likely that the Rangers buyout these guys than that they magically waive them to their farm teams in Arizona or Detroit.
Dom just released his '10 best contracts' list, and while it's a bit dumb to see Connor McDavid at the top--as if that deal was ever not going to be signed--it's still relevant to notice that certain teams show up a few times. Namely, Boston. What's Larry's excuse for Boston, where taxes and cost of living are just as high if not higher than New York? The Bruins have consistently locked in their talent at great bargains, and they've been a contender every year, reaching the finals three times, across eight years because of it. Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, even Krejci, Rask, Chara, Krug...
What are the best contracts the Rangers have signed since the salary cap? What about since Gorton and the letter? We're pretty bad at getting value over the long term. And we've relied on good trades (a real plus in our book) and buyouts to deal with that.
The Rangers have consistently paid top dollar and term for UFAs, given low term to RFAs, exercised buyouts, and traded or let walk very good players when they feel the crunch. This matters a lot. And I think it's a lot more likely that the Rangers buyout these guys than that they magically waive them to their farm teams in Arizona or Detroit.
Dom just released his '10 best contracts' list, and while it's a bit dumb to see Connor McDavid at the top--as if that deal was ever not going to be signed--it's still relevant to notice that certain teams show up a few times. Namely, Boston. What's Larry's excuse for Boston, where taxes and cost of living are just as high if not higher than New York? The Bruins have consistently locked in their talent at great bargains, and they've been a contender every year, reaching the finals three times, across eight years because of it. Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, even Krejci, Rask, Chara, Krug...
What are the best contracts the Rangers have signed since the salary cap? What about since Gorton and the letter? We're pretty bad at getting value over the long term. And we've relied on good trades (a real plus in our book) and buyouts to deal with that.
It took Pittsburgh 3 cracks at the playoffs to win it after a long period of suck. It took Chicago 2.
We already rectified our biggest blocker in taking another step by replacing Quinn with Gallant. All it takes is for a player or 2 to pop for this team to go from good enough to make the playoffs to good enough to win the whole thing.
That’s also why players like Eichel, Larkin, Dvorak. Etc all make sense. They are in the age bracket where they would make an impact with both “cores” or both sets of guys
Doesn't Boston run a strict internal cap around $6m tops? It's the reason Krug was left to go UFA since he refused to budge.
OK I checked with capfriendly. Seems their highest paid player is Bergeron at $6,875,000
NYblades
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Off Sides
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I've stopped trying to ruin everyone's fun, yet that post is spot on.
Next year it should be interesting to see the Rangers try to figure out how to deal with the pending
Fox, Zibanejad, Strome, Kakko, Kravtsov, Blais, Georgiev
Contract extensions or their replacements with about 28M in cap space. (only their top D, top two centers, top two RWs, whatever Blais is and a backup)
HatTrick Swayze
Just Be Nice
The NYR have objectively been one of the worst teams in the league in cap management basically the entire time the cap has been implemented. It’s maddening both to see the same mistakes being played out year after year as well as to see the same posts spin zoning how this time is different every time a signing is announced.
MrAlmost
Beer league hero.
- Jun 3, 2010
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Has it been confirmed that the cap is going to increase by 1 million the next 4 years? If that's the case, the Rangers get 2 million increase next year and 4 million increase the year after. That's a significant amount of money that we are getting in the offseason we will need it most.
Daves a mess
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Ouch, is this true? I can answer that question myself by adding 3 numbers but I am afraid of the answer.
Brooks is crapping on the players to take less. Thing is, they take less. Buch wanted a long term deal but was forced to sign a short deal. Anyone wanna bet that JT Miller, Kevin Hayes, Zucc and co haven’t been in that situation before?
Had we signed Buch to a long term deal he would have been much more valuable. NMC/NTC aren’t allowed for RFA years.
The question that always is asked in NY by Gorton and Slats was, have they earned it? Kreider, Staal, Smith and Girardi all had “earned” their contracts. Have that helped us?
The GM must make these calls. It’s not charity.
Had we signed Buch to a long term deal he would have been much more valuable. NMC/NTC aren’t allowed for RFA years.
The question that always is asked in NY by Gorton and Slats was, have they earned it? Kreider, Staal, Smith and Girardi all had “earned” their contracts. Have that helped us?
The GM must make these calls. It’s not charity.
Its actually about 22% of the cap but yeah, still not good.
The Kreider contract is the most unforgivable shit that the FO has done. This is a player they 10000% should have monetized and thanked for his services. This team was playing well when he was extended and I realize that they had ripped apart the room, but they had already squeezed the best hockey they were going to get out of the player and its not like they were at contender status where you keep the band together while you can win and worry about the bad years later.
It was a dumb move even before COVID happened and they won the lottery.
We obviously had zero communications between Gernader and our scouting department. That creates an awful atmosphere. Look at a signing like Petr Zamorsky. You know what you get, watch him ob TV one game. It’s like signing Ryan Reeves. If a coach watch Reeves for one game on TV you know what you get. Zamorsky was the same, one way PPQB with no defense. We sold Zamorsky on NY and proclaimed that we believed in him. Gernander didn’t even play 25 y/o Zamorsky, coming of a break out at the World Championships, at Traverse. He wanted nothing to do with a player type like that.
Zamorsky bolted mid season and was tremendously disappointed with the organization.
It’s classic signs of a mismanaged organization, one hand don’t know what the other is doing. Big deal? Of course not. But everything add up, you have a teammate for a few month who is super rotten at the organization. Leaves a mark in some way.
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