Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XXX

[Savant]

Def don’t agree with this.
Blais was specifically targeted because he has more potential then your run of the mill bottom 6 Fwds.
Yes he delivers those big hits we all love, but the kid has a set of hands on him. He’s not terribly slow either.
There’s certainly potential for him to get 40-45 pts while adding that physical element.
Prior to his injury, he was likely going to move up with Panarin and strome.
Blais is better at hockey then hunt. Probably in every facet but staying healthy.
He’s had some bad luck in terms of injury. That’s been the main knock on him.
My guess Drury saw him as a younger, bigger, version of fast that has better hands.
What makes him valuable is he’s cheap cap wise, and that versatile ability to move up and down the line up when needed, still hitting, and producing.

getting a 2nd. And Blais for Buch on Drurys logic is
-cheaper cap hit
- able to produce hopefully about 3/4 of buchs point production
- adds a more physical element to a line up that needed it.
- his style of play combined with the other guys we brought in was a huge reason for the culture shift.

No doubt Reaves and Hunt were solid adds to 4th line and the team. But adding them plus Blais and Goodrow was needed to get that hungry competitive nature back into the team.
The last year with Quinn, it didn’t exist. We also didn’t have any personnel that made the guys on the ice feel more comfortable when the games get physical.
None of us think Hunt is a long term option for that 2nd line. He’s trying, god love him. But he’s a 4th liner.
Blais actually had the talent to play there and stay there.
Same reason Goodrow is here. But Blais also has more offensive skill then him as well. But the need to have a couple talented guys that can move up and down the top 9 when the situation calls for it is a huge plus.

yes, they are currently getting by without Blais in the line up, as you said. But they are absolutely not better off without him.
Hunt is playing admirably, god bless him. But he’s temporary.
He’s a 4th liner.
Blais was also very important to the team shift in culture attitude and toughness as whole even though he was only here for camp/preseason and the first few games. He did his job.
It was important to get that edge/hunger back in MSG.
Losing him sucks. Probably more then most will admit.

Blais was targeted because Drury had goo goo eyes who anyone that won a cup and knew how to throw a check. Blais is generously a 15-20 point player until he proves otherwise. Yes some cap savings but only for a year, but now they have to pay his RFA raise, the summer after he blew his knee out. Anyone who would have gone on that Panarin line gets a boost. There is nothing remarkable about this player. He is a redundant piece

 

[jay from jersey]

Blais was targeted because Drury had goo goo eyes who anyone that won a cup and knew how to throw a check. Blais is generously a 15-20 point player until he proves otherwise. Yes some cap savings but only for a year, but now they have to pay his RFA raise, the summer after he blew his knee out. Anyone who would have gone on that Panarin line gets a boost. There is nothing remarkable about this player. He is a redundant piece

yea, probably the only silver lining of that jerk off Subban ending his season, is that his new raise next season shouldn’t be a lot more.
As Far as talent and Potential, Blais has the most of it of any player Drury added this off season.
Goodrow and Reaves are finished products and established guys at this point.

you just seem to hate Drury for whatever reason... even though the moves he made in his first offseason has shot us up to 2nd most point in the league currently.

If we had some young guys in the system Drafted under the last regime that play a similar style, bring physicality, leadership, toughness, etc
He wouldn’t have to pay high prices in free agency and trade to bring them in.

as far as him liking Blais cause he won a cup? im pretty sure any GM when looking for physical players to help provide leadership and a culture shift, given the chance, would rather add guys that have won a cup as opposed to not. I would as well. Having some guy on the roster that knows what it takes to go deep in the postseason and win it all can provide our young guys with a lot of knowledge.

 

[Savant]

yea, probably the only silver lining of that jerk off Subban ending his season, is that his new raise next season shouldn’t be a lot more.
As Far as talent and Potential, Blais has the most of it of any player Drury added this off season.
Goodrow and Reaves are finished products and established guys at this point.

you just seem to hate Drury for whatever reason... even though the moves he made in his first offseason has shot us up to 2nd most point in the league currently.

If we had some young guys in the system Drafted under the last regime that play a similar style, bring physicality, leadership, toughness, etc
He wouldn’t have to pay high prices in free agency and trade to bring them in.

as far as him liking Blais cause he won a cup? im pretty sure any GM when looking for physical players to help provide leadership and a culture shift, given the chance, would rather add guys that have won a cup as opposed to not. I would as well. Having some guy on the roster that knows what it takes to go deep in the postseason and win it all can provide our young guys with a lot of knowledge.

I don’t hate Drury and more or less than I hated Gorton. I don’t agree that it’s Drury’s moves that have put the Rangers in this position. The biggest reason is Igor. The second biggest reason is Gallant. Yes Drury hired Gallant but anyone could have done that/knew Gallant was best name on the market. Geography may have been the biggest factor there.

Drury’s external moves have not been good. Goodrow and Nemeth are the worst contracts on the team. Buchnevich trade is horrible and looking worse by the day.

Yes everyone wants to bring in cup winners but cup winners generally don’t cost six year deals, and they generally don’t involve trading PPG wingers for 15-20 point wingers. There are other ways to do that. And who knows what this team looks like if some clout chasing moron doesn’t put up a billboard.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

The key thing is, if we all take out the fact that we disliked Drury as a player here, and he's not "someone you'd want to have a beer with" as he has a very dry and stoic personality, if you look at just the data and where the Rangers were last year vs. now, he'd basically be nominated for executive of the year.

 

[Savant]

The key thing is, if we all take out the fact that we disliked Drury as a player here, and he's not "someone you'd want to have a beer with" as he has a very dry and stoic personality, if you look at just the data and where the Rangers were last year vs. now, he'd basically be nominated for executive of the year.

I don’t think that is anything to do with it. Executive of the Year would pretty much be nonsense because the moves that his signature is on are pretty much the worst moves that happened.

I think Gallant should be favorite for Jack Adams though

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

I don’t think that is anything to do with it. Executive of the Year would pretty much be nonsense because the moves that his signature is on are pretty much the worst moves that happened.

I think Gallant should be favorite for Jack Adams though

Yes to the bolded but he is going to get some votes as an Exec if they finish with a top five record.

 

[Savant]

Yes to the bolded but he is going to get some votes as an Exec if they finish with a top five record.

I’m sure he will get votes but his biggest trades were also his worst moves.
His best trade was Reaves and his best signing was Hunt.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

The key thing is, if we all take out the fact that we disliked Drury as a player here, and he's not "someone you'd want to have a beer with" as he has a very dry and stoic personality, if you look at just the data and where the Rangers were last year vs. now, he'd basically be nominated for executive of the year.

If you throw all the crap this team went through last year into this year, put us back on that division i doubt the results are different

 

[Shesterkybomb]

I’m sure he will get votes but his biggest trades were also his worst moves.
His best trade was Reaves and his best signing was Hunt.

His best move was inheriting a team build by Gorton, his 2nd best move was sucking up to Sather and Dolan

 

[bleedblue94]

Blais is a very useful player. It was still a bad trade. Both can be right.

That's fine if you feel that way, but people were fading on that complaining prior to the injury, that's my point. Now that he's hurt it's back to bellyaching about this trade.

 

[Barnaby]

If we just had another actual 3rd liner or two, I'd love to send Laf to the AHL for a 20-25 game stint, and then roll with a top 6 of Bread--Zibanejad--Strome and Kreider--Chytil--Kakko. 4th line would be Rooney with Hunt and Reavo. 3rd line would be Goodrow, Gaut, and hypothetical missing 3rd liner.

So take a top teams top line apart? Actually promote Chytil to 2C when it’s clear he’s struggling at 3C? A completely ineffectual 3rd line? It makes no sense to me.

 

[Barnaby]

The question becomes what wing...
If its panarin's, then we have laf back on the third line. If its the third line, then whats the point of moving him to the wing. And Laf plays off wing?

Idk where they plan to put him but I think Chytil at center has been a square peg into a round whole for years now... They have no ideal 3C replacement on the roster so if they go in that direction then I think it’s clear what the thought process is.

 

[Barnaby]

yup. Gona be interesting how Gallant decides to deploy everyone.
It’s really too bad we can’t get Barron up for a few games while we have the injuries and are experimenting, chytil to wing, different guys on different lines, etc
It would be nice to see Barron at 3C, how he plays and who he may or may not have some. Instant chemistry with..... pathetic.

the best choice would be sending Hunt back to 4th Line with Rooney and Reaves.
All 3 play well together and we’re very good for us this season.
I would love to see a LaF-Barron-Chytil line.
Or a Goodrow-Barron-Chytil line...
But Rooney likely moves up and McKegg likely plays 4C again. Stupid

If they thought Barron was prepared to play a middle 6 center role on this team right now then he’d be here. I’ve also complained about guys getting rushed in the past so I can’t honestly sit here and say they should force him in. My fear is that they try to force him into a C role when he might really be a better fit on the wing.

 

[Barnaby]

Kupari is a more valuable player than Blais, and a 1st is better than a 2nd. So yeah. Dr. Evil must have taught Drury how to negotiate. “Why have billions when you can have millions?”

If you wanted Blais that much keep Kupari and spin a pick for him. No one with a straight face can tell me that STL had a leg to stand on to demand a 1st (or even a 2nd) for Blais. It’s horrible asset management.

Current Ranger fit? The Rangers seem to be getting enough out of Reaves and Hunt don’t they? The didn’t need all three of those players, and the lack of secondary scoring is certainly visible despite it not significantly hurting the Rangers in the standings yet.

In terms of external additions, Reaves and Hunt have been the best moves. Blais trade, Goodrow and Nemeth have been the worst moves.

Blais was a fair target but he needed a 1st coming back with him even if we had to throw back an additional 3rd. The value is bad, the player wasn’t.

As for Kupari vs Blais, we have no idea what NYR grade is on Kupari. It’s very possible that they didn’t view him as a potential top 6 player.

 

[Barnaby]

Bennett was the 4th overall pick in his draft and a center. He also was widely acknowledged as not being put into situations to succeed during the regular season, but still put up good post season number. Blais is a bottom six wingers whose numbers got inflated by being put in a good position to succeed when Tarasenko was hurt. These are not comparable players.

I think Bennett’s draft position was kind of meaningless at that point. Bennett has been playing great since the deal but I think he and Blais were both probably valued as approx 2nd round picks last year. Up until a short time ago Bennett was clearly viewed as a disappointing pick.

 

[Barnaby]

Blais was targeted because Drury had goo goo eyes who anyone that won a cup and knew how to throw a check. Blais is generously a 15-20 point player until he proves otherwise. Yes some cap savings but only for a year, but now they have to pay his RFA raise, the summer after he blew his knee out. Anyone who would have gone on that Panarin line gets a boost. There is nothing remarkable about this player. He is a redundant piece

This is just an awful take. Blais was a fine addition to this team. The overall value of the trade was poor. Both if those things are true. Honestly, Buch probably should’ve been dealt a year or two earlier when his contract status made him more valuable. Instead it was Kreider: will they or won’t they? Buch, will they or won’t they? By the time Buch was finally moved it was clear that he had to be moved.

 

[jay from jersey]

If they thought Barron was prepared to play a middle 6 center role on this team right now then he’d be here. I’ve also complained about guys getting rushed in the past so I can’t honestly sit here and say they should force him in. My fear is that they try to force him into a C role when he might really be a better fit on the wing.

I don’t think the expectation for Barron currently is to come up and play anywhere other then the bottom 6.
3C is the most likely spot because he’s been playing center for the better part of 2 years in Hartford now and has shown the ability to produce a bit offensively and kill penalties.
We also have a solid vet presence in the bottom 6 with Goodrow, Rooney, and Reaves.
Keeping Hunt-Rooney-Reaves intact would be my choice because they have shown the ability to perform well together and have been.
They’ve been one of our most consistent bright spots all season.
That leaves Goodrow-Barron as 2/3 of the presumed 3rd line......
If Barron plays really well here when called up, that would be great. Then you can talk about a possibility of moving him around maybe higher in the Line up, but not a thing that should be counted on.
Long term, whether he’ll be a better center or wing remains to be seen. But he’s a least earned a call up for a few games to evaluate his play and go from there.
Even if he doesn’t stay up with the rangers for the rest of the year.
If they believe he needs more AHL time, they can send him back down. There’s now way In hell he hurts them, or has less of an overall impact on the game vs dressing McKegg though.
They have absolutely nothing to lose from making that switch for a bit.

 

[egelband]

Value frogs were apoplectic they offered anything more than a 4th. That was fun.

It’s funny how, in hindsight, most every move is sensible. They don’t all work out, but there’s a clear logic to them virtually every time. Despite all the histrionics.

 

[egelband]

I do not have time to do the analysis again, but if you go back and look at actual stats over the last 2 years, TOI, goals, assists, hits, etc, they are extremely comparable. Even their age. Yes Bennett has played more games but if you extrapolate out Blais' statline on a per game basis they are actually more similar than you would think. Especially given his lesser TOI.

Blais is exactly the kind of guy we should be going after. The talented breakout candidate who won’t break the bank and will outplay his cap. The injury was extremely unfortunate but we need to be shopping in the bargain aisle at this point. I’ve said it a million times, I’d have loved a first instead of a second to accompany Blais. But wtf do I know.

 

[rangersfansince08]

Def don’t agree with this.
Blais was specifically targeted because he has more potential then your run of the mill bottom 6 Fwds.
Yes he delivers those big hits we all love, but the kid has a set of hands on him. He’s not terribly slow either.
There’s certainly potential for him to get 40-45 pts while adding that physical element.
Prior to his injury, he was likely going to move up with Panarin and strome.
Blais is better at hockey then hunt. Probably in every facet but staying healthy.
He’s had some bad luck in terms of injury. That’s been the main knock on him.
My guess Drury saw him as a younger, bigger, version of fast that has better hands.
What makes him valuable is he’s cheap cap wise, and that versatile ability to move up and down the line up when needed, still hitting, and producing.

getting a 2nd. And Blais for Buch on Drurys logic is
-cheaper cap hit
- able to produce hopefully about 3/4 of buchs point production
- adds a more physical element to a line up that needed it.
- his style of play combined with the other guys we brought in was a huge reason for the culture shift.

No doubt Reaves and Hunt were solid adds to 4th line and the team. But adding them plus Blais and Goodrow was needed to get that hungry competitive nature back into the team.
The last year with Quinn, it didn’t exist. We also didn’t have any personnel that made the guys on the ice feel more comfortable when the games get physical.
None of us think Hunt is a long term option for that 2nd line. He’s trying, god love him. But he’s a 4th liner.
Blais actually had the talent to play there and stay there.
Same reason Goodrow is here. But Blais also has more offensive skill then him as well. But the need to have a couple talented guys that can move up and down the top 9 when the situation calls for it is a huge plus.

yes, they are currently getting by without Blais in the line up, as you said. But they are absolutely not better off without him.
Hunt is playing admirably, god bless him. But he’s temporary.
He’s a 4th liner.
Blais was also very important to the team shift in culture attitude and toughness as whole even though he was only here for camp/preseason and the first few games. He did his job.
It was important to get that edge/hunger back in MSG.
Losing him sucks. Probably more then most will admit.

Buch was on a 73 pt pace last year and is on an 82 pt pace this year. 3/4 of that production would mean a 55-62 pt pace. I like Blais but I doubt he even comes close to that.

 

[RickChartraw]

Man, i miss the hockey.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Man, i miss the hockey.

Hit me last night too.

Even my 10 year old daughter said to me "Im in the mood for some Rangers hockey".

 

[Raspewtin]

Prior to the injury people were coming around on the trade bc they saw the player blais is and how he was so unique to this roster. Now a few weeks after he is hurt it's back this stuff again.

Blais' long injury history and proneness is a fair complaint.

 

[motopanekeku]

Buch was on a 73 pt pace last year and is on an 82 pt pace this year. 3/4 of that production would mean a 55-62 pt pace. I like Blais but I doubt he even comes close to that.

Production wasn't the issue. Buch was traded because we were getting produced on too much.

 

[smoneil]

So take a top teams top line apart? Actually promote Chytil to 2C when it’s clear he’s struggling at 3C? A completely ineffectual 3rd line? It makes no sense to me.

Right now, this team has two lines that sort of work, one of which has a 4th liner on it. One of those two lines is centered by a guy who we almost certainly can't afford to re-sign (Strome).

My suggestion: Still leaves the team with two lines that should work. Except now the top line would be a super line (with chemistry from the PP), and the 2nd line is comprised of players who have shown chemistry in the past (Chytil/Kreider and Chytil/Kakko). It gives the team the opportunity to see what they have in Chytil over an extended look at 2C with top six wingers (other than a game here and there, this has never happened). We need to know whether he can thrive with such an opportunity because if he can't, then he needs to be moved this summer and they need to find a bargain stop-gap for that 2nd line. If he doesn't seem to be working, after 20-25 games, then adjust when Laf comes back up (Laf-Zib-Kakko, Bread-Strome-Trade Deadline acquisition like Reilly Smith, Kreider-Chytil-Goodrow, and the 4th line).

This also lets the team move Hunt back to the 4th line with Reavo and Rooney. And I did say that the caveat is that we need another effective 3rd liner, but Goodrow and Gauthier aren't an awful start for that 3rd line.