Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XXXIV

[mas0764]

It was an issue with the Rangers literally last year

I don’t really think it was.

 

[mas0764]

I will just ask you this - have you ever been personally responsible for building a team assigned to accomplish a task? How’d it go? Have you done it dozens of times? Any lessons learned from your successes/failures?

Yes. It is my job right now, among other things.

 

[McRanger92]

I just disagree. It was obvious by game 9 last season that he needed heavy minutes. They should have sent him down. Don't want to send him down to the Q after how bad he dominated? I get that to an extent, but this season he could be sent to Hartford. He's been ice cold since November. And his stat line is so ugly because he defers. Over and over again. They may be telling him to play this way (Gallant and his "roles"), but he's playing more like a grinder than a scorer, and that's not what we need him to be. He never shoots. He only has 8 goals, but his shooting percentage is pretty good. But he's got 16 games where he never took a single shot on goal. Another 12 games with just one shot on goal. That means he's only played 13 games where he's taken 2 or more shots per game...and he scored 9 of his 11 points in those 13 games. The first month of the season (where he played his best hockey)? He had 3+ SOG in 5 (of 9) games. In the 32 games since the start of November, he's only had 3+ SOG in two games.

The skill is still there, but they are literally turning him into a grinder. He needs to play like a scorer, even if he's in the bottom six. But the kid is never going to score until he starts shooting the puck again, and he's seemingly lost all interest of doing that since the beginning of November. This isn't a new problem. Rather than playing him 10-12 minutes a game (we've got guys who can play that role), send him down to reconnect with what it means to be a scorer. Send him down to work on being a RW. But to just let him stagnate, watching him have the same damned problem, for three months? And doing nothing different? That's developmental malpractice.

The numbers show exactly what he needs to do to produce (shoot the puck). They also show that he hasn't done that since October. It's not a difficult thing to fix if they actually want to fix it.

Not shooting is a team-wide problem unfortunately. Also there are many PR related reasons the team wouldnt want send him to Hartford, but the main reason why they wont is that hes very clearly one of their top 12 forwards right now, hence why he hasnt been scratched despite not lighting the world on fire this year. And again, he hasnt even played 100 career games yet. He just needs to simplify his game, and thats probably best done on line 3, hopefully with some improved linemates around the deadline.

 

[McRanger92]

I don’t really think it was.

The DeAngelo & Lemiuex situations, plus Strome & Trouba's on the record comments regarding feeling more comfortable this year and that there was a lot going on behind the scenes beg to differ

 

[mas0764]

Brooks with new article thats got a few tidbits. Says their are ongoing talks with Strome and he will not be traded (duh) even if they dont have a new deal at the deadline and that the Rangers need him to take a discount, specifically mentioning a 5.75 AAV.

He also confirms the Rangers interest in JT and downplays their interest in Chychrun. Also speculates that Vancouver could be interested in Lafreniere this summer (we knew that was coming)

Why the F would Vancouver be interested in him this summer? Aside from his agent being hired there. What do they have to offer for him?

 

[rangers1314]

Brooks with this lazy “maybe Van takes a run a Laf bc he’s former agent works there now” BS. So I assume Bergeron is signing in MTL bc his former agent is the GM now.

Does Larry get paid by the word these days?

 

[Thirty One]

A thought I had when the Rangers switched around the usual PP1 alignment, moving Zibanejad out of the bumper spot, is that the spot would be available for the king of the high tip, Joe Pavelski.

 

[rangers1314]

The DeAngelo & Lemiuex situations, plus Strome & Trouba's on the record comments regarding feeling more comfortable this year and that there was a lot going on behind the scenes beg to differ

Quinn has also said there was a ton of drama behind the scenes last season.

Remember when carp was like “there’s a lot more to Lemieux getting traded” then never expanded on it? Fun.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Brooks with this lazy “maybe Van takes a run a Laf bc he’s former agent works there now” BS. So I assume Bergeron is signing in MTL bc his former agent is the GM now.

Does Larry get paid by the word these days?

Yeah maybe van offers us petterson, Miller and hughes for laf

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Roslovic checks a lot of Sather's likes.

If you remember the Rangers 2020 Behind the Scene’s draft video. It was J.D. who spoke at the importance of drafting Schneider.
If Davidson covets him he might overpay dearly?
Cole Sillinger incoming?
For me, I will enjoy watching Schneider as a Ranger d-man for years to come.

 

[Irishguy42]

Rolling my eyes at every Brooks trade talk piece nowadays.

 

[Thirty One]

Brooks with this lazy “maybe Van takes a run a Laf bc he’s former agent works there now” BS. So I assume Bergeron is signing in MTL bc his former agent is the GM now.

Does Larry get paid by the word these days?

When Mike Gillis became GM of Vancouver, one of his first orders of business was ditching Naslund, his star client.

As you said, lazy stuff from Brooksie. Idea I'd expect to read in Facebook comments.

 

[smoneil]

Not shooting is a team-wide problem unfortunately. Also there are many PR related reasons the team wouldnt want send him to Hartford, but the main reason why they wont is that hes very clearly one of their top 12 forwards right now, hence why he hasnt been scratched despite not lighting the world on fire this year. And again, he hasnt even played 100 career games yet. He just needs to simplify his game, and thats probably best done on line 3, hopefully with some improved linemates around the deadline.

If Edmonton could send Draisaitl down to juniors for the rest of a season, we could weather the headlines of sending Laf down for a bit of work. Hell, Draisaitl credited being sent down as being exactly what he needed: Draisaitl says return to juniors helped his game

And the way the East is falling this year, the Rangers are basically already IN the playoffs. Replacing Laf with Moore or Gauthier for 10-15 games while works on stuff in Hartford wouldn't have any impact at all on whether or not this team succeeds/makes the playoffs. Having Laf come back with renewed confidence a couple weeks before the start of the playoffs? That could pay dividends.

Again, I don't even think the real issue is the quality of his linemates. He defers when he plays with those guys. The problem is that he almost seems like he's stopped seeing himself as one of those top line guys. He's playing support/grinder roles. He's not shooting, and he used to shoot. Laffy needs to get his swagger back, and that isn't going to happen when he barely even sees the ice for half the game.

 

[smoneil]

Brooks with this lazy “maybe Van takes a run a Laf bc he’s former agent works there now” BS. So I assume Bergeron is signing in MTL bc his former agent is the GM now.

Does Larry get paid by the word these days?

New Vancouver GM pitch to Laf:

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Hanks number goes up Friday
Maybe he’s saying hey to JD in CLB

That’s an interesting take. Maybe they wanted all the Ranger’s former loved Goalies to be at Hank’s celebration and J.D. said “F No!” ?

 

[wafflepadsave]

Meh, I wouldn't put that much weight into that. Men peak (strength) at different ages. Some might be peaking at 21 and some don't peak until their late 20's. We have to remember that Kakko and LaF are 20 years old and probably going to get stronger every year for the next half decade.

The thing that concerns me about both of these guys is that I have to actively look for them on the ice. Nothing they do stands out from a "wow" talent perspective. At least not yet.

And some of us never peaked.

 

[McRanger92]

Why the F would Vancouver be interested in him this summer? Aside from his agent being hired there. What do they have to offer for him?

Larry mentioned your boy Pettersson for what its worth

 

[mas0764]

Larry mentioned your boy Pettersson for what its worth

Not gonna give up Laf for him but I’m very interested. Kravtsov Nils 1st

 

[wafflepadsave]

Is it crazy to think the coaching staff and front office are fine with Laf gaining experience in a third line role for a surefire payoff team? Maybe they dont want to play him out of position on the top line because hes not physically ready for it? I know this is hard to hear for some, but development isnt the Rangers priority right now. Lets see how Laf looks at age 23 after a few winning seasons and playoff runs under his belt, because right now im not worried

The one positive you can say about laf is when he gets prime opportunities, he at least scores. I agree with the poster who said laf could dominate juniors but clearly underestimated the pros.

 

[rangers1314]

CBJ loses 6-0 to Calgary tonight.

 

[McRanger92]

Not gonna give up Laf for him but I’m very interested. Kravtsov Nils 1st

Thats not a serious offer. You kill the Rangers for not getting a "young elite 2c" and then say their best assets are untouchable. Thats not how it works. If you want Pettersson or a player like him you cant be prospect hugging

 

[IDvsEGO]

I just disagree. It was obvious by game 9 last season that he needed heavy minutes. They should have sent him down. Don't want to send him down to the Q after how bad he dominated? I get that to an extent, but this season he could be sent to Hartford. He's been ice cold since November. And his stat line is so ugly because he defers. Over and over again. They may be telling him to play this way (Gallant and his "roles"), but he's playing more like a grinder than a scorer, and that's not what we need him to be. He never shoots. He only has 8 goals, but his shooting percentage is pretty good. But he's got 16 games where he never took a single shot on goal. Another 12 games with just one shot on goal. That means he's only played 13 games where he's taken 2 or more shots per game...and he scored 9 of his 11 points in those 13 games. The first month of the season (where he played his best hockey)? He had 3+ SOG in 5 (of 9) games. In the 32 games since the start of November, he's only had 3+ SOG in two games.

The skill is still there, but they are literally turning him into a grinder. He needs to play like a scorer, even if he's in the bottom six. But the kid is never going to score until he starts shooting the puck again, and he's seemingly lost all interest of doing that since the beginning of November. This isn't a new problem. Rather than playing him 10-12 minutes a game (we've got guys who can play that role), send him down to reconnect with what it means to be a scorer. Send him down to work on being a RW. But to just let him stagnate, watching him have the same damned problem, for three months? And doing nothing different? That's developmental malpractice.

The numbers show exactly what he needs to do to produce (shoot the puck). They also show that he hasn't done that since October. It's not a difficult thing to fix if they actually want to fix it.

So I want to clarify something that you may be missing about his skillset. Laf has alot of comparables to crosby in his playstyle, (not saying he's the next crosby) but he is essentially an "elite grinder"

 

[McRanger92]

The one positive you can say about laf is when he gets prime opportunities, he at least scores. I agree with the poster who said laf could dominate juniors but clearly underestimated the pros.

Hes shown better finishing ability in 97 career games than Kakko or Chytil have in their 3 & 5 years in the NHL respectively. Its part of the reason i think the concern about him is overblown

 

[RGY]

Thats not a serious offer. You kill the Rangers for not getting a "young elite 2c" and then say their best assets are untouchable. Thats not how it works. If you want Pettersson or a player like him you cant be prospect hugging

Petterson has been a little jeckyll and hyde. What do you think is a fair offer? I dont think we should be trading Lafreniere or Kakko anywhere. So who then? Miller? Schneider? What is the starting point? I think Nils, Kravtsov, and a 1st is a good foundation.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Vancouver is interesting because Rutherford is in charge and he’s an old idiot. But he’s surrounding himself with people that probably aren’t idiots

Guess we’ll see how things shake out

And Columbus stinks, JD is gonna have to tear it down to the studs and start over. Laine, Domi and a few others will be gone in the next 3-6 months