Speculation: Roster Building Thread - Part XXXIV

[Matt Rentfree]

Blais hits hard and gets injured often. That's a bad combination. I'd much rather have Vatrano.

Which is why we never should have targeted Blais in the first place. A quick look at games played on any stats site makes it fairly obvious that his play style writes checks that his genetic makeup can’t cash.

 

[RangerBoy]

When did Jacob Chychrun become Ray Bourque? Arizona isn't trading the player for a package of scraps and a late #1 pick. They talked to Boston and Florida about Chychrun. Arizona wanted Jeremy Swayman and Spencer Knight plus 2 or 3 other prime assets. Chychrun isn't worth that return.

 

[haohmaru]

When did Jacob Chychrun become Ray Bourque? Arizona isn't trading the player for a package of scraps and a late #1 pick. They talked to Boston and Florida about Chychrun. Arizona wanted Jeremy Swayman and Spencer Knight plus 2 or 3 other prime assets. Chychrun isn't worth that return.

We can't afford the guy anyway. If we somehow squeeze him in under the cap we're just screwing ourselves somewhere else. Trade Nemeth. Sign a cheap goalie. Walk away from Strome. Sign Copp.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

The additions look great. When everybody is healthy, we look at this:

(sad for Blais, who might just get squeezed out of the line-up )

Kreid-Zibs-Laf
Pana-Strome-Kakko
Chytil-Copp-Vatrano
Motte-Goodrow-(Blais)
Rooney
Hunt
Reaver
Brod

This is some deep shit.

Strome is all but a goner ... which sucks, because I want a late 1st rd pick for him ...

 

[RangerBoy]

Blais hits hard and gets injured often. That's a bad combination. I'd much rather have Vatrano.

Blais allows the Rangers to play a hard edge game. The Rangers can't go back being to an all finesse skill team. Drury acquired Goodrow, Blais and Reaves to give the Rangers some jam and physical presence. Goodrow and Reaves have brought that element. Blais hurt his knee. Copp can play that game. The Rangers can't go to being a team full of purse swingers. No soft players.

 

[RangerBoy]

We can't afford the guy anyway. If we somehow squeeze him in under the cap we're just screwing ourselves somewhere else. Trade Nemeth. Sign a cheap goalie. Walk away from Strome. Sign Copp.

I don't know where the Rangers are finding $4.6M for Chychrun. Swapping out Lindgren in another deal still adds $1.6M to the salary cap. The Rangers don't have $1.6M to squander away.

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

I think a lineup with Motte and Blais in it, you can spare Reaves. Probably not a popular opinion.

 

[Blais to Win]

What are folks thinking Kakko, Lafreniere, Miller, and Chytil will get on their next contracts?

All will still be RFA.

But #13, 79 and 72 are coming up in 23-24 together. I imagine 13 and 79 will be big-league contracts like Fox (well, maybe not as much, but quite significant sums) got. Chytil will be arb eligible.

The reason I ask is: will it even be possible to sign Strome or Copp to the kind of contract they will require? If Chytil finally does emerge (again) who gets that 2C position?

Maybe a better route would be to sign a vet who can win face-offs for short duration, little money for 3rd/4th line duty. Getzlaf or Spezza, maybe? Keep Vatrano and Motte.

 

[Chytilmania]

I know the PK has stunk lately but we have the best goalie, #2 PP, top 10 PK which should improve back to top 5, and a great home record. I think that should be a good recipe to make a run in the playoffs. Need to jump Pitt though.

Since returning from the break:
NYR: 12-6-1
Car: 12-6-7
Pitt: 13-6-2

Home against Pitt, then hopefully Car is still trading wins and losses and we steal one. Then Tampa knocks down Florida. You never know!

 

[TheDirtyH]

I know the PK has stunk lately but we have the best goalie, #2 PP, top 10 PK which should improve back to top 5, and a great home record. I think that should be a good recipe to make a run in the playoffs. Need to jump Pitt though.

Since returning from the break:
NYR: 12-6-1
Car: 12-6-7
Pitt: 13-6-2

Home against Pitt, then hopefully Car is still trading wins and losses and we steal one. Then Tampa knocks down Florida. You never know!

#2 in the division would be great, but honestly I hope we don't win it. I think the WC#1 will be tougher than Pittsburgh.

 

[McRanger92]

What are folks thinking Kakko, Lafreniere, Miller, and Chytil will get on their next contracts?

All will still be RFA.

But #13, 79 and 72 are coming up in 23-24 together. I imagine 13 and 79 will be big-league contracts like Fox (well, maybe not as much, but quite significant sums) got. Chytil will be arb eligible.

The reason I ask is: will it even be possible to sign Strome or Copp to the kind of contract they will require? If Chytil finally does emerge (again) who gets that 2C position?

Maybe a better route would be to sign a vet who can win face-offs for short duration, little money for 3rd/4th line duty. Getzlaf or Spezza, maybe? Keep Vatrano and Motte.

Kakko is the only one who is a pressing issue and i bet he takes a contract similar to Chytil, hoping to breakout and cash in when the cap goes up. The other 3 guys you worry about after next season. I think NYR make a big all in move this summer while they still have Laf/KAM making peanuts before they have to rework the roster in the summer of 2023.

 

[Ruggs225]

So are we going to sign Bobby Travigno?

 

[duhmetreE]

#2 in the division would be great, but honestly I hope we don't win it. I think the WC#1 will be tougher than Pittsburgh.

Having home ice would be nice.

I wouldn’t want to have Washington to start just because it’d be a hard/taxing series. Let Carolina or Florida get beat up

 

[Taluss]

We are lucky offersheets aren’t popular. If they were I’m sure a team would be screwing the Rangers in the off-season with one.

Even now it keeps crossing my mind. If Kakko was willing to sign one, it would be very easy for a team to hurt the Rangers

 

[mas0764]

One of Vatrano or Blais will be a cap casualty. Maybe both if they decide to deal for Chychrun… which they are for sure looking into.

Easy choice of keeping Vatrano over Blais if money is similar, but the problem is it probably will not be. Vatrano will be more expensive most likely.

 

[mas0764]

Which is why we never should have targeted Blais in the first place. A quick look at games played on any stats site makes it fairly obvious that his play style writes checks that his genetic makeup can’t cash.

That trade is the biggest whiff of the Drury administration by far. Having a center prospect, and a first would have made a huge difference to our ability to get another top center in here.

 

[mas0764]

We can't afford the guy anyway. If we somehow squeeze him in under the cap we're just screwing ourselves somewhere else. Trade Nemeth. Sign a cheap goalie. Walk away from Strome. Sign Copp.

Agreed, we have so many quality young defenders. Keep them and play them, they are cheap.

 

[mas0764]

We are lucky offersheets aren’t popular. If they are I’m sure a team would be screwing the Rangers in the off-season with one.

Even now it keeps crossing my mind. If Kakko was willing to sign one, it would be very easy for a team to hurt the Rangers

Kakko should be priority #1 in the offseason.

 

[Blais to Win]

Kakko is the only one who is a pressing issue and i bet he takes a contract similar to Chytil, hoping to breakout and cash in when the cap goes up. The other 3 guys you worry about after next season. I think NYR make a big all in move this summer while they still have Laf/KAM making peanuts before they have to rework the roster in the summer of 2023.

That makes sense on Kakko. On the others, yeah, I know it's over a season away but giving a Strome or a Copp a "big" deal now constrains us then. I don't see any options for making big moves this summer to alleviate the issue, either. All our big contracts look like they're some version of nmc or ntc, not freeing up the big tickets everyone always talks about moving (#'s 20 and 8) until 2024, which is after the big bottleneck of ELCs comes due, and this is not even considering all the guys we'll have to sign right away to fill out the roster, and the escrow/cap situation which will probably not be resolved by then.

I think Chytil probably gets 2C next season because of that.

Otherwise you have Copp or Strome consuming about 50% of available cap space with like 10 players still to sign.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

We are lucky offersheets aren’t popular. If they are I’m sure a team would be screwing the Rangers in the off-season with one.

Even now it keeps crossing my mind. If Kakko was willing to sign one, it would be very easy for a team to hurt the Rangers

I don't think teams really want to play that game with the Rangers though.

 

[McRanger92]

Kakko is an interesting case. Hes not getting more than a bridge deal from the Rangers, and if he really wants to sign an offer sheet, i could see him being traded in a package for another C. Lafreniere & KAM have clearly jumped him in the pecking order, im more worried about those future contracts than Kakko's.

 

[IDvsEGO]

That makes sense on Kakko. On the others, yeah, I know it's over a season away but giving a Strome or a Copp a "big" deal now constrains us then. I don't see any options for making big moves this summer to alleviate the issue, either. All our big contracts look like they're some version of nmc or ntc, not freeing up the big tickets everyone always talks about moving (#'s 20 and 8) until 2024, which is after the big bottleneck of ELCs comes due, and this is not even considering all the guys we'll have to sign right away to fill out the roster, and the escrow/cap situation which will probably not be resolved by then.

I think Chytil probably gets 2C next season because of that.

Otherwise you have Copp or Strome consuming about 50% of available cap space with like 10 players still to sign.

Kakko will likely need a higher aav than chytil, but a 2-3 year deal is probably correct. It'll also let us have more flexibility because in 2 more years we could move ck or trouba if necessary. Id say something like 3.5m for 3. Youre potentially overpaying right now, but if he continues on his production as he was starting to show, its a value contract even next year.

 

[McRanger92]

That makes sense on Kakko. On the others, yeah, I know it's over a season away but giving a Strome or a Copp a "big" deal now constrains us then. I don't see any options for making big moves this summer to alleviate the issue, either. All our big contracts look like they're some version of nmc or ntc, not freeing up the big tickets everyone always talks about moving (#'s 20 and 8) until 2024, which is after the big bottleneck of ELCs comes due, and this is not even considering all the guys we'll have to sign right away to fill out the roster, and the escrow/cap situation which will probably not be resolved by then.

I think Chytil probably gets 2C next season because of that.

Otherwise you have Copp or Strome consuming about 50% of available cap space with like 10 players still to sign.

They can sign one of Copp/Strome and be fine with Laf & KAM contracts. In 2 years the bottom 6 will get a new look when Berard, Cuylle & Othmann become full timers on the cheap. Summer of '23 you can also move Lindgren and Chytil if hes still around if theyre desperate for space. Its just not something to worry about now imo. The next 2 playoff runs the Rangers will have their foot on the gas to win.

 

[Blais to Win]

They can sign one of Copp/Strome and be fine with Laf & KAM contracts. In 2 years the bottom 6 will get a new look when Berard, Cuylle & Othmann become full timers on the cheap. Summer of '23 you can also move Lindgren and Chytil if hes still around if theyre desperate for space. Its just not something to worry about now imo. The next 2 playoff runs the Rangers will have their foot on the gas to win.

I like the concept of foot on the gas now. It's a moment to take advantage of. But that moment is now, not next year when about a dozen current roster players' contracts expire and $11M of that money goes to two raises for players who are already on the team.

I'm looking at capfriendly and thinking that there's no money for a pricey 2C as early as next season, never mind the following. What's the math on this that makes it possible? If Chytil (IF) can handle 2C why sign another? Why let Vatrano walk? Pretty clear that Nemeth and Braun, maybe Reaves, too, have to go even though the coaching staff likes having guys like that on the roster, so will they?

Still curious what folks think 13 & 79 will sign for. Miller looks like he will get a huge deal. Never seen players like this come up for the Rangers, outside of Fox, so for me it's hard to guess. Signing that 2C now would make that even more problematic.

 

[RangerBoy]

$1.6M qualifying offer for Blais. Maybe the Rangers can offer Blais a two year contract for less than his qualifying offer. 2 years. $1.3M AAV. The Rangers free up $300,000 for next season.

The minimum salary is $750,000 next season(22-23). Add $375,000. $1,125,000

It will increase to $775,000 for 23-24. Add $375,000. $1,150,000.

Worse comes to worse and the Rangers need cap space for 23-24. the Rangers will take a $150,000 cap hit by sending Blais to the AHL assuming the Rangers can not trade the player and he clears waivers.