Speculation: Roster Building Thread V (2021 Offseason) - Hold them horses, only 45 days left until the draft!

[Trxjw]

Over the last 3 seasons:

Strome: 207GP 143P (98ESP 42PP 3SHP) 45% faceoffs. 1186 faceoffs won. 86 blocks.
143 hits.


Danault: 215GP 124P (113ESP 8PP 3SHP)
54% faceoffs. 2086 faceoffs won. 125 blocks. 290 hits.


How much offense are we really losing by replacing Strome with Danault? None. Panarin would inflate his production. PP time will also help. Danault has produced more at ES than Strome over the last 3 years. Superior defensively. Superior at faceoffs. Just a better all around player. It’s not even close.

Assuming they actually play well together, sure, Panarin probably inflates his production. If they don't mesh well then you could certainly sacrifice some production. Danault is far from a guarantee to get powerplay time as well. I would expect Laf, Kakko, Chytil, and Kravtsov to get those minutes.

Is it likely that Panarin can't play with Danault? No. Is it possible? Of course. We've been watching this team buy players who were a great fit on paper for a long time and we've seen it fail in spectacular fashion in many cases. "Gomez is a massive upgrade on Nylander!" Ugh.

 

[egelband]

Danault is a 3C on a competitive team or a 2C on a thin team. He’ll cost more than we should pay a 3C and he won’t match Strome’s production as 2C. He’s not a good option.

This has been my feeling about Strome. 3C who will get paid like a 2C. Good for him. But the Rangers ought to avoid being the team to pay it.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Assuming they actually play well together, sure, Panarin probably inflates his production. If they don't mesh well then you could certainly sacrifice some production. Danault is far from a guarantee to get powerplay time as well. I would expect Laf, Kakko, Chytil, and Kravtsov to get those minutes.

Is it likely that Panarin can't play with Danault? No. Is it possible? Of course. We've been watching this team buy players who were a great fit on paper for a long time and we've seen it fail in spectacular fashion in many cases. "Gomez is a massive upgrade on Nylander!" Ugh.

I happen to 100% agree with these concerns.

But to me it screams why commit to Zibanejad? Because if they do the options are either:

1. Break up Panarin-Strome which we know works to either hope a player like Danault can mesh and produce similarly without sacrificing defense

2. Play Panarin with Zibanejad and have $18M+ invested long term in a line that will hemorrhage chances against

3. Or keep Zibanejad + Strome and hope those two playing 35+ min a night gets it done in the playoffs.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

We be needing a # 1, 2, and 3 C because we’ll be getting rid off a # 1, 2, and 3 C

 

[leetch99]

And I think if they DO pull the trigger on Eichel, you then go to Zib and lay everything on the table for him. Tell him that we are on the precipice of potential greatness. If he wants to be here, to live in NYC that comes with a price, a give to get. If he doesnt want to bend he is completely within his rights to do so and you tell him we are trading you. Recoup assets for zib (hopefully with an extension for the team getting him) and flip other assets to fill in the holes.

Mika has a NMC...he holds all the cards . He will get paid....either here or by somebody else when he walks as a UFA in the Spring of 22.

 

[DanielBrassard]

I happen to 100% agree with these concerns.

But to me it screams why commit to Zibanejad? Because if they do the options are either:

1. Break up Panarin-Strome which we know works to either hope a player like Danault can mesh and produce similarly without sacrificing defense

2. Play Panarin with Zibanejad and have $18M+ invested long term in a line that will hemorrhage chances against

3. Or keep Zibanejad + Strome and hope those two playing 35+ min a night gets it done in the playoffs.

The answer is, don't commit to Mika.

 

[LokiDog]

Over the last 3 seasons:

Strome: 207GP 143P (98ESP 42PP 3SHP) 45% faceoffs. 1186 faceoffs won. 86 blocks.
143 hits.


Danault: 215GP 124P (113ESP 8PP 3SHP)
54% faceoffs. 2086 faceoffs won. 125 blocks. 290 hits.


How much offense are we really losing by replacing Strome with Danault? None. Panarin would inflate his production. PP time will also help. Danault has produced more at ES than Strome over the last 3 years. Superior defensively. Superior at faceoffs. Just a better all around player. It’s not even close.

Considering ES production and PP minutes, we’re really not losing any offensive production. In fact we may be gaining some, on top of the substantial defensive improvement.

 

[Vitto79]

Kreider will be the next buy out. No way he finishes that contract. Don’t see how he makes it past Lafreniere’s ELC at the maximum

did I miss something ? Kreider doesn’t suck and as a 3rd line LW, PP1 guy he’s ideal

 

[SA16]

You are overvaluing Danault's offense based on a couple of years with secondary assist blips. Not to mention Gallagher is the guy who drives the offense on the line - not Danault. His numbers fall off a cliff when not with him.

Line Stats - Natural Stat Trick

Individually that is 80 points in 1962:21 with him since 18-19 and 21 points in the 874 minutes without him.

 

[bobbop]

Danault is the kind of player who will be valuable well into his 30s.

Let me expand on this.

I don’t want to see Danault (or anyone else for that matter) get a crazy stupid contract. The contract that Montreal may have offered him is probably off the table. They spent the money elsewhere.

There are so many moving parts this summer, it’s really hard to say I want this guy or that guy above all others. I’d like Barclay Goodrow, but at a fair price. Same for Danault. Don’t think Hyman is the answer but I could make an argument if the price is right.

I know what I would do if I was in charge, but I’m not. I also have no idea what players will or will not be available from other teams.

I’m guessing there will be some surprises this summer.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Danault is the kind of player who will be valuable well into his 30s.

He's valuable on a good deal, he turned down 30 mill over 6 years, i thought that was a good deal for him really...wouldnt want to pay more

 

[UAGoalieGuy]

Let me expand on this.

I don’t want to see Danault (or anyone else for that matter) get a crazy stupid contract. The contract that Montreal may have offered him is probably off the table. They spent the money elsewhere.

There are so many moving parts this summer, it’s really hard to say I want this guy or that guy above all others. I’d like Barclay Goodrow, but at a fair price. Same for Danault. Don’t think Hyman is the answer but I could make an argument if the price is right.

I know what I would do if I was in charge, but I’m not. I also have no idea what players will or will not be available from other teams.

I’m guessing there will be some surprises this summer.

What would you do if you were in charge? Lol

 

[NYRangers16]

Strome is a RW in my opinion. But we have plenty of skill. We need complimentary north-south players. So the biggest needs are a 2C who can play well with Breadman and win a FO. I’d also like to see them add a #1 LD. The rest will come from development. I hope we are patient enough to do this the right way.

 

[bobbop]

What would you do if you were in charge? Lol

1. Acquire a left hand defenseman with some bite and a short contract. Matthias Ekholm would be perfect, Mark Giordano could be a nice alternative.

2. A center who can win face offs and bring some bite. Barclay Goodrow please.

3. At least one winger with some sandpaper. Heavyweight standing not a necessity but would be nice. There could be more than one addition.

4. Monetize players on ELCs at the end of their contract (e.g. Hajek, Howden) who do not figure in future plans.

First published May 9, 2021

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

So will Drury wait and see what happens with Cassidy and Rod the Bod? I feel like if he does, he risks potentially losing Gallant. No one wants to be the second/third choice. They should just hire Gallant and start preparing for next season. Really don't see the point in delaying.

 

[duhmetreE]

I think it's inaccurate to characterize Danault as one-dimensional. Over the last 3 years cumulatively, he is 23rd among all NHL centers in 5v5 points. For reference he has 101 to Zibanejad's 103. That's impressive production.

1 dimensional was hyperbole.

He's fools gold. He fills a need but he's not worth what he's going to get paid. It's not the player but the contract that's the issue. We just went through this with Trouba. The more contracts we have like that, the more we handicap ourselves moving forward. We even dealt with this last 'era'. People getting paid BIG $$ not producing when it mattered. Speaking of which, what has he done in the playoffs? and what is that worth?

Like I said originally, at $4-5M, he can play his role. At $6-7M? no.

 

[ETTER DE]

What about PLD? Can he return to form? What would he cost? Strome + 1st + prospect? He is young enough to play many years with Kakko and Lafreniere. And has a history with Panarin. Worth a gamble?

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

What about PLD? Can he return to form? What would he cost? Strome + 1st + prospect? He is young enough to play many years with Kakko and Lafreniere. And has a history with Panarin. Worth a gamble?

IDK what he would add to this team. He's not gritty and tough to play against

 

[molotce]

IDK what he would add to this team. He's not gritty and tough to play against

I'm sorry but I've wwatched a lot of dubois since juniors and if not gritty... he definitly plays physical, uses his size well to win battles (take all of this before his wpg stint IMO). Im not sure wpg wants to move him, he's 22, no rush there... I think he would have been a fantastic add to the NYR, proven chemistry with bread, he's got an ok 2way game, but does really well to establish a forecheck, keep possession, can shoot and pass. With his age he would fit right in with the core, slight french factor with Lafreniere to add there. the trade mentionned earlier like strome+1st, i would have done that for him, ofc now we are all wondering why his play dropped, but I'm sure he'll find his gear again, tortorella ate a lot of shit for the Dubois saga but he sure knew how to push him (sometimes ot much)to perform!

 

[eco's bones]

Mika has a NMC...he holds all the cards . He will get paid....either here or by somebody else when he walks as a UFA in the Spring of 22.

The longer the cap ceiling remains flat the more it will deflate salaries. Older, declining vets are going to start playing for peanuts or not at all unless they decide to play in Europe. I don’t see Mika scoring the kind of contract next year that he would have a couple years ago if he had been a UFA then. He’ll still get more (at least if he has a good season) because he’s kind of underpaid.

It’s a good time to be a young player on an ELC or second contract. Seattle coming in this year though does inject a potential 80 million into the market place.

 

[Raspewtin]

IDK what he would add to this team. He's not gritty and tough to play against

Im not the biggest PLD fan but this is a complete lie. He's definitely physical and strong on the boards.

 

[pld459666]

No he's not. If Danault signs for 6M and the offense falls off he is not useful. He may be a good defensive player but he's a massive detriment to the team with that kind of salary then.

He'd be the exact opposite of Strome.

Good defence, no offense.

 

[pld459666]

Im not the biggest PLD fan but this is a complete lie. He's definitely physical and strong on the boards.

Not that anyone played particularly good for the Jets in that series, but PLD was not visible at all which is deeply concerning when he was elevated to 1st line status with Scheifele sidelined.

If he were a target, and I hope that he's not, it has to be viewed as a Strome replacement and not for top line duties.

He's not had a good showing of himself this year at all

 

[Vitto79]

Just for arguments sake, I'd be okay going in to next year with Danault, Kreijci, Chytil at center while moving on from Zibanejad and Strome, hopefully securing a really good center prospect from someone in those deals who they can groom and grow from within. That young highly skilled center is going to be SO valuable as the other young guys develop and get paid. Danault allows for those young guys to develop in an insulated role but with prime PP time.

no thanks. Zib is an offensive weapon

fine if Strome goes for a more defensive C

Chytil I think goes to the wing or is traded. They move him ahead of Kakko , Laf. He’s the kid that is sacrificed for a more proven player if the perfect deal comes up

hope I’m wrong and Chytil can be a 2C eventually

 

[Ola]

On the importance of a player having a position that is custom made for him, and how just how much a player's performance can be hurt from moving from the perfect position to one that is just so-so -- look at Taylor Hall. The guy is somewhat fresh of winning a Hart Trophy. Look at the top guys in hockey, they are dominating the watered down level of play we are seing. Hall look like an OK 2nd lineer. He is a 60 pts player in 80 games under normal circumstances. OK, being that is a lot better than being an avg 2nd lineer, but you get my point.

I felt that he probably was the most overrated Hart Trophy winner when he won, next to maybe Theodore. The general opinion among the media "experts" with a vote obviously thought otherwise. Something like this is something a GM in this league must be able to call beforehand. Hall wasn't even remotely the top guy in hockey, and if a GM can't call something like that they are in trouble. Hall certainly performed well for NJ, but that was because he -- more or less only -- thrives with a lot of open ice in front of him. They backed down a ton and he always had the length of the ice in front of him. He is far from great against a collected D. Just skates into trouble time and time again and don't get anywhere. He isn't great on the cirlce. He isn't great on the PP.

And Hall is of course far from unique. There are a ton of guys around the league who can be great in one environment and average in another.

What is my point with this? When you build a team, you start with the front office. The creation of the front office must be executed with great care and nobody can be assumed to be able to do a "solid job" just because they seem fairly smart and has a history in the game. Jason Botterill sounded smart enough to work in a front office as a GM in the AHL and AGM in the NHL for 9 years before he was named the GM of a NHL team for three years. He then signed Jeff Skinner to a 72 million dollar contract over 8 years. A GM signing Jeff Skinner to a 72 million dollar contract over 8 years is like a sprinter 2 minutes ton run 100 meters, you are not very good. Every stone must be turned, every position must be filled with the most qualified persons with the best records.