Roster Building Thread VI (2022-23): Offseason edition

[Savant]

Tarasenko, Motte, Kane, and then Mikkola on defense making the worst lists is hilarious. Hell of a job by the Little League World Series Champ and pizza maker.

He’s got a tough offseason he is going to need to make some unpopular moves

 

[NickyFotiu]

Panarin also isn’t waiving for Nashville


Adam Fox

Con: Isn’t Brian Leetch

Pro: Everything else



Very telling that no other NYR Dman is close to the this and they have three that were among the worst at it.

This is where the Rangers need to improve. Fox is the only one that isn’t terrible at this

Is it a con that he did not move his feet to skate in the defensive end?

I'll agree to strongly disagree with your rose colored remembrances of Brian Leetch and over the top harshness in assessing Adam Fox. 2nd top 3 Norris finish in 3 years. It took Brian until age 27 to accomplish this.

Just look at the stats above. Look at the regular season advance statistics. The guy is a top 5 defensemen in the league as was Leetch.

I'm not going to forensically litigate this with you and you're certainly entitled to your opinion as I am equally entitled to disagree with it.

No problem with you disagreeing. Awards do not impress me. If he hustles on defense by moving his feet and improves his skating I will be impressed.

 

[Savant]

Is it a con that he did not move his feet to skate in the defensive end?

I mean what are the expectations here? How many dmen would you rather have than Fox? He made a bad play shit happens. You can’t dumpster your best skater who is a perennial Norris candidate because of that. His positives FAR outweigh the negatives. Are comparing if Karlsson or Makar get caught pinching too high? Come on. The fact is Fox is an elite player and the Rangers don’t have anyone else that can do what he does. And neither do the vast majority of the other teams in the league

 

[LaffyTaffy13]

I really doubt they go hunting for a LHD, they have Chabot, Chychrun (can play both sides but is LH), Sanderson. Maybe they'll add a depth guy but I doubt they'll add Lindgren and block Sanderson

Youre right. I think this is somewhat realistic tbh.

Laff-mika-kakko
Panarin-chytil-fast
Kreider-trocheck-vesey
Cuylle-brodzinski-motte

Kandre-fox
Gostisbehere-trouba
Jones-schneider
Harpur

Igor
Halak

Buyout goody if you cant trade him

Trade lindgren to columbus for the kings 1st (theyre brutally bad on the left side)

Gostisbehere 5 X 4.5mm
Motte 3 X 1.25mm
Fast 3 X 2mm (if fast cant come offer same to Haula)
Jones 2 X $800K
Kandre 5 X 4.5
Laff 2 X 2.35
Brodzinski near league min

You can do this and still have like $600K in cap space. Ideally as the 21st player youd have a guy like brendan smith who can switch between 7th D and 13th fwd if need be. But hes with the devs for 1 more year

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

 

[haohmaru]

Is it a con that he did not move his feet to skate in the defensive end?

Is it a con that Brian Leetch had 131 giveaways in 2000-2001?

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Yeah forget the awards for being the best defenseman in the league

Fox has to look like he’s trying hard to really be considered great lmao

 

[bleedblue94]

I don’t mind the Trocheck contract still. The Core 4 were going to be immovable until after next season either way. They needed a 3rd center and he had his most points since 2017. He’s also the only guy on the team who can win a faceoff. All this with being jerked around by Gallant and Panarin all year. Mika-Chytil-Trocheck is strong center depth.

We have two 3rd line centers that are making 10 million combines. I would rather pay seven for an actual better 2c and three for a 3C instead of having two sortas

 

[McRanger92]

We have two 3rd line centers that are making 10 million combines. I would rather pay seven for an actual better 2c and three for a 3C instead of having two sortas

There’s room to grow with Chytil. That contract will be a bargain. Just needs to work on faceoffs but he will look good in a bigger role with better players next year.

 

[LaffyTaffy13]

There’s room to grow with Chytil. That contract will be a bargain. Just needs to work on faceoffs but he will look good in a bigger role with better players next year.

Agreed. Its kinda why erik haula would be a pretty good signing. He plays on hughes line whos even worse than chytil on draws but haula takes most of the draws and is like 54%.
Panarin-chytil-haula wouldnt be a bad line

 

[DanielBrassard]

And the forwards



Rangers with 7 of the top 30 WORST and zero of the top 30 Best.

Eye test matches

Panarin absent but Zibanejad is on the list

 

[bleedblue94]

There’s room to grow with Chytil. That contract will be a bargain. Just needs to work on faceoffs but he will look good in a bigger role with better players next year.

All the proposed lines have him playing w the same players he has here on and off for years. Everyone wants to kill laffy for his playoffs but ignore chytil who was invisible as well. Hope it happens but he always seems best in his 3c role.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I mean what are the expectations here? How many dmen would you rather have than Fox? He made a bad play shit happens. You can’t dumpster your best skater who is a perennial Norris candidate because of that. His positives FAR outweigh the negatives. Are comparing if Karlsson or Makar get caught pinching too high? Come on. The fact is Fox is an elite player and the Rangers don’t have anyone else that can do what he does. And neither do the vast majority of the other teams in the league

Its nothave one play. I noticed his not moving his feet on defense going back to last season. Sometimes he does this weird jog like thing. Like its an effort for him to move his feet. He tries to reach with his stick and mentally play defense but as a former player I see what he is doing. He gives 100% on offense. Is great at keeping pucks in as well. Why not give that effort on D? Maybe it is a mental thing. Maybe he knows he isn't a great skater but I just want him to make the effort. Fox has several positives but as a Dman he has to give that effort to move his feet in his own end for me to feel comfortable with him.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Is it a con that Brian Leetch had 131 giveaways in 2000-2001?

If you are seriously going to compare Leetch to Fox maybe you should do it without stats. Are you going to tell me that Fox skated harder or faster on defense than Leetch? Are you really thinking Fox is a top Dman of all time? I like Fox but but some of the hype based on a ton of PP assists goes too far. Did you watch him vs NJ?

 

[Savant]

Its nothave one play. I noticed his not moving his feet on defense going back to last season. Sometimes he does this weird jog like thing. Like its an effort for him to move his feet. He tries to reach with his stick and mentally play defense but as a former player I see what he is doing. He gives 100% on offense. Is great at keeping pucks in as well. Why not give that effort on D? Maybe it is a mental thing. Maybe he knows he isn't a great skater but I just want him to make the effort. Fox has several positives but as a Dman he has to give that effort to move his feet in his own end for me to feel comfortable with him.

Okay - so who would you rather have? Which Dman is making you feel comfy

 

[NickyFotiu]

Okay - so who would you rather have? Which Dman is making you feel comfy

Id be fine with Fox if he made a consistent effort to move his feet on defense. Im shocked that is a large request for some people. That is where a dman should start. If you are asking me to pick other Dmen Id start with Makar. May not always be the greatest on D but I woukd take his speed and zone transition in a second. Its not even close coming off a playoff where we skated like old fat guys.

 

[mas0764]

The Laf hate is so bad. 39 points as a third liner. This is what this organization has made this guy...a chip and chase, body banging third liner that they've now asked to stand in front of the net. Too many LWs on the roster. Does Drury have a plan to solve this?

He’s disappointed for sure but the oversell on his lack of ability is surprising. And he should still be expected to get better.

I still suspect he, like Kakko, is thoroughly lost in the offensive end. That and any improvement in his skating can unlock a lot of other things he does well. Kakko looks like the better player just he’s just bigger, stronger and has a game better suited to defending and cycling.

Kakko looks just as lost on offense though. Lafreniere doesn’t have many of the attributes Kakko has.

I really think the org has depressed their abilities and they need to be unlocked. Not that they don’t possess them.

Top 6 RW.

Kreider needs to play RW. He just parks it in front of the net anyway.

 

[Savant]

Id be fine with Fox if he made a consistent effort to move his feet on defense. Im shocked that is a large request for some people. That is where a dman should start. If you are asking me to pick other Dmen Id start with Makar. May not always be the greatest on D but I woukd take his speed and zone transition in a second. Its not even close coming off a playoff where we skated like old fat guys.

Okay so you named one player. Got it. Just wanted to see what the bar was.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

The Rangers making the ECF in 2020-21 was the worst thing to happen to the franchise. They played Pittsburgh and Carolina with back-up goalies. Every podcast. Cup or bust. It's nauseating.

The Rangers can not make this move because they are Cup or bust. The Rangers need this type of player because they lost to Jersey. The Rangers need to hire this type of coach because they are Cup or bust.

With all due respect RB, who cares what people are saying on podcasts and in the media? We're less than 2 weeks out from being a cup hopeful team and playing poorly and losing a series we should've won easily. Of course the takes are scorching hot right now in the media.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

We have two 3rd line centers that are making 10 million combines. I would rather pay seven for an actual better 2c and three for a 3C instead of having two sortas

Trocheck scored 64 points this season, in what world is he a 3rd liner? If he's your 3C you are absolutely spoiled with stacked center depth. He's firmly a 2c in this league.

 

[bleedblue94]

Trocheck scored 64 points this season, in what world is he a 3rd liner? If he's your 3C you are absolutely spoiled with stacked center depth. He's firmly a 2c in this league.

He is not. If you think he looked like a 2c in the playoffs I don't know what to to tell you. He was moved to the 3rd line at that point. 17ppp when stuffed into the pp1 where he didn't belong will inflate stats, think you just saw the best season you will from him over the life of that contract. He is a 3c on a real contender that can play up the lineup in spurts for a great team, as is chytil. Enjoy

 

[McRanger92]

All the proposed lines have him playing w the same players he has here on and off for years. Everyone wants to kill laffy for his playoffs but ignore chytil who was invisible as well. Hope it happens but he always seems best in his 3c role.

I want him with Panarin. He can actually finish.

Agreed. Its kinda why erik haula would be a pretty good signing. He plays on hughes line whos even worse than chytil on draws but haula takes most of the draws and is like 54%.
Panarin-chytil-haula wouldnt be a bad line

You could sell me on Haula for that line

 

[Barnaby]

I definitely want to see Lafreniere lose races for 18 minutes a night while Kakko does pointless Marcel Hossa impressions. On the same line. On PP1.

It’s like EA Sports. Put them on the top line and their overall will increase faster.


Marcel Hossa - yeesh.

 

[Barnaby]

maybe I’m misremembering but doesn’t the Laf situation remind people of Sam Bennet? Wasn’t put into a position to succeed, fans thinks he’s a bust cause he’s playing bottom 6 and hasn’t proven anything yet,. Then he gets traded to fl, put in better situation and has 49 pts in 71 games his first year, then 40 in 63. Granted he was older when drafted, and he wasn’t 1st overall but 4th overall so huge difference there /s/ and laf has had more points per season at his age then bennet did until the trade

I could pick out a 100 guys who underwhelmed and never met expectations. Lafreniere and Bennett are different players.

 

[mike14]

He is not. If you think he looked like a 2c in the playoffs I don't know what to to tell you. He was moved to the 3rd line at that point. 17ppp when stuffed into the pp1 where he didn't belong will inflate stats, think you just saw the best season you will from him over the life of that contract. He is a 3c on a real contender that can play up the lineup in spurts for a great team, as is chytil. Enjoy

No Ranger (sans Igor) looked good in the playoffs and with it being such a small sample size it seems like a weird thing to judge him on.
What makes a 2C in your opinion, and are there close to 32 of them in the league?
There's certainly more to it than points, but I feel they are a large part of it and seeing as he scored the same no. of 5v5 pts as Mika, and only 22 centers in the whole NHL scored more than him, I'm starting to worry that we don't have a single center worth having on the team...

 

[Barnaby]

All the proposed lines have him playing w the same players he has here on and off for years. Everyone wants to kill laffy for his playoffs but ignore chytil who was invisible as well. Hope it happens but he always seems best in his 3c role.

I think people are more patient with Chytil because he’ll at least show flashes. He also wasn’t hailed as a near generational talent.