Speculation: The Off-Season Thread Part VI - Are we there yet? (Grabovski to Caps, 1 yr)

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Do you mean the three games in a row he fell at the blue line and gave up breakaways? Yes, three games in a row. I hated that *****.

No, Im talking about how his shot was actually an asset to the powerplay and how nobody on this team can shoot the puck. Not a single person.

If you want to talk about pro hockey players falling down, Im sure theres a Brian Boyle thread around here somewhere.

 

[JohnC]

If you want to talk about pro hockey players falling down, Im sure theres a Brian Boyle thread around here somewhere.

Too soon

 

[eco's bones]

This article was mentioned earlier today



http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=681359

Gordie Clark told Jim Cerny in June/July the Rangers plan is assigning McIlrath to the Pack and having him play major minutes. Rangers management will re-evaluate McIlrath around Christmas time.

The Rangers don't have a physical presence on D. Not even close.

Think it's pushing it to write McIlrath's name into the lineup yet but he's getting close. Playing on the right side helps as well. He gets to the point where he can get 10-15 minutes a night at the NHL level and he'll be here.

IMO if the Rangers make the playoffs McIlrath barring injury will be in the lineup. Another series with the Bruins and Dylan's job just might well be to neutralize Lucic. He's got the size, the strength, the mean, the fighting ability to do the job and enough speed and skill. He's a player you can play the attrition game with.

 

[Raspewtin]

Imagine if Dylan makes the team, with Staal, and McDonagh? All three have the size and skating to neutralize any forward in the league, and with Dylan the power forwards of the league can be quieted down. The thought of keeping Lucic on a leash for once is something I never thought we'd see.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Imagine if Dylan makes the team, with Staal, and McDonagh? All three have the size and skating to neutralize any forward in the league, and with Dylan the power forwards of the league can be quieted down. The thought of keeping Lucic on a leash for once is something I never thought we'd see.

I think McIlrath will offer an important X factor, a dimension this team doesnt have. Theres something to be said about a guy that can play a regular shift and not only be committed to a physical game, but actually enjoy it in some twisted way.

I dont think he'll be shutting many of the top forwards in the league down, and I dont think he deserves to be in the same sentence as Staal and McDonagh.

 

[eco's bones]

I think McIlrath will offer an important X factor, a dimension this team doesnt have. Theres something to be said about a guy that can play a regular shift and not only be committed to a physical game, but actually enjoy it in some twisted way.

I dont think he'll be shutting many of the top forwards in the league down, and I dont think he deserves to be in the same sentence as Staal and McDonagh.

I'm not saying it either. Basically he cuts it for his draft selection if he can in the next few years become a top 4 (not top 2) NHL defenseman. Beukeboom wasn't the greatest d-man either and there were even periods where he wasn't playing very well at all but that guy even without dropping the gloves could hit hard enough that it was intimidating for lots of enemy forwards to line up against him. The Rangers always had him out there against Lindros who before the concussion problems was a one man wrecking crew with great scoring ability--a superior player in almost every way to Ovechkin.

 

[Raspewtin]

I think McIlrath will offer an important X factor, a dimension this team doesnt have. Theres something to be said about a guy that can play a regular shift and not only be committed to a physical game, but actually enjoy it in some twisted way.

I dont think he'll be shutting many of the top forwards in the league down, and I dont think he deserves to be in the same sentence as Staal and McDonagh.

Obviously he's not better than McD or Staal, but I mention them because they're good at shutting down top forwards, it's their job. McIlrath can be a comparable in that he keeps the more physical players at bay, and when there's a bell to answer he does it. You're right I'm pretty sure he won't be a top shut down guy any time soon, but he'll strike fear into the hearts of everyone on the ice, something the Rangers almost desperately need.

 

[RangerBoy]

Clark spoke with Cerny before development camp

The first 4 minutes are about McIlrath



Clark discusses the plan for McIlrath

After development camp. Begins at 5:33



"It will be an interesting training camp for him"

McIlrath working out this summer

McIlrath could be ready in the New Year. That's good. More competition. More depth. A team needs more than 5 defensemen. The Rangers have played with 4-5 D in the last few years.

 

[BBKers]

The real losers of the CBA are:

Gives a nice view of the current status in the NHL (maybe I have missed a few UFA signings...)
Lots of retirements coming up
And guys going to €urope
Will be an interesting year
Jacobs is likely happy...

[table="head;width=3200]# | Team | Roster Payroll |$ Space | Players Signed |Available |RFAs| LTIR
1. |Philadelphia Flyers | $69,153,522| -$2,053,522| 25| -2| |Pronger, Chris ($4,941,429)
2. |Boston Bruins | $70,223,810| -$1,101,310| 22| 1| |Savard, Marc ($4,027,143)
3. |Pittsburgh Penguins| $65,398,333| -$1,098,333| 23| 0| |
4. |Detroit Red Wings | $67,947,879| -$637,879| 25| -2| |
5. |San Jose Sharks | $65,131,667| -$406,667| 22| 1| | Havlat, Martin ($5,000,000)
6. |Los Angeles Kings | $64,386,894| -$86,894| 24| -1| |
7. |Washington Capitals | $63,634,295| $665,705| 22| 1| |
8. |Edmonton Oilers | $67,774,167| $1,348,333| 24| -1| |
9. |Anaheim Ducks |$64,795,833 |$1,474,167| 26| -3| |
10. |Montreal Canadiens | $65,110,833 |$1,886,667| 24| -1||
11. |Chicago Blackhawks | $62,946,795| $2,008,205| 21| 2||
12. |Columbus Blue Jackets | $66,808,809| $2,016,191| 23| 0||
13. |New York Rangers | $62,881,667| $2,180,833| 24| -1| Stepan, Derek |
14. |Vancouver Canucks | $62,052,778| $2,247,222| 22| 1||
15. |Winnipeg Jets| $63,201,357| $2,323,643| 23| 0| Burmistrov, Alexander |
16. |Dallas Stars |$62,993,611| $2,541,389| 23 |0 ||
17. |Tampa Bay Lightning | $63,990,477| $2,609,523| 21| 2||
18. |Minnesota Wild |$65,265,534 |$2,784,466| 22| 1||
19. |Phoenix Coyotes | $59,726,667| $3,573,333| 22| 1| Goncharov, Maxim|
20. |New Jersey Devils | $63,720,834| $3,879,166| 24| -1||
21. |Nashville Predators |$62,862,976| $4,672,024| 22| 1||
22. |Carolina Hurricanes | $59,425,000 |$4,885,000| 19| 4||
23. |Toronto Maple Leafs | $59,704,167| $4,895,833| 21| 2| Kadri, Nazem + Franson, Cody|
24. |St. Louis Blues | $57,925,833| $7,624,167| 23| 0| Pietrangelo, Alex |
25. |Calgary Flames | $57,321,250| $7,690,000| 24| -1||
26. |Colorado Avalanche | $58,833,333| $10,289,167| 23| 0||
27. |Buffalo Sabres | $54,645,357| $10,504,643| 21| 2| Hodgson, Cody |
28. |Ottawa Senators | $53,835,833| $11,314,167| 22| 1| Cowen, Jared |
29. |Florida Panthers| $57,140,375| $11,982,125| 24| -1||
30. |New York Islanders| $49,496,976| $15,653,024| 23| 0| Ullstrom, David |
TOTAL| NHL ||| 684| 6||[/table]

UNSIGNED UFAs (49)
GOALIES (6)
[table="head;width=1500]Player |Pos| Team
Bryzgalov, Ilya | G| PHI
Thomas, Tim | G |NYI
DiPietro, Rick | G| NYI
Theodore, Jose | G| FLA
Hedberg, Johan | G| NJD
Garon, Mathieu | G| TBL[/table]

DEFENCE (20)
[table="head;width=1500]Player| Pos| Team
Hainsey, Ron | D| WPG
Kuba, Filip | D| FLA
Gilbert, Tom | D| MIN
Whitney, Ryan | D| EDM
Lydman, Toni | D| ANA
White, Ian | D| DET
Poti, Tom | D| WAS
Hamrlik, Roman | D| NYR
Colaiacovo, Carlo | D| DET
Aucoin, Adrian | D| CLB
Zanon, Greg | D| COL
Gill, Hal | D| NAS
Walker, Matt | D| PHI
Redden, Wade | D| BOS
Teubert, Colten | D| EDM
Clark, Brett | D| MIN
Huskins, Kent | D| PHI
Martinek, Radek | D| NYI
Eaton, Mark | D| PIT
Barker, Cam | D| VAN[/table]

CENTER (7)
[table="head;width=1500]Player |Pos |Team
Connolly, Tim | C |TOR
Prospal, Vinny | C/L| CLB
Wellwood, Kyle | C| WPG
Reasoner, Marty | C| NYI
Steckel, David | C| ANA
Deveaux, Andre | C| FLA
Halpern, Jeff | C |MTL[/table]

LW (7)
[table="head;width=1500]Player |Pos |Team
Morrow, Brenden | L| PIT
Gagne, Simon | L |PHI
Cleary, Danny | L |DET
Sullivan, Steve | L| NJD
Raymond, Mason | L| VAN
Latendresse, Guillaume | L| OTT
Hordichuk, Darcy | L |EDM[/table]

RW (9)
[table="head;width=1500]Player| Pos |Team
Hejduk, Milan | R |COL
Larose, Chad | R |CAR
Brunner, Damien | R| DET
Langenbrunner, Jamie | R| STL
Kobasew, Chuck | R| COL
Boyes, Brad | R |NYI
Stewart, Anthony | R| LAK
Knuble, Mike | R| PHI
Dvorak, Radek | R| ANA - PTO Carolina
Mayers, Jamal | R| CHI[/table]

 

[Ola]

bbkrs- Great stuff as usual!

Just for the record, Pronger isn't LTIR "excempt" since being +35 (his money is, unlike Savards, on the books). But he is indeed long term injured...

 

[Blue Blooded]

bbkrs- Great stuff as usual!

Just for the record, Pronger isn't LTIR "excempt" since being +35 (his money is, unlike Savards, on the books). But he is indeed long term injured...

The 35+ rule only comes into effect when the player retires. Pronger's and Savard's cap hits can be replaced by other players' just like any player on LTIR. So neither player will retire under their current contracts, they will just sit them out on IR. They get their money and their clubs avoid the cap penalty, win-win.

 

[RangerBoy]

Kaberle and O'Byrne have signed to play in the KHL. Lombardi has signed with a team in Switzerland. Dvorak has a tryout with Carollina.

 

[RangerBoy]

From: @GMillerTSN
Sent: Sep 5, 2013 11:25a

We hear a lot about UFAs on July 1, not as much at this time of year. Today, 54 players who played in the NHL last year are unsigned.

sent via Twitter for BlackBerry
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMillerTSN/status/375640829752135680

 

[Thirty One]

https://twitter.com/JimCerny/status/375665300173094912

Not only did @johnmoore_4 do interview with me today, he did a fun On the Spot word association game segment...think you guys will enjoy it!

And who says Cerny is boring?

 

[BBKers]

Kaberle and O'Byrne have signed to play in the KHL. Lombardi has signed with a team in Switzerland. Dvorak has a tryout with Carollina.

Thanx RB
Will take them out

 

[BBKers]

From: @GMillerTSN
Sent: Sep 5, 2013 11:25a

We hear a lot about UFAs on July 1, not as much at this time of year. Today, 54 players who played in the NHL last year are unsigned.

sent via Twitter for BlackBerry
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMillerTSN/status/375640829752135680

Precisly the point I attempted to make with the above chart. Ouch is all I gotta say. Almost 2 full teams without contracts. NHLPA not barking so loud now...

 

[eco's bones]

Some of these players can still play--Hainsey, Eaton, Gilbert, Whitney, Colaiacovo on D--Morrow, Raymond, Larose, Brunner, Boyes, Mayers--maybe Stewart. Most of the rest is just junk. Martinek would still be a good player if it weren't for all the injuries. I expect at least 3 or 4 are going to play for someone--Morrow if he'll go low enough $'s for sure--Raymond and Brunner as well.

There are a lot of guys pushing 40 years old in this group. Not surprising that there's no interest. Hamrlik? Halpern? Love Vinny Prospal but he can't keep up. Redden?--Poti?--hated those 2 as Rangers. If you got some decent quality kids why sign a bunch of old guys that have hit the skids.

 

[RangerBoy]

Derek Stepan hasn't participated in the Rangers informal skates. His agent(s) must be telling him to stay away. Del Zotto skated with the Rangers players last August and September when he wasn't signed before the lockout began. Del Zotto skated in January with the Rangers players before the lockout was officially lifted and he signed his contract. Same thing with Dubinsky in 2009.

The players skating today

Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin, both coming off shoulder surgery, were among a group of 22 players who practiced today. Neither has been cleared for contact or has a timetable for when they might return, but you have to assume they won’t be ready for the start of the season.

The others who took part today included, in no particular order: Staal, Derrick Brassard, Chris Kreider, John Moore, Dylan McIlrath, Ryan Bourque, Stu Bickel, Rick Nash, Taylor Pyatt, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Mats Zuccarello, Anton Stralman, Derek Dorsett, Brian Boyle, Brad Richards, Justin Falk, Aaron Johnson and Marek Hrivik. I thought I saw Dominic Moore doing shooting drills before the workout.

http://rangers.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/05/live-from-the-rangers-unofficial-skate-in-greenburgh/

Most of the expected regulars are already skating. Biron has been skating in Buffalo where he lives during the summer. It seems his family stays in Buffalo during the season and he lives in Westchester County.

Come Saturday, Biron's parenting from a long distance. That's when he reports back to the New York Rangers - a team that reached the second round of the playoffs last year, and under the leadership of Rochester's Ryan Callahan, bears resemblance to Biron's time here.

"We see a lot of that same, kind of core foundation that we had a few years back here in Buffalo when those guys were here. I see a lot of similarities in that team over there, so it's really good to be part of that group."

http://rochester.ynn.com/content/sports/694442/marty-biron-spent-his-summer-training-locally/

No Powe or Asham either. Those guys will probably be waived 12 days before the season starts. Pouliot hasn't shown his face yet. He was training with a group of players in Montreal which included Prust.

 

[RangerBoy]

On Thursday, after skating with 22 of his Blueshirt 'mates in a pre-training camp workout at the MSG Training Center, Staal was able to say with confidence--and a smile--that he is ready to return to the form that has made him one of the NHL's premier defensemen, and that his injured eye will not hinder his play in 2013-14.

"It's behind me and I've been able to turn the page," explained Staal, who does admit that he has not recovered full vision in his eye and likely never will. "I'm healthy and looking forward to starting the season fresh."

In fact Staal---who is using a blue-tinted visor to cut down on the glare inside the hockey rink---took it a step further when discussing his overall health heading into the upcoming season.

"This is the best I've felt in a couple years," Staal stated, referring to not only his eye in jury last spring, but his concussion issues from the 2011-12 campaign.

http://blueshirtsunited.com/posts/3...s&utm_content=twitter_1378406240#.UijS0hYsrFJ

More Staal: "Sensitivity to light almost gone." Said there was nothing he couldn't do. "All clear." Just has to monitor any pressure in eye

https://twitter.com/stevezipay/status/375675118040514562

 

[RangerBoy]

Precisly the point I attempted to make with the above chart. Ouch is all I gotta say. Almost 2 full teams without contracts. NHLPA not barking so loud now...

The young guys on cheaper contracts replace the unsigned guys. In a league of 700+ players,50+ unsigned players isn't that bad. Some of those guys are experienced players. Its time for some of time to call it a career.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

Some of these players can still play--Hainsey, Eaton, Gilbert, Whitney, Colaiacovo on D--Morrow, Raymond, Larose, Brunner, Boyes, Mayers--maybe Stewart. Most of the rest is just junk. Martinek would still be a good player if it weren't for all the injuries. I expect at least 3 or 4 are going to play for someone--Morrow if he'll go low enough $'s for sure--Raymond and Brunner as well.

There are a lot of guys pushing 40 years old in this group. Not surprising that there's no interest. Hamrlik? Halpern? Love Vinny Prospal but he can't keep up. Redden?--Poti?--hated those 2 as Rangers. If you got some decent quality kids why sign a bunch of old guys that have hit the skids.

You're wrong about Vinny. He had 30 points in 48 games last year. He can certainly still play. I think it's more so a matter of where he wants to play. He can certainy get a contract, but i think he's probably only willing to go to 3 or 4 teams at this point in his career.

FYI, Latandresse is going on invite to Phoenix's camp.

 

[Fitzy]

Ryan Whitney's status as unsigned suggests to me that he is holding onto unreasonable contract demands. Because most teams in the league could find a spot for him on their roster.

Prospal makes sense in the short term, but once Hagelin and Callahan come back you're going to have him on the bench. AV doesn't want a guy who can't skate on a bottom 6 line designed for energy, hitting and forechecking. Prospal can't do any of those things any more, he is only good at cycling the puck in the offensive zone.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

Ryan Whitney's status as unsigned suggests to me that he is holding onto unreasonable contract demands. Because most teams in the league could find a spot for him on their roster.

Prospal makes sense in the short term, but once Hagelin and Callahan come back you're going to have him on the bench. AV doesn't want a guy who can't skate on a bottom 6 line designed for energy, hitting and forechecking. Prospal can't do any of those things any more, he is only good at cycling the puck in the offensive zone.

Don't want either of those guys, although I agree, both could and should find spots.

 

[Thirty One]

Ryan Whitney's status as unsigned suggests to me that he is holding onto unreasonable contract demands. Because most teams in the league could find a spot for him on their roster.

There's rumblings of him possibly taking a try-out with St. Louis.

 

[eco's bones]

You're wrong about Vinny. He had 30 points in 48 games last year. He can certainly still play. I think it's more so a matter of where he wants to play. He can certainy get a contract, but i think he's probably only willing to go to 3 or 4 teams at this point in his career.

FYI, Latandresse is going on invite to Phoenix's camp.

Don't want Prospal on the Rangers. Like the guy but his skating sucks.

Latendresse as you say is a player another team might want--I could have mentioned him as well--just don't like him.