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

[cd211]

I agree on Seabrook, very similar to Girardi in how he has to be used.

But I disagree on your last point and would like to invert it. I think I take the Rangers' top 4 over the Hawks', but the Hawks' bottom 4 over the Rangers'.

Leddy-Rozisval were given soft minutes but they absolutely dominated them, especially Rozsival. Moore is hard to evaluate since he spent so much of the season in Columbus, but Del Zotto (granted, playing harder minutes than the Hawks duo) just didn't.

While Del Zotto-Moore is a great 3rd pairing, Leddy-Rozsival would be a good 2nd pairing for many teams.

This is just for one season though, the Rangers' D is younger and has more room to grow and would be the one to pick going forward. Hopefully Del Zotto's ES game takes off playing softer minutes under a new coach. I think a new transition game plan will suit him.

But on the other hand I may be putting too much emphasis on the bottom pairings, they are playing less and are therefore having a lesser impact.

agree. i understand what your saying but DZ isnt a 3rd pairing hes top 4 easily.. and when on his game he has flashes of top 20 dman in league.. consistency is huge, but hardest thing for any pro athlete... dz got to be in a position to succeed... playing with staal will help all the d out but him mostly..

mcd-girardi
staal-MDZ
Moore-Stralman

FALK

 

[RangerBoy]

The Rangers play Jersey and Philly on September 16-17.

"When I thought where we would go, I thought why not Western Canada," Sather said this week. He expects to have 40 players in Banff for the five days of workouts.

"We have to bring that number of players because we play so many games: four games in five days," noted Sather.

The team is also hosting a charity golf tournament on Sept. 19, with proceeds going towards a flood relief fund in Canmore.

Following their camp in Banff, the Rangers take on the Flames in Calgary on Sept. 23, travel to Edmonton on Sept. 24, Vancouver on Sept. 26 and meet the L.A. Kings in Las Vegas on Sept. 27.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/08/21/rangers-take-training-camp-to-albertas-rockies

 

[Blue Blooded]

agree. i understand what your saying but DZ isnt a 3rd pairing hes top 4 easily.. and when on his game he has flashes of top 20 dman in league.. consistency is huge, but hardest thing for any pro athlete... dz got to be in a position to succeed... playing with staal will help all the d out but him mostly..

mcd-girardi
staal-MDZ
Moore-Stralman

FALK

MDZ has not been very good playing the right side and I'm not even sure he is a better D-man at this point, even at his natural position, than Strålman at even strength. More talented for sure but Strålman was a more effective D-man, at least under Torts. We'll see how things shake out under AV.

Also: even, even, even Steven.

 

[abev]

The team is also hosting a charity golf tournament on Sept. 19, with proceeds going towards a flood relief fund in Canmore.

I am jealous of that trip. I went out in 2008 and the canadian rockies are an amazing place. Only $500 CAD ea to play in the golf tournament. A regular greens fee is $225. I don't think I'd be able to focus on my golf with these views!

They had really bad floods, seems like a good thing the Rangers are trying to help. I wonder if Sather has any friends in the Canmore Rotary Club?

 

[RangerBoy]

John Moore played both sides in Columbus. He played mostly the left but didn't have any issues playing the right side. I emailed Aaron Portzline. Some lefty hands prefer the right side. Tyutin and Phaneuf are two lefties who play the right side. Gardiner is a lefty. He played the right side at Wisconsin with McDonagh in 2009-10. Yandle in Phoenix is a lefty who has played on the right side. Samuelsson played a huge role in Yandle's development. Maybe Samuelsson can help DZ make the adjustment to the right side.

 

[RangerBoy]

The Rangers open camp on September 11. They take their physicals that day. First day on the ice is the 12th. Back to back pre-season games on the 16th and 17th. Looks like they are flying from Philly to Banff right after the Philly game. 5 day training camp in Banff. 18th-22nd. The golf event is the 19th. They play the Flames on the 23rd. Their last pre-season game is Friday September 27th in Las Vegas. The Rangers season begins Thursday October 3 in Phoenix. Come back to New York for a few days and then go to Phoenix. Looking at their schedule,the earliest day for them to return to NY is the crack of dawn on October 13 after their game in St.Louis. They play in Washington on October 16. If they hang out on the west coast between September 27-October 3,that is nearly 4 weeks on the road. When the Rangers opened up the 11-12 season in Europe,they came back to NY and played in Uniondale before going to western Canada.

 

[pld459666]

Hey, you! Get off of my cloud!


Under AV, who knows. I've always felt our D were a little coddled under Torts, and our forwards were cut into a little bit. We'll see if our offense improves and our D looks a little more human under this new coach.

I'd be fine with that.

It would show movement towards a more balanced approach to the game.

as it was, we were to defensive in nature and the offence suffered because of it.

Granted, I don't see much changing because while as AV is not Torts-centric towards the defensive side of the game, he's more defensive than offensive in approach.

However, IF the forwards are freed up a little to be more creative, I'd have no issues with that because we need that balance and we have not had that balance for a long time.

 

[pld459666]

I would love Vanek on the Rangers, but he's most likely gonna get max term. With that you have to watch out with players especially like Vanek. For a star he's not that great of a skater and usually the elites that were never great at skating are usually the first to fall off a cliff. Just look at Dany Heatley.

Vanek is more of a want than a need at this point. The Rangers are decent enough went it comes with wingers, but a team like New Jersey...

disagree 100%

Centers are decent.

Defence is decent.

Goalie is decent.

Wingers aside from Nash and Callahan are a big group of question marks. We are anything BUT decent on the wings outside of the two mentioned.

 

[NYR Viper]

What about trying to sign Pominville? He would fit in nicely on this team. RWer though and with Nash and Callahan that gets redundant.

Marleau, Steen and Moulson are the players who would interest me at LW.

Phaneuf, Hjalmersson and Emelin would interest me on defense. I know people give **** to Phaneuf but pair him with a defensive d-man and his shot is a true weapon. His physicality would also be a welcomed addition. Same with Emelin.

 

[pld459666]

Vanek will get at least @ 7 m$ * 5 years. For a guy who is injury prone due to his style, playing in front of the net and taking the beating to score, even the Austrian homer in me says no thanks.
He's a great player when healthy for sure, and his playmaking ability actually doesn't get enough praise, but honestly, I'd be surprised if he plays until he's 35.

Just so we are all on the same page.

Vanek has played in 94% of his teams games during his career. He's missed more than 10 games in any one season twice during that time.

09-10 when he missed 11 games
12-13 when he missed 10 games

Of the 37 games he's missed in his career due to injury, more than half have come in 2 seperate seasons.

Vanek is anything but an injury concern

 

[Emptyvoid]

What about trying to sign Pominville? He would fit in nicely on this team. RWer though and with Nash and Callahan that gets redundant.

Marleau, Steen and Moulson are the players who would interest me at LW.

Phaneuf, Hjalmersson and Emelin would interest me on defense. I know people give **** to Phaneuf but pair him with a defensive d-man and his shot is a true weapon. His physicality would also be a welcomed addition. Same with Emelin.

Like with any UFA, all depends on the term and $$$. We can't get into a bidding war and keep burdening ourselves with long contracts. If one of those players manages not to generate too much interest, then sure. But i think we can both agree, that isn't about to happen.

If we were able to get someone on a reasonable deal, I'd like pominville. IIRC he can play both wings effectively.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I friggin love Thomas Vanek. Always have since his frosh year in college when he was one of the most electrifying kids I've seen play at that level.

The one thing I do worry about with him is how quick his game COULD fall off. Yes,he has been rock-solid health wise to date. My concern is that he is really only a few injuries away from being Wild Dany Heatley ie limited mobility, limited ability to move the puck, limited ability to back off d's, basically a lethal shot and that's it. If (when) he starts to break down at all I feel he could lose it fast and be a big dead weight relative to the cap hit he WILL get (make no mistake he will get paid regardless).

It really pains me to say it because I like his game, and saying this about him makes me feel old as hell. But I'm just not sure he is the right investment...I almost would rather add him on his NEXT deal when expectations and $ have come down. Sure he could be Selanne, and it could be a miss. But that bet has a lot of risk.

 

[Championship*]

I'd make a move for Vanek at the deadline if the stars aligned

 

[Trxjw]

Wouldn't be surprised to see Vanek dealt mid-season as teams shake out their rosters. He's going to cost a pretty penny for sure. Young roster player, top prospect and a 1st. I can't see us being in the mix next summer unless Richards is bought out. He's a tremendous player though.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I'd make a move for Vanek at the deadline if the stars aligned

But the bigger question is, would you be willing to give up anything of value?

 

[Championship*]

But the bigger question is, would you be willing to give up anything of value?

"If the stars were aligned" It would have to make sense.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

But the bigger question is, would you be willing to give up anything of value?

pretty much anything but Hank, Nash, Stepan, Mcdonagh as the roster player..

 

[Championship*]

Rangers would have to be in a position to contend, They'd have to have 1 or 2 young players step up and make other young players expendable, Sabres would have to be out of it and interested in what we'd be willing to give.

 

[RangerBoy]

You guys are playing fantasy league hockey again. Has that stuff ever worked for the Rangers or the Flyers or the other teams which are the big money teams? No. Its a new guy today and it will be a new guy tomorrow. Scout and draft the players. Give them time to develop. The Rangers need to stop trading top picks. They got nothing from the recent draft. Free agency is fools gold. It seems like the right move at the time and then you regret it for much longer.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

You guys are playing fantasy league hockey again. Has that stuff ever worked for the Rangers or the Flyers or the other teams which are the big money teams? No. Its a new guy today and it will be a new guy tomorrow. Scout and draft the players. Give them time to develop. The Rangers need to stop trading top picks. They got nothing from the recent draft. Free agency is fools gold. It seems like the right move at the time and then you regret it for much longer.

That doesnt mean u just stop signing players. You build a core, which we have done and then bring in someone to try to put you over the top, Vanek is an outstanding player and fits the Rangers need to a T. If he becomes available and we can make it work.

 

[Bullseyes]

You guys are playing fantasy league hockey again. Has that stuff ever worked for the Rangers or the Flyers or the other teams which are the big money teams? No. Its a new guy today and it will be a new guy tomorrow. Scout and draft the players. Give them time to develop. The Rangers need to stop trading top picks. They got nothing from the recent draft. Free agency is fools gold. It seems like the right move at the time and then you regret it for much longer.

I agree. I would avoid trying to throw big money at free agents. Usually down the road teams seem to regret it.

If the right free agent hit the market (like Chara did for Boston), then you go for it. But I would be wary of signing some of these players mentioned.

 

[Trxjw]

That doesnt mean u just stop signing players. You build a core, which we have done and then bring in someone to try to put you over the top, Vanek is an outstanding player and fits the Rangers need to a T. If he becomes available and we can make it work.

He might not fit the Rangers needs by the time he realistically becomes available. I certainly hope that ends up being the case, because that means one of our own players has stepped up and lived up to their potential.

 

[RangerBoy]

That doesnt mean u just stop signing players. You build a core, which we have done and then bring in someone to try to put you over the top, Vanek is an outstanding player and fits the Rangers need to a T. If he becomes available and we can make it work.

Another big name. You guys like the fantasy league hockey team stuff. What is Vanek going to cost as a free agent? $7M-$8M. He is not playing for free. Is he really worth that money? The Rangers have room to give Vanek $8M when they have Nash on the books for $7.8M and Lundqvist will come in close to $9M? Up until recently you didn't believe the 3 key Ranger group III's would get much more than they are getting right now or may be you still feel that way. This isn't fantasy hockey.

 

[Off Sides]

You guys are playing fantasy league hockey again. Has that stuff ever worked for the Rangers or the Flyers or the other teams which are the big money teams? No. Its a new guy today and it will be a new guy tomorrow. Scout and draft the players. Give them time to develop. The Rangers need to stop trading top picks. They got nothing from the recent draft. Free agency is fools gold. It seems like the right move at the time and then you regret it for much longer.

Cheap UFAs who fill a hole in the depth chart, okay, a Stralman or Pouliot. A player who wants to prove something who is willing to take a "prove it" contract. If it works, great, if not, nothing really lost.

Cheap rentals that cost a 3rd or something usually don't work out either but it's a 3rd round pick, if it adds some depth to the team it may be worth the asset going back but usually not, McCabe.

Expensive rentals, Clowe, there was a reason SJ was willing to move him before going into their own playoff battle. Pitt filled their team with rentals this past playoffs, their goalie bombed. Even if the team rents players everything else still has to go pretty much right in the playoffs and rentals do not guarantee any of that will happen.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Another big name. You guys like the fantasy league hockey team stuff. What is Vanek going to cost as a free agent? $7M-$8M. He is not playing for free. Is he really worth that money? The Rangers have room to give Vanek $8M when they have Nash on the books for $7.8M and Lundqvist will come in close to $9M? Up until recently you didn't believe the 3 key Ranger group III's would get much more than they are getting right now or may be you still feel that way. This isn't fantasy hockey.

I still don't believe the Hank, Callahan and Girardi will get a significant increase, I dont think Lundqvist gets 9M. Is he the best goalie? sure.. Is he better than Rask by almost 2M?????... I can see Callahan and Girardi getting about 1-1.5M more than they are making now.. This is also not counting the cap going up, or potential players like Miller, Kristo, Lindberg, Mcilrath making an impact, or Kreider actually performing. Things would have to happen, which is why I said if we can keep our core together and "make it work"