To Buy Out or Not to Buy Out

[I Eat Crow]

There's going to be a lot of angry people here this summer.

Should Richards be bought out? Yes.

Will he? I don't think so.

 

[ncmike]

Can they buy him out and then resign him to a more reasonable contract?

 

[Rangers ftw]

Can they buy him out and then resign him to a more reasonable contract?

Nope

 

[RangerBoy]

Bob McKenzie was asked about the Rangers in December. He brought up Brad Richards and the buyout.

As well as mentioning he has been surprised by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's performance, McKenzie noted the Rangers will look to free up cap space by buying out center Brad Richards.

"They gotta buy him out, unless he comes back and plays like a legit number one center. Flashes of being pretty good and what have you won't be good enough. They'll have no choice but to take the compliance buyout."

http://beta.thescore.com/nhl/news/390494

Its not only next season. In the summer of 2015,the Rangers have to deal with Staal as a group III. Stepan and Hagelin are arbitration eligible. That money has to come from somewhere. The Rangers can't rely on cap increases to keep their players and not use that money to improve the roster. The Canadian dollar was on par with the USD in 2012 when the NHL had to set the cap. It was artificially set for 13-14. Most of the Canadian dollars forecasts are for the dollar to end up below 90 cents by the end of the year. Maybe 85 cents by late 2015.

Who is this player?

63 games 16 goals 28 assists 44 points -10

Projected

82 games 21 goals 36 assists 57 points -13

 

[Esa 10]

They aren't buying out Richards unless they have a trade in place for a bona fide #1/ elite #2 Center or are reasonably certain of signing Stastny. The St.Louis trade is certainly a sign of going all in for the next couple of years and even Sather isn't delusional enough to think he has any chance with Stepan/Brassard/Miller as the trio next season.

Is it smart? No, any deal will likely include one of Stepan/Miller going the other way unless they get Stastny or take a huge risk in keeping Richards. Neither though was trading a 1st round pick or 2 for an almost 39 year old winger when you have gaping holes at center, scoring defenseman and overall size and meanness departments. Sather's hellbent on winning another ring before retirement and apparently isn't concerned about future consequences.

 

[RangerBoy]

They aren't buying out Richards unless they have a trade in place for a bona fide #1/ elite #2 Center or are reasonably certain of signing Stastny. The St.Louis trade is certainly a sign of going all in for the next couple of years and even Sather isn't delusional enough to think he has any chance with Stepan/Brassard/Miller as the trio next season.

Is it smart? No, any deal will likely include one of Stepan/Miller going the other way unless they get Stastny or take a huge risk in keeping Richards. Neither though was trading a 1st round pick or 2 for an almost 39 year old winger when you have gaping holes at center, scoring defenseman and overall size and meanness departments. Sather's hellbent on winning another ring before retirement and apparently isn't concerned about future consequences.

If Sather wasn't concerned about future consequences,he would have given Callahan the 6 years and $39M plus a no trade clause.

The Rangers have a chance this season with Richards on the team. That's delusional.

Richards isn't a bonafide #1 or elite #2 center.

 

[RangerBoy]

There is no operation more vulnerable to a weakened dollar than the NHL. There are just seven Canadian-based franchises but the industry is so robust north of the border that it’s estimated between 25 and 40 per cent of league-wide revenues flow south from Canada.

“The falling Canadian dollar has had no impact on us at all due to currency mitigation laid out in the CBA,†said Winnipeg Jets spokesman Scott Brown, via email. “Generally speaking, the clause allows that for any revenue lost due to the low Canadian dollar, that team is equally compensated through increased revenue sharing in the CBA.â€

But both deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly and the NHLPA told Sportsnet there is no specific clause to deal with a falling dollar, just a recognition that all league revenues used to calculate HRR are converted to US dollars and that revenue sharing payments will be made in US dollars. But that doesn’t offset the reality for Canadian clubs: local revenues will need to grow considerably to make up for ground lost by a weakened Canadian dollar.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sinking-loonie-threatens-teams-bottom-lines/

I will go with what Daly and the NHLPA say. They negotiated the CBA.

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

If Sather wasn't concerned about future consequences,he would have given Callahan the 6 years and $39M plus a no trade clause.

The Rangers have a chance this season with Richards on the team. That's delusional.

Richards isn't a bonafide #1 or elite #2 center.

Yeah but in Cally's case Sather didn't feel his contract was worth his potential production(he would be right). I don't think Cally was worth it either in the short term/long term.

You could say the same about Richards. But, I think his fate is largely going to be dictated on how well he performs with St. Louis down the stretch. If he doesn't preform that well with St. Louis or in the playoffs? He probably gets bought out.

If Richards is all of sudden rejuvenated and becomes red hot down the stretch? I think they keep him.

As I have said, I think its 50/50 at this point.

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

I guess my question to you Rangerboy is why would Sather trade for MSL and give away 2 high draft picks if he wasn't trying to go "all in."

Surely Sather could have gotten a decent couple of picks for Cally if he was trying be thoughtful of long term ramifications?

 

[RangerBoy]

Asked about his contract negotiations with defenseman Matt Greene, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, Lombardi said he was told the salary cap, initially projected to rise to about $71 million next season, will be significantly lower because of the recent weakness of the Canadian dollar. Lombardi said he verified that through the league. The drop will affect whether he can keep Greene, Willie Mitchell and Trevor Lewis, and it undoubtedly affected deadline-day decisions around the league.

"We found out, to our chagrin and surprise the other day, we had been told the cap was going to be $71 [million] and now with the Canadian dollar having tanked, that the cap could be as low as $68 [million]. That's a huge swing," Lombardi said. "So that's more of the talks with our three guys, Mitchell, Lewis and Greene, who we'd all like to bring back. That's more of a hindrance than anything we acquired today."

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on...will-keep-salary-cap-below-initial-projection

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

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[RangerBoy]

I guess my question to you Rangerboy is why would Sather trade for MSL and give away 2 high draft picks if he wasn't trying to go "all in."

Surely Sather could have gotten a decent couple of picks for Cally if he was trying be thoughtful of long term ramifications?

What decent picks? Vanek didn't bring up back a pick. Its a conditional 2nd with the Islanders giving up a 5th if Montreal makes the playoffs this season. The Collberg kid is a dime a dozen prospect. Moulson brought back a 2nd in 14 and a 2nd in 16. Mid to late 2nd round picks. The rental market stunk this season.

"All in" means tying your hands financially for next season and beyond? Is Richards the only player in the lousy league? The Rangers have their own players to re-sign and additions to make.

Even the Rangers picks with TB. Its a 2nd round now. If the Rangers win 2 playoff rounds,it becomes a late #1. #26-#29. The Rangers have won 2 playoffs rounds three times since I have been following them and it will make a miracle for this small team to win 2 rounds this spring. They need to qualify for the playoffs first. Lundqvist looks tired after the Olympic adventure.

 

[Kokoschka]

What decent picks? Vanek didn't bring up back a pick. Its a conditional 2nd with the Islanders giving up a 5th if Montreal makes the playoffs this season. The Collberg kid is a dime a dozen prospect. Moulson brought back a 2nd in 14 and a 2nd in 16. Mid to late 2nd round picks. The rental market stunk this season.

"All in" means tying your hands financially for next season and beyond? Is Richards the only player in the lousy league? The Rangers have their own players to re-sign and additions to make.

Even the Rangers picks with TB. Its a 2nd round now. If the Rangers win 2 playoff rounds,it becomes a late #1. #26-#29. The Rangers have won 2 playoffs rounds three times since I have been following them and it will make a miracle for this small team to win 2 rounds this spring. They need to qualify for the playoffs first. Lundqvist looks tired after the Olympic adventure.

OT: I find it hilarious how Moulson brought back mor value than Vanek.

On topic: Richards will be bought out if Sather has the foresight to plan for not only 2 years, but 5 years from now. So, he won't be bought out.

 

[Jersey Girl]

What decent picks? Vanek didn't bring up back a pick. Its a conditional 2nd with the Islanders giving up a 5th if Montreal makes the playoffs this season. The Collberg kid is a dime a dozen prospect. Moulson brought back a 2nd in 14 and a 2nd in 16. Mid to late 2nd round picks. The rental market stunk this season.

How appropriate to compare Sather's decisions to Snow's decisions - two of the worst GM's in hockey, and they're both in New York. Of course, Snow has to 'make decisions by committee'. Sather just does what Sather does.

 

[eco's bones]

The argument that the MSL trade makes it more likely that the Rangers keep Richards can be used the other way. Trading for MSL a couple days ago could have been put off until this summer but by then if Richards had been bought out would MSL still want to be a Rangers as badly? Maybe not. So they get MSL on board first and then get rid of Richards. And MSL is another large cap hit besides.

 

[charliemurphy]

What if Sather plans to buy out Richards and go after both Statsny and Moulson in the off-season?

 

[BLOCKERSAVE]

Every time the board agrees on the most logic choice, (like buying out BR), Sather will do the oppose. (Not buying out BR) His he reading this site?

 

[JimmyG89]

I might be in the minority, but I don't think they need a 1st line center. They need better depth there. Right now, they really don't have someone who can play 3C. The guys they have are closer to top 6 centers. I know it sounds weird, but we have 3 2nd line centers, but they are not physical enough to be a 3rd line checking center. Unless we get a guy like Getzlaf, we will need to add a checking center for the 3rd line.

Buying out Richards and getting a top 6 LW and 3C is important. 6.5 should be able to do that. Might need to trade for the 3C. Unless Miller or Lindberg are ready by next season for that role, we should look at trading for one like a Brandon Sutter type.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Burning questions!

With the acquisition of MSL, does that mean Ritchie is sticking around?

How does that work? If the Rangers decide to do a regular buyout on Ritchie after next year, how does that work?

Would the Rangers use the last compliance buyout on someone else?

With raises, we may not have much cap space left. Problem? Giving guys raises:

2.21 mil free with a 71 mil ceiling

Nash (7.8 mil) - Richards (6.6) - St. Louis (5.6)
Kreider (2.3) - Stepan (3.075) - Zuccs (3)
Pouliot (1.7) - Brassard (3.5) - Hags (2.25)
Dorsett (1.633) - Moore (1) - Carcillo (825k)

G (5.5) - McD (4.7)
Staal (3.9) - Stralman (2)
Moore (1.3) - Klein (2.9)

Lundqvist (8.5)
Talbot (562k)


All these and more discussed here.

MZA & Brassard at under 4? Not gonna happen... especially MZA, I do have some information there, seriously... it's going to be a bit over 4, most likely. They will sign him.

PS - boils down to either a pivot of Richards, Stepan, Miller(?), D. Moore, keeping maybe one of MZA and Brassard... or Stepan, Brassard, Milller(?), D. Moore, you can sign both, probably. You lose quality in Richards, but is he worth Brassard? Probably. Is he worth MZA? No. Brassard AND MZA? No way!

Buy him out, look to UFA for depth at C, we shouldn't plan on winning this year or next, so what's the harm?

 

[tjs252]

I think, if you want to start a drastic remodel of the Rangers, it starts down the middle, but I think it starts with Brassard and Stepan.

Stepan's continued struggles with face-offs really makes me think his long term home is on the wing. Brassard's game, to me, is very flat and is not the playmaking center we thought.

There's a lot of work that needs to be done.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

I wonder what our non-Stastny/Richards options even are.

JT's got a bit of the Pouliots defensively, but that's to be expected from a 20-year-old kid and I don't want him to have to play on the wing to accommodate something like Olli or Derek Roy. Any more attractive reclamation projects out there?

 

[PavelBure9]

Definite buyout. Miller will take over Richards spot. Stepan and Brassard are the 1 and 2 center next year. Hopefully, Stepan will get back to his regular game without the pressure of a contract holding on him.

The only issue is the power play point. Hopefully, Moore takes a step forward in his development.

 

[qwertyaas]

Also have to consider other buyout candidates this summer.

 

[silverfish]

2C is a barren market on the UFA side. Is it too much to ask Brassard to play over his head on the 2nd line, and sign a guy like Ott for 3C? Or expect Miller to fully handle 3C duties?

Maybe we offer sheet ROR? Berglund? Schenn? Imagine if the Rangers offer-sheet a Flyer Wow.

This poses an issue, because you HAVE to buy Richards out...

It also makes Stastny all the more appealing if he doesn't sign with Colorado. Can we give him "Cally money" though?

Stepan
Brassard
Miller
Moore/Boyle/Lindberg

Or

Stepan
Stastny
Brassard
Moore/Boyle/Lindberg

 

[Fitzy]

No, like I say, I fully expect LW-Brassard-Zuccarello to be the full time 2nd line next season. Question is can we get MSL or Nash to play on the left?

I think Hagelin-Ott-Miller could be a very nice 3rd line, or really Hagelin-Miller-3rd line RW. Team could use a more affordable 2 way player for next season.