Confirmed Signing with Link: Vesey signs with the New York Rangers

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I even thought our window had closed after last season, but Gorton has done a really good job. If he can trade for a RH PMD, we could become a contender.

We should be adding so much youth to the team. Buch, Skjei, Vesey in one offseason to the NHL team. There might not be an NHL team adding more young NHL ready talent than us, maybe the Leafs, but they are an all-prospect team at this point. Of contenders, we've added the most, in terms of prospects. We also made really smart signings like Grabner, Gerbe, Jooris that give us some really good depth.

We have a top 5 forward group. Last season we were 7th in GPG, and the previous season we were 3rd in GPG. Adding Buch and Vesey to that group, swapping Ziba for Brass is about lateral for next season. I think there are few arguments against that forward group. You could say there's no star, but the depth is probably the best of any forward group in the NHL.

We also have a top 5 goalie. The defense was worse last season than previous seasons, but it still wasn't as bad as everyone says. If the Rangers weren't a team that had been known for a great defense for many years, many people wouldn't be talking about 15th best defense in the league being really bad. Two straight seasons has a team with a defense T-10 or worse made it to the Cup finals, so its not like you can't contend for the cup with an average or above average defense. If the Rangers defense is so bad, can someone tell me why we were 3rd in the NHL in goals allowed per game two seasons ago with a very similar defense?

 

[Sansbacon]

I'm very surprised he signed with the Rangers. I was really expecting him to go to Boston near the end of all of this.

It's obvious that proximity to his family was a top priority, so why not just go to your hometown team then, especially when you consider that both the Rangers and Boston are in similar stages right now. Maybe Boston's pitch did't instill confidence in him?

He obviously had his reasons though, and best of luck to him. I've adopted the Rangers as my 2nd favorite team kinda sorta a little bit.

 

[YearlyLottery]

The islanders have one playoff series win in the tavares era.

Wow...I never thought of it like that, 7 years. That's pretty sad JT is wasting his career away. I don't blame Vesey for passing them up.

Yes the NYR have a much brighter future.

 

[Gert B Frobe]

He's not going to flourish there. They're a good team when Lundqvist is playing well, but when he's not - they're middle of the pack. They just don't have the skaters to get anywhere without great goaltending. I don't think they suck but they're not getting past the 2nd round any time soon. Quite possibly for a long time because those prospects are pretty darn bad, and Vesey doesn't tip the scale nearly enough.

 

[Ciao]

Small price to pay to become a multi-millionaire for playing a game.

Any player who doesn't like it, go flip burgers for McDonalds instead.

Or hire a lawyer and challenge the legal validity of the restrictions on bargaining rights of non-union members.

There's a thing in the US called anti-trust law. It's never clear where exactly the boundaries are. I doubt that tying-up a player's bargaining rights without some reasonable time limitations would be legally valid.

There has to be a sunset as to when the teams rights expire.

 

[JT Kreider]

Wow...I never thought of it like that, 7 years. That's pretty sad JT is wasting his career away. I don't blame Vesey for passing them up.

Looking at their 2015-16 roster now minus Nielsen, KO and Martin I'm not that impressed.

Really the only homegrown talent outside those who had any sort of impressive season was Tavares, Hamonic and Cizikas.

 

[Guardian17]

Glad to see this is over.

 

[gorangers0525]

I even thought our window had closed after last season, but Gorton has done a really good job. If he can trade for a RH PMD, we could become a contender.

We should be adding so much youth to the team. Buch, Skjei, Vesey in one offseason to the NHL team. There might not be an NHL team adding more young NHL ready talent than us, maybe the Leafs, but they are an all-prospect team at this point. Of contenders, we've added the most, in terms of prospects. We also made really smart signings like Grabner, Gerbe, Jooris that give us some really good depth.

We have a top 5 forward group. Last season we were 7th in GPG, and the previous season we were 3rd in GPG. Adding Buch and Vesey to that group, swapping Ziba for Brass is about lateral for next season. I think there are few arguments against that forward group. You could say there's no star, but the depth is probably the best of any forward group in the NHL.

We also have a top 5 goalie. The defense was worse last season than previous seasons, but it still wasn't as bad as everyone says. If the Rangers weren't a team that had been known for a great defense for many years, many people wouldn't be talking about 15th best defense in the league being really bad. Two straight seasons has a team with a defense T-10 or worse made it to the Cup finals, so its not like you can't contend for the cup with an average or above average defense. If the Rangers defense is so bad, can someone tell me why we were 3rd in the NHL in goals allowed per game two seasons ago with a very similar defense?

Defense is not measured by goals allowed, especially when you have Lundqvist in net. Besides 13/14, Ranger's recent defense has just been "Go Hank!", while they give up a **** ton of scoring chances.


Rangers had a very good offseason, but didn't address the team's biggest weakness, and that is a disgusting right side on defense.

 

[Ciao]

I'm shocked he didn't sign with Boston. Guess he really didnt want to play for his hometown. Its not like NY offered him something Boston didnt.

Good for the Rangers, they need to win now and Vesey will help with that.

I'm not at all surprised. He's just one of countless upwardly mobile young professionals who, when given the choice, gravitate to New York.

I think it's a good decision for him all around.

I would have thought Boston was a strong second choice. As a destination, it's nothing to sneeze at either.

 

[Semantics]

Vesey is not a 1st round caliber prospect, and the fact that you signed them doesn't negate out that you traded them in the first place. The Pens signed Bengtsson and DiPauli this year, but that doesn't magically mean they haven't traded their last 4 1st round picks.

You have no clue about this player, do you? He was ranked in the top 10 drafted prospects by TSN, ahead of the likes of Rantanen and Werenski. He is very much a first round caliber prospect.

 

[YearlyLottery]

Looking at their 2015-16 roster now minus Nielsen, KO and Martin I'm not that impressed.

Really the only homegrown talent outside those who had any sort of impressive season was Tavares, Hamonic and Cizikas.

I agree it's not like Isles added a first line winger and have many highly touted prospects such Barzal coming up and others such as Strome, Nelson, and Lee still developing on offense. It's not like they added a solid player in PAP to the roster.

Nelson scored 26 goals last season. In what world is that not impressive? In what world was Pulock not impressive in the playoffs?

Take off the blue tinted glasses folks.

 

[FLYLine27*]

Looking at their 2015-16 roster now minus Nielsen, KO and Martin I'm not that impressed.

Really the only homegrown talent outside those who had any sort of impressive season was Tavares, Hamonic and Cizikas.

Wouldn't be surprised if they missed the playoffs to be frank. Vesey probably saw that too.

 

[LeetchisGod]

Wow...I never thought of it like that, 7 years. That's pretty sad JT is wasting his career away. I don't blame Vesey for passing them up.

They have essentially been irrelevant for decades.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Wouldn't be surprised if they missed the playoffs to be frank. Vesey probably saw that too.

Also no goalie.

 

[nyr__1994]

Out

Dan Boyle (39)
Dominic Moore (35)
Keith Yandle (29)

In
Dylan McIllrath (23)
Oscar Lindberg/Josh Jooris (24/26)
Brady Skjei (21)

You have 3 regular skaters over the age of 30 entering camp this year, with the majority of the players in the 21-26 age group. Sounds like an aging core on the downswing to me...

I forgot this is HF where having a great prospect pool outweighs winning games on the ice.

 

[JT Kreider]

I agree it's not like Isles added a first line winger and have many highly touted prospects such Barzal coming up and others such as Strome, Nelson, and Lee still developing on offense. It's not like they added a solid player in PAP to the roster.

Nelson scored 26 goals last season. In what world is that not impressive? In what world was Pulock not impressive in the playoffs?

Take off the blue tinted glasses folks.

If Rick Nash is done, as our great scholars here at HF have decided, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on Ladd who had a worse season. I doubt they'd label him a 1st liner. Actually they probably would. Because of the hatred this board has towards the Rangers it blinds everyone to the point of ignorance. This thread being a prime example.

ITT Miller, Kreider and Zibanejad have been labeled as not too impressive. Those three are more proven than the trio of Strome Lee and Nelson. I guess HF logic is that they are less than not too impressive.

Barzal as your 2nd line center. Good luck with that.

 

[Riptide]

Looking at the Rangers prospect depth:

Goal

Defense

Skjei and Buchnevich are the real outstanding talents here. Vesey, Shesterkin and McIlrath would be the next group. After that Graves, Paliotta, Reunanen, Halverson and Kovacs have really good potential. But there are others running under the radar. Combine that with a lot of other younger players on the Rangers already and I don't think our situation is as dire as some people make it out to be. Between the NHL team and the prospects listed above I think there is a good team though not a championship team. The Rangers have holes particularly their need for an offensive creative player on their blueline. The Rangers have very few over 30 players in their organization--Lundqvist, Girardi, Klein, Nash and Glass and all of them are under 35 and Lundqvist is still an excellent goaltender--Klein is still a very dependable defenseman.

Having good depth in goal and on the blueline isn't the issue. Having a 34 yr old starter go from elite to average to bad as he ages while making 8.5m is an issue - especially with 5 years left on his contract. Having Girardi play top 4 (or worse - top pairing) minutes while making 5.5m is an issue. Especially with 4 years left on his contract. Given that he's 32, he's probably not going to get better. And while Staal isn't nearly as bad, and could even improve over last year, between the two of them and the 11.2m they're taking up... that's going to seriously hamper every other good thing NYR does. Add in an aging Lundqvist and it's no wonder people question NYR's future.

No so much next year or the following one - the team will make the playoffs and be bounced in a round or two. But after that when Lundqvist isn't elite and NYR still has a pair of anchors making 11.2m dragging down the blueline. That's when NYR's future should seriously be questioned. And this is why people are questioning NYR's future. And if as a Ranger fan, you cannot look at that without the homer glasses, and see that there's some very legitimate questions there... then I don't know what to say...

 

[MAHJ71]

I agree the Rangers are not in a situation nearly as dire as people make it out to be. Nor do I think they are a bad team. They will be as they were last year.. which is a tier below the best in the conference. Really nothing has changed. They are still good, not amazing.

Where I disagree with is this prospect pool. Sorry, this is bottom 5, maybe bottom 10.

Yeah, the kool-aid was on steroids for that post on the prospects... but kudos to him for being so optimistic

 

[KingDeathMetal]

This site is so unbelievably biased in favor of teams with highly rated farm systems, which hey, I get it, it's "Hockey's Future." But let's not forget the past...

The past, I don't know, decade, where the Buffalo Sabres have perpetually had high picks and flashy prospects, and their future was always "right around the corner" but somehow never came. Tell me some more about how they are on the rise and the Rangers are on the decline.

Or the Islanders whose farm system has been amazing dating back to about 1996. That teams has been collecting high draft picks forever and a day, ONE playoff series win to show for it.

And the Oilers...let's not even go there.

Florida Panthers, literally wasted every lotto pick they ever had until recently.

It's fun to talk about prospects and farm systems, but organizational culture is equally if not more important. The Rangers are a strong organization that, in the post-lockout era, have been a model of consistency that gets the most out of its young players. Every time you think we're declining, we somehow rebound and stay relevant, because the organization is damn solid. Our scouts are good, and the prospects we do get tend to develop into NHL players at a pretty good clip.

Yeah, Chicago and LA built dynasty-lite teams on the backs of Kane, Toews, Keith, Doughty, and Kopitar, but behind them are slew of players who outperformed their expectations because they came up in an organization that developed a winning culture. The Rangers have that type of culture. The players are young but incredibly seasoned due to long playoff runs, and everybody in that locker room goes into the season expecting to be the best team and contend for the Cup, with the battle scars to prove they've been there.

What other team in contention for Vesey, aside from Chicago (who is in salary cap hell and could actually decline quite rapidly in the next 3-5 years when considering all factors), can offer the same combination of team culture, organizational stability, and on-ice talent? He's going to be playing with a crop of young forwards his age, all of whom have a lot of room to improve, with the best goaltender of the last 10 years in net, and a defense that, for all its warts, does feature some solid leaders who have helped build that positive locker room culture.

My honest assessment of the Rangers right now, barring any other moves to improve the D, is that not much has to go right in order to launch us right back to legitimate Cup contention, but not much has to go wrong for us to miss the playoffs and wind up with a lottery pick. This will be a really interesting year for NYR.

 

[Riptide]

Lots of bitterness, which is to be expected, but it really is a good situation for him. Playing with his close friend on a team that has a young forward group. Nash on his way out should clear a role for him in the top-six, with Buchnevich the likely candidate to step in for Zuccarello.

Yes, Hank is aging but there are likely to be some goalies on the market before his game completely falls off, and they do have a couple solid prospects in the pipeline. Yes, there are issues on the blue line but they're solvable with time. People seem to think they're in dire straits and destined for several years of rebuilding, but it's really not the case.

No, not rebuilding - just not doing anything. Make the playoffs, get bounced in the 1st or 2nd round with no legitimate chance to really advance. NYR has some great depth up front. They don't have the offensive superstar that many other teams do, but they have a lot of younger guys who in theory should keep improving. But any success they have will be inspite of their blueline - and NYR fans had better hope that Lundqvist ages very very gracefully so that his 8.5m contract isn't another boat anchor like Girardi's and potentially Staal's is.

 

[YearlyLottery]

If Rick Nash is done, as our great scholars here at HF have decided, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on Ladd who had a worse season. I doubt they'd label him a 1st liner. Actually they probably would. Because of the hatred this board has towards the Rangers it blinds everyone to the point of ignorance. This thread being a prime example.

When did I ever say he was done?

The reason people are so sour on Nash is because he ONLY produces in the regular season and last year he did not even produce in the regular season.

I'm guessing you count Okposo as a first liner and Ladd as a second liner though? That's your first problem.

 

[Sansbacon]

Out

Dan Boyle (39)
Dominic Moore (35)
Keith Yandle (29)

In
Dylan McIllrath (23)
Oscar Lindberg/Josh Jooris (24/26)
Brady Skjei (21)

You have 3 regular skaters over the age of 30 entering camp this year, with the majority of the players in the 21-26 age group. Sounds like an aging core on the downswing to me...

I forgot this is HF where having a great prospect pool outweighs winning games on the ice.

I'm not doubting that the Rangers can still have a good regular season and make the playoffs, however, they haven't won a single game in the 16-17 season yet, so assuming that they're a shoe-in due to their recent past is only setting yourself up for disappointment. I also wouldn't be surprised if they're a bubble team and miss out this year, for what it's worth.

 

[XO]

Congrats

 

[dire wolf]

I thought he was a die-hard Bruins fan. What Bruins fan chooses to play for the Rangers when he has a choice of virtually every team in the league. That's the weirdest part of this. I thought for sure he was going to the B's

 

[Sansbacon]

This site is so unbelievably biased in favor of teams with highly rated farm systems, which hey, I get it, it's "Hockey's Future." But let's not forget the past...

The past, I don't know, decade, where the Buffalo Sabres have perpetually had high picks and flashy prospects, and their future was always "right around the corner" but somehow never came. Tell me some more about how they are on the rise and the Rangers are on the decline.

The magnified part says it all