Prospect Info: With the 101st Overall Pick the New York Rangers Select Nico Gross

[nyr2k2]

I think with Gross, it came down to the numbers game than a consideration concerning a lack of talent.

You lot have;
- Trouba (Just signed to long-term deal)
- Fox (Which will probably get a long-term deal)
- Lindgren (Showed NHL potential)
- Miller (Calibre prospect)

That's already your top 4 potentially a couple years down the line, so in the end during the FO meetings the decision came down to either Gross or Lundkvist and you lot spent a 1st rounder on Nils (who had a really good season in his own right). Plus the emergence of Jones including drafting Robertson quite high also made their decision easier to let Gross go. It's still a bit shocking because he was able to shutdown Byfield for half the season it seemed like.

I doubt this. You don't walk away from a prospect you think has NHL-level talent because you have other guys there. At minimum, you could use this player as organizational depth and/or trade him down the line. As you pointed out, they just took Jones and Robertson (who they also signed), as well as Skinner. The team under this front office likes to stockpile D. None of the prospects are sure things.

I've said for two years Gross was 50/50 to be signed, not sure how well his skill set will translate to the NHL. I would have given him a deal but it's not a big loss, evidently the team shared my concerns.

 

[Thirty One]

World Junior games played:
Nico Gross: 20
Eric Staal: 0

Big mistake.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

World Junior games played:
Nico Gross: 20
Eric Staal: 0

Big mistake.

One of only 12 players to play in the WJC 4 years in a row

 

[Thirty One]

One of only 12 players to play in the WJC 4 years in a row

Elite.

 

[bobbop]

Don’t lay this all at the Rangers feet. Gross and his agent can read a depth chart too. He may simply prefer a different destination.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Don’t lay this all at the Rangers feet. Gross and his agent can read a depth chart too. He may simply prefer a different destination.

We should Tim Brent him

 

[nyr2k2]

Don’t lay this all at the Rangers feet. Gross and his agent can read a depth chart too. He may simply prefer a different destination.

Definitely a possibility.

I never liked that line of thinking though. Bet on yourself. Also, if a team is very deep at D, where are they likely to trade from to acquire needs in other areas? A team can go from deep in one area to relatively thin in a hurry.

The only way I would turn down an ELC offer from a team if I was in his position is if I had designs on going overseas and had a good idea that an offer was there.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Definitely a possibility.

I never liked that line of thinking though. Bet on yourself. Also, if a team is very deep at D, where are they likely to trade from to acquire needs in other areas? A team can go from deep in one area to relatively thin in a hurry.

The only way I would turn down an ELC offer from a team if I was in his position is if I had designs on going overseas and had a good idea that an offer was there.

I remember Mascherin refused to sign with Florida not too long ago. If Gross refused to sign, he is forced to re-enter the draft so he won't have the freedom to sign yet, unless he goes undrafted

 

[nyr2k2]

I remember Mascherin refused to sign with Florida not too long ago. If Gross refused to sign, he is forced to re-enter the draft so he won't have the freedom to sign yet, unless he goes undrafted

Good point.

And even if he goes undrafted and has the opportunity to sign, you never know what lies ahead of you. You could sign with a team that's thin on D depth, and then that team could sign 2 NHL defenders, acquire 2 fringe NHL/AHL guys, and year later draft a couple over-age defenseman. And then you find yourself in a situation no more desirable than you would have had here.

I feel fairly sure the Rangers and Gross didn't agree to terms because the Rangers didn't feel he had a professional future in the organization.

 

[egelband]

Wasn’t “Nico” Steven Segal’s character in Above the Law? I wonder if there’s some correlation. Probably.

 

[S E P H]

I doubt this. You don't walk away from a prospect you think has NHL-level talent because you have other guys there. At minimum, you could use this player as organizational depth and/or trade him down the line. As you pointed out, they just took Jones and Robertson (who they also signed), as well as Skinner. The team under this front office likes to stockpile D. None of the prospects are sure things.

I've said for two years Gross was 50/50 to be signed, not sure how well his skill set will translate to the NHL. I would have given him a deal but it's not a big loss, evidently the team shared my concerns.

I don't disagree with anything you said except the bold. ELC's and the 50 roster spots is prime territory for teams and you could be in the same situation as the Habs found themselves in terms of being at 49 spots and having to give one contract to a pot of four players who you can debate all deserve one. This is also the reason why AHL contracts exist and perhaps Gross could find himself with one in the future. A better situation I suggest for him is to head back to the NLA, develop for a couple more years, and then come back to the NHL ready for the show.

 

[nyr2k2]

I don't disagree with anything you said except the bold. ELC's and the 50 roster spots is prime territory for teams and you could be in the same situation as the Habs found themselves in terms of being at 49 spots and having to give one contract to a pot of four players who you can debate all deserve one. This is also the reason why AHL contracts exist and perhaps Gross could find himself with one in the future. A better situation I suggest for him is to head back to the NLA, develop for a couple more years, and then come back to the NHL ready for the show.

I think the latter is what will probably happen with him. He may yet end up an NHL player.

As for the 50 contracts, I discussed that a few times here and really didn't see it being an issue, even before Day was gone. With Day we had 46 contracts, but a whole bunch on the block to be departing--Raddysh is a maybe, Ebert is likely gone, Crawley may be gone, just in Hartford on D; then you have guys like Leedahl, Fontaine, Nieves, Fogarty, Beleskey, Lettieri, Gropp, and Haley who all range from "might be gone" to "definitely gone." This doesn't include guys on the NHL roster like McKegg, Di Giuseppe, and Fast who are all UFA, the likelihood that one of the goalies is gone, and whatever other roster maneuvering there is.

Of course, you have to replace those guys with other guys, and most will occupy SPC spots. Still, I don't see any roster crunch. Before Richards, Khodorenko, and Rueschhoff were signed at the freeze, we had 41 SPCs, and then Miller and Wall made 43. I would expect we'll be in the 42-44 range this year, so not in a position where a spot on the 50 should be a deciding factor on whether to sign a prospect.

But who knows. I'm sure we'll read something about it, and until then all I can do is speculate.

 

[bobbop]

Definitely a possibility.

I never liked that line of thinking though. Bet on yourself. Also, if a team is very deep at D, where are they likely to trade from to acquire needs in other areas? A team can go from deep in one area to relatively thin in a hurry.

The only way I would turn down an ELC offer from a team if I was in his position is if I had designs on going overseas and had a good idea that an offer was there.

Remember that we were having this same conversation before Tyler Wall signed. People view things differently.

Nico knows there will be Swiss league offers.

 

[bobbop]

I think the latter is what will probably happen with him. He may yet end up an NHL player.

As for the 50 contracts, I discussed that a few times here and really didn't see it being an issue, even before Day was gone. With Day we had 46 contracts, but a whole bunch on the block to be departing--Raddysh is a maybe, Ebert is likely gone, Crawley may be gone, just in Hartford on D; then you have guys like Leedahl, Fontaine, Nieves, Fogarty, Beleskey, Lettieri, Gropp, and Haley who all range from "might be gone" to "definitely gone." This doesn't include guys on the NHL roster like McKegg, Di Giuseppe, and Fast who are all UFA, the likelihood that one of the goalies is gone, and whatever other roster maneuvering there is.

Of course, you have to replace those guys with other guys, and most will occupy SPC spots. Still, I don't see any roster crunch. Before Richards, Khodorenko, and Rueschhoff were signed at the freeze, we had 41 SPCs, and then Miller and Wall made 43. I would expect we'll be in the 42-44 range this year, so not in a position where a spot on the 50 should be a deciding factor on whether to sign a prospect.

But who knows. I'm sure we'll read something about it, and until then all I can do is speculate.

50 contracts has not been a problem here for a long time.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Another pick wasted on nothing special Dman instead of drafting a forward. When will they finally get that you need to draft twice as many forwards as Dmen because roster has twice as many forwards as Dmen?

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Another pick wasted on nothing special Dman instead of drafting a forward. When will they finally get that you need to draft twice as many forwards as Dmen because roster has twice as many forwards as Dmen?

Yeah, I am so sad we missed out on Jasper Weathersby, Jachym Kondelik, Dmetrios Koumontzis and Lenni Killinen

 

[egelband]

Yeah, I am so sad we missed out on Jasper Weathersby, Jachym Kondelik, Dmetrios Koumontzis and Lenni Killinen

I think this is the Jaclyn you're looking for.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I think this is the Jaclyn you're looking for.
View attachment 348560

At her age we can sign her as a free agent. Give her a contract with performance bonuses

 

[RangersFan1994]

I think the latter is what will probably happen with him. He may yet end up an NHL player.

As for the 50 contracts, I discussed that a few times here and really didn't see it being an issue, even before Day was gone. With Day we had 46 contracts, but a whole bunch on the block to be departing--Raddysh is a maybe, Ebert is likely gone, Crawley may be gone, just in Hartford on D; then you have guys like Leedahl, Fontaine, Nieves, Fogarty, Beleskey, Lettieri, Gropp, and Haley who all range from "might be gone" to "definitely gone." This doesn't include guys on the NHL roster like McKegg, Di Giuseppe, and Fast who are all UFA, the likelihood that one of the goalies is gone, and whatever other roster maneuvering there is.

Of course, you have to replace those guys with other guys, and most will occupy SPC spots. Still, I don't see any roster crunch. Before Richards, Khodorenko, and Rueschhoff were signed at the freeze, we had 41 SPCs, and then Miller and Wall made 43. I would expect we'll be in the 42-44 range this year, so not in a position where a spot on the 50 should be a deciding factor on whether to sign a prospect.

But who knows. I'm sure we'll read something about it, and until then all I can do is speculate.

Di Giuseppe is RFA and wont cost much to keep him. I bet he is back next season.

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/phillip-di-giuseppe

 

[nyr2k2]

Di Giuseppe is RFA and wont cost much to keep him. I bet he is back next season.

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/phillip-di-giuseppe

Sure, I misspoke. I think McKegg may be back as well, despite being UFA. Some of the other RFAs like Raddysh or Nieves could be back, too. Regardless of the designation my point is that 50 contracts isn't a concern--we could clear 10-12 guys from the roster overnight if we wanted to, and replace a lot of those AHL guys like Gropp, Crawley, Fontaine, Leedahl, whatever, with AHL deals.

 

[Kakko Schmakko]

Yeah, I am so sad we missed out on Jasper Weathersby, Jachym Kondelik, Dmetrios Koumontzis and Lenni Killinen

you should be, they wasted away picks on too many Dmen, you don't need so many Dmen. With Dmen you need to go for quality not quantity.

 

[bobbop]

Another pick wasted on nothing special Dman instead of drafting a forward. When will they finally get that you need to draft twice as many forwards as Dmen because roster has twice as many forwards as Dmen?

You better brace yourself if Jake Sanderson is on the board when the Rangers are drafting.

 

[eco's bones]

Definitely a possibility.

I never liked that line of thinking though. Bet on yourself. Also, if a team is very deep at D, where are they likely to trade from to acquire needs in other areas? A team can go from deep in one area to relatively thin in a hurry.

The only way I would turn down an ELC offer from a team if I was in his position is if I had designs on going overseas and had a good idea that an offer was there.

I really don't think Gross will have a problem finding a team. I wouldn't be shocked at all if an NHL team grabbed him on reentry (if that's still a possibility) or signed him as a free agent. I also don't think he'll have any problem finding European employment if that's what he decides to do. Four straight years on the Swiss WJC team would lead me to think the NLA would certainly be an option and pretty much right away.

 

[True Blue]

You better brace yourself if Jake Sanderson is on the board when the Rangers are drafting.

Which he won't be. Schnieder might be however.

 

[nyr2k2]

I really don't think Gross will have a problem finding a team. I wouldn't be shocked at all if an NHL team grabbed him on reentry (if that's still a possibility) or signed him as a free agent. I also don't think he'll have any problem finding European employment if that's what he decides to do. Four straight years on the Swiss WJC team would lead me to think the NLA would certainly be an option and pretty much right away.

He won't have a hard time at all. He may be re-drafted. He could definitely find something in Europe. He came up with EV Zug's program and there have already been reports that his preference is to go back there if he can't find a spot at least in the AHL over here. I don't think he's going to have teams kicking down the door to talk to him, but he should definitely find interest from mid-tier European leagues at the minimum.