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Would you move Staal for Spezza?

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If there's ever a player who would be destined to fall off a cliff after coming to the Rangers (and there have already been several), it's Jason Spezza. An oft-injured center on the wrong side of 30 for a top-pairing caliber defenseman? No thanks.

Inferno, as someone driving the anti-Brad Richards bus, I'm amazed you want to try a less effective, more injury prone version of Richards.
 
clmetsfan said:
If there's ever a player who would be destined to fall off a cliff after coming to the Rangers (and there have already been several), it's Jason Spezza. An oft-injured center on the wrong side of 30 for a top-pairing caliber defenseman? No thanks.

Inferno, as someone driving the anti-Brad Richards bus, I'm amazed you want to try a less effective, more injury prone version of Richards.
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To be yhonest I haven't seen speza much the past few yrs...he was awesome a few yrs back...almost finding it hard to believe he's fallen off the cliff that badly
 
No. We're about to compliance Brad Richards and you guys want to start the whole process over again.

Zero interest in Spezza.
 
I do not want Spezza. I do not want any more over the hill players whose best years are behind them like Brad Richards. I do not want any more soft players either or players who I even suspect of treating this like a retirement home like Rick Nash. I want young talented players even if unproven or players that project well who are pros already. Most of all I want players who want to be here. People trying to trade Brassard and Pouliot after they constituted 2/3 of our best line and played well in the playoffs are insane.
 
MidnightRanger said:
I do not want Spezza. I do not want any more over the hill players whose best years are behind them like Brad Richards. I do not want any more soft players either or players who I even suspect of treating this like a retirement home like Rick Nash. I want young talented players even if unproven or players that project well who are pros already. Most of all I want players who want to be here. People trying to trade Brassard and Pouliot after they constituted 2/3 of our best line and played well in the playoffs are insane.
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Ugh.
 
Spezza is the only center that interests me...54% on FO's, RH shot, 66 points last season and only 1 year left on his deal...ideal for a team like the Rangers who's goal is the Cup. A 1-for-1 of Staal for Spezza? I'm game.
 
Inferno said:
its hard to say if he is on the cusp or not.

he had what, 66 points last year in what was universally considered a terrible year for him? No NY Ranger Regular had that many points last year.

NONE.

Last five years here are his stats...

282GP 103G 166A 269P

.954PPG

His biggest issue is his health..Hes missed a LOT of games.

He's also more of a play maker than a scorer....do we need another one of those?

Does he help Nash? Im not sure. But he's a righty, hes incredibly skilled, and he doesnt have a long term contract.

Lots to like.
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Richards had 77 points in 72 games in his last year with Dallas. His last 5 years before we signed him:

364GP 113G 235A 348P

.956PPG

Richards was healthier and every bit as productive before coming here and his production has gone down since. Would the same happen to Spezza? It seems to be a trend with players that come to the Rangers.
 
Definitely not + Brassard. 1 for 1? Eh. I see flashes of "too good to be true". I'd rather go for a younger player or try to recoup some draft picks.
 
Inferno said:
id do staal straight up for spezza every day of the week.

spezza is very much what we need.
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I don't think the $ would work, unfortunately.

(edit)

"The Senators are reportedly seeking a “top end player” who can play in the top-six, a “highly ranked prospect” and a first round pick in the draft."

^ um, no thanks.
 
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You all have clearly not learned anything.

Spezza is literally the perfect example of a player who would completely collapse when he joined the Rangers.

Sure, trade Staal if we can get a player that is actually worth it. But trading him for a guy like Spezza is a horrible idea. Same for trying to find a way to get his lazy, whining brother from Carolina up here.
 
I look at Spezza as a player on the downside of his career. To me he's a similar scenario to Brad Richards before he became a Ranger but Spezza's had more injury issues. He may have a couple more good years in him but the clock is ticking. I don't look at Staal that way--he had a major setback with the one concussion followed closely by a serious eye injury. There are times when he seems like his old self but not always. I'm thinking he'll eventually get back close to where he was. I think he'll have several more good years. The more immediate issue with him is unrestricted free agency after next year--how much he'll cost to keep. To me Staal's the more valuable asset. I would not move Staal straight up for Spezza. Staal for Spezza and Methot I'd think about. Add a good prospect or 2nd round pick and you've got a deal.

I like my defensemen to know how to defend. There's plenty of NHL defensemen that are not very good at that. Staal-Stralman are an excellent pair. The Rangers will have a problem if they're both gone.
 
kreidertariat said:
I would absolutely trade Spezza for Nash. If you think Spezza is on the down side of his career, then you must think the same about Nash if you are going to bash Spezza. Spezza is a huge upgrade for us at center. He's big and is a right handed shot. He's also excellent on the PP and gives the team huge cap relief after next season.
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When Nash has major back surgery we can have this conversation.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
You all have clearly not learned anything.

Spezza is literally the perfect example of a player who would completely collapse when he joined the Rangers.

Sure, trade Staal if we can get a player that is actually worth it. But trading him for a guy like Spezza is a horrible idea. Same for trying to find a way to get his lazy, whining brother from Carolina up here.
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This guy gets it.

Who else are the Rangers trading to cover Spezza's cap hit? I certainly won't lose Stralman or Zuccarello at his expense.

The Rangers need to find a #1 center prospect that they can develop and bring along. Who can that be though? No easy answers.
 
kreidertariat said:
We actually can have this conversation when Nash doesn't have 4 goals, 15 points in his last 37 playoffs games instead of 52 points in 56 playoff games like Spezza. I'll take Spezza in a big game any day of the week even with a repaired back. Nash blows as a big game player.
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Spezza's had numerous injury problems. To me he's at least halfway to being a wreck. I don't like taking on other teams injury problems--strange as that may be to some. Eric Lindros springs to mind. He'd had at least 6 major concussions by the time he became a Ranger and he added a couple more. He was arguably the best forward in the league for a good stretch but by his early 30's he was a shell of the player he once was and a perimeter player. We took on Pat Lafontaine and he lasted half a season. We took on Pavel Bure and he didn't last even that long. The Rangers have taken on injury risks often enough and it almost never works out. It's a mistake and it's a mistake to discount a player's history.

If you want to model the Rangers after the Kings we're going to have to go younger and bigger. After the Blackhawks--well how to turn Rick Nash into the kind of goal scoring threat that Patrick Kane is and then add a lot more talent to that. Rangers added Richards 3 years ago when he was the hot commodity center that everyone was after. This is the same scenario playing out all over again except we're trading a very, very good defensemen instead of just buying a free agent. Both Stepan and Brassard are easily better players than Richards today. They might not be elite players but they are younger and there is some cost control. In the cap world of today's NHL bad contracts cause lots of problems. A player can't live up to his contract it's wasted cap space--the player becomes a waste of space. Get rid of a player like that I'd think you'd want to be very careful about not adding another just like him.
 
pld459666 said:
Staal to Ottawa for Ceci and Puempel
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Ceci doesn't move, guy is nearly untouchable IMO.




Okay so what if we take Richards off your hands? You guys lose a huge contract (Ottawa wouldn't take him on but I'm just going to ask anyway).

Richards + Staal + for Spezza

This makes the deal a lottttt better for NY so you'd need to add more on top of that.
 
SensNation613 said:
Ceci doesn't move, guy is nearly untouchable IMO.




Okay so what if we take Richards off your hands? You guys lose a huge contract (Ottawa wouldn't take him on but I'm just going to ask anyway).

Richards + Staal + for Spezza

This makes the deal a lottttt better for NY so you'd need to add more on top of that.
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Actually it makes it worse since trading Richards means we have to eat his cap hit after he retires.
 
Spezza is so not the player to go after, go after 25 year olds not 30 soon to be UFAs, haven't you had enough of that?

I would rather move Staal straight up for Kadri than Spezza if you put it that way.
 
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I would love to add the player Spezza was, and move Staal for him. But he would be EXACTLY like every other big name add. Banged up, declining, expensive, best days are in the rearview.
 
BrianBoyle said:
I'd say opinions on Brassard are a bit mixed, but most here definitely like him, and he has a penchant for scoring big goals/making big plays in the postseason. He also has great chemistry with Zucc and is almost assuredly a huge part of the locker room.

He is what he is at this point - a 40-50 pt middle six center. He's developed a bit more of a defensive game, although that still isn't a strong point of his. He's a valuable guy to have either way.
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For some reason people still expect Brassard to live up to his Top 5 pick billing. Like you said, he is what he is and in that, he is very valuable.

As much as he does leave you wanting more, because he oozes skill, the guy is a fantastic player to have. Since coming to the Rangers, he has really developed and I don't remember any games after the first 20-25 games or so where I questioned his effort. He seems to give 110% every game and really cares out there. That's something I love about him. He's a skill guy with heart and soul that has really started to take the body on the forecheck.

Brassard, as we saw this year, is clearly part of the solution. I wouldn't move him for Spezza in that package and I surely wouldn't take the add-ons from Ottawa. I don't want Hemsky, period.

Spezza for Staal, I'd certainly consider, although I'm not big on breaking up our top 4.
 
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