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Would you rather finish bottom-5 this season or fight for the playoffs?

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Top-5 pick or fight for a wild card spot?

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A top 5 pick is great. I was ecstatic when we won 2nd overall. It's just physically impossible for me not to get pissed when we lose games. Now that Igor is likely to be starting more and more - I just want the wins even more. I'll root for this team to win, but if we don't, a top 5 pick is a nice bandage for my wounds.
 
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Why is this even a question? Anyone saying anything except bottom 5 does not have this team's best interests in mind. They are 11 points out of a wildcard. They ain't making it.
 
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Give me a top 5 pick, but I hated rooting for losing the past couple of years especially with everyone bitching when we get a tie or win and the in-fighting about people rooting to tank vs win.

We got a few points that pushed us back last year and it actually helped us win the second pick. Carolina moved up quite a bit the previous year. I know that you can't bank on lottery luck to move up, but rather than root for us to lose, I'll just let whatever happens happen. You just never know.

I also don't hold it against anyone rooting for them to lose or win. Hopefully this is the last year to worry about this.
 
They have like a 4-7% chance at making the playoffs based on which one of those projection things you look at. I don't think its about rooting for the team to lose or win, but looking at things realistically.

I'll say this, I've enjoyed watching this year's team WAY more than last year's edition even if the actual results are similar through the same point in the season, there is a clear upward trend with this group where as last year's team was legitimately a bottom 2-3 team that got by on goaltending and unfathomable puck luck. It was disgusting to watch until the lottery balls fell our way.

Our team is too top heavy and Staal is getting regular minutes. Waiting another year for a legitimate playoff push after hopefully remedying those things is not going to hurt the young players.

I'd put it at about 95% that this team doesn't make the playoffs or pick in the top 5 though.
 
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Just stay the course with what they're doing this season. Play hard, keep building on the structure they've been playing with, and let the results fall where they may. The team doesn't have enough talent once Kreider gets traded, so they'll ultimately miss the playoffs and end somewhere in the 8-12 range to nab a prospect like Holtz, Lundell, or Perfetti
 
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What does "fight for the playoffs" mean? within 2-4 points of a spot? Sure but that's most likely not gonna happen since this team can't string a 3 game winning streak or better. Problem is the metro is a beast and it looks like Florida is legit so it doesn't allow for much wiggle room regarding getting a wild card spot. So in reality right now I would like to be around the 6th-7th spot (Teams like Montreal, San Jose, Minn and Buffalo somehow passing us)and hope the lottery gods are on our side.
 
Mac n Gs said:
Just stay the course with what they're doing this season. Play hard, keep building on the structure they've been playing with, and let the results fall where they may. The team doesn't have enough talent once Kreider gets traded, so they'll ultimately miss the playoffs and end somewhere in the 8-12 range to nab a prospect like Holtz, Lundell, or Perfetti
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along with a little lottery luck maybe a top 3
 
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Machinehead said:
If this team made the playoffs, I would be embarrassed for the NHL. And that's saying something.
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I wouldn't say that. It looks like making the playoffs in the East is gonna require about 99-100 points!!!
If the Rangers ever pulled that off it would mean almost every single player playing at a real high level especially the young guys like Chytil/Howden/Kakko. I think that would be pretty amazing for their development. Not sure how getting 100 points and making the playoffs is an embarrassment for the league. It's not like winning your division in football at 7-9 or 8-8 and making the playoffs (plus hosting a home game lol).
 
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TominNC said:
You can’t tank with all these young players, especially the goalies. You need to see continued improvement.

Try to win games and let the picks fall where they may.
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Exactly, when I see guys like Fox, Lindgren, Kakko, Chytil, Howden, Lemieux, Shesterkin/AG even Buch/ADA I want them to have big games every game. That's almost half the roster. want to see these guys continue to develop. If that happens its difficult seeing this team get even close to a bottom 5 spot. even bottom 8-10.
 
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bl02 said:
I wouldn't say that. It looks like making the playoffs in the East is gonna require about 99-100 points!!!
If the Rangers ever pulled that off it would mean almost every single player playing at a real high level especially the young guys like Chytil/Howden/Kakko. I think that would be pretty amazing for their development. Not sure how getting 100 points and making the playoffs is an embarrassment for the league. It's not like winning your division in football at 7-9 or 8-8 and making the playoffs (plus hosting a home game lol).
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The 2015-16 Rangers were one of the most unwatachable teams I've ever had the displeasure of knowing and they had 101 points. It's not special.
 
For the first time since 2006, we have a top 5 player in the NHL that isn't a goalie. It would be a shame if we(Panarin) aren't in the playoffs.

We can pick up good players with mid first rounders, especially in this deep draft. It is funny how the questionable picks we've made were in the top 10 (Blackburn, Montoya, McIlrath, Andersson, Kravstov).
 
TominNC said:
You can’t tank with all these young players, especially the goalies. You need to see continued improvement.

Try to win games and let the picks fall where they may.
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This is exactly how I feel. The organization can’t develop a loser culture. Sure a top pick is nice but the team already has a lot of young guys trying to establish themeselves and they need to do that by trying to get some experience winning games. Furthermore, this roster is way too talented to just lose. I know some call me crazy but this roster currenlty( who knows after the trade deadline) is currently a borderline playoff team.
 
Machinehead said:
The 2015-16 Rangers were one of the most unwatachable teams I've ever had the displeasure of knowing and they had 101 points. It's not special.
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Disagree. If this team hits 101 points its because the younger guys i've listed have tremendous a second half along with a goalie of the future. I think that would be quite special. especially since you would have to knock out teams like Toronto, Carolina, philly etc.
 
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If I thought we had a shot at the playoffs I'd go with that, but it's more likely that we miss and get a worse pick if the team didn't sell.
 
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Why are the poll options and title different? There is a big difference between finishing bottom 5 and getting a top 5 pick. If we finish 14th from the bottom we will still have a 5% chance at a top 5 pick. Conversely unless you finish in the bottom 4 you will be under 50% to get a top 5 pick.

In any case it is pretty clearly better to make the playoffs because the development of the young players is better than another pick. If the team makes the playoff that means the defense improved, Kakko improved, Shesterkin played well, and we see improvements in other places. If they don't then none of that happened which brings the same concerns into next season. We already know Zibanejad/Panarin can't drag them to the playoffs on their own so if they get there other guy stepped up.
 
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I may have gone overboard with the implications, because in the abstract a top-5 pick is definitely a better outcome than a playoff berth that is exceedingly unlikely to yield a cup, but consider the following:

I'm excluding a Carolinaesque lottery win from a position in the early teens and that means that a bottom-5 finish will require our players to regress from their current levels of performance whereas a playoff berth means that players like Kakko, Chytil, Buch and Lemieux take a significant step forward in the latter half of the season.

I do however stress the imperative of this not getting in the way of moving Kreider, so I probably should have voted the other way anyway.
 
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I want the team to continue the process (ie: trading some pending UFAs like Kreider and Fast). As long as they do that, I see benefits in both of these options. A top-5 pick (which is extremely unlikely, looking at the league standings right now) is what it is. I would love to see this group cut their playoff teeth too, though. Experience in the post-season is under-rated. The game is played differently, and most players have their head on a swivel the first time or two they experience it. The sooner they see that first hand, the better they will handle it when the team is actually good enough to make a run. I still think if 2013/2014 Nash had 2017 Nash's playoff experience, this team would have won the Cup at least once.
 
SA16 said:
Why are the poll options and title different? There is a big difference between finishing bottom 5 and getting a top 5 pick. If we finish 14th from the bottom we will still have a 5% chance at a top 5 pick. Conversely unless you finish in the bottom 4 you will be under 50% to get a top 5 pick.

In any case it is pretty clearly better to make the playoffs because the development of the young players is better than another pick. If the team makes the playoff that means the defense improved, Kakko improved, Shesterkin played well, and we see improvements in other places. If they don't then none of that happened which brings the same concerns into next season. We already know Zibanejad/Panarin can't drag them to the playoffs on their own so if they get there other guy stepped up.
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It also means that they likely self rented Kreider and likely held onto other guys who they're expected to move.

Regardless, it would take a massive run for them to even sniff getting in and while thing have definitely gotten better lately, they would have to take an unprecedented and unexpected leap for this to happen.
 
GoAwayStaal said:
It also means that they likely self rented Kreider and likely held onto other guys who they're expected to move.

Regardless, it would take a massive run for them to even sniff getting in and while thing have definitely gotten better lately, they would have to take an unprecedented and unexpected leap for this to happen.
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No it doesn't. All those guys need to be traded regardless. If that happens and they ended up in or near the playoffs that means everyone else stepped up which is what you want to see.
 
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