Paparanger Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 So the draft is over and free agency came and gone and where are the boys in blue? To be honest, I don't think they know at this point. What I do know is that I am ecstatic that Sather has given the reigns to Gorton. Right now the Rangers have a suspect defense corps because of the decline of Staal and Girardi. I just read a Twitter post not too long ago that said and I quote: " Yandle and Starlman are making a combined $10,850,000.00 While Stall and Girardi are making a combined $11,200,000.00 per a difference of $350,000.00 Per" Just think If the Rangers didn't extend those horrible contracts to Staal & Girardi, they could have had Yandle & Starlman for $350,000.00 less per year. Factor in that no team wants to spend the $7,800,000.00 per for Nash, nor give up anything good in return and as you can see there is a problem. But, perhaps not a problem but a blessing in disguise. OK, the Rangers have to put up with Nash for two more seasons then they can let him walk. That will clear up almost 8 mil in cap space. By that time, we should get a read on the newbies and be two years removed from Stall & Girardi's contracts. Then maybe it would be worth the while of the Rangers to buy these guys out. In a cap world, you have to rotate players and continue to bring in younger players so you can keep the cap down. As a matter of fact I read that anyone age 35 and older is finding it harder and harder to keep their jobs in the NHL unless they are of Star Status. At any rate, There is still time before October and who knows, maybe Gorton could pull off a deal or two. Just a thought, but with Eric Staal going to the Wild and the Wild in need of some defense, perhaps Gorton could go to Marc and see if he would consider a trade to the Wild so he could play with his brother. And of course, the Wild would have to buy into that. Probably won't happen but the 5.6 mil in cap space Stall is taking up might not be a back breaker for the Wild. Never Know. Then the Rangers could make a move or two. Time will tell.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 On 7/7/2016 at 5:02 PM, Paparanger said: So the draft is over and free agency came and gone and where are the boys in blue? To be honest, I don't think they know at this point. What I do know is that I am ecstatic that Sather has given the reigns to Gorton. Right now the Rangers have a suspect defense corps because of the decline of Staal and Girardi. I just read a Twitter post not too long ago that said and I quote: " Yandle and Starlman are making a combined $10,850,000.00 While Stall and Girardi are making a combined $11,200,000.00 per a difference of $350,000.00 Per" Just think If the Rangers didn't extend those horrible contracts to Staal & Girardi, they could have had Yandle & Starlman for $350,000.00 less per year. Factor in that no team wants to spend the $7,800,000.00 per for Nash, nor give up anything good in return and as you can see there is a problem. But, perhaps not a problem but a blessing in disguise. OK, the Rangers have to put up with Nash for two more seasons then they can let him walk. That will clear up almost 8 mil in cap space. By that time, we should get a read on the newbies and be two years removed from Stall & Girardi's contracts. Then maybe it would be worth the while of the Rangers to buy these guys out. In a cap world, you have to rotate players and continue to bring in younger players so you can keep the cap down. As a matter of fact I read that anyone age 35 and older is finding it harder and harder to keep their jobs in the NHL unless they are of Star Status. At any rate, There is still time before October and who knows, maybe Gorton could pull off a deal or two. Just a thought, but with Eric Staal going to the Wild and the Wild in need of some defense, perhaps Gorton could go to Marc and see if he would consider a trade to the Wild so he could play with his brother. And of course, the Wild would have to buy into that. Probably won't happen but the 5.6 mil in cap space Stall is taking up might not be a back breaker for the Wild. Never Know. Then the Rangers could make a move or two. Time will tell.... I am trying to decide if we saw Nash fall off a cliff last year that he will never recover from, or if it was an anomaly like Marleau's 07-08 season. From a fantasy standpoint, he might be a mid/late round pick, but it is risky. And yeah, that blueline is buggered. Good luck trading Staal to the wild. What are you going to throw in to entice them into that raw deal? They have Suter, Brodin, Dumba, Scandella and Spurgeon, all of whom are better and cheaper(Well, Suter is not cheaper, but he is a #1 D). Furthermore they have 5 million in cap space and need to resign Dumba now, Niederetter and Naula and Granlund next year(Assuming they don't lose one in expansion draft) Staal's NMC would force them to use a protection slot on him. That will never happen. The Wild are one of the few teams that will in fact opt for 8 players(F or D) and a goalie rather than 7 forwards, 3 D and a G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Welcome aboard look forward to your post. Yes it looks like the Rags are stuck in hard spot. And by the looks of it by the time they get out it King Henrik will be out in the pasture. A lot of junk to clear from that roster for sure. What a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 23 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Welcome aboard look forward to your post. Yes it looks like the Rags are stuck in hard spot. And by the looks of it by the time they get out it King Henrik will be out in the pasture. A lot of junk to clear from that roster for sure. What a mess. A proper rebuild from them would start with Lundqvist being traded due to his return likely being a bit higher than the average starter. Shame he has a NMC. But the Rags are a team that definitely needs a retool or a flat "blow it up". McDonagh, Kreider, Lindberg, Stepan and Hayes are all nice and young, and at 28, Zuccarello and Brassard are not bad either. if Nash can't rebound this year, then his contract is only 2 more years, but will hinder their resigns. They don't have any Dmen of note in the system except Brady Skjei, whose upside is Vlasic-lite and they have some beat up men on NMC's like Girardi and Staal. Buchnevich is a good forward prospect, but KHL..... After that, they got nothing. Sell. Spend a year acquiring some prospects and picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 9 minutes ago, J0e Th0rnton said: After that, they got nothing. Yes i agree...their farm is in horrible shape...looks like the Flyer's Clarke and Homer years....barren waste land... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 @Paparanger First off, welcome to HF.net. Nice to have a dedicated Rangers fan on here to attempt to offset the site's decided Flyer and Penguin-ness....hehe... On to the post... You know, unlike some on here, I really don't see "the huge mess" for the Rangers. For CERTAIN, the Rangers have some work to do, some tough decisions to make, and by no means are they guaranteed a playoff spot, much less a Cup run with the current roster...but I gotta be honest, there are teams in worse shape in the NHL both in talent and cap space. For starters, the Rangers DO have, according to generalfanager.com, a projected $12.4M in cap space. Now, as disappointing as it was for the Rangers not to make any splashy moves during free agency, I would have to think their priorities have to be re-signing some of their key guys before dipping into the hired gun market. Namely, Kris Kreider, JT Miller, Kevin Hayes, and Dylan McIlrath. I think the downfall of Dan Girardi is greatly exaggerated. He did have some injury issues last season (as did Kevin Klein and Ryan McDonagh), but when healthy, those three are still pretty damned good defensemen on ANYONE'S team. I will concede the Eric Staal contract and player to be an albatross however...and guys like Adam Clendening and Nick Holden will have to prove their worth. Holden is an established veteran player who, while not an elite defenseman, still plays a decent game and can be a contributor on offense if given the right situations. The guy was a -1 on an awful, awful defensive Colorado Avalanche team for instance...just sayin....guys on terrible defensive teams are usually in the minus double digits unless they have some coverage or offensive game to help offset the goals against. Also, the Rick Nash contract is looking worse and worse by the year. So between Nash and Staal, yea, those could be considered 'messes' and a buyout of one or the other may have to come. Then you have Henrik Lundqvist. Disappointing year for sure last season, but I think its too soon to write him off as "done". We will see this season if he can bounce back. It would be nice for him if he can have the Rangers top three D-men (the aforementioned McDonagh, Girardi, and Klein) available for the season. As for Yandle and Stralman...well, lets get one thing out of the way: NOT keeping Stralman WAS and continues to be a mistake for NY....and us Bolts fans greatly thank Sather for that! Yandle? Still a good player, but he honestly never seemed completely happy in New York, seems to fancy himself an elite NHL defensemen (he is good, he is solid, can even be great at times...but elite he is NOT) and wants to be paid as such...I think the Rangers will be fine not having him. Maybe the Rangers get a boost from guys trying to reclaim their NHL careers....guys like Nathan Gerbe, Michael Grabner, and the aforementioned Nick Holden. Some bodies that can maybe be moved out in favor of some more cap space, free up a roster spot or three, or perhaps even for some picks? How about Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, or Tanner Glass? Glass, IMO, is a wasted of a roster spot. I honestly don't see what he can bring to the table that the Rangers couldn't do without. Sure, he doesn't make a ton of money, but the roster spot he is occupying is more valuable than the fact that the Rangers aren't paying him much. Fast and Lindberg, obiously, have more value, and perhaps the Rangers can parlay them into a decent package of picks, seeing as how NY still has a solid 1-2 combo down the middle with Brassard and Stepan and seem in decent shape with Zuccarello, Grabner (if he comes around), and Hayes (if the Rangers re-sign him as they should). So, bottom line, yes, the Rangers have much work to do, but really, with some creativity, good decision making, and savvy use of the available cap space, I don't think they are so much a huge mess, but more a dysfunctional group that can still be fixed and be competitive on the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 58 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Then you have Henrik Lundqvist I'll be the first person to say he really screwed me on my fantasy team last year..... With that out of the way.... I see this being a VERY important year for "the King". Was he the victim of just having a bad blue line in front of him and add that to the fact he just flat out struggled? Or is he seriously starting the beginning of decline in his career. I think it would behoove the Rangers to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. (Though fantasy side...I would struggle to make him a top goalie pick..there are other goalies whom I now rank above him). @Paparanger Welcome to HF.net. We have a great bunch of posters here with a wide range of knowledge on various hockey subjects. IF you are interested the world of Fantasy Hockey, I am one of the Co League Managers of our own Fantasy Hockey League here. We are always looking for new GM's. (No prior experience needed! Just ask @TropicalFruitGirl26 as she won one of the divisions last year!) Drop me a PM if you are interested. Again..welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 39 minutes ago, pilldoc said: I'll be the first person he really screwed me on my fantasy team last year..... With that out of the way.... I see this being a VERY important year for "the King". Was he the victim of just having a bad blue line in front of him and add that to the fact he just flat out struggled? Or is he seriously starting the beginning of decline in his career. I think it would behoove the Rangers to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. (Though fantasy side...I would struggle to make him a top goalie pick..there are other goalies whom I now rank above him). @Paparanger Welcome to HF.net. We have a great bunch of posters here with a wide range of knowledge on various hockey subjects. IF you are interested the world of Fantasy Hockey, I am one of the Co League Managers of our own Fantasy Hockey League here. We are always looking for new GM's. (No prior experience needed! Just ask @TropicalFruitGirl26 as she won one of the divisions last year!) Drop me a PM if you are interested. Again..welcome! @ruxpin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 @J0e Th0rnton Which part did you tag me for? The Eulogy for Lundqvist/fantasy? Yeah, @pilldoc and I kvetched all year. Or was that for the HF Fantasy Hockey League? I think I'm going to stick with one league. Lundqvist/fantasy: I'm pretty much stuck with hoping Lundqvist and the Rangers rebound. The only other goalie on my roster is Dubnyk. I'm suspicious of both. Lundqvist is on the way down and Dubnyk was probably a fraud to begin with that caught lightning in a bottle two years ago. So, hopefully I can do it with offense until @yave1964 is willing to trade me a goalie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 16 minutes ago, ruxpin said: @J0e Th0rnton Which part did you tag me for? The Eulogy for Lundqvist/fantasy? Yeah, @pilldoc and I kvetched all year. Or was that for the HF Fantasy Hockey League? I think I'm going to stick with one league. Lundqvist/fantasy: I'm pretty much stuck with hoping Lundqvist and the Rangers rebound. The only other goalie on my roster is Dubnyk. I'm suspicious of both. Lundqvist is on the way down and Dubnyk was probably a fraud to begin with that caught lightning in a bottle two years ago. So, hopefully I can do it with offense until @yave1964 is willing to trade me a goalie. Ill revisit this thread midseason :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 20 minutes ago, ruxpin said: @J0e Th0rnton Which part did you tag me for? The Eulogy for Lundqvist/fantasy? Yeah, @pilldoc and I kvetched all year. Or was that for the HF Fantasy Hockey League? I think I'm going to stick with one league. Lundqvist/fantasy: I'm pretty much stuck with hoping Lundqvist and the Rangers rebound. The only other goalie on my roster is Dubnyk. I'm suspicious of both. Lundqvist is on the way down and Dubnyk was probably a fraud to begin with that caught lightning in a bottle two years ago. So, hopefully I can do it with offense until @yave1964 is willing to trade me a goalie. I trust Dubnyk more than you I guess. The wild did not do great this year, but Dubnyk still had 32 wins, 67 starts, 5 Shutouts and a 91.8%sv with 1829 saves. Mind you, Lundqvist had an off year and still had better numbers haha. Let's also be fair.....Rick Nash had 15 goals. I just have seen nothing but a downward trend for the rags with no rookies coming on the horizon to refresh the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 1 hour ago, ruxpin said: Dubnyk was probably a fraud to begin with that caught lightning in a bottle two years ago yup and I rode with him all they way to a Hockey Fantasy league title! An to think he was a throw in when I traded for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 1 hour ago, J0e Th0rnton said: I just have seen nothing but a downward trend for the rags with no rookies coming on the horizon to refresh the team. and my heart just bleeds for them .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 17 minutes ago, pilldoc said: yup and I rode with him all they way to a Hockey Fantasy league title! An to think he was a throw in when I traded for him. Dubnyk? Yeah, I had him the wrong year. I'm almost tempted to go with Dubnyk rather than Lundqvist. I just think the Rangers are done and King won't have the Wins or GAA benefit he's had previously. I'd whine about giving up Bishop and Luongo down the stretch but I don't think either will have the fantasy value they did last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 1 minute ago, ruxpin said: Dubnyk? Yeah, I had him the wrong year. I'm almost tempted to go with Dubnyk rather than Lundqvist. I just think the Rangers are done and King won't have the Wins or GAA benefit he's had previously. I'd whine about giving up Bishop and Luongo down the stretch but I don't think either will have the fantasy value they did last year. Yeah it was Dubnyk I had that year. Fortunately because the HF Fantasy League is NOT a keeper league, I can start from scratch this year. Frankly from some of the games I watched year, Lundqvist looked horrible and out of sync. He let in some really bad goals. Again the Rags blue line sucked last year, but still a caliber of Lundqvist should have bailed them out from time to time and he did not. Depending on where I end of drafting, I will be looking at other options in goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 @pilldoc Yeah, not only is our league a keeper league, but we are allowed to trade picks. I gave up first rounder so I don't pick until #18. What's worse is we have 2 expansion owners picking 10 in an expansion draft. So I'm actually first drafting at #28. My second goalie will probably be Leighton or Bob Froese, so I really cannot guess wrong and neither is a happy choice. And I would love to dump the goalies and keep 5 forwards, but then Leighton is suddenly my #1. I guess my keepers other than goalie are Benn, Crosby, Karlsson, and Burns. (Corey Perry or Alex Steen are outside possibilities instead of Burns). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 24 minutes ago, ruxpin said: Dubnyk? Yeah, I had him the wrong year. I'm almost tempted to go with Dubnyk rather than Lundqvist. I just think the Rangers are done and King won't have the Wins or GAA benefit he's had previously. I'd whine about giving up Bishop and Luongo down the stretch but I don't think either will have the fantasy value they did last year. It is a conundrum. Dubnyk is on the younger team that is more likely to succeed. Rightly or wrongly, that has a big effect on NAHANA stats On the other hand, Lundqvist could go back to being a top 5 goalie and the Rags might squeeze another year or two out of this corp. The writing is on the wall though. AND despite his underperformance, he still had better stats than Dubnyk last year. Quite frankly, I was planning on keeping Hellebuyck, but now, I am keeping the Talbot you threw my way. I started doubting the moment I saw the jets resign Hutchinson for 2 years. What is the point? Pavelec wasn't traded. Hutchinson is not needed for AHL duties since they could just let Comrie get AHL starts and build experience. Too much uncertainty that he will get 40+ starts. I know Talbot will get 50+ and his stats were strong despite how awful and injury ridden the Oilers were. Now they have improved and are healthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 24 minutes ago, ruxpin said: @pilldoc Yeah, not only is our league a keeper league, but we are allowed to trade picks. I gave up first rounder so I don't pick until #18. What's worse is we have 2 expansion owners picking 10 in an expansion draft. So I'm actually first drafting at #28. My second goalie will probably be Leighton or Bob Froese, so I really cannot guess wrong and neither is a happy choice. And I would love to dump the goalies and keep 5 forwards, but then Leighton is suddenly my #1. I guess my keepers other than goalie are Benn, Crosby, Karlsson, and Burns. (Corey Perry or Alex Steen are outside possibilities instead of Burns). Nice, I just posted a prediction on each teams keepers and that was it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 32 minutes ago, ruxpin said: @pilldoc Yeah, not only is our league a keeper league, but we are allowed to trade picks. I gave up first rounder so I don't pick until #18. What's worse is we have 2 expansion owners picking 10 in an expansion draft. So I'm actually first drafting at #28. My second goalie will probably be Leighton or Bob Froese, so I really cannot guess wrong and neither is a happy choice. And I would love to dump the goalies and keep 5 forwards, but then Leighton is suddenly my #1. I guess my keepers other than goalie are Benn, Crosby, Karlsson, and Burns. (Corey Perry or Alex Steen are outside possibilities instead of Burns). Yave has no 1st round pick or 2nd round pick. How are you going to get a goalie from him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Myself i think their farm system to dip into is just horrible. Besides Buchnevich that is all that impresses me. I guess if i had to pick another it would be Hellberg whom has looked ok in the AHL but has gotten lit up every time he has been in the NHL. And at 25 already it is time he gets into the NHL full time. Just not much talent to draw from down there they have just given up to many picks going for it and it hasn't panned out. And the cupboards are bare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 9 minutes ago, J0e Th0rnton said: Yave has no 1st round pick or 2nd round pick. How are you going to get a goalie from him? I don't know what to think of yave's goalie situation. I guess go with Luongo, but I suspect he'll get a bit less starts than last year with Reimer there. Pitfalls with all his goalies. Honestly, a lot of questions with that position all across the league. Probably should move all of this to the NAHANA thread. We've kind of hijacked this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Just now, ruxpin said: I don't know what to think of yave's goalie situation. I guess go with Luongo, but I suspect he'll get a bit less starts than last year with Reimer there. Pitfalls with all his goalies. Honestly, a lot of questions with that position all across the league. Probably should move all of this to the NAHANA thread. We've kind of hijacked this one. Luongo had offseason something(Surgery) and is slated to miss the first month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 28 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said: Myself i think their farm system to dip into is just horrible. Besides Buchnevich that is all that impresses me. I guess if i had to pick another it would be Hellberg whom has looked ok in the AHL but has gotten lit up every time he has been in the NHL. And at 25 already it is time he gets into the NHL full time. Just not much talent to draw from down there they have just given up to many picks going for it and it hasn't panned out. And the cupboards are bare. The Ranger farm system may not be much to speak of, but I still believe they have enough talent at the NHL level (with some wiggle room) to make some moves that they can still contend for the playoffs. The Cup is a whole other matter, but the playoffs shouldn't be that much of a stretch to be perfectly honest. That all said, injuries would NOT be their friend. Sure, it never is to any team, but many teams have fallback players they can turn to....this is where having a thin farm system would hurt the Rangers big time: Any significant injuries and they simply won't have the depth to keep up with the likes of Washington, Pittsburgh, the Isles. And the Canes, Devils and Flyers won't go easy on NY either. Point being, if the team stays healthy and they make the smart decisions from now till the season starts, they should be alright. Make dumb decisions personnel-wise and/or suffer crippling injuries and the team could find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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