Stuggernaut
Grandma's Chippy
No thanks, die Rangers!
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NHL Off-Season 2017 |OT| Weve Been Here Since October
- Thread starter Fata1moose
- Start date
No thanks, die Rangers!
18:04 TOR Brendan Leipsic (3) ASST: Andrew Nielsen (3), Kasperi Kapanen (4)
18:22 TOR Carl Grundstrom (2) ASST: Seth Griffith (4), Steve Oleksy (1)
18:37 TOR Kasperi Kapanen (2) ASST: None
:lol woooow
Damn that's crazy, and nice that it was the young guys who did the scoring too
Unhandled Exception
Member
https://soundcloud.com/altitudesports950/joe-sakic-joins-julie-and-mose
Sakic interview about the offseason
Sakic interview about the offseason
Sakic fine with picking 4th going to get a good player
- Tough year, excited for next year, lots of turnover, want to be younger and quicker.
- Specifically named Compher and Jost coming into the line up next year. "Possibly A.J. Greer"
- Lots of praise for Compher and Jost
- Still need to work on our back end, work in progress. Talked about signing Mironov soon but no official release from his KHL team yet.
- Thought the team was much more exciting and competitive down the last 20 games (after they had called players up).
- Thought losing Varlamov was a big reason for last year being so tough.
- MacKinnon has been dominating World Championships. Good for all the guys there.
- On this years draft, on the phone a lot forming draft boards and gauging where teams are at
- "A lot of teams have expansion issues, we don't."
- Not going to be players in free agency
- Believes Bednar deserves an opportunity with a faster and younger team.
- Frustrated with how last season turned out but you have to be patient. Believes we will be exciting next season.
- Talked about being inducted to IIHF hall of fame.
Hi.
Could be worse. You still have that 1 Cup win in the last 77 years to feel good about.
Welcome😊
Don't fuck us, Weaver!
He'll heel turn like Sgt. Slaughter and defect to Iraq.
Courtenay-Comox going to the NDP by NINE votes probably prevented a liberal majority.
Jeeeeeesus that's close.
Now all eyes on Weaver...
Quick was using Photoshop in the womb.
I dont trust your commie opinions smelly. I need someone elses opinion on this.
bonesmccoy
Banned
Say guten tag to your new Minister of Environment!
Dubbedinenglish
Banned
I can't speak to everyone else but I have honed my skill for many years.
CreeperBlocks
Banned
Rispek IS COMING DUBBED
At least he is better than Tom Rowe?
Erdrick
Member
That's a good cat. (I do as well now.)
CreeperBlocks
Banned
👍
So shall we talk some Rangers? I think it's time. Breakup day has been officially scheduled for tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about, so here are some of the most major and pressing things we have to deal with in the next couple of months:
1) The Antti Raanta Problem
A repeat of The Cam Talbot Problem from 2015, only with the added twist of the expansion draft. Raanta sure looks like he's proven he's perfectly capable of being a #1 goaltender in this league at this point, and Vegas is going to be required to select at least 3 goaltenders in the expansion draft. So the question is: are there going to be three goalies exposed to expansion that are better than Antti Raanta? Seems pretty doubtful to me. That means the Rangers are likely to lose Raanta for nothing to Vegas unless they choose to actively deal him away somewhere first (or make a deal with Vegas to have them take somebody else...more on this in a bit). Raanta's value right now, much like Talbot's in 2015, is about as high as it is likely to be, at least for the remainder of his current contract (which is only $1m, by the way), so there's no better time to try to cash in some of his value than right now anyway. Dallas seemed like they might be a good target, but that was before they went after Ben Bishop.
Having said all that, though, the fact is that there is nobody in the organization ready to step up and be Henrik Lundqvist's backup if we do lose Raanta in the offseason in one way or another. Hank is going to continue to need the kind of support he had this year, where he only played in 57 games, in order to keep him ready for the playoffs, and that means he needs a backup who is capable of handling a significant workload on the NHL level. If the decision is to move on from Raanta, you're going to see the Rangers shopping the market for a replacement.
2) The Core
Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi have been "the Rangers" in the phrase "Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers" for basically the entirety of the 2010s, beginning their run together in the 2010-11 season. This was almost certainly their last hurrah, as this season was billed as a chance to give this core group one last crack at a Cup. The writing was on the wall last season, but the real tough decisions, particularly about what to do with the defense, were put off for another year. No avoiding it now. The captain is, of course, not going anywhere, but the other three may all be fair game.
Derek Stepan has a no trade clause that kicks in on July 1. There are signs that he's slowing down already despite only being 26, but he never was particularly fast in the first place. He is, however, an extremely intelligent player, at least a legit 2C if not a true #1, and a picture of consistency. Stepan's point totals in each of his seasons, in reverse chronological order: 55, 53, 55, 57, 44 (lockout season), 51, 45. If the Rangers want to open up another forward slot to protect Jesper Fast or Michael Grabner in the draft, trading away Stepan might be a way to do it, and the depth is there at forward that his contributions could be accounted for. Alternatively, they might choose to leave Stepan exposed for the expansion draft in order to make sure Fast is protected. Even if they run the risk of losing Stepan for nothing in the draft, the $6.5m in cap space it would open up could be put to wondrous effect on the defensive side of things.
Which brings us to Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. It was too soon to try to live with a buyout cap hit for one of them last year, but I don't think it can be put off any longer, especially for Girardi. While it will hurt, it will at least open up about half of his current $5.5m hit, and it would open up a D slot for the expansion draft since the Rangers would no longer be required to enforce his no move clause. Marc Staal is a trickier matter. Staal's decline has been a bit more erratic, and every now and then he still shows flashes of the old Marc Staal. They're too inconsistent and far between, though, and the Rangers have an overabundance of LHDs available to them. That said, it wouldn't shock me to see Staal in blue again next season. Options seem pretty limited. A buyout for Staal would be even more painful than one for Girardi and would remain on the books until 2025. That doesn't seem like a feasible solution. Vegas might be another option here, depending on how they're looking to build their roster. They might need a veteran presence taking up valuable cap space more for business purposes than hockey ones. Simply put, Gorton's going to have his hands full trying to get rid of Staal. Assuming he actually tries.
3) Rick Nash
With only one year left on his contract, it's time to start talking realistically about whether Rick Nash is shoppable or not. While Nash still wasn't putting up the goals this year that he did a couple seasons back, his all-around game all season was terrific. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that 2016-17 was his best season as a Ranger, and on top of it he actually showed up and delivered in just about every way he could be expected to in the playoffs this time around. He's a more complete and versatile player now than he was when he came over from Columbus, even if he isn't the elite scorer he once was. There may be some value to be found for his services. This strikes me as maybe more of a trade deadline play than an offseason one, though. His $7.8m cap hit is probably still too tough a pill to swallow for an entire season but may be more palatable when prorated deep into the season. Either way, the clock is ticking on Rick Nash's time as a Ranger.
4) The Defense in general
The Rangers' initiative to get younger on defense, much like they did at the forward positions last season, has already begun. Sean Day signed his ELC 2 months ago, and Jeff Gorton has been aggressive going after college free agents on D over the last few weeks including Vince Pedrie and Neal Pionk. Will any of them pan out? Who knows, but it does point to an overall plan for attacking the defense.
Likely more important is the acquisition of Alexei Bereglazov from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a 23 year old big, physical, left handed shutdown defenseman with a little bit of potential offensive upside who plays the right side. Which sure as hell sounds a lot like an intended Dan Girardi replacement. It's hard to see a player like this making the jump over to the US just to play in the AHL full time, so the expectation must be that he will be among the players competing for a spot in training camp.
And, of course, that leaves the elephant in the room, Kevin Shattenkirk. I'm still not convinced we're actually going to sign him, but I do think it's pretty much a given that we're going to take a shot at it. Personally I'm in the "do not want" camp on this one. Nonetheless, it's entirely possible you may see a Rangers defense next season that looks something like:
McDonagh-Shattenkirk
Skjei-Bereglazov
Smith-Holden
Oh, right, by the way, we have to sign Brendan Smith. He had a real shit game last night, but before that he had been golden, especially in the playoffs. Give him whatever he wants. (Within reason, of course.)
5) The Expansion Draft
I've kinda touched on this throughout, but right now the Rangers probably have 3 players who are going to be exposed unless the status quo changes that would be great pickups for Vegas and major losses for the Rangers. Those 3 are Antti Raanta, Jesper Fast, and Michael Grabner. Now out of these, I think Grabner was intentionally signed last season specifically for the purpose of being expansion bait, aside from the other stated reasons why he was brought in. What he turned out to be, though, was the player we had been missing since we had to part with Carl Hagelin. A versatile speedster who can play on any line, forces the defense to back up and respect the rush while opening up ice for his linemates, and kills penalties and serves as a potent shorthanded weapon. And that's completely ignoring the 27 goals he put on the board this season (or the 4 more he put up in 12 games in the playoffs). Those parts were an unexpected bonus. Suddenly now it feels like losing Grabner would be much more detrimental to the identity of the team than was ever expected.
Jesper Fast is the true unsung hero of the Rangers. He's won the Player's Player Award two years in a row for a reason. He can also play on every line and seems to instantly generate chemistry with his linemates. If a couple of guys are struggling, you can put them together with Fast and magically they seem to begin to come out of it. He plays defense, he can contribute offensively, he kills penalties, and he's quite possibly the smartest player the Rangers have on the ice in terms of making reads and choosing the correct play at the correct time. The Rangers are going to have to find a way to protect him, because if we manage to take Raanta out of the equation, the smart move for Vegas likely would be to take Fast next.
6) AV
Now to address the most vexing concern we have to have right now. Alain Vigneault is a great coach who has had a ton of success during his time thus far in New York, but it is also a glaring fact that we lost the series against the Senators due to coaching above everything else. Not once, not twice, but THREE times in the playoffs the Rangers managed to blow leads and give away games late due to AV making the exact same mistake each time. That's pretty indefensible no matter who you are. And then in the final game last night, the Rangers came out looking flat and disinterested despite the desperately urgent circumstances they were actually being confronted with. Now, you could say some of that falls on the leadership group, and that's true enough, but it begins with coaching. Several times in the playoffs we heard AV say that the players had been caught off guard or maybe they weren't ready for a particular situation even though he felt like they had run enough drills. That too is on the coaching.
Having said that, AV is in most other respects a great coach, and one that has helped in the development in a number of young Rangers who have either debuted or made great strides during his tenure like JT Miller, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast, Brady Skjei, Oscar Lindberg, and Jimmy Vesey, despite the reputation that he has earned among some Rangers fans that he's bad for young players' development (usually a freak out overreaction to some young player getting scratched for a game or two). Unless there's a major revolt among the players during exit interviews like there was under Torts, it would be a safe bet to say that AV will be back behind the bench next season, and he should be.
BUT...the benefit of the doubt is officially gone, and the margin for error no longer exists. AV's greatest weakness as a coach is that he comes to rely on favored veterans far longer than he ought to and grants an almost infinitely long leash to those players, while stapling other players to the bench even if they may be performing better overall if he sees one mistake he doesn't like. However, this can be accounted for and corrected by Jeff Gorton, and it's actually pretty simple: just take away his toys. Don't give AV a situation where he has Tanner Glass, where he has Dan Girardi, where he has Marc Staal. Break those old habits and force him to change his approaches to situations and find new solutions to old problems. If we do that and AV still manages to make the same critical mistakes, then maybe it's time for the team to move on.
I told you there was a lot to talk about.
1) The Antti Raanta Problem
A repeat of The Cam Talbot Problem from 2015, only with the added twist of the expansion draft. Raanta sure looks like he's proven he's perfectly capable of being a #1 goaltender in this league at this point, and Vegas is going to be required to select at least 3 goaltenders in the expansion draft. So the question is: are there going to be three goalies exposed to expansion that are better than Antti Raanta? Seems pretty doubtful to me. That means the Rangers are likely to lose Raanta for nothing to Vegas unless they choose to actively deal him away somewhere first (or make a deal with Vegas to have them take somebody else...more on this in a bit). Raanta's value right now, much like Talbot's in 2015, is about as high as it is likely to be, at least for the remainder of his current contract (which is only $1m, by the way), so there's no better time to try to cash in some of his value than right now anyway. Dallas seemed like they might be a good target, but that was before they went after Ben Bishop.
Having said all that, though, the fact is that there is nobody in the organization ready to step up and be Henrik Lundqvist's backup if we do lose Raanta in the offseason in one way or another. Hank is going to continue to need the kind of support he had this year, where he only played in 57 games, in order to keep him ready for the playoffs, and that means he needs a backup who is capable of handling a significant workload on the NHL level. If the decision is to move on from Raanta, you're going to see the Rangers shopping the market for a replacement.
2) The Core
Ryan McDonagh, Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi have been "the Rangers" in the phrase "Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers" for basically the entirety of the 2010s, beginning their run together in the 2010-11 season. This was almost certainly their last hurrah, as this season was billed as a chance to give this core group one last crack at a Cup. The writing was on the wall last season, but the real tough decisions, particularly about what to do with the defense, were put off for another year. No avoiding it now. The captain is, of course, not going anywhere, but the other three may all be fair game.
Derek Stepan has a no trade clause that kicks in on July 1. There are signs that he's slowing down already despite only being 26, but he never was particularly fast in the first place. He is, however, an extremely intelligent player, at least a legit 2C if not a true #1, and a picture of consistency. Stepan's point totals in each of his seasons, in reverse chronological order: 55, 53, 55, 57, 44 (lockout season), 51, 45. If the Rangers want to open up another forward slot to protect Jesper Fast or Michael Grabner in the draft, trading away Stepan might be a way to do it, and the depth is there at forward that his contributions could be accounted for. Alternatively, they might choose to leave Stepan exposed for the expansion draft in order to make sure Fast is protected. Even if they run the risk of losing Stepan for nothing in the draft, the $6.5m in cap space it would open up could be put to wondrous effect on the defensive side of things.
Which brings us to Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. It was too soon to try to live with a buyout cap hit for one of them last year, but I don't think it can be put off any longer, especially for Girardi. While it will hurt, it will at least open up about half of his current $5.5m hit, and it would open up a D slot for the expansion draft since the Rangers would no longer be required to enforce his no move clause. Marc Staal is a trickier matter. Staal's decline has been a bit more erratic, and every now and then he still shows flashes of the old Marc Staal. They're too inconsistent and far between, though, and the Rangers have an overabundance of LHDs available to them. That said, it wouldn't shock me to see Staal in blue again next season. Options seem pretty limited. A buyout for Staal would be even more painful than one for Girardi and would remain on the books until 2025. That doesn't seem like a feasible solution. Vegas might be another option here, depending on how they're looking to build their roster. They might need a veteran presence taking up valuable cap space more for business purposes than hockey ones. Simply put, Gorton's going to have his hands full trying to get rid of Staal. Assuming he actually tries.
3) Rick Nash
With only one year left on his contract, it's time to start talking realistically about whether Rick Nash is shoppable or not. While Nash still wasn't putting up the goals this year that he did a couple seasons back, his all-around game all season was terrific. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that 2016-17 was his best season as a Ranger, and on top of it he actually showed up and delivered in just about every way he could be expected to in the playoffs this time around. He's a more complete and versatile player now than he was when he came over from Columbus, even if he isn't the elite scorer he once was. There may be some value to be found for his services. This strikes me as maybe more of a trade deadline play than an offseason one, though. His $7.8m cap hit is probably still too tough a pill to swallow for an entire season but may be more palatable when prorated deep into the season. Either way, the clock is ticking on Rick Nash's time as a Ranger.
4) The Defense in general
The Rangers' initiative to get younger on defense, much like they did at the forward positions last season, has already begun. Sean Day signed his ELC 2 months ago, and Jeff Gorton has been aggressive going after college free agents on D over the last few weeks including Vince Pedrie and Neal Pionk. Will any of them pan out? Who knows, but it does point to an overall plan for attacking the defense.
Likely more important is the acquisition of Alexei Bereglazov from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a 23 year old big, physical, left handed shutdown defenseman with a little bit of potential offensive upside who plays the right side. Which sure as hell sounds a lot like an intended Dan Girardi replacement. It's hard to see a player like this making the jump over to the US just to play in the AHL full time, so the expectation must be that he will be among the players competing for a spot in training camp.
And, of course, that leaves the elephant in the room, Kevin Shattenkirk. I'm still not convinced we're actually going to sign him, but I do think it's pretty much a given that we're going to take a shot at it. Personally I'm in the "do not want" camp on this one. Nonetheless, it's entirely possible you may see a Rangers defense next season that looks something like:
McDonagh-Shattenkirk
Skjei-Bereglazov
Smith-Holden
Oh, right, by the way, we have to sign Brendan Smith. He had a real shit game last night, but before that he had been golden, especially in the playoffs. Give him whatever he wants. (Within reason, of course.)
5) The Expansion Draft
I've kinda touched on this throughout, but right now the Rangers probably have 3 players who are going to be exposed unless the status quo changes that would be great pickups for Vegas and major losses for the Rangers. Those 3 are Antti Raanta, Jesper Fast, and Michael Grabner. Now out of these, I think Grabner was intentionally signed last season specifically for the purpose of being expansion bait, aside from the other stated reasons why he was brought in. What he turned out to be, though, was the player we had been missing since we had to part with Carl Hagelin. A versatile speedster who can play on any line, forces the defense to back up and respect the rush while opening up ice for his linemates, and kills penalties and serves as a potent shorthanded weapon. And that's completely ignoring the 27 goals he put on the board this season (or the 4 more he put up in 12 games in the playoffs). Those parts were an unexpected bonus. Suddenly now it feels like losing Grabner would be much more detrimental to the identity of the team than was ever expected.
Jesper Fast is the true unsung hero of the Rangers. He's won the Player's Player Award two years in a row for a reason. He can also play on every line and seems to instantly generate chemistry with his linemates. If a couple of guys are struggling, you can put them together with Fast and magically they seem to begin to come out of it. He plays defense, he can contribute offensively, he kills penalties, and he's quite possibly the smartest player the Rangers have on the ice in terms of making reads and choosing the correct play at the correct time. The Rangers are going to have to find a way to protect him, because if we manage to take Raanta out of the equation, the smart move for Vegas likely would be to take Fast next.
6) AV
Now to address the most vexing concern we have to have right now. Alain Vigneault is a great coach who has had a ton of success during his time thus far in New York, but it is also a glaring fact that we lost the series against the Senators due to coaching above everything else. Not once, not twice, but THREE times in the playoffs the Rangers managed to blow leads and give away games late due to AV making the exact same mistake each time. That's pretty indefensible no matter who you are. And then in the final game last night, the Rangers came out looking flat and disinterested despite the desperately urgent circumstances they were actually being confronted with. Now, you could say some of that falls on the leadership group, and that's true enough, but it begins with coaching. Several times in the playoffs we heard AV say that the players had been caught off guard or maybe they weren't ready for a particular situation even though he felt like they had run enough drills. That too is on the coaching.
Having said that, AV is in most other respects a great coach, and one that has helped in the development in a number of young Rangers who have either debuted or made great strides during his tenure like JT Miller, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast, Brady Skjei, Oscar Lindberg, and Jimmy Vesey, despite the reputation that he has earned among some Rangers fans that he's bad for young players' development (usually a freak out overreaction to some young player getting scratched for a game or two). Unless there's a major revolt among the players during exit interviews like there was under Torts, it would be a safe bet to say that AV will be back behind the bench next season, and he should be.
BUT...the benefit of the doubt is officially gone, and the margin for error no longer exists. AV's greatest weakness as a coach is that he comes to rely on favored veterans far longer than he ought to and grants an almost infinitely long leash to those players, while stapling other players to the bench even if they may be performing better overall if he sees one mistake he doesn't like. However, this can be accounted for and corrected by Jeff Gorton, and it's actually pretty simple: just take away his toys. Don't give AV a situation where he has Tanner Glass, where he has Dan Girardi, where he has Marc Staal. Break those old habits and force him to change his approaches to situations and find new solutions to old problems. If we do that and AV still manages to make the same critical mistakes, then maybe it's time for the team to move on.
I told you there was a lot to talk about.
CreeperBlocks
Banned
Hey Syrinx, Seadogs are on again tonight looking to sweep for the Presidents Cup!!
It's on at 7:30pm on Sportsnet 360
It's on at 7:30pm on Sportsnet 360
Just according to Leafkaku
I just had my life flash in front of my eyes because a woman with her two non-seatbelted kids (i know because I saw them basically standing/leaning far forward in the back seat) decided to ignore a 3-way stop and BLAST through it at 60km/h. I managed to break JUST in time to avoid getting T-boned into the driver side.
Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive or have kids, jesus fucking christ
Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive or have kids, jesus fucking christ
The only name I recognize is Bishop, who are the other two persons?
Plan B after Bishop gets injured 😂
Nope, we already have that planned, we'll use a pair of dead bodies when that happens, it's cheaper and has the same result.
CreeperBlocks
Banned
Hey these Seadogs are great.
The Captain Smallman I can see making the NHL. He's got good Hockey IQ. Carolina has some decent prospects on this Seadoggos team. Especially Gauthier.
Future looking good for you CanesGAF
The Captain Smallman I can see making the NHL. He's got good Hockey IQ. Carolina has some decent prospects on this Seadoggos team. Especially Gauthier.
Future looking good for you CanesGAF
The best volume shooter in the league has as many shots as Hornqvist in game 7, and finished at -2
CreeperBlocks
Banned
Welcome Silver and Shane
CreeperBlocks
Banned
SEADOGS WIN THE PRESIDENTS CUP
WE DID IT YEAHHHHHH
WE DID IT YEAHHHHHH