Speculation: John Tavares to NYR as UFA: Realistic? How much would you be willing to offer?

[sbjnyc]

I think the Islanders will be moving to Quebec anyway to become the Quebec Le'Islanders in that $700 million arena that opened.

And after the move they still won't change the logo.

 

[sabremike]

Since he will be a UFA, why would it be a zero chance?

I'm not saying he will join the Rangers, but I sincerely doubt he would refuse to sign with the Rangers because of rivalry.

I also don't think he would refuse to join the Rangers because of the Islander fans being upset either. Most of the old guard that couldn't even show up to walk around the coliseum to save the team don't show up in Brooklyn either. They would have to be in the arena to boo him, so he will have to stay off Islander message boards to not sway his decision I suppose.

I think the Islanders will be moving to Quebec anyway to become the Quebec Le'Islanders in that $700 million arena that opened.

Think it's pretty harsh that you think Gary Bettman is going to drop dead soon because that's the only way the Islanders end up in Quebec.

 

[CasusBelli]

I can't see him in a Rangers sweater -- and I'd doubt he'd sign here for less than the max.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Toronto has better players moving forward, it's his home team, and moving there doesn't make him the biggest Judas in the sport.

I'd do it and I think it's possible he leaves (they have completely failed to bring in a 1B complimentary player with years and years of high picks, a cautionary tale about tanking), I just don't think this is his destination.

 

[Doctor King Schultz]

He'd have a better shot at a Cup in Toronto but I'd take him with open arms and buy a JT Rangers jersey immediately.

 

[mas0764]

It's possible, but you'd have to get weaker somewhere else in the lineup to make it fit. I assumed it was transparent that not all of those players are coming back if JT is signing here for $10m. If not, my bad.

You'd end up with a pretty weak bottom 6 probably.

Let's say you let Hayes walk but sign Tavares, with the idea that your top two centers are Tavares and Mika, so you don't need Hayes. There goes 10 million, at least.

Your cap space has been reduced to 13 million.

You still need to re-sign:

Miller
Skjei

for sure.

And re-sign or replace:

Vesey
Nash
Grabner
Holden
Pavelec

Miller probably gets close to or over 4 million, if he has another 20+ goal season this year. Skjei could maybe get a bridge deal for 2.5?

So there goes 6.5 million. Your 13 is now down to 6.5 left for re-signing or replacing Vesey, Nash, Grabner, Holden and Pavelec.

You can probably get another low end backup goalie for 1.5.

So now you are down to 5m.

Holden can probably be replaced by Pionk/Beargloves. They make about a million.

Now down to 4m.

So you've got to replace a first line winger, and two middle six wingers, for 4 million. There's no way it can be done without promoting young guys on ELCs. Maybe you can bump up a guy like Buchnevic into a top 6 role, if he progresses.

Lias Andersson could be one also, but he's probably already being counted on in the lineup this year, or he'll simply take Desharnais' spot next year, at a roughly equal salary swap.

Buying out Staal would HELP, but it's only freeing up what, 2 or 3 million?

It's just not a ton of money to find three solid wingers.

Your lineup is something along these lines, then:

Kreider - Tavares - Zuccarello
Miller - Zibanejad - Buchnevic
FA/Vesey? - Andersson - FA/Grabner?
Fast - Nieves? - FA

Grabner is probably getting 3 or so, Vesey probably getting close to 2. So there's 5 million spent. So you have a million or two left for another bottom six forward.

Looks pretty thin to me. That second line looks about as good as our third line last year,. You won't be getting much offense out of your third line (compared to what we had the last few years), and almost nothing out of your fourth line. Tavares better be a 75 point player or better.

By the way.... you aren't gonna have much room left to re-sign Buchnevic the following year. Zuccarello expires, but if you let him go, you aren't getting his replacement as the first line winger we have him pencilled in for here, for the $4 million he's making. You gotta hope you can get him back on a discount. Oh, and McDonagh needs a raise too. He's gonna go from the 4.7 he's making to over 7 probably.

Better hope the cap jumps up.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Its my team and I can spend my money they way I want to spend it! (joke).

Brady is cost controlled.

JT is restricted.

Hayes is restricted.

We will find some money from Staals buyout among other hockey/cap moves for their raises.

Hayes might even be moved. While unlikely we might have J Tav as #1, Zib as #2, J Miller as #3 and Anderson as #4 in 2018-19.

Yeah put your money on the table cheapskate!

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

just not realistic
Tavares wont leave one circus for another (unless maybe hometown TO)
and him joining NYR would create a great and unending sideshow

the all league center that i could see ending up w NYR before too long might be Malkin,
would be kinda like when Espo, then Mess, came

Take an older broken Malkin over JT? Yuck!

And what side show? The only 3 ring circus has been the islanders since the 90s. Although they lucked out since no one watches that show anyway.

 

[Ola]

Not interested, if he wants to come here it speaks volumes of his character. He will have plenty of offers, don't take the one that will but **** your die hard fans of the last 7 years. Its as simple as that for me.

 

[FJB]

If Tavares is healthy on July 1st, you throw the bank at him. lol

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

I think because Snow will try the sign and trade route for sure. This is assuming the Belmont decision comes down before about 2-15 (which most seem to think it will). At that point I assume he is going be out and Snow will try to ensure he doesn't go to the metro by working with Tavares to get him out west or maybe into the Atlantic division. Tavares imo doesn't have a team in mind and many have speculated he doesn't want to play for Toronto so I think this is a much easier sign and trade than the Shattenkirk thing was who wanted Boston or New York only. If Belmont decision is delayed than obviously this goes out the window as he won't be traded and will walk. The only question at that point is does he want to say around here or not and nobody knows that answer

JT has a NTC, and you can add the Belmont move to the list of the other horse **** the NYS government talks about.

There is always an excuse for why the Islanders haven't drawn a crowd for decades.

-The parking in Nassau stinks

-The arena is old and smells like ass

-Brooklyn is too far for their little footsie wootsies to get there

Maybe, just maybe no one gives a rat's ass about them anymore, and they didn't put a damn thing around JT when they had the chance.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Think it's pretty harsh that you think Gary Bettman is going to drop dead soon because that's the only way the Islanders end up in Quebec.

Do you mean Pittsburg or Phoenix [Glendale]? Because those are the only cities Bettman has been fastidious about.

He even said on the XM NHL show that any local move for the Islanders is temporary.

And look at this arena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videotron_Centre

No venture capitalist receives funding for a project like that for a junior hockey team unless there is a handshake for an NHL franchise.

Bryan Adams can't cover all the nights, and Celine Dion has a gig in Vegas.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

I can't see him in a Rangers sweater -- and I'd doubt he'd sign here for less than the max.

There is a cap now. There is a market dictated limit on max contracts. The argument will be over the years not so much the AAV, which he will be worth for at least the first 5.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

If Tavares is healthy on July 1st, you throw the bank at him. lol

^This

As if nearly every GM isn't salivating over that chance.

Especially a franchise between 7th and 8th who have only possessed 3 franchise centers since the Korean War [Ratelle, Messier, and Gretzky] {not including post-y2k Nedved or Lindros sorry}.

 

[Inferno]

JT will get whatever he wants on the open market.

THe question is...are you going to either have enough cap space to fill in people around him, or do you have a bunch of young kids on ELCs that you can bridge your way through his term here.

The answer to both those questions is no.

not even close.

Youre not fitting a 10-12 mil a year JT while already having HUGE contracts to Henrik and Shattenkirk.

Leave alone the 4+ mil contracts all over the place...leave alone trying to re-sign Miller, Hayes, McDonagh, etc, etc

 

[Larrybiv]

JT will get whatever he wants on the open market.

THe question is...are you going to either have enough cap space to fill in people around him, or do you have a bunch of young kids on ELCs that you can bridge your way through his term here.

The answer to both those questions is no.

not even close.

Youre not fitting a 10-12 mil a year JT while already having HUGE contracts to Henrik and Shattenkirk.

Leave alone the 4+ mil contracts all over the place...leave alone trying to re-sign Miller, Hayes, McDonagh, etc, etc

What you do is trade McD and recoup a landslide and not have to give him 7-8 mil.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Yeah put your money on the table cheapskate!

I'm in up to $5.17

 

[mas0764]

The only way you can make a run at another elite 8-10 million contract is if Staal can be moved. And you'll probably need to send an asset with him to accomplish that.... like a first round pick or a highly regarded young player.

If his $6m comes off the books entirely, you can give $8-$9m to an elite forward, and probably just lose a guy like Hayes, who the elite forward is replacing. You then have room to re-sign Miller, Skjei, McDonagh, and continue to import quality wingers to replace guys like Nash and Grabner.

No other top 6 wingers in the organization though. You're best two shots are Andersson and Chytil, but they are centers. If they can get here within a couple years, you move out Zibanejad's contract and keep Miller on the wing.

 

[mas0764]

What you do is trade McD and recoup a landslide and not have to give him 7-8 mil.

Bold, but a discussion worth having.

I'd want a young-ish top 4 D replacement, a top-6 or even top-3 forward prospect, and a relatively high first (not anything in the 20s, maybe top 10). At least.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

I'm in up to $5.17

Allright Nick is in. We got $5.17 already. Who else is good for it?

 

[dstoffa]

I think the Islanders will be moving to Quebec anyway to become the Quebec Le'Islanders in that $700 million arena that opened.

Too bad the Thousand Islands aren't downstream of Montreal or that could be a reality.... Some logo tweaking showing the St. Laurence River with a bunch of islands in it, in blue, red, and white instead of blue, orange, and white....

 

[NickyFotiu]

Allright Nick is in. We got $5.17 already. Who else is good for it?

In this crazy era I'm surprised some fans do not try to start go fund me campaigns to get players

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

What you do is trade McD and recoup a landslide and not have to give him 7-8 mil.

Also Rickie McLaren will be a 34 year old UFA July 1st as well, so leave off the last S for savings.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

League max for 4-5. Doubtful, but if we sh@t double deuces once... hmm...

Like Shattenkirk he likely won't have significantly declined by 32, so he can likely still get 8X8 in many places. Sell it as a chance to see if Rangers-life is what it's cracked up to be. In those five years we'd have to find and groom a projected 1C or bring it out of Zibanejah, Hayes or Andersson or Nieves...

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

Too bad the Thousand Islands aren't downstream of Montreal or that could be a reality.... Some logo tweaking showing the St. Laurence River with a bunch of islands in it, in blue, red, and white instead of blue, orange, and white....

My vote is for Le'Islanders with the Gorton's Fishstick logo with a Berét instead of the Montauk sailor hat.

Can the Japanese holding company for Gorton's still file copyright infringement cases in Canada?