Kitchener Rangers 2018 Offseason Thread

[EvenSteven]

I think we all know the answer, but next year starts a rebuild so maybe you roll with it

I kind of view it as you have to plan your down years, and really move assets in and out accordingly
You should never stand pat in the OHL.
Always get value for your expiring players if you can

I agree that after this year we will be into a rebuild. But the problem with that is that we don't have any prime graduating assets that next year's contenders will be looking to acquire.

Carter and Gentles will be our OA's. Nobody will be calling about those two. In the event Hall is returned for an overage season, his history of injuries won't get us much in return either if we were to put him on the market.

Our '99's aren't much to write home about. Unless Meireles ramps up his offence considerably, he won't get us much in return if we decide to put him on the market. You don't get much for veteran imports on the market unless they are high-end. These two aren't. Neither are NHL drafted and they will be a tough sell anyway being imports. McHugh and Yantsis won't have much trade value and I doubt Richardson has any.

The only guy who may draw some interest is Garreffa but he is by no means a top shelf asset. But don't let Farwell and Pope hear you say that. I'm sure each has a framed 8x10 of him on their respective night stands.

Our rebuild is going to be a long and painful one I fear.

 

[BogeyJ]

I agree that after this year we will be into a rebuild. But the problem with that is that we don't have any prime graduating assets that next year's contenders will be looking to acquire.

Carter and Gentles will be our OA's. Nobody will be calling about those two. In the event Hall is returned for an overage season, his history of injuries won't get us much in return either if we were to put him on the market.

Our '99's aren't much to write home about. Unless Meireles ramps up his offence considerably, he won't get us much in return if we decide to put him on the market. You don't get much for veteran imports on the market unless they are high-end. These two aren't. Neither are NHL drafted and they will be a tough sell anyway being imports. McHugh and Yantsis won't have much trade value and I doubt Richardson has any.

The only guy who may draw some interest is Garreffa but he is by no means a top shelf asset. But don't let Farwell and Pope hear you say that. I'm sure each has a framed 8x10 of him on their respective night stands.

Our rebuild is going to be a long and painful one I fear.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Happy that Rangers ended on a high note before Christmas break with the win against Kingston. Now we wait to see what moves are made. Hopefully, this is the calm before the storm. We all know what we would like to see come to Kitchener and at the very least, win the division and have a go at the conference title. It's not going to be easy but it's now or not for a long while (again). Then, agreed, the rebuild begins with hopefully some top picks for the future.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's load up and see where it takes the rest of the season.

All the best to the posters here. Enjoy the Holiday Season!! Fingers crossed for the trades we all know the Rangers need.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

I think Gareffa has a bit more value than some here give him credit. How much of a fan favourite he is combined with how many don't like how McKee uses him (me included) have soured some on him more than is warranted IMO. He's a ppg playing half the year as a defense man. If he's ever put back permanently at forward where he belongs, he could be a very strong producer next year. Combined with him being a lock to return as an OA, he should have quite solid value next year barring any regression in his game (and barring further misuse of his game).

 

[bobber]

I think Gareffa has a bit more value than some here give him credit. How much of a fan favourite he is combined with how many don't like how McKee uses him (me included) have soured some on him more than is warranted IMO. He's a ppg playing half the year as a defense man. If he's ever put back permanently at forward where he belongs, he could be a very strong producer next year. Combined with him being a lock to return as an OA, he should have quite solid value next year barring any regression in his game (and barring further misuse of his game).

Torgo I agree with your assessment of Joey Gareffa. He is second in team scoring at the moment. The kid has had to prove himself throughout his hockey playing days because of his size. He was one of the top scorers in the Gold Cup and when you first saw him out there you would of thought he would just disappear. Kid has some character on and off the ice. Something that is missing big time here in the draft for a few years. He produces from the back end. Still I agree he should not be there and MM should be active in bringing in a vet to stabilize the defense and move Joey back up front. There is an element missing on a couple of our top two lines for sure. We should be getting more out of Bunner and Sherwood.

 

[EvenSteven]

I'm not saying Garreffa doesn't have any trade value. But he's not going to bring us the return that a Mascherin would this year or Justin Bailey did. He will probably be a second or third option for a team looking to improve who either lost out on the big names at the deadline or who just didn't want to pay the big prices at the deadline.

That's what I'm getting at. We're not getting somebody's 16-year-old first round pick along with two second round picks and two third round picks for Garreffa whether he'll be playing an OA season or not. And since he is a lock to play in overage season, I'm betting Kitchener wouldn't put him on the market anyway next year. He'll probably be named captain for his overage season here in Kitchener.

My point is that we don't have anybody who will graduate after next season who will bring us that kind of return. Which means we will have a harder time accumulating assets to go towards a rebuild. With that in mind, it would be nice to be able to go all in this year but still hold onto the three 2nds we have in the 2018 draft. 2018 draft is supposed to be strongest and deepest in years from what we've been hearing. It would be nice to have multiple picks in the first three rounds. Right now we have six picks in the first three rounds. Maybe we are able to load up at this deadline using primarily assets other than from the 1st three rounds of the2018 draft.

For everybody out there who says we can't use that many picks because these players have to play, Windsor built their powerhouse team that won 2 Mem cups largely by having three second round picks in one draft year. They took Greg Nemisz in the first round, and two of their three second round picks that year were Adam Henriques and Mark Cundari - two Cornerstones of their those Memorial cups teams.

Haven't looked it up yet, but I'm wondering if there is a rebuilding team out there looking to sell off at the deadline who wouldn't need to have high 2018 draft picks in return? ie. Windsor and Erie will likely be looking for picks in the upcoming draft. Perhaps we do deals with teams who already have plenty of sssets in the 2018 draft.

 

[bobber]

I'm not saying Garreffa doesn't have any trade value. But he's not going to bring us the return that a Mascherin would this year or Justin Bailey did. He will probably be a second or third option for a team looking to improve who either lost out on the big names at the deadline or who just didn't want to pay the big prices at the deadline.

That's what I'm getting at. We're not getting somebody's 16-year-old first round pick along with two second round picks and two third round picks for Garreffa whether he'll be playing an OA season or not. And since he is a lock to play in overage season, I'm betting Kitchener wouldn't put him on the market anyway next year. He'll probably be named captain for his overage season here in Kitchener.

My point is that we don't have anybody who will graduate after next season who will bring us that kind of return. Which means we will have a harder time accumulating assets to go towards a rebuild. With that in mind, it would be nice to be able to go all in this year but still hold onto the three 2nds we have in the 2018 draft. 2018 draft is supposed to be strongest and deepest in years from what we've been hearing. It would be nice to have multiple picks in the first three rounds. Right now we have six picks in the first three rounds. Maybe we are able to load up at this deadline using primarily assets other than from the 1st three rounds of the2018 draft.

For everybody out there who says we can't use that many picks because these players have to play, Windsor built their powerhouse team that won 2 Mem cups largely by having three second round picks in one draft year. They took Greg Nemisz in the first round, and two of their three second round picks that year were Adam Henriques and Mark Cundari - two Cornerstones of their those Memorial cups teams.

Haven't looked it up yet, but I'm wondering if there is a rebuilding team out there looking to sell off at the deadline who wouldn't need to have high 2018 draft picks in return? ie. Windsor and Erie will likely be looking for picks in the upcoming draft. Perhaps we do deals with teams who already have plenty of sssets in the 2018 draft.

Even, I understood your point on Joey. You are correct on next season. Flint, Ottawa, Saginaw and Sudbury are all teams not really needing seconds next season. Guess we wait and see what happens after Christmas. MM is with Farwell as we speak. Not really showing his cards.

 

[EvenSteven]

Yup. I've been listening. At least MacKenzie did say nearthe end of the interview that he is definitely looking at improving this team at the deadline. That's a good sign. Doesn't look like he will choose to stand pat.

North Bay is another team that likely won't be looking for 2018 second round picks. They have two right now as we speak but none in 2019. Maybe Dineen can be had without moving a 2018 2nd?

 

[bobber]

Yup. I've been listening. At least MacKenzie did say nearthe end of the interview that he is definitely looking at improving this team at the deadline. That's a good sign. Doesn't look like he will choose to stand pat.

North Bay is another team that likely won't be looking for 2018 second round picks. They have two right now as we speak but none in 2019. Maybe Dineen can be had without moving a 2018 2nd?

 

[bobber]

Would be nice to see a Dman that can consistently move pucks out of our D zone.

 

[EvenSteven]

What would a player like Dineen cost us?

Looking back, Logan Stanley cost us two 2nds and two 3rds. But you may have to put an * on that deal because of the Bracco factor.

Last trade deadline, Mitchell Vande Sompel cost London two 2nds and two 3rds plus a 17 year old Blacker.

Last October, Windsor paid two 2nds, a 3rd and a 5th for Sean Day, a 3rd and a 6th.

Unless I missed somebody, those are the last three veteran high-end defenceman to change teams in the last year or so. Based on those prices, I would assume Dineen would cost us two 2nds, a 3rd and a 4th maybe?

 

[wolfpack99]

Would be nice to see a Dman that can consistently move pucks out of our D zone.

U had one traded him away Blaisdell

 

[EvenSteven]

U had one traded him away Blaisdell

A) We moved him to make way for Sherwood. Both are OA's. I'd have moved Henderson out instead. You can never have too many D. The very next day, Ranger management said they were in the market now for a defenseman. I believe management was concerned about Blaisdell's recent history of injury.

B) Even though Blaisdell was supposed to be a puck moving defenceman when we drafted him, he was never allowed to or put in positions to develop into one here in Kitchener. He was advertised as a hard nosed, defense first d-man but with puck moving skills and a great shot from the point.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Even, I'm totally with you on those assessments. When it comes to Garreffa, I think we all appreciate that he has some ability and puts up some decent numbers, but I also feel like some of us feel compelled to come on here and counter-balance the local media's over-the-top irrational love for the kid. To hear them go on about him, you'd think he was one of the best Rangers ever to lace 'em up and he has a strangle hold on 3-star selections. All he has to do is tie his skates properly to get 3rd star.

I don't know if the media are still stuck on the antiquated notion that a short player has to be super human to make this level (they don't... just look around) or if it's that they just like the kid personally so much because he talks to them? Either way, it's insane. You'd swear they were either his agents or family members.

 

[EvenSteven]

Tim, on Sunday, Garreffa had 1G 1A but was a minus 2 but named 1st star. Mascherin was 1G 2A and even +\- and was named third star?

Meanwhile, Richardson (who I've been critical of on here) had a hell of a game stopping 35 of 37 shots but went unrecognized. If Farwell and Pope, who pick the stars, weren't so adamant in getting Joey G onto the 3 stars as often as possible, they could have named Richardson a star. I had him as our 1st star that night. That's two good games in a row for Richardson now and he should have been recognized.

Farwell may not realize it but he is making his own argument that three stars don't mean much anymore around the league.

Even McKee said post game that the three stars don't mean much. He said that while pointing out that he gave Richardson the game puck. Good for him.

 

[bobber]

In regards to Gareffa I am glad he is on this team. Without his contribution this team would have lost a few more games. Personally I like the kid. As I said before he brings in some character to the team. As far as the 3 stars I would be glad if they discontinued it.

 

[Tim Wallach]

For sure Even. The way they cover this team is frustrating because it really skews fan perception of players. For whatever reason (Probably his stature as small guys get disproportionate love from fans), Garreffa is the teacher's pet in these parts.

Bobber, I think we all like the kid and recognize his contributions but when I watch the games it's completely bizarre how he is the one guy whose obvious flaws get ignored, whose mistakes aren't mentioned and whose decent plays are way over-hyped. It makes me concerned that the media doesn't actually know the details of the game very well. They observe in a very superficial way.

The 3 stars have become a running joke in our section. Joey shows up and he's got a star. Meanwhile, some kids (particularly our defensive D) can have a phenomenal game and never get a mention.

 

[EvenSteven]

In a post game interview recently, Garreffa was asked about a play he made where he had to jump in the air grab the puck and that led to the winning goal. When asked about it, he said he could tell the guy was going to flip the puck up high so that's why he jumped up and was able to make the play.

Sure it was a good play, one of many made by many players in many games, but Farwell raved on about it the entire rest of the broadcast, through the call ins, and the next game as well. How Joey "thought that play through in real time" etc etc.

You wouldn't know that Garreffa had just did the impossible.

I like the kid and am no way anti Garreffa. But I agree with Tim that this isn't a Garreffa issue but more a Farwell/Pope issue.

 

[Ward Cornell]

In a post game interview recently, Garreffa was asked about a play he made where he had to jump in the air grab the puck and that led to the winning goal. When asked about it, he said he could tell the guy was going to flip the puck up high so that's why he jumped up and was able to make the play.

Sure it was a good play, one of many made by many players in many games, but Farwell raved on about it the entire rest of the broadcast, through the call ins, and the next game as well. How Joey "thought that play through in real time" etc etc.

You wouldn't know that Garreffa had just did the impossible.

I like the kid and am no way anti Garreffa. But I agree with Tim that this isn't a Garreffa issue but more a Farwell/Pope issue.

I get and agree with 100% you said.
IMHO when it comes to Garreffa, he maybe be the 3rd most valuable Ranger this yr. Only behind Mascherin and Stanley....not sure who else would rank above him at this time? ...Maybe Sherwood come the end of the season????
Anyone else???....

I just wish he was at forward and not on defence. Even though he may be playing better D this yr than last, but for a real contender he can't be back there. I can't imagine the toll it's taking on him back there trying to fight those battles. By seasons end he may be a shell of the player he is now.

 

[bobber]

I get and agree with 100% you said.
IMHO when it comes Garreffa, he maybe be the 3rd? most valuable Ranger this yr. Only behind Mascherin and Stanley....not sure who else would rank above him at this time? ...Maybe Sherwood come the end of the season????
Anyone else???....

I just wish he was at forward and not on defence. Even though he may be playing better D this yr than last, but for a real contender he can't be back there. I can't imagine the toll it's taking on him back there trying to fight those battles. By seasons end he may be a shell of the player he is now.

You hit the nail on the head Ward. Joey G does make mistakes back there along with all the rest of our D. His may show a bit more because he is a small forward playing defense in the OHL. This makes it more of a challenge. He admitted that he has issues defending but that is on the coach. Regardless as Ward said he is one of the top players on the team. I would not hesitate to say Stanley a defenseman makes as many errors as Joey but where is that criticism. It is what it is with this defense until McKee changes things up.
On a side note SooGirl on the Soo site said the rumour she heard Raddysh to the Soo is a done deal. That really puts pressure on other teams to compete if true.

 

[SYWTom]

I definitely like the idea of having picks in this years draft saved, but frankly we will have to move some of the 6 picks in the first three rounds.

Tho I agree, that next season we need to play our young players more by default, so maybe someone steps up.
If we don't move them McHugh, Damiani, Meireles will all have to lead the team for the first time. I'd imagine they can develop value at least somewhat.
Meireles works his ass off and can fly, and IMO the speed alone is a threat.

 

[GeoBlue]

Some of us forget that Meireles skipped a year of junior. I like his play of late and predict that he will have a big 2nd half.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Some of us forget that Meireles skipped a year of junior. I like his play of late and predict that he will have a big 2nd half.

I think Meireles has quietly been one of the most consistent and best Rangers this season. His first month was lacklustre, but since then he has been working his tail off. The numbers aren't eye-popping, but I'll take his contributions as a big positive. Another example of a guy who probably should have had a few more 3-star nods.

 

[Ward Cornell]

I think Meireles has quietly been one of the most consistent and best Rangers this season. His first month was lacklustre, but since then he has been working his tail off. The numbers aren't eye-popping, but I'll take his contributions as a big positive. Another example of a guy who probably should have had a few more 3-star nods.

Meireles when drafted had no expectations of being a really high scoring forward. His game was always being a good two-way forward who was strong on the puck, relentless forechecker that caused turnovers and a real good penalty killer. I expect he'll top out at about 25 goals 45 assist player. Which in my book is ok for what else he brings to the team!

 

[Ward Cornell]

So in about 2 1/2 weeks the real OHL hockey season starts. Prior to that point it's just posturing and I'm sure some dark horse teams from the 1st half will step up and other teams will drop back!