Confirmed with Link: McDonagh + Miller to Tampa Bay for Namestnikov + Howden + Hajek + 2018 1st + conditional 2019 1st

RGY

Kreid or Die
Jul 18, 2005
24,688
13,909
Long Island, NY
We need just close this thread and move on from these guys, especially Miller.

I dont care what he is worth or what he will produce on a consistent basis.

The kid was a little baby. You want to blame it on the relationship with the coach? Go for it. Miller wouldnt have stood a chance with a guy like Tortorella either, or many coaches for that matter. He is an infant imo. Youre telling me he needs the stars to align for him to show up and play hockey every night? I dont want a guy like that on my team. He QUIT on his teammates this year. Dont dare point to his production because he is talented enough to do that. But he certainly quit. He had to be benched at one point because he couldnt stop turning the puck over. He DESERVED the minutes he was handed. Are people here really upset or arguing he should have had more important minutes??? I sure hope not because this LOSER never showed up in the playoffs; forget production, he was hardly NOTICEABLE. He wasnt effectice in driving possession, momentum, or anything for that matter. And AV was going to hand him top minutes which wouldve meant lining up against the oppositions top lines? I cant stand AV as many here know and yet i am defending him right now. Miller provides beer league hockey defense out there. He is careless with the puck and careless about his two-way game. Like Viper and others have said he is not a guy you hand the payday to because he doesnt drive offense or his line. He is a complimentary player who needs linemates who are superior in talent and can carry the load when in their own end of the ice.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Moving on.
 

eco's bones

Registered User
Jul 21, 2005
25,986
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Elmira NY
It can be a funny thing--sometimes players go to other teams and they fall very short of expectations.....and sometimes they go to a new team and they do better than they ever have before--better than most might even imagine. IMO--the stars might just have aligned for Miller. Tampa has legitimate elite players--something that apart from Lundqvist the Rangers never had. They even have McDonagh who was our best player other than Lundqvist. Some here did not like Miller and seeing him doing well makes them a bit resentful---why couldn't he do it with us? IMO--Miller is not a guy who is going to carry a line but put him with guys who can and it's likely you're going to see really good results. There's an purpose thing to his game in place. He can play both wings and center. He can penalty kill. He was not having a great year with us but who was? Pretty nearly no one except Henrik.

We were a very good team for a while but not anymore. Seriously though since we moved out Miller and McDonagh, Nash, Holden and Grabner the team has played a lot harder. We see effort that wasn't there before. We've won games with a bunch of kids on D that you would think we'd have no business winning. IMO Nash for us was the poster child of lowered expectations. His production vis-a-vis his cap hit is all the evidence you need for that.
 
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kovazub94

Enigmatic
Aug 5, 2010
12,297
8,097
You might want to reserve judgement until after the playoffs.

To me Miller is a type of player who needs a bit extra (by NHL standards) time and space to execute but if he gets it - he’s skilled enough to convert. If he stays with Kucherov and Stamkos I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to produce in playoffs too.
 

bl02

Registered User
Jan 13, 2014
31,961
21,832
This trade has not grown on me.
Hajek is the key. And if we can get someone like Bokk with their first rounder. Hajek is gonna be a solid 4 man easy. A very good second pairing guy who can play the pp as well.
Still think we could have gotten more in regards to JT but maybe Names will get better in time here. IDK?
 

Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
57,225
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New York
Why are so many people so hostile?

Miller has been good in Tampa. FACT. The advanced stats people complained about here are better in Tampa. FACT. These problems with Miller popped up really quickly this season, and were considered minor issues, if they were considered issues at all, in previous seasons. FACT. The Rangers are a losing team this season. FACT.

Thats not to say Miller won't end up being a problem in Tampa Bay, he might be, but to be so sure about this is absurd. Its very possible we lost the trade. It'll be up to Miller. How does he react to the trade and can he improve on his production with the Rangers playing with even better players on a better team?
 

Kovalev27

BEST IN THE WORLD
Jun 22, 2004
21,330
25,387
NYC
I mean, the #1 team in the conference is trusting him to play on their top line, PP, and as of last night even on the PK.

Even if VN is better defensively and at center, what is that worth? You can find 35-40 pt 2-way Cs for minimal cost every year via trade and UFA. At minimum, if you are moving on from Miller you absolutely should be able to come away with more than that.

Personally I don't see how the Miller-Namestnikov swap is remotely defensible. Even if you buy the character assassination spin, you have to read it as a long-developed byproduct of an obvious strained relationship with the coach. A byproduct of being held to a higher standard for some nebulous reason. No one was questioning Miller's character when he was laying his WJC medal in his Grandfather's casket.

Disaster of a trade from the minute it went down. No one should be surprised at his production. He was already producing with no mins on a terrible team. Namestnikov was offered to the entire league as a breakout star anyone with half a brain could see it was due to playing with two superstars. Jesper Fast would have 50 pts on that line.

We asked for the moon on Mcdonagh got a lot of nice pieces and I’m happy about that however yzerman at the end stole a 24 year old stud from us. A rebuilding team trading away a 24 year old stud for a 24 year old checking center. Horrible move.
 
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Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,947
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I don't think they were going to keep Miller long term regardless and while I have generally liked him and argued his production outweighs his horrid shot metrics, his attitude of quitting on the team this season really soured me on him something fierce. Sure, he can go on to do great in Tampa, it's a perfect position for him to be in, but long term with the Rangers I don't think he was ultimately going to be in the plan and at the price he will want and the way he plays I'd ultimately rather keep Hayes than Miller.

It's not the best trade in the world but the Miller we see in Tampa isn't the Miller we'd see in NY. He's hardly a stud, he's a good player with faults.
 
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JayMan82

Registered User
Apr 5, 2006
1,838
291
South Carolina
I hope he helps Tampa win the cup (netting us a 1st), ask for the moon which handcuffs the Lightning into overpaying him, and returns to the Miller we saw after the contract is signed. You don't think he's playing for that big contract right now? He's already beyond the bridge deal...
 
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haveandare

Registered User
Jul 2, 2009
18,879
7,389
New York
Why are so many people so hostile?

Miller has been good in Tampa. FACT. The advanced stats people complained about here are better in Tampa. FACT. These problems with Miller popped up really quickly this season, and were considered minor issues, if they were considered issues at all, in previous seasons. FACT. The Rangers are a losing team this season. FACT.

Thats not to say Miller won't end up being a problem in Tampa Bay, he might be, but to be so sure about this is absurd. Its very possible we lost the trade. It'll be up to Miller. How does he react to the trade and can he improve on his production with the Rangers playing with even better players on a better team?
Whether we won or lost the trade will be up to Hajek way more than Miller imo. Miller is still exactly what he was here, but he's getting way better minutes with way, way better linemates and coaching. He's a known asset and Gorton justifiably wasn't comfortable giving him the contract he's going to demand. Hajek is the unknown asset the deal was built around and NYR scouts supposedly were very high on. His development will dictate if the trade was a win or a loss barring some very unlikely and unforeseen thing like the pick giving us an elite player.
 

Edge

Kris King's Ghost
Mar 1, 2002
34,749
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Amish Paradise
Whether we won or lost the trade will be up to Hajek way more than Miller imo. Miller is still exactly what he was here, but he's getting way better minutes with way, way better linemates and coaching. He's a known asset and Gorton justifiably wasn't comfortable giving him the contract he's going to demand. Hajek is the unknown asset the deal was built around and NYR scouts supposedly were very high on. His development will dictate if the trade was a win or a loss barring some very unlikely and unforeseen thing like the pick giving us an elite player.

Hajek has a lot of potential, but I do have some concerns that we may be over-projecting him a little.

He's going to need some time to cook, and there are still a lot of areas of his game that are on the raw side and thus unknowns.

I like Hajek a lot, though I'm not as sold on his ceiling being first pairing. At least not to the level that others are sold on that concept.
 

haveandare

Registered User
Jul 2, 2009
18,879
7,389
New York
Hajek has a lot of potential, but I do have some concerns that we may be over-projecting him a little.

He's going to need some time to cook, and there are still a lot of areas of his game that are unknowns.

I like Hajek a lot, though I'm not as sold on his ceiling being first pairing. At least not to the level that others are sold on that concept.
Yeah, I don't have any particular insight into what he'll be for sure, but I think whether the trade as good or bad will come down to how he turns out. The org seems very high on him and claim they have been for a while. They've had a pretty good eye for young talent recently so I'm inclined to think theres something to their faith in him, but we'll see.
 

Mac n Gs

Gorton plz
Jan 17, 2014
22,580
12,822
We can’t ignore the long-term contract concerns with Miller. If he wanted $5.4M+ then I understand why Gorton traded him
 

Edge

Kris King's Ghost
Mar 1, 2002
34,749
42,578
Amish Paradise
Yeah, I don't have any particular insight into what he'll be for sure, but I think whether the trade as good or bad will come down to how he turns out. The org seems very high on him and claim they have been for a while. They've had a pretty good eye for young talent recently so I'm inclined to think theres something to their faith in him, but we'll see.

Pretty confident that they like him and pretty confident he is a good prospect. Not quite as confident in that top-end ceiling. I feel like that's kind of taken on a life of its own around here the last two weeks or so.

With Hajek, I'd feel more comfortable saying his ceiling is more of a very good second pairing guy.
 

Levitate

Registered User
Jul 29, 2004
30,947
7,652
Pretty confident that they like him and pretty confident he is a good prospect. Not quite as confident in that top-end ceiling. I feel like that's kind of taken on a life of its own around here the last two weeks or so.

With Hajek, I'd feel more comfortable saying his ceiling is more of a very good second pairing guy.

Seems like a guy who has started flashing that potential but he's gotta keep improving and show it at the next level. Not easy to project
 

haveandare

Registered User
Jul 2, 2009
18,879
7,389
New York
Pretty confident that they like him and pretty confident he is a good prospect. Not quite as confident in that top-end ceiling. I feel like that's kind of taken on a life of its own around here the last two weeks or so.

With Hajek, I'd feel more comfortable saying his ceiling is more of a very good second pairing guy.
A very good second pairing player would be a very solid outcome imo.
 

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