Confirmed with Link: Nils Lundkvist Requests Trade

[eco's bones]

A walk out from a demotion for me is a bit more of a problem than what Nils is doing. His not being here is not going to be a distraction for the rest of the team. I kind of get that he's effectively blocked and really from what I saw last year from him there's no way I'd want him in our lineup on RD over Fox, Trouba and Schneider who to me are a solid threesome and they're all easily ahead of Nils at this stage. I'm not making room for him just because.

It would be useful to have him as a call up in case one of those three got knocked out of the lineup though.

As for trading him an early 2nd in a strong draft seems fair to me but.....if Montreal is the team that has made that offer it might be kept in mind that if the Canadiens have a bit of a comeback this year what some might look at now as an early 2nd could turn into a mid 2nd and then it might not be so fair for us. So I don't see it as necessary for us to trade him for a draft pick right away. If it's a player/prospect that we like though that could be a different thing.

 

[eco's bones]

The return on McDonagh for us was pretty bad. That said the one thing that trade did do (more than any other of our moves) was make everyone both within and outside the organization realize that the Rangers were serious about going in another direction and that other direction was painful for a while but has made the Rangers organization much stronger than it has been pretty much since the early 90's. So do it all over again? Yes but maybe get different players on the return.

 

[Ruggs225]

The return on McDonagh for us was pretty bad. That said the one thing that trade did do (more than any other of our moves) was make everyone both within and outside the organization realize that the Rangers were serious about going in another direction and that other direction was painful for a while but has made the Rangers organization much stronger than it has been pretty much since the early 90's. So do it all over again? Yes but maybe get different players on the return.

The thing about the mcd trade that annoyed me was the conditional 1sts that were never met. Having the one extra first if tbl made the conference finals would have been big

 

[gravey9]

A walk out from a demotion for me is a bit more of a problem than what Nils is doing. His not being here is not going to be a distraction for the rest of the team. I kind of get that he's effectively blocked and really from what I saw last year from him there's no way I'd want him in our lineup on RD over Fox, Trouba and Schneider who to me are a solid threesome and they're all easily ahead of Nils at this stage. I'm not making room for him just because.

It would be useful to have him as a call up in case one of those three got knocked out of the lineup though.

As for trading him an early 2nd in a strong draft seems fair to me but.....if Montreal is the team that has made that offer it might be kept in mind that if the Canadiens have a bit of a comeback this year what some might look at now as an early 2nd could turn into a mid 2nd and then it might not be so fair for us. So I don't see it as necessary for us to trade him for a draft pick right away. If it's a player/prospect that we like though that could be a different thing.

Last paragraph is a very good point. Even if Drury was willing to take an early 2nd round pick, that's a deal you make leading up to the draft when you know the value of the pick.

The issue is that the demand for prospects who can step right into the NHL is actually somewhat limited. Unlike say, a trade deadline deal where teams are loading up for a run, there's just a real lack of urgency when it comes to trading prospects. In some ways, that's why we are seeing these trade requests and holdouts. It's the only urgency a player can generate. Holding out is less of an urgent thing for NYR as it is for other teams who might want to acquire NL and not have to wait until the end of another SHL season to bring him over. But again, there are very few teams looking to bring in a young prospect that are actually on any kind of an urgent timeline. Number one reason why Nils or any other prospect goes for far less than they should is urgency. That's why the majority of prospects are traded when they've stalled their development or as part of a larger package for an established player. Because, at least in those trades, there's an urgency created by a team needing to bring in the established player.

The lack of urgency though, goes both ways. It's not just for the acquiring teams, but for the Rangers. The Rangers literally have no urgency in this situation. NL will likely not change his value much if he stays in sweden this year. CD knows this. Though he'd greatly prefer Nils come over as that increases his trade value if he's knocking on the door, and helps facilitate a move. Still, Nils staying in Sweden likely only means he's locking in his value in a one-for-one or prospect for pick type trade.

The big thing here is -- Has Nils done enough to prove to NHL teams he's worth trading for right now and inserting in their lineups for this season. I don't think he's entirely proven that yet. I think he's got some development that is still needed. I think he has the tools to be an NHL player but it's still an unknown.

 

[Crease]

The Rangers are trying to win the Cup this year. Would have been nice to have him as the 7th or 8th guy on the depth chart. Trading him for a draft pick or whether makes the club weaker this season. Which sucks.

 

[Greg02]

I am totally fine with a guy asking for a trade because he thinks he needs a better opportunity elsewhere. I always talk about the limited window guys have to make it and what that means for them.

Holding out doesn't make sense to me, especially with Drury running the show. Drury won't just trade him to trade him. Lundkvist could really hurt himself here. A season in Sweden does nothing for him developmentally. If he's not playing in the NHL, he should be playing in the AHL, and sooner or later he'll either find himself traded or in our lineup. But he really should show up and play. The holdout really benefits no one.

This is my exact same issue as with the VK situation. I'm all for player empowerment. It just escapes me how any of this best enables him to achieve his goals.

 

[Levitate]

Holding out of training camp and staying in Sweden seems counter productive to me. I feel like this is trying to force Drury to trade him before his value tanks more but we've also seen Drury won't get pushed into these things.

 

[McRanger92]

The return on McDonagh for us was pretty bad. That said the one thing that trade did do (more than any other of our moves) was make everyone both within and outside the organization realize that the Rangers were serious about going in another direction and that other direction was painful for a while but has made the Rangers organization much stronger than it has been pretty much since the early 90's. So do it all over again? Yes but maybe get different players on the return.

Clearly a panic trade with the benefit of hindsight. I remember it went down at like 3:59 on deadline day. The only other teams interested in McD IIRC were Toronto (who were offering a shit package involving Jeremy Bracco) and the Islanders (never gonna happen). McDonagh was not playing well at the time and it seemed like the mileage was finally taking its toll on him so they took the best offer they had, with the added benefit of getting the JT Miller headache off their plate. Obviously a complete disaster from an amateur scouting standpoint as well.

 

[Paulie Walnutz]

Also a big LOL to him requesting a trade after he was sent down.




They are not.

Plus pro scouts and amateur scouts have always been different.

Oh yeah I know, I was just being a smart ass lol

 

[nyr2k2]

I missed the thing earlier about him requesting a trade during last season. I have consistently defended his decision to request a trade to "greener pastures," but knowing he asked out as soon as he was sent to Hartford...I have a harder time with that.

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

Claude Lemieux is my new life coach

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Again, why is it that all of our problem prospects are old Bobrov guys? That cannot be coincidence.

Claude Lemieux is my new life coach

I am just going to start making obnoxious requests to my employer about every minor slight (perceived or real).

The Rangers are trying to win the Cup this year. Would have been nice to have him as the 7th or 8th guy on the depth chart. Trading him for a draft pick or whether makes the club weaker this season. Which sucks.

He's a f***ing loser.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Claude Lemieux is my new life coach

Hey, if it gets the Los Angeles Kings to sign me I'll take it

 

[bleedblue94]

Nils being or not being the 7th or 8th guy on the depth chart isnt determining whether you win a cup this year. Frankly watching the playoffs he would've been eaten alive.

He is getting horrible advice and needs to play NA hockey to learn how to leverage his frame here and work to transition some of his offense. 5-10 170lb d men who aren't offensive dynamos don't usually trend towards overly effective players for teams looking to go deep

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Sucks to think we turned another 1st round pick into middle picks. At least this time it was a late 1st and it's due to an abundance of talent. I have alwats hated that we were paying for trouba instead of letting our rebuild/d pool come in. We paid all this immovable cap + a 1st to logjam our 1st rounder.

Idk I'd have much rather have let the last few seasons have worse d talent than trouba if it meant saving all that cap plus a 1st.

 

[Roo Returns]

The return on McDonagh for us was pretty bad. That said the one thing that trade did do (more than any other of our moves) was make everyone both within and outside the organization realize that the Rangers were serious about going in another direction and that other direction was painful for a while but has made the Rangers organization much stronger than it has been pretty much since the early 90's. So do it all over again? Yes but maybe get different players on the return.

History must be taken entirely in context. That trade doesn't go down and the Islanders are 10000% back to back Cup champs. Same deal for the Rangers with JD getting hot in 79 and not 81.

We don't know what Drury will get for Nils. Maybe it's a Cullye situation. Andersson is not a good NHLer and probably back in Sweden the next three years.

 

[Roo Returns]

Claude Lemieux is my new life coach

While I'm sure he's being "professional" because he is an agent and it's not personal, what went down with the Rangers and his son probably put a slight bad taste or bias on how he deals with them as a whole.

We've seen this before with Boras and the Wilpons.

 

[Machinehead]

I do understand the argument, but people act like there's some legal limit on 5'10" defensemen as if GM's are buying AR-15's and cough medicine.

There's not. You can have more than one per the CBA.

Colorado's entire top 4 is <200lbs.

 

[mas0764]

I do understand the argument, but people act like there's some legal limit on 5'10" defensemen as if GM's are buying AR-15's and cough medicine.

There's not. You can have more than one per the CBA.

Colorado's entire top 4 is <200lbs.

Its such 1990s Glen Sather thinking. This fan base is so oddly beholden to that old time hockey thinking, ironic as New York is such a progressive city.

 

[Nevins]

This:

The big thing here is -- Has Nils done enough to prove to NHL teams he's worth trading for right now and inserting in their lineups for this season. I don't think he's entirely proven that yet. I think he's got some development that is still needed. I think he has the tools to be an NHL player but it's still an unknown.

 

[egelband]

Unreal how an unestablished player would gamble their career and sit out because he refuses to compete for a spot on an NHL roster. Like, give me an invite and I'll compete for free for f*** sake.

That’s it, in a nutshell. He’s just refusing to compete for a spot he was handed and fumbled last season. Bananas.

I am totally fine with a guy asking for a trade because he thinks he needs a better opportunity elsewhere. I always talk about the limited window guys have to make it and what that means for them.

Holding out doesn't make sense to me, especially with Drury running the show. Drury won't just trade him to trade him. Lundkvist could really hurt himself here. A season in Sweden does nothing for him developmentally. If he's not playing in the NHL, he should be playing in the AHL, and sooner or later he'll either find himself traded or in our lineup. But he really should show up and play. The holdout really benefits no one.

Yep. When he requested a trade I think most of us here were kind of, basically understanding. But holding out is next-level nonsense.

 

[egelband]

I missed the thing earlier about him requesting a trade during last season. I have consistently defended his decision to request a trade to "greener pastures," but knowing he asked out as soon as he was sent to Hartford...I have a harder time with that.

Yeah. Considering he was gifted a spot in the lineup for 25 games. Not to mention the team signing a “veteran presence” to play alongside him. (Regardless of how that went, the intention was clearly good). So in return the rangers get this trade demand and losing whatever draft pick they had to attach to Nemeth to get rid of him.

 

[eco's bones]

Yeah. Considering he was gifted a spot in the lineup for 25 games. Not to mention the team signing a “veteran presence” to play alongside him. (Regardless of how that went, the intention was clearly good). So in return the rangers get this trade demand and losing whatever draft pick they had to attach to Nemeth to get rid of him.

The deal went Nemeth + a 2025 2nd rounder + a 2026 conditional 2nd rounder for Ty Emberson. Not sure what the conditions are for the 2026 pick. The Rangers window should be fully open by then and they'll probably both be later 2nd round picks but even so. I don't see that as all on Nils. The Rangers overvalued Nemeth and gave him what turned out to be a problematic contract. Just bringing him in as a mentor for Nils though signaled pretty much that the job was Nils to lose in training camp and that might not have been the wisest idea. In a backhanded way I think it might have helped Schneider in first getting his feet wet in the AHL and coming up in mid year---shades of Ryan McDonagh there who did the same.

For Rangers fans who can't stand the idea that a top prospect like Nils might die on the vine as far as his chances here and would like to replace Trouba and his contract with Lundkvist.......Nils hasn't proven shit and I was not impressed with how he defended last year at all. Size and compete can matter a lot for a defenseman and IMO the Rangers don't get past the first round.....maybe even swept in the first round with Nils in and Trouba out. That doesn't mean Nils can't be a good NHL player. I just don't see him as a good fit for our team anymore with Fox, Trouba and Schneider ahead of him. Last year we tried to force Nils into our lineup and it didn't work at all. We don't have to and shouldn't feel obligated to force anyone into our lineup now or in the foreseeable future. They should earn the job or go to Hartford.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

seriously though, lowering his client's value to the bottom so the new team will be left unscathed is such a shit tactic.

Is it tho? I know I'd want to set my new team up as best I can. Plus of all fanbases we have the least room to complain with all the talent we got in guys like erixon, hayes, vesey and fox. Guys who tanked their value so we could get em cheap.

 

[Riche16]

Claude Lemieux is my new life coach

It's already working!!!

I suddenly despise you