Rebuild/youth movement

[NYR Viper]

What have you been watching? I've watched every minute of every game and I cannot honestly recall a single nice play that Stepan has made with the puck all year thus far

Congratulations on watching all of the games. Welcome to the club as most of this board has as well. Maybe you should take YOUR Stepan hater glasses off and watch without bias as you tell others to?

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

That's why his time with Buffalo has to be taken into account. He'll have almost a full season, too. Better than a 15 or so game sample size if it came after the deadline.

Moulson is intriguing but from watching him play he doesn't really strike me as a guy that generates offense himself as most 30 goal scorers do. He's more of a finisher/net front guy. He and Brassard might mesh really well though.

Also wouldn't be surprised to see Moulson moved by Buffalo at the deadline

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Congratulations on watching all of the games. Welcome to the club as most of this board has as well. Maybe you should take YOUR Stepan hater glasses off and watch without bias as you tell others to?

Hahah jeeze relax buddy. I don't hate Stepan I just see him for what he is. An extremely heady player with an average shot and below average speed. I'm not claiming he's useless I think he's a good fit at 2C. It's very obvious, and I'm not the only one here who notices it, that certain players that were drafted by us and went through our system continue to get the benefit of the doubt. I'm not willing to let "homegrownness" cloud my judgement as to what the player really is or isn't. That's all

 

[theFiGS]

I thought Kreider and Stepan looked good together last night.

Tonight I'm gunna focus in on stepan hopefully he proves me wrong. That line did generate I just didn't see much out of step

 

[theFiGS]

Moulson is intriguing but from watching him play he doesn't really strike me as a guy that generates offense himself as most 30 goal scorers do. He's more of a finisher/net front guy. He and Brassard might mesh really well though.

Also wouldn't be surprised to see Moulson moved by Buffalo at the deadline

I mentioned earlier moulson would be a good fit for brassard in fact I think a kreider brassard moulson line would be dominant around the net and on the forecheck. I think moulson gets traded again by the deadline for a first by a team looking to make a deep run (which will be unreal for buffalo).

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Moulson is intriguing but from watching him play he doesn't really strike me as a guy that generates offense himself as most 30 goal scorers do. He's more of a finisher/net front guy. He and Brassard might mesh really well though.

Also wouldn't be surprised to see Moulson moved by Buffalo at the deadline

Doesn't have to generate offense himself. He merely needs to be someone who can put the puck in the net when someone passes it to him.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

I mentioned earlier moulson would be a good fit for brassard in fact I think a kreider brassard moulson line would be dominant around the net and on the forecheck. I think moulson gets traded again by the deadline for a first by a team looking to make a deep run (which will be unreal for buffalo).

Agreed. I think there's a good chance Moulson doesn't make it to UFA. I SERIOUSLY don't see Buffalo not moving him at the deadline, and he'll likely be going to a contender and there's a good chance he resigns with that team

What other UFA forwards are available this summer?

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I thought Kreider and Stepan looked good together last night.

As did I. I don't get all the Stepan complaining from last night.

 

[True Blue]

Dude. Do you hear yourself? You want top flight defensive play out of your top line center, when you have Lundqvist in net, Girardi/Staal/McDonagh in front of him and a solid group of defensive minded bottom 6forwards, over offensive output?

A great goalie and good defense does not mean that you want a defensive liability skating out there.

Obviously defense is important. Anyone will tell you this; but not as the expense of putting the puck in the net on an already offensively challenged team that's strong from the net out.

I think you got it wrong. Offense is important, but not that the expense of being a defensive poor team.

 

[mike14]

Agreed. I think there's a good chance Moulson doesn't make it to UFA. I SERIOUSLY don't see Buffalo not moving him at the deadline, and he'll likely be going to a contender and there's a good chance he resigns with that team

What other UFA forwards are available this summer?

The sedins, vanek, camelleri, bolland, steen, moulson, grabovski, steguchi, downie and raymond (at this stage)

 

[True Blue]

Our youth has not been enough to make the Rangers a yearly contender. We might see the good in them, but the standings say otherwise.

Excuse me? What do you consider a yearly contender? In the last 5 years, how many times were they amongst the 8 last teams standing? A trip to ECF a few years ago. If that is not being a contender, then what is?

 

[mike14]

Excuse me? What do you consider a yearly contender? In the last 5 years, how many times were they amongst the 8 last teams standing? A trip to ECF a few years ago. If that is not being a contender, then what is?

Every body is different, but I certainly didn't consider the 08-11 teams to be true 'contenders', it seemef to me we were making up the playoff #s (or not qualifying). 11-12 we most certainly were and 12-13 we should have been, bbut that's about it

 

[Crease]

DO. NOT. SIGN. UFA. FORWARDS.

They're almost never a good value. Generally, they have already peaked. Trade picks, prospects, and defenseman for proven RFA-age skilled forwards. Sign UFA defensemen. Defensemen age better.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Very few fans have the amount of patience it would take to really rebuild.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Doesn't have to generate offense himself. He merely needs to be someone who can put the puck in the net when someone passes it to him.

Exactly, I think this is a great fit for him. No idea as to what Buffalo would want or whether he'd be able to fit in under the cap (he has a lot of the hallmarks of a guy who gets a horrendous contract), but that kind of skill-set - the only one that Matt Moulson has, let's not get ahead of ourselves - would look so good here.

The obvious thing to say is "well, Gaborik would fit great here" and people will knock the CBJ trades forever if this team ends up having to get blown up, but I still think we got really good value with them. Windows in the NHL are tricky. Lundqvist finding his feet again is the most important thing about this group of guys being a Good Team in the near-term anyway.

 

[True Blue]

Every body is different, but I certainly didn't consider the 08-11 teams to be true 'contenders', it seemef to me we were making up the playoff #s (or not qualifying). 11-12 we most certainly were and 12-13 we should have been, bbut that's about it

So you are only contenders if you make the conference finals? Being one of the 8 teams left standing, for the majority of the time, is not enough to be a "contender"?

 

[Ghost of jas]

So you are only contenders if you make the conference finals? Being one of the 8 teams left standing, for the majority of the time, is not enough to be a "contender"?

Isn't that why we need to blow everything up?

 

[mike14]

So you are only contenders if you make the conference finals? Being one of the 8 teams left standing, for the majority of the time, is not enough to be a "contender"?

IMO there's only 2-3 'true' contenders per conf per year, and it is based on reg season play plus playoff matchups. For the majority of the last 5 seasons those teams in the east are the bruins and pens.

Upsets happen, sure, but outside if 11-12 I haven't been confident that the rangers could overcome the best of the east, let alone the west, so they haven't been 'true' contenders. Saying that 16 teams are contenders seems fancifal to me.

 

[KreidertheGlider]

Wrong thread, sorry.

 

[ncmike]

Adam Graves had a very nice career tapping in goals from the side of the net!

 

[theFiGS]

DO. NOT. SIGN. UFA. FORWARDS.

They're almost never a good value. Generally, they have already peaked. Trade picks, prospects, and defenseman for proven RFA-age skilled forwards. Sign UFA defensemen. Defensemen age better.

THIS times 100. I hate that we sign free agents the only one who's worked out recently is Gaborik and that was for about half his contract. We need to draft forwards and trade for young ones who are up and coming not sign ones to big deals after they've already peaked

 

[Hunter Gathers]

DO. NOT. SIGN. UFA. FORWARDS.

They're almost never a good value. Generally, they have already peaked. Trade picks, prospects, and defenseman for proven RFA-age skilled forwards. Sign UFA defensemen. Defensemen age better.

Almost no UFA is a "good value." They are all generally overpaid. The difference comes in how badly they are overpaid.

A blanket policy of not signing UFA forwards is just absurd.

 

[Crease]

Almost no UFA is a "good value." They are all generally overpaid. The difference comes in how badly they are overpaid.

A blanket policy of not signing UFA forwards is just absurd.

You're right. It's just not the place to go shopping for offense in a capped league. That I firmly believe.

 

[Slick Rick 61]

You're right. It's just not the place to go shopping for offense in a capped league. That I firmly believe.

Exactly. Free agency should be used to shop for complimentary pieces that add something that your lineup where you'd like a little boost. You add a guy if you're looking for an extra 20 goals for scoring depth through the lineup, not to add core players that you will have to sign past age 35.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

A great goalie and good defense does not mean that you want a defensive liability skating out there.

I think you got it wrong. Offense is important, but not that the expense of being a defensive poor team.

Yeah. Because all these years of playing good defense and not scoring has worked so well for us. Even though that's completely not what I said