Speculation: Roster Building Thread IV (2021 Offseason) - Bob Dylan turns 80 & "The times they are a changing!"

[Avery16]

Hoping we’re high on Raty this year

 

[Vitto79]

Thank you!
Out of the three kids, Kakko has spent more time playing against men as a Center and yet no one mentions that.
Positions in the NHL at this point are fluid among forwards, how often does mika sit around the net? How often is it kreider we see in front of the net, but we don't hear anyone yelling "make him a center".

Laf absolutely "could" play center, Kakko would be the better fit at center imo, but neither of them wants to, or sees themselves as a center which should really end the conversation.
Also just to point out, Laf's "weakness" is his acceleration, in comparison to someone like mcdavid or mackinnon. He's still a strong skater. He's got a solid top end speed and he's also got really good balance which is actually more important for a center.

my buddy in Finland played w Kakko as a C for a fun game before the year started lol

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Re: Buchnevich... last I knew, arbitration usually awards 1-2 year... now $60 he re-signs.

 

[bobbop]

I think it’s crazy to think the Rangers will use an expansion protection spot on Hajek unless they have a deal for after the expansion draft. They will find someone better to protect.

 

[bernmeister]

Im not saying 3 years. Mika will be 30 when he signs a new deal. If we keep it to 5/6 years, it should absolutely be fine. He'll be a 2c potentially at the back end but if the cap does jump it wont be as bad an issue.

You could be right but I disagree
I want 3 yrs, pay very good $ but not top top dollar, and no NMC, I trade him anytime if and when I want.
Not sure Zib would be good with that.
So take highest return now, sell high.

Robertson will most likely be in the AHL first. There will be a playoff expectation here next year. I highly doubt they will start 2 of Miller/Robertson/Jones. Ideally, given that mandate, you will have Lindgren/Vet signing or trade/young guy down the left side. None of our young guys are 2LD material yet. Miller played there out of necessity but the truth is he isn't there yet. He needs time. I would be shocked if one of Miller or Jones are not traded this offseason.

By the way, Jones is not anywhere near Fox's level. His college coach making the comparison is incorrect. That's not a knock on Jones, as I thought he looked like a solid player in limited time. It's a testament to how unbelievable Fox looked the second he stepped on the ice in his rookie year.

KAM is green but will be fine w/experience.
Don't shorten his mins. But pay attention and give him full support, incl a day off if nec.

I get Robertson + Nils are going right into the fire, but it is 3rd line fire, 3rd line mins. I am gambling that after a month-ish of growing pains, both will sufficiently cut the mustard at a rookie level, and if Rob is a bit behind Nils will be solid enuf to carry the lead.

So it is Jones who is odd man out.
First choice is to deal him now, but only if we get enough in return.
If that is not there, and he needs NHL mins to up his value, then besides a bit of reserve, he has to play somewhere and that will be RW on Kreider's line.

Fox is singularly outstanding, we agree.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Re: Buchnevich... last I knew, arbitration usually awards 1-2 year... now $60 he re-signs.

Rangers have some tough decisions to make.. Buchnevich the last 4 years
.58 PPG
.59 PPG
.67 PPG
.88 PPG

However, its a cap world, and we have Kakko and Kravtsov who are very high draft picks and high ceilings.

 

[egelband]

Yes this is true. Both Zac Jones and K’Andre Miller are converted forwards who haven’t played defense all that long. I thought Bern was talking about the above post of the Rangers acquiring. Seth Jones and playing him at FWD until we trade some of the young D. I’m happy that I was mistaken. Mia Culpa Bern. Still not a good idea to move Z Jones back to FWD though. Though I do agree with Bern that he is trade bait, that’s why the called him up at the end of the year and played him a lot when the games really didn’t matter. Kind of a similar situation to Pionk but different. They wanted other teams to see Jones puck moving skills

“Position-less Hockey”

 

[egelband]

Zac Jones is not moving to forward.

IMO he either sees time as 3LD, plays in Hartford, or gets traded. The Rangers brought him here ASAP by burning an ELC year to get him signed and away from college, so I doubt the answer is Hartford. I'm not sure if I take the burning of an ELC year as a sign they wanted him here for next year instead of college, or they knew he'd be more valuable if he was under contract already and the next team didn't have to worry about him staying in college and possibly waiting for UFA.

Interesting. Maybe they brought him up when they did knowing they’d have a logjam so they could showcase him for those last few games. So they can move him this summer. Even if not intentional, he would definitely bring back much more value with the NHL experience than had they waiting to sign him until the summer.

 

[egelband]

Easily Gauthier, but I do not think the front office feels the same way.

I think the previous front office didn’t value Gauthier much but hopefully Drury and Co do. I think Gauthier is a nice player. Not sure he’s engaged enough - might have a bit of a Kreider head - but I’d still like him to get a fair shot with us.

 

[egelband]

I think a change of scenery would be the best outcome for Howden and Hajek. Both probably have some value around the league.

I like Howden but I really would have liked Gauthier to get the Howden treatment from Quinn instead of Howden.
I know...it’s a numbers game, positions, timing, etc... just speaking figuratively.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Ah, gotcha. I’m guessing PDG moves on, but I could see Howden and/or Gauthier getting re-upped. I doubt they don’t qualify those two. I’m not sure exactly how the contract stuff works but I can see them get a bit of a raise over what they’d normally get to sign prior to the ED.

Qualifying them isn't enough. They really have to sign an extension prior to the expansion draft for them to be eligible for one of the 2 requirement slots.

I don't see it happening so Seattle gets their pick between Rooney, Blackwell, Bitetto, Kinkaid and 1 of Gauthier/Howden.

Say what you want about Gorton but he guided this team through 2 expansion drafts with minimal damage compared to other teams

 

[egelband]

Blackwell faded at the end of the season. He might turn into another John Mitchell but I honestly wouldn't worry about him at all. Priority #101.

Agree. While I like him and hope he finds more success, I’d be fine with moving on from him. I think he’s an NHL player so he shouldn’t be a spare or hanging around waiting for us in Hartford. But in terms of roster construction I think we’re better off going in another direction.

 

[egelband]

Need Cup winners and alphas in this room. Too mellow a group. They need a little bit of a Richard Cranium to keep them in check.

Yep. I’m not for yanking then tablecloth out but we need like one hard nosed-leader type in the top six and one or two in the bottom six. The tough part is finding the right guys, of course. And maybe Lafreniere becomes part of that group, for example. But in his case I think that might take another year or two.

 

[egelband]

I'm hoping with a flat cap maybe guys take less than we think, because there's not alot of cap space around the league (and the Rangers are in great shape with that at the moment)

Exactly. People say Buch is worth $5-6m per year but where is he getting that? There’s a lot of cold water coming the next couple years. It’s bad timing I guess (relatively, eh) for players with new contracts coming. But it’s real.

That said, I suspect the cap will actually start going up again a bit sooner than expected. We’ve been hearing managements proclamations. But once they start negotiating with the players side, things will probably moderate a bit.

 

[LaffyTaffyNYR]

Exactly. People say Buch is worth $5-6m per year but where is he getting that? There’s a lot of cold water coming the next couple years. It’s bad timing I guess (relatively, eh) for players with new contracts coming. But it’s real.

That said, I suspect the cap will actually start going up again a bit sooner than expected. We’ve been hearing managements proclamations. But once they start negotiating with the players side, things will probably moderate a bit.

I mean it hurt even MLB with no salary cap for free agents. Teams didn't really want to spend a lot except on the top of the top guys so its certainly possible all these huge raises people think Zibanejad Buchnevich Fox etc are gonna get (well Fox obviously will because he's making nothing) just might not happen.

 

[Daves a mess]

If any of our young kids are going to make that mythical move to center, it'd be Kravtsov

More likely making a move to Buffalo than center "if ya ask me".

 

[eco's bones]

Qualifying them isn't enough. They really have to sign an extension prior to the expansion draft for them to be eligible for one of the 2 requirement slots.

I don't see it happening so Seattle gets their pick between Rooney, Blackwell, Bitetto, Kinkaid and 1 of Gauthier/Howden.

Say what you want about Gorton but he guided this team through 2 expansion drafts with minimal damage compared to other teams

The easy guess is Seattle will take Gauthier. He could still become a pretty good player. Really good skater with size and good hands. OTOH he’ll be a 24 year old with 2 career NHL goals going into next season so he’s still pretty much an unproven entity though I expect with this new chance he will expand on that number to some degree.

 

[cheech70]

Sabres seem to confirm Eichel is out of Buffalo

This looks like it is happening soon...draft??

 

[a tribe cq]

Sabres seem to confirm Eichel is out of Buffalo

This looks like it is happening soon...draft??

Although I’ve been against an Eichel trade based around cost and his injury status....if he’s forcing his way out and the price drops then I’m all for it.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Sabres seem to confirm Eichel is out of Buffalo

This looks like it is happening soon...draft??

Needs to happen prior to the draft in order to deal with the injury for whatever team gets him.

With all this nonsense going on, at this point my best offer would be Chytil, Jones, #15, Conditional 2nd 2022

 

[bbny]

Needs to happen prior to the draft in order to deal with the injury for whatever team gets him.

With all this nonsense going on, at this point my best offer would be Chytil, Jones, #15, Conditional 2nd 2022

I'll need retention to consider any Eichel trade at this point. I would not risk 10 million in cap space with his injury hanging over it. If they cover 2-2.5 million it may be closer to worth the gamble...rolling the dice at 7.5 is a lot easier to take than at 10.

 

[wafflepadsave]

I'll need retention to consider any Eichel trade at this point. I would not risk 10 million in cap space with his injury hanging over it. If they cover 2-2.5 million it may be closer to worth the gamble...rolling the dice at 7.5 is a lot easier to take than at 10.

I’m guessing there would need to be an insurance policy at this point.

 

[egelband]

I'll need retention to consider any Eichel trade at this point. I would not risk 10 million in cap space with his injury hanging over it. If they cover 2-2.5 million it may be closer to worth the gamble...rolling the dice at 7.5 is a lot easier to take than at 10.

Is it “legal” to retain on just one or two years of a contract? I’d imagine not.

edit: not saying that’s your suggestion. Just wondering, expanding on your point.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

If the price on Eichel drops I fully expect Drury to be in on that. Injury aside Eichel feels like a Sather move

I saw it mentioned yesterday if they trade for Eichel and he has his surgery maybe they play the LTIR game next season

 

[bbny]

Is it “legal” to retain on just one or two years of a contract? I’d imagine not.

edit: not saying that’s your suggestion. Just wondering, expanding on your point.

I'm not sure, but I know it's incredibly unlikely Buffalo would retain for 5 years, so my mind is pretty much past thinking about Eichel as an option