[brooks] Rangers Have Plenty of Concerns After Start of NHL Free Agency

1. I spy the makings of a formidable and sustainable top six that would include Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.

 

2. I spy a strong tandem in nets with Igor Shesterkin supported by Alex Georgiev.

 

3. But beyond that, I must confess, the rest of the portrait appears wildly out of focus. I don?t think the Rangers had a particularly good weekend.

 

The bottom six is entirely without definition. The defense makes no sense to me. The team was unable to do anything at all to address a stunning absence of depth and options at center throughout the organization, even passing on a couple of highly regarded pivots in the draft to select a physical right defenseman they obviously coveted.

 

4. I spy an almost ludicrous cap squeeze given the fact the Rangers could carry as many as 10 players on entry level contracts. But entry level contracts include bonus provisions, the sum of those attainable bonuses exceeding $6,112,500 are charged against the cap, and the Blueshirts will be anywhere from $4-to-5 million over that allotment depending on the final roster.

 

True enough, the situation is exacerbated by the $12,494,444 in dead space that accounts for buyouts and retained salary, almost all of it representing the charges against Kevin Shattenkirk and Henrik Lundqvist.

 

 

 

5. Silver Lining I: Had the Rangers kept Shattenkirk last year, they?d be spared his $6 million-and-change in dead space for 2021-22, which would change a lot of things. But you know what else would have changed? The Rangers? performance last season.

 

Adam Fox might not have played. If he did, the rookie who evolved into the team?s best and most dependable defenseman probably would not have had the same role or minutes if Shattenkirk had remained in the lineup. Who would have come out? Tony DeAngelo? Jacob Trouba?

 

And without Fox?s stellar rookie season, the Rangers all but certainly would have failed to qualify for the NHL?s 24-team tournament. Do you know what that means?

 

No first-overall draft selection.

 

No Lafreniere.

 

6. Jesper Fast?s decision to leave New York for Carolina and management?s decision to allow the five-time-running Players? Player play somewhere else was not about the surprisingly modest but sign-of-the-times $2 million per on his deal, but the third year he received from the ?Canes and apparently could not from the Rangers.

 

It is fair to question the judgement of both parties on this one, though it is important to stress that this decision was entirely unrelated to the call to sign Jack Johnson.

 

7. On Wednesday, GM Jeff Gorton enthusiastically talked up the possibility of moving either Fox or DeAngelo to their off-side on the left to fill the hole created by Marc Staal?s trade to Detroit.

 

Moving one or the other would create an immediate vacancy on the right side for next year, but it would also produce an opening that could be filled by Nils Lundkvist if he were to sign following the end of his season in Sweden.

 

This is the primary reason that even if Johnson wasn?t JACK JOHNSON, I?d have trouble understanding why the Rangers signed a lefty rather than a righty out of the free agent market.

 

(Zach Bogosian, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Maple Leafs would have been perfect, but sources report that he essentially only wanted to play in Toronto and rejected other, more lucrative offers.)

 

Let?s say it is DeAngelo who shifts sides. That gives you No. 77, Ryan Lindgren, Johnson and Brendan Smith on the left. But then what about Libor Hajek and K?Andre Miller or Tarmo Reunanen?

 

If neither Fox nor DeAngelo switches, there is no guarantee that Lundkvist will sign, and the Rangers still would have three veterans on the left ahead of the kids. Yes, Smith could be sent to Hartford, and that would save $1.075 million on the cap.

 

These are all hypotheticals. This is early October and the season won?t start for at least about another three months. No one expects a finished canvas. But if David Quinn maintains the Lindgren-Fox pairing, and Smith is waived or becomes the seventh defenseman, then does that mean Johnson as Jacob Trouba?s partner on the first pair?

 

That is kind of like picking Nick Holden to play first pair with Ryan McDonagh. That is the fear if the alternative is to give the assignment to one of the kids, though Quinn did pair Hajek with Trouba for 18 of the first 20 games last year.

 

8. The Rangers were 23rd in penalty killing at 77.4 percent, with Staal leading the defenseman by being on for one PPGA for every 8:18 of shorthanded ice time. The Penguins were 10th at 82.1, with Johnson on for one PPGA every 9:18. By the way, the Rangers? PK save pct. of .872 was better than Pittsburgh?s .867.

 

9. Other than Brendan Lemieux, who exactly do the Rangers have up front to muscle up if opponents attempt to take too many liberties with the kids?

 

10. And what have the Rangers done to become harder to play against?

 

https://nypost.com/2020/10/11/rangers-have-plenty-of-concerns-after-start-of-nhl-free

Could Larry possibly be right here?

Sent from my Z981 using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

He is 1000% right. the Rangers need more muscle up front . I still hope they would a Kyle Clifford or Matt Martin

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Scratch Kyle Clifford. Signed two year deal with St.Louis Blues

Sent from my iPhone using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Could Larry possibly be right here?

 

Sent from my Z981 using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

Yes, because he’s copied what has been said here

Scratch Kyle Clifford. Signed two year deal with St.Louis Blues

This is all true but I don’t buy the panic yet. This team is still way too young to consider serious, and most closely resembles Carolina three or so years ago. We have two unproven forwards in that “top six”, and we have a defense corps that is currently wet clay.

Last year was incredibly fun. This year is hope is just as fun with a few steps forward, ideally in our ability to play a cohesive team game in our own zone. Don’t really care about the results yet or what are temporary lineup gaps.

Added were Kevin Rooney, Jack Johnson, and Anthony Bitetto. Rooney, a former Devil, is a decent enough defensive center who can kill penalties, and he should be an upgrade over Greg McKegg in the 12th/13th forward role.

 

Johnson and Bitetto, however, are two black holes. Johnson, approaching 34 years old, has been, literally, the worst defenseman in the NHL the past three seasons. Bitetto, 30, bleeds shots against and has not scored a goal in his last 111 NHL games.

 

Even with the positive addition of Rooney, the net impact of those three signings is sizably negative. The Rangers would be a better team right now if they had done literally nothing.

The best thing one can say about that series of decisions is that the Rangers have not committed term to anybody. The Rangers’ best years are ahead of them and they don’t want to lock themselves into contracts. If that’s why Fast was allowed to depart, then fair enough.

 

But next season matters, too. The Rangers have moved beyond the period of treading water while waiting to accumulate talent. That talent is here. Right now. Maybe not all of it, but definitely a lot of it. The clock is ticking on the entry-level contracts for Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, and Igor Shesterkin. Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich are nearing the ends of their bargain contracts and become unrestricted free agents in two years. Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider are at the end of their prime years. It would be a total waste to not make the most of this very limited period for those favorable circumstances.

The 2020-21 season may not be do-or-die, Cup-or-bust for the Rangers, but it’s not a season worth wasting. As things stand, it’s hard to see how the Rangers are in any meaningful way better than last season.

It’s just hard to figure out what the Rangers want more immediately. If the objective is to be a better team than they were in 2019-20, then it’s difficult to see how they have in any way built towards that so far this offseason. If the mission is to take their lumps for one more season and maximize flexibility for the 2021 summer, then there’s no sense in alligator-arming that agenda as they have.

https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2020/10/12/21511680/what-exactly-is-the-plan-for-the-rangers-next-season-free-agency-jack-johnson-rooney-bitetto-fast

https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2020/10/12/21511680/what-exactly-is-the-plan-for-the-rangers-next-season-free-agency-jack-johnson-rooney-bitetto-fast

Yup. I would also highlight this one.

It’s just hard to figure out what the Rangers want more immediately. If the objective is to be a better team than they were in 2019-20, then it’s difficult to see how they have in any way built towards that so far this offseason. If the mission is to take their lumps for one more season and maximize flexibility for the 2021 summer, then there’s no sense in alligator-arming that agenda as they have.

The best thing one can say about that series of decisions is that the Rangers have not committed term to anybody. The Rangers’ best years are ahead of them and they don’t want to lock themselves into contracts. If that’s why Fast was allowed to depart, then fair enough.

This is cool by me....

But next season matters, too. The Rangers have moved beyond the period of treading water while waiting to accumulate talent. That talent is here. Right now. Maybe not all of it, but definitely a lot of it. The clock is ticking on the entry-level contracts for Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, and Igor Shesterkin. Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich are nearing the ends of their bargain contracts and become unrestricted free agents in two years. Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider are at the end of their prime years. It would be a total waste to not make the most of this very limited period for those favorable circumstances.

This I don't agree with....

"The talent is here"....That's great but it isn't quite ripe yet in my eyes. I don't believe we are even close just yet.

"Panarin and Kreider are at the end of their prime years"??? Seriously??

"Total waste to not make the most of this very limited period" I think it's a total waste to think this way...that old MSG "win now" shit is over.

Build us a fucking franchise that's going to be a force for 10 years...15 years to come. No more of this "slap it together & roll with it for one year" shit. I can wait! :thumbs:

Link:

Exactly!! The big picture!!!

JD's got THE plan!

My worry though is when they say big picture, i dont like how they use Tampa as an example. If it takes us 10 years to be Tampa........no thanks.

I think it's a simple as we are not going 'all-in' because its the next season. We're going all in for the next decade.

I think it's a simple as we are not going 'all-in' because its the next season. We're going all in for the next decade.

Brian Boyle can't wait a decade

If we are so cap squeezed as a team that finished 18th overall last year that we can't sign a good dependable player for $2m per for three years, how are we going to manage to get within the cap if we start contending.

Good dependable player?

He’s an oft injured bottom 6 role player.