Sod16

Gabby had excellent hands. At his best, he was the closest thing to Bure in terms of a package of speed and hands. A lot of that was wasted with his prime played under the thumb of Jacques and Torts. I really like Kreider as a player and hope he is signed, but he has no hands. Gabby's five goal torching of Hank was a microcosm of his career. After he scored the fifth goal early in the third, Jacques gave him one more shift. I was at the game and outraged.

In other words, we had a 33% chance of getting the 31st pick, which is historically a low percentage proposition for getting a significant NHL player. We've all wasted time worrying about this pick.

I have to believe that Lundquist is making more off endorsements in NY than he would if he had played his career in FLA.

Incredible. Our first top 3 pick ever! (pre 69 was not a true amateur draft). In what would appear to be a good draft year no less! Nothing is a given, and many top 2 picks have been busts, but this is a fabulous chance to have our first elite skater from the get go since Leetch joined the team in 1988. I just turned on the NHL network when I got home and saw "Devils get first pick" in the corner and was pissed and convinced the world is against us. I spent several hours gnashing my teeth before going on line and getting this shocking news!

OK, if Panarin's age is a worry, as is/was Kreider's and McDonaugh's, we can just play with a roster full of unproven players on entry level contracts. Unfortunately, today's NHL requires you to sign 27-28 year old players to longer terms than you would like if you ever want to contend.

A good point has been made about the impact of NOT signing Kreider. Add him to McDonaugh and Hayes and you see a real trend of not extending players who are due a good contract. I think Uncle Larry's talk of Hayes is possibly wishful thinking on his part, or at least an attempt to push the Rangers in that direction, as was his report that the Rangers were having preliminary talks with Hayes a few weeks before the deadline. Without Panarin or Kreider, this would just be a flat out bad team next year, and they really can't afford that three years in a row. When you've been bad three years in a row, UFAs don't want to sign with you and existing players don't want to extend.

I completely agree. Any team that gets McDavid will have so little left that they will be looking at a five year building process, which is not what McDavid would want to go to in the first place. It would be tempting to give up whatever you have for him. It would be a disaster to give up future daft picks.

I would favor a new forum rule that any poster advocating trading Georgie in favor of Shestokyin must preface his remarks by disclosing exactly how many games he has seen Shestorkin play. Fair?

Something is clearly amiss in Hartford that must be rectified in the off season. We can't have a situation where we don't want to send Shestyorkin, Kravtsov and various others down there for a little time at the start of their North American pro careers because no one seems to be improving down there.

In 50 years since the true amateur draft started in 1969 (it wasn't a real draft before that), the Rangers have succeeded in drafting a total of three truly elite players: Middleton, Leetch and Hank. There have also been some "near elites," like Vickers, James Patrick, Sandstrom and Beezer. Point is, you don't win cups without some elite players, and you can't rely on the draft to get them.

I agree. I see Panarin as being like Datsyuk in terms of lasting a long time. The only thing about Panarin is that he seems to take some nights off. He was breathtaking when Columbus got the jump on Washington last year, but then wasn't a big factor. I've definitely seen games when he was pretty ordinary. Now Panarin is at a totally different level, but can you imagine how excited you would be by Vesey or Buchnevich if you happened to just catch a couple of their "on" games.

If Panarin wants to play here for whatever is the market for his services, you have to sign him. Enough tearing down. Time to move in the other direction. As for Karlsson, I worry about injuries, but the same has to apply to him as well. (I've never heard anything indicating that Karlsson wants to play here). Panarin has fewer miles on him. Should last longer than Karlsson, but golly, when you look back at the playoffs two years ago, an injured Karlsson had more impact than any player in the league.

Linked by... Bob McKenzie and his pals. There was no evidence that Gorton was interested in Kovalchuk last summer or put in a bid.

The CBC guys have never bought into the rebuild narrative with the Rangers. They are too fixated on the history of the Rangers as impatient big spenders. McKenzie doesn't know anything about Gorton's intended game plan that we don't.

Taxes are pro rated, so the local tax rate is only applied to half, and the difference is not that big. Still, an $11 million offer from NYR would be the equivalent of perhaps a $10.5 offer from a no tax team, which is only five teams in the league (Florida, Tampa, Nashville, Dallas, and Arizona). I'd be a little more worried about the Islanders catching his fancy if they look like they are much closer to being a contender, but there is a decent chance their bubble is bursting, or a least deflating a bit.

Brooks is correct that signing Hayes for 5 years at 5.5 last summer would have been a solid deal for the Rangers and left them with good No. 1 and No. 2 centers. Anyone who doesn't think Hayes is a good two way No. 2 center is just being foolish. This is no way to start a rebuild. Perhaps if Panarin signs with NYI, Gorton will get an idea about the implications of stripping down to bare bones. It's one thing letting 31 year olds walk, its another letting 26 year olds go. What kind of rebuild strategy is that? Uncle Larry is not right about everything (he thought the Islanders going to Barclays was a good idea that would work out), but he is right more often than not.

Gorton definitely does not follow the old dictum: "No one ever got fired for buying IBM" I appreciate Gorton's balls, but God save him from the wrath of this board three years from now if it does not work out.

Don Simmons appeared in four seasons, and wasn't that obscure. Now as for Joe Schaefer, he's one of the greatest stories in team history, at one point summoned from the press box to don Worsley's sweaty equipment and face Bobby Hull's slap shots sans mask. I think they actually got a tie in one of the two games that he played. I'd been waiting for someone to post something about him on this thread.

Yes, he was a major prospect at one point who was a pre-draft era product of the Rangers Kitchner junior team (like Walt Tkzachuk). There was a long list of players that Emile Francis traded and then reacquired. Kannegeiser was in that category. Others included Jacker Egers, Real Lemieux, Mike McMahon, Phil Goyette, Camille Henry, Ron Stewart, Larry Brown etc. That was the Cat's M.O., though the reprise never worked out.

He had a fabulous half season, immediately taking on the role of first line center, and then was a total dud the following year.

In 1977 the Rangers visited the Forum when the Canadien dynasty was at its absolute peak. The Habs had some kind of ridiculous home unbeaten streak going (was it 50? I can't remember). The lousy Rangers with their lousy GM John Ferguson and their disgraceful John Ferguson Winnipeg Jets knock off uniforms turned to a goalie, Hardy Astrom, to take on the Habs in the Forum. He beat them that night, but played only six games (haven't checked it) for the Rangers.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k_DowlfGPuQ/T69vi4uZFiI/AAAAAAAAATU/5kChUk0vOWQ/s1600/Hardy+%C3%85str%C3%B6m.jpg

I declare myself the WINNER of the thread with... the notorious Jim Dorey! They traded prospect Pierre Jarry to Toronto for him in early 1972 and he played one game before separating his shoulder. He then jumped to the WHA. But here is a picture from that game! http://rangers.nhl.com/v2/photos/AllTimeRoster/headshots/8446444.jpg