2022-23 Off-season Thread: Endless Pain, Hatred, and Rage ... Also Boredom

[BrooksBurner]

4 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

5M to get 4 wings isn't very much.  

I played around on cap friendly the other day and I think the best scenario is trading Miller & Lafraniere to improve the right wing dilemma.

Could save a few dollars by going with spicy pork instead of Halak.

 

I've been playing around CapFriendly the last couple of days. It's pretty tight, and then they added the $600k bonus overage on top to apply the squeeze even more.

 

We're in for some surprises this offseason.

Edited May 5, 2023 by BrooksBurner

[RJWantsTheCup]

2 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

I've been playing around CapFriendly the last couple of days. It's pretty tight, and then they added the $600k bonus overage on top to apply the squeeze even more.

 

We're in for some surprises this offseason.

Might be worth signing Mikkola for 3M or so and trading Miller.  Using Jones on 3rd pair and Harpur as 7th D.

Spicy Pork in goal.

From there it gets hard to round out the roster.

That's why I see Othmann as the 4th line LW & Cuylle as the 3rd line LW with Donut Boy being traded.

[jsm7302]

4 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

5M to get 4 wings isn't very much.  

I played around on cap friendly the other day and I think the best scenario is trading Miller & Lafraniere to improve the right wing dilemma.

Could save a few dollars by going with spicy pork instead of Halak.

Trading Miller is a trade I could get behind. We have two D men knocking on the door. 

[Phil]

+ Fast ($3M~)

- Goodrow ($3.65M)

+ Cuylle ($828K)

+ Motte ($1.1M)

 

Don't think they need to do much more than this.

 

Laugh-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Fast

Kreider-Trocheck-Vesey

Cuylle-4C-Motte

 

Bolded are all your "harder to play against" or "open space for" players.

 

It's not bold, ground-shaking change, but it's probably a more balanced lineup to take into the deadline when they can maybe add one more utility forward (think Copp, not Kane) who can plug and play.

[RJWantsTheCup]

The idea of Donut Boy playing 1st line LW makes me wanna puke.

Don't see them trading Goodrow, but you never know.

[Br4d]

The idea of Lafreniere getting the 1st LW with a commitment to keeping him there is kind of exciting.

 

For all the griping about lack of #1OA production his progression has been pretty steady and he's got to mature some time.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the upside possibilities are fairly strong.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Br4d

[jsm7302]

15 minutes ago, Br4d said:

The idea of Lafreniere getting the 1st LW with a commitment to keeping him there is kind of exciting.

 

For all the griping about lack of #1OA production his progression has been pretty steady and he's got to mature some time.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the upside possibilities are fairly strong.

Ya know what? We didn't really give him the credit for dropping some lbs and skating a bit faster and gaining some wind. Maybe the kid will continue trending up. 

[Karan]

45 minutes ago, Phil said:

+ Fast ($3M~)

- Goodrow ($3.65M)

+ Cuylle ($828K)

+ Motte ($1.1M)

 

Don't think they need to do much more than this.

 

Laugh-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Fast

Kreider-Trocheck-Vesey

Cuylle-4C-Motte

 

Bolded are all your "harder to play against" or "open space for" players.

 

It's not bold, ground-shaking change, but it's probably a more balanced lineup to take into the deadline when they can maybe add one more utility forward (think Copp, not Kane) who can plug and play.

 

 

[Scott]

1 hour ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

The idea of Donut Boy playing 1st line LW makes me wanna puke.

Don't see them trading Goodrow, but you never know.

Same. One lap back and forth and he's cooked I don't see any edge or pushback in his game either.  I've seen him skate away time after time looking at his laces or with a smile on his face while getting barked at. I feel he drags down this team's top line and it's not like he hasn't been given the opportunity before.  Having Laugh there makes the thought of having Kakko on the first line less vomit inducing so there is that. It's just ugly. 

 

I think if this is how it plays out we take a sizeable step backwards. More realistically regardless of who the coach is I would lean towards while the season could start out with those two up there they play themselves out of those roles in a relatively short amount of time.

 

I wish I had better options. Dealing Goodrow after bringing him in for the specific reason of leadership, playoff experience then possibly moving him highlights how messed up the situation is. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by jsrangers

[Phil]

22 minutes ago, Karan said:

 

 

 

First of all, how dare you use Lasso against me.

[BrooksBurner]

49 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

The idea of Donut Boy playing 1st line LW makes me wanna puke.

Don't see them trading Goodrow, but you never know.

 

If the Panarin-less configuration is attainable, I could see a rent-a-vet being brought in on a 1 year deal. Lafreniere at 2LW with an experienced option behind him is more palatable to me. That provides some insulation in case Lafreniere maintains all of the affectionate nicknames he earned himself this year, while simultaneously not blocking Othmann later in the season or in 2024 should he force his way in. I see a few taking a look at UFA list. JVR, Nyquist, Nick Foligno.

[Br4d]

48 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

Ya know what? We didn't really give him the credit for dropping some lbs and skating a bit faster and gaining some wind. Maybe the kid will continue trending up. 

 

Laffy's kind of at the point in his career where it's all on him.   If he's given the keys to the Kingdom and he doesn't come through it will be easier to accept that it's time to get what we can for him and move on with the logjam at LW.

 

This includes LW1 or LW2 and definitely PP1.

 

Just want to add that this same thought process was undoubtedly going through the Ottawa collective decision process on Zibanejad.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Br4d

[Scott]

As did Edmonton with Nail Yakupov.

[Br4d]

36 minutes ago, jsrangers said:

As did Edmonton with Nail Yakupov.

 

They found out the next season.

 

Obviously if Lafreniere slides backwards instead of progressing next season it will answer some questions.

 

If he gets line 1 minutes and PP1 action he should get 25+ goals and 55+ pts next season.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Br4d

[RJWantsTheCup]

17 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

They found out the next season.

 

Obviously if Lafreniere slides backwards instead of progressing next season it will answer some questions.

 

If he gets line 1 minutes and PP1 action he should get 25+ goals and 55+ pts next season.

Where are you putting him on pp1?

[Scott]

Maybe. I'm not sure they can risk hurting the top PP and still be a successful regular season team which at least helps get them to the playoffs. I guess there's two schools of thought, one being the NHL isn't the place to develop players (you shouldn't have to develop 1OA and 2OA imo) and the other being sure plug them into top lines and mins in their 4th and 5th seasons respectively without them still having not earned anything.

[Br4d]

20 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

Where are you putting him on pp1?

 

Obviously he's in Kreider's spot.

 

And yes, this has nothing to do with the Rangers being better in 2024 and everything to do with them being better from 2024-2029 or whatever.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Br4d

[RJWantsTheCup]

There’s no way I’m replacing Kreider with Lafraniere on PP1.  Don’t think Drury is looking to make the team worse next season on purpose.   The plan should be to build a cup contender not take a step back.  

[Br4d]

42 minutes ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

There’s no way I’m replacing Kreider with Lafraniere on PP1.  Don’t think Drury is looking to make the team worse next season on purpose.   The plan should be to build a cup contender not take a step back.  

 

You can't build a cup contender based on the way the Rangers are built right now.

 

We've seen the high water mark on that team and it was last season, not this season.

 

For the Rangers to advance to a final and win it they need to be better than the team was this year and the only way to do that with this personnel group is for the young guys to become at least the co-leaders of the team.

 

If the personnel is going to get switched up it is glaringly obvious that the guys that need to go are in the NMC group not in the young group.  The cap won't allow the team to get better by replacing the young guys and the NMC guys are getting older and less moveable every season.

 

We look at Panarin and Kreider and Trouba and see guys that are going to be hard to trade because of the NMC's and their cap numbers but these guys are going to be impossible to move when they're 33/34 and have the same cap numbers.  Their production isn't going up from where it is right now but the AAV will stay the same.

 

We took the latest build and we added Tarasenko and Kane to it and arguably become a worse team in the process.  How are we ever going to take the model and make it seaworthy if adding that duo didn't get it done this season?

[RangersIn7]

It’s not the roster or the talent in the room.

It’s coaching.

 

 

[Br4d]

It's definitely more the talent than the coaching.  I'm not saying GG didn't have something to do with the loss to the Devils but the Rangers just looked outmanned, outhustled and generally outplayed for much of the series.

 

The Rangers are a mediocre team at even strength and that is where playoff games are generally won and lost because the refs keep the whistles in their pockets in most games.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Br4d

[RangersIn7]

14 minutes ago, Br4d said:

It's definitely more the talent than the coaching.  I'm not saying GG didn't have something to do with the loss to the Devils but the Rangers just looked outmanned, outhustled and generally outplayed for much of the series.

 

The Rangers are a mediocre team at even strength and that is where playoff games are generally won and lost because the refs keep the whistles in their pockets in most games.

Ok

 

Now imagine they had a system, structure within that system, discipline based on accountability within that structure, and a coach who could make tactical deployments and adjustments under all of that. 
 

As opposed to … these are my guys and I’m just gonna let them play. 
 

I think you’d get a better result. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by RangersIn7

[Scott]

On 5/5/2023 at 5:36 PM, RJWantsTheCup said:

There’s no way I’m replacing Kreider with Lafraniere on PP1.  Don’t think Drury is looking to make the team worse next season on purpose.   The plan should be to build a cup contender not take a step back.  

Exactly take one of the premier net front presence in the league on the PP who's averaged 52 goals the last 2 years for AF, almost criminal unless we're going tanking or Kreider is traded or loses a leg. 

 

When it comes to is it players or coaching, I'm going both but after game 7 heavily weighted on players. Going to take a while to get the taste of that dog shit non-effort out of my mouth, just gutless. Said it in another thread Toe Blake somebody else mentioned Scotty Bowman, they don't win that game with those dogs that showed up.

Edited May 9, 2023 by jsrangers

[RangersIn7]

You can’t move Kreider. Nor should they. Guy bleeds the Blue. And he’s making what he should be making, commensurate with his production. That guy is a fantastic fucking hockey player, who honestly should be their Captain. 
I am ok with Trouba. Good choice for good reasons. But it should’ve been Kreider.

 

It’s not the talent.

Its how it’s utilized and who is utilizing it.

[Butcher Icebone]

Just when I thought I was over the elimination today I had a random thought. All because of the way a ping pong ball decided to fall we missed out on a generational center in Jack Hughes. 

 

Ill be honest, I hate Kakko and Laf. They suck. Laf looks like a beer league  guy and all I hear about Kakko is “he is great along the boards”

 

Fuck that. I am re-angry again.