Mercogliano 8 Early Trade Deadline Targets for Rangers

[Vodka Drunkenski]

1 minute ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

Johnson could center a line with Bonino and Wheeler.  

[Keirik]

Are we running an old age home or trying to win a cup?

[BrooksBurner]

Johnson’s problem is that he sucks

[Flynn]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:19 PM, Br4d said:

High fantasy trades incoming.

 

The Rangers go to Ottawa and offer them Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller.  We want Brady Tkachuk, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jakob Chychrun.

 

Why would the Senators do this trade?  3 good young bodies including an All-Star caliber d-man who is early-prime.  They're still not winning anything in Ottawa and they're getting a chance to recast the bones just like we are but with a plausible addition of 3 young stars for their best player.  They're also getting a drawing card in Lafreniere.

 

Why would we do this trade?  Because Tkachuk is exactly what we need right now.  A physical young leader upfront who brings some grit and a strong north south style to the offense.  Tarasenko fills a need at RW, likely alongside Panarin, and Chychrun is a 25 year old d-man who can play both sides and will be in our top 4 somewhere for years to come.  There's a chance we will do further shuffling this summer and Tarasenko might well wind up getting somebody else's cap slot in the process.

 

Ok so having accomplished this deal the Rangers go to Columbus and offer them the 1st next season or Kakko plus a prospect thrown-in on either for Boone Jenner 50% retained.

 

Why do this?  Because physical captain again and a perfect 3rd line center between Kreider and Cuylle.

 

The Rangers lineup looks something like this if they can do both deals:

 

Tkachuk - Zibanejad - Wheeler.  North south wings to reinforce Zibanejad.

Panarin - Trocheck - Tarasenko.  Should be as good as the current iteration, maybe better.

Kreider - Jenner - Cuylle.  Two north south players to reinforce Kreider.

Vesey - Goodrow - Pitlick.  No alphabet soup anywhere in the lineup.

 

Lindgren - Trouba

Chychrun - Schneider

Gustafsson - young guy they're hiding as much as possible.  Jones at LD and Gustafsson at RD might be best and you just be careful not to have too many DZ starts.

 

The character of the team is changed in three ways:

 

1.  The cycling will get cut down dramatically without Fox in the lineup.

 

2.  The lineup will be tougher top to bottom.

 

3.  The Leadership should be over the top with the wait and see Ranger's style forever gone.

These are old school hockey trades.. These things don't happen anymore.. 

 

I'd not want that one to happen either 

Edited February 5 by Flynn

[fletch]

On 1/29/2024 at 2:46 PM, RangersIn7 said:

Vince is right on.

 

Whether or not anyone believes in the core is immaterial.

 

The organization does.

And let’s face it, 

They have 100 wins last 2 seasons, plus a trip to the ECF.

With a guy, no matter what we think of Gallant, that is a meh head coach.

And this year, despite a really shitty stretch, they find themselves at 30-16-3 and in 1st place in the division and poised for another season of 45-50 wins and another 100+ points.

 

 

If you told me they’d be 30-16-3 at the all-star break, I’d have signed for it.

 

 

 

There is a group here you can win with.

 

Currently, looking at the bench, I see this…

 

A Norris trophy winner.

A Vezina trophy winner.

A 40-goal scorer.

A 50-goal scorer.

A 100 point player.

All playing for a coach that’s won a Cup and has played for 2 more.

Plus… Trouba, Trochek, LaFreniere, Lindgren, Miller.

 

And the cast behind them is good.

It just needs some beefing up. 

 

They need a RW for the top-6 and a C for the middle-6.

 

And Igor needs to be himself.

 

They’re a really good team. 

You've managed to cherry pick the outlier for every single player, the once-in-a lifetime year, with Panarin currently the only player tracking to this kind of level.  Kreider and Shesterkin are tracking far behind these benchmarks.  Fox is solid but isn't in the conversation with Makar, Quinn Hughes will have to show this year isn't an aberration.  

 

What is material is not what the core vets could do 2-4 years ago.  It's what they can do this year.  It's about whether they buy into Laviolette's system, show discipline, and are able to still raise their game in the playoffs for weeks against teams that are going to exact a physical toll and bite/scratch/claw to win a playoff series.  It's about how much fire is left in the tank.   We'll see.

[Br4d]

Other than Trouba, Lindgren and Trocheck none of the vets have fire in their belly or ever did.  That's what's missing from the roster.  It's where leadership comes from when things get tough.

Edited February 5 by Br4d

[BrooksBurner]

3 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Other than Trouba, Lindgren and Trocheck none of the vets have fire in their belly or ever did.  That's what's missing from the roster.  It's where leadership comes from with things get tough.

 

You forgot one:

 

 

 

 

 

[Br4d]

1 minute ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

You forgot one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Chris Kreider doesn't hit people much and he doesn't get hit much.  It's a trade-off he's made over the years that's been very effective at preserving his health.

 

The moment I realized the Rangers were in real trouble against the Devils was game 3 last year when Kreider pulled up on a hit opposite the benches on the sideboard and let a Devil through with the puck.  He swiped at it and missed but the right move was to put the puck-carrier into the boards and guarantee the puck did not get past him.  That's not his way though.

[jsm7302]

13 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

You forgot one:

 

 

 

 

 

That's an awesome record to own. Hopefully he doesn't get the chance to add any this year since we will sweep our way to the cup.....

 

 

.....

[Phil]

Chris Johnston from latest Steve Dangle Podcast on Jenner:

 

"he's in demand because he's useful, doesn't make too much money and there's not a lot of players. They're going to keep getting calls and someone might push it over the line."

 

BOONE JENNYR. Let's goooooooooo.

[LindG1000]

14 minutes ago, Phil said:

Chris Johnston from latest Steve Dangle Podcast on Jenner:

 

"he's in demand because he's useful, doesn't make too much money and there's not a lot of players. They're going to keep getting calls and someone might push it over the line."

 

BOONE JENNYR. Let's goooooooooo.

 

I mean, of the Jenners we could potentially add, he's obviously the best one.

[Long live the King]

41 minutes ago, Phil said:

Chris Johnston from latest Steve Dangle Podcast on Jenner:

 

"he's in demand because he's useful, doesn't make too much money and there's not a lot of players. They're going to keep getting calls and someone might push it over the line."

 

BOONE JENNYR. Let's goooooooooo.

 

Didn't we decide last year not to go after guys that spent their whole life with one team?  This is a dude that chose to resign in Columbus a year before he could have tested free agency.  He doesn't want to leave Columbus.  Is that really the guy to target?  Plus he's been banged up a lot the last 4 years.

[Phil]

5 minutes ago, Long live the King said:

 

Didn't we decide last year not to go after guys that spent their whole life with one team?  This is a dude that chose to resign in Columbus a year before he could have tested free agency.  He doesn't want to leave Columbus.  Is that really the guy to target?  Plus he's been banged up a lot the last 4 years.

 

Heard, chef, on all points. However, I'll caveat with this:

 

This isn't the same get as the Tarasenko/Kane's of the world who were brought in to play top line roles and expected to produce right out of the gate. This is a third-line center who would be brought in for his style of play, veteran presence, leadership qualities and scoring upside. If he comes in and doesn't score for the first half dozen games, it's really no harm, no foul. They just need to get him acclimated in time for the playoffs.

 

Also, this isn't a rental the way Tarasenko/Kane were. This is a three-year buy (well, two and change, but whatever).

[Albatrosss]

18 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Heard, chef, on all points. However, I'll caveat with this:

 

This isn't the same get as the Tarasenko/Kane's of the world who were brought in to play top line roles and expected to produce right out of the gate. This is a third-line center who would be brought in for his style of play, veteran presence, leadership qualities and scoring upside. If he comes in and doesn't score for the first half dozen games, it's really no harm, no foul. They just need to get him acclimated in time for the playoffs.

 

Also, this isn't a rental the way Tarasenko/Kane were. This is a three-year buy (well, two and change, but whatever).

im in.  LETS GO!!!

[Albatrosss]

3 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

You forgot one:

 

 

 

 

 

He's also 2nd to Tom Poti in hitting players with his purse.  

[Long live the King]

34 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Heard, chef, on all points. However, I'll caveat with this:

 

This isn't the same get as the Tarasenko/Kane's of the world who were brought in to play top line roles and expected to produce right out of the gate. This is a third-line center who would be brought in for his style of play, veteran presence, leadership qualities and scoring upside. If he comes in and doesn't score for the first half dozen games, it's really no harm, no foul. They just need to get him acclimated in time for the playoffs.

 

Also, this isn't a rental the way Tarasenko/Kane were. This is a three-year buy (well, two and change, but whatever).

 

True, I'm still skeptical of a guy that didn't even attempt to leave Columbus though.

[Phil]

9 minutes ago, Long live the King said:

 

True, I'm still skeptical of a guy that didn't even attempt to leave Columbus though.

 

Big fish small pond, you mean?

[Pete]

15 minutes ago, Long live the King said:

 

True, I'm still skeptical of a guy that didn't even attempt to leave Columbus though.

His trade protection is an 8 team no trade clause which likely is Canada and who knows where else, so either he has a shitty agent or he's not trying all that hard to stay in Columbus. 

 

As a guy who gets hurt a lot, maybe he felt locking in his 15 million was the goal.

Edited February 5 by Pete

[BrooksBurner]

3 hours ago, Albatrosss said:

He's also 2nd to Tom Poti in hitting players with his purse.  

[Dem]

20 hours ago, Br4d said:

Other than Trouba, Lindgren and Trocheck none of the vets have fire in their belly or ever did.  That's what's missing from the roster.  It's where leadership comes from when things get tough.

I'd add Cuylle to the list but I agree w this!

[Vodka Drunkenski]

11 minutes ago, Dem said:

I'd add Cuylle to the list but I agree w this!

He’s not a vet

[RangerDanger]

Watching the game last night, the 3rd line, or should I say specifically Kakko and Cuylle, stood out. They were all over the place and for a while seemed to be the only line generating anything the 1st 2 periods. I'm more and more intrigued with seeing them anchored by a solid center.

 

[siddious]

2 minutes ago, RangerDanger said:

Watching the game last night, the 3rd line, or should I say specifically Kakko and Cuylle, stood out. They were all over the place and for a while seemed to be the only line generating anything the 1st 2 periods. I'm more and more intrigued with seeing them anchored by a solid center.

 

Cuylle is a god damn work horse. For some reason I paid more attention to him last night and he just doesn’t take a shift off. Kakko looked good too be we all know he’s gonna be invisible for the next 15 games now. 

[Ozzy]

I'll piss my jeans if we get Jenner and put him between Kakko and Cuylle.  That actually might be one of the most entertaining lines to watch for during a game.

 

I hope you're right, Chief!  I'd kill for Boone Jenner right now!

[RangersIn7]

19 minutes ago, RangerDanger said:

Watching the game last night, the 3rd line, or should I say specifically Kakko and Cuylle, stood out. They were all over the place and for a while seemed to be the only line generating anything the 1st 2 periods. I'm more and more intrigued with seeing them anchored by a solid center.

 

I agree.

 

Brodz has played hard and results aside, he really has done an admirable job.

 But if you had a real player there, it could really be something.