This team is just flat out bad. That's it. Just reading this board off of last nights game is funny. Post after post filled with anger and venom. Now I get it 100%, but we all need to realize this team is VERY flawed, and simply put bad. Ripping this guy, or that guy, or AV all seems pointless to me. You can name 10, 12, 15 guys who all stink. On and on. Take Nash for example. Did he even suit up in the playoffs? Has he really been a game changer this season? Sure he has had a few nice goals, but worth 7.8 mill per season? Girardi has been awful. MDZ is awful. Staal was awful when he played. J. Moore has been very bad at times. Upfront Pyatt is useless. Boyle is useless. Pouliot has been pretty useless. D. Moore is useless. Asham is useless. Dorsett has his purpose, but is whatever. Brassard has been invisible for long stretches. Same with Hags. Cally was playing well below his standards. Stepan has struggled. On and on. AV using D. Moore and Pouliot in the shootout. No Kreider or Hags (who scored on a breakaway earlier). So pick just about anybody and they have struggled. This team will be VERY different next season. Maybe the most changed team in the whole NHL. 1/2 of the forwards will be gone, including Richards. 1/2 the dmen will be changed IMO. So this team will be a totally different squad next year. You cannot give up on a season with more tha 40 games to go, especially when you aren't that far out of a playoff spot at the moment, but like I said last week any moves I make would have an eye on NEXT SEASON as well as this season. No quick fix moves to slip in at 6 or 7 or 8. No moves for 3 years from now either. Next season needs to be an all in season IMO. This will be the last time we can re-shape the roster for a while. The last time we can really go for it with Hank in his prime. So to me, at the moment I rather have a top 5 pick then slip in at 7 or 8. Use that pick to add a player that can make an impact next season. Use the 37.5 mill in cap space to get impact players for next season. All while still trying to win this season, and if they do so be it. But I would not make any dumb moves now that make us a little better this season, but hurt us next season. That would make no sense IMO. I just hope Sather is up to it. THAT is what scares me more than anything. We all know he has been a joke as a GM here, so can he handle this final re-make and get us where we need to be? I have my doubts, but remain hopeful. So we are where we are. I personally am not going to waste my time coming here and knocking pretty much every single player on the squad, seems pointless. When your team stinks it stinks. No point in wasting time ripping everyone. It is what it is sadly...
As i said earlier this season..bottom feeder. Worst thing they can do is scrape and scrape and miss the playoffs and get the 14th pick. If they add someone who'll be here for the next few years fine, but dont make trades for Ufas just to make them. At least try and add to the prospect depth.
Where we disagree, and it is cool, is the prospect depth. Personally I don't give a rats a** about prospect depth. Unless it will help me next season, and the following season I don't care. I am sick and tired of being on the 7 year re-building plan, where every season is season # 1 in that plan...LOL. Now prospect depth can help if you flip some of those guys for good players now, but we don't do that. We didn't do that 2 or 3 years ago when I begged us to do so, so I doubt we do it now. My focus is on next season. Maybe a very small focus on this season, if we can make moves that benefit us next season, and maybe a little focus on two years from now, can't play for just one season. But that is it. I am not saying 3 and 4 seasons from now don't matter so deal every pick, but honestly I have very little focus on anything outside of next season, and a little the following season. That is where I am at with a 32 year old Hank.
I agree that it's always next year or the future with this team. They went to the ECF two years ago. That's as far as this unit could go and I'm fine with that. Nash was added but we also lost guys. It's time to change things up.
As far as picks or prospects, if they can sell off Girardi and DZ by March they could get a few guys that are close to NHL ready or a 2nd rounder or two. I just dont see them getting a quality player whos already signed unless its a UFA but whats the point? Get the best farm talent you can for them and just clear out everything for FA. If you can get a Franson who an RFA by adding something to DZ thats a good move. Something like that, not a 33yo guy who may help them sneak in or blow a good draft pick. Girardis value is plummeting with his latest tomfooleries.
We agree guys. We are where we are now. No quick fix moves for this season. If we know we will not re-sign MDZ, or Girardi, or anyone else we should deal them with moves that help us next season or the season after worst case. That would be my focus. I would not punt on this season, way too soon for that, but we need to be smart. Don't deal for some old guy who is a UFA to get the 7 seed. Please no.
Av is surprisingly calm with the way the team is playing. Almost too calm and makes me want to think sather told him ahead of time this team will suck this year until I can get rid of half the shitheads on it and will remake the team at the end of the season. That being said if a team wants to send us first round pick now for someone on our do not re-sign under any circumstances list or slats can get some team to give us a young adam graves type thats doesn't have big numbers now but with good upside for the future that kind of deal will be made. I think any trade thats made will be done at the deadline or not at all meaning we'll be stuck watching this pile of dung the rest of the season.
I think AV understands you cannot get blood from a stone. Is what it is fellas. Going off the deep end won't change the lack of talent on the squad this season.
I believe that Callahan and Girardi will bring back some of the greatest returns in the history of the trade deadline. Sather will sign at least one of them back for next season.
Initially I never thought it was realistic to think the Rangers could move Cally but I am starting to think they could and I think they should.
Bottom line..can't shoot, defenseman are lost, high priced goalie disinterested, AV biding his time, Old Man of the Sea can't be bothered.
Well I guess the followers have spoken, no need to trip over each other about who thought this was a lost year first. As Timmy Lupus cried at the end of the original Bad News Bears movie "Just wait 'til next year!". It's kind of funny to expect the guy who constructed this team to finally understand how the game of hockey has evolved and how his focus should be on players near or above 6" tall and 210 lbs. All Glen needs is a higher draft pick and he'll finally get the right guy. And next year's crop of free agent signings will be grand, all diamonds in the rough, how can they not be with Glen's track record? After all he won 4 Cups in a row 30+ years ago and I think his 15th year with the Rangers is the charm. Perhaps Glen will make another incredible trade, he's the King Midas of GMs when it comes to turning crappy free agent signings into gold. Point is that we've heard that same Timmy Lupus mantra every year, no need for excuses, most of this roster is playing for a future paycheck, AV needs to be even-handed with the healthy scratching. I was happy to see the Rangers recalled Miller, he's got 50 NHL games under his belt, there's nothing more for him to learn in the minors and even happier to see the paper tiger Asham sent back down, another in a line of over the hill enforcers who seem to lose the will to fight or even play with an edge when they don the Blueshirt. Too bad McIlrath had to follow Aaron to Hartford but 2 games is more than ample time for AV to see he wasn't ready. As far as this year goes guess it's just me and Al still rooting for success. The great thing about being a fan was how enjoyable last night's comeback was (2 goals against Pitt in the last 7 minutes?). I'll take the point but wonder about AV's logic in his shootout roster selection and why he can't seem to get this team motivated to play 60 minutes of hockey but the Rangers are far from mathematically eliminated and they thoroughly pounded this same healthy Penguin team six weeks ago.
I personally will still be VERY surprised if Cally is dealt. I could be wrong of course, but I think it is much more likely they re-sign him within the next month or two than he gets dealt. To me any free agents you don't plan on bringing back should be dealt. By now you know what Girardi and MDZ are looking for. You also should have a very strong feeling whether or not you will re-sign them. If you will NOT re-sign them they should be dealt before the trade DL. Again that's just my opinion. And I don't think anyone is rooting against us panzer, I think we are just being honest. This team is heavily flawed. NO WAY would I punt on this season with 40 + games left, you cannot do that when you are still close to a playoff spot. But I also would not be making quick fix deals that look at just this season. That seems short sighted to me at the moment. Maybe that changes in a few weeks, but as we sit here today I think it would be unwise to make deals for a short term fix this season to maybe assure we slip in at 7 or 8. To me I rather have a top 5 or 7 pick then be in at 7 or 8. Again that's just my opinion. Someone could disagree of course.
As absurd as it might seem right now Chuck if the Rangers rip off 5 wins they are solidly in a playoff spot, they have yet to do it this year but historically this team has had a run or two every year under Torts and Renney. My point is that there is no satisfaction in waiting til next year so enjoy what you can. Pitt has owned us through the years and should have won the game last night but the Rangers eked out a point. I will also continue to believe that replacing D. Moore and Pyatt with Miller and playing 7 dmen (call Big Mac back up) makes this a much better team by year's end. AV rarely plays his 4th line and he can't keep playing McD 28+ minutes a game, give that 7th dman 5 of those minutes and double shift Nash or Kreider. I think this Rangers team has confidence issues, a rough start on the road after training in Western Canada with a new coach with a new system opposite of what's been beaten into your head by Torts causes doubts to arise.
Callahan is having a down year to say the least, but as a role player on a team with better overall talent up front he's worth keeping for an extra 1m.
Of course they can make the playoffs panzer. No one can argue against that considering how much time is left and where we stand at the moment. But that still doesn't change the fact that this team is very flawed and is not a big time team, just isn't. So enjoy the rest of the season, no one is saying not to, but I know I'll be keeping my expectations in check here. I'm not going to get all fired up and rip everyone because I kind of see it as pointless to do so. When your team is flawed and simply not that good, what's the point of flipping out and ripping everyone? And I also firmly believe this team is much better off getting a top 5 or 7 pick than slipping in as a 7 or 8 seed. And you also have to remember where this is coming from. I am ALWAYS the guy who says go all in. Deal some kids and picks and let's go for it. You can't always wait until next year, because sometimes next year never comes. So for me to say all this says something I think. I don't think this team is a player or two away from winning like I have felt recently, especially two years ago. We need a lot. This team has almost no skilled size. We have no dmen who are big, skilled, and can play that physical style game. Other teams can park themselves in front of our net and fear nothing. We have almost no forwards who are big and skilled and can pound and pound the other teams down low. And it isn't like we are loaded with skill and speed either. Maybe Hags has that game. Maybe 1 or 2 more guys. This team, on paper, is simply not that good. 1/2 the forwards we play every night have almost zero ability to score goals. That's all reality not being negative or positive. And the more I see how AV acts the more I think he and Sather knew it coming into the season. We did NOTHING this summer. I think they looked and said the cap is coming down 6 mill. We have a lot of guys with 1 year left. The FA market wasn't great. We are changing from a coach that focuses on all D to a coach that plays a more open style. I truly think Sather and AV said let's stay the course for this season. Hope for the best for sure. But then have a chance at a whole different team, one built more for AV's style of play, next season when the cap goes right back up, and we have a ton of cap space to re-build in one summer. I truly think that is what happened and why we did nothing this past summer. I don't think they punted on the season per se, but I do think they said we don't have much wiggle room, let's hope for the best and give it a shot and let the chips fall where they may, but summer of 2014 we can build this team how we need to build it. That's how I think this all went down. So I give them this season, which 100% goes against everything I stand for, but if we F up this summer and are back in this spot next season, then I will be as furious and fired up as I have ever been.
If the Rangers get enough of a return for rentals like Girardi, Callahan, Brassard, Stralman and Boyle at the deadline, I would not commit to signing Callahan. I don't think this guy will be healthy much the rest of his career if he plays like he has to in order to be really good. If he doesn't play that way, he's pretty much a 4th liner. I would much rather see the Rangers go out and get other teams role players like Biggs, Matthias, ect..... I would really love them to trade Richards to the Leafs and get back Clarkson in return. Clarkson clearly doesn't fit with that coach who isn't using him. While his contract is stupid and we haven't had much luck with Devils, he's the one Devil I have always said I thought was perfect for us. Our forwards are a bunch of skirts for the most part who don't stand in front.
