So they got a 1st for him. That is a lot, but truthfully a pick in the 20's is not a top level pick. I cannot be upset about this one as we were not giving a 1st for a 3rd pair rental dman for us.
VERY surprised they got a first for him. Really didnt think there was a rental out there that was worth that. Kings are getting worn down, they must figure they only have a year or two left in their window and want to get all they can now.
That makes the Kings a lot more dangerous. Their defense wasn't built for the playoffs losing 2 guys. A first is big in this draft.
McKeown was a guy I wanted the Rangers to draft a few years ago. They need more higher end puck movers in the system.
Chuck, you're such a moron with draft picks and how you undervalue them it's incredible. Right now our number 1 center is a 2nd rounder. Our second best power forward was drafted 19th overall. Hagelin was drafted in the 6th round. One of our best, young PK guys Fast was drafted in the 6th round. They traded for Nash with 2 guys for the most part they drafted in the 2nd round. Our best defenseman this year was a 2nd round pick for Nashville. Our starting goalie was drafted in the 7th round. One of our most promising young players Hayes, you know, the guy that was drafted 24th overall by the Hawks which is 2 picks before the 26th pick you just dismissed. Three of the biggest parts of our future up front Buchnevich, Duclair and Tambellini were all drafted in the same draft, in the third round. Like I said before. Thank God you aren't running our team or we would have no draft picks and would be approaching another 10 years of sucking with no young players.
By the way, our second round picks which you just want to throw away on role playing, rentals, got us Halverson who is 32-4-2 this year with a .913 save %. See, Sather unlike you doesn't think Hank is a robot who will be playing at an elite level for another 10 years.
While I agree with a lot of what you say Chuck, you still don't get the building aspect of the NHL. I mean, you've gotten to the point where you are dismissing late, first round picks. The Rangers in the near future are going to have to trade some good players to get under the cap. Kreider is going to want to get paid. Zucc and Stepan will get paid next year. Hayes is going to want to get paid down the line. Teams who trade for bigger salary players aren't going to give up NHL ready prospects who are talented for those guys. They need those guys to make their team to keep their cap number down. They will offer up players who are talented but are years away from making the NHL. That is why you have to keep draft picks. You constantly need a pipeline of prospects to stay under the cap. That is why Sather handing out these moronic no trade clauses is concerning. In 2-3 years, they might need to dump Girardi. If doesn't agree to be moved, they are screwed.
Not disagreeing with any of that dump, but how does trading one second rounder out of two destroy this pipeline and leave our prospect pool empty? We're not discussing trading the whole draft, we're discussing one pick. In the second round. Out of two. And more often than not, second rounders are whiffs. Look at our history. At some point we need to go for it. Who was the last true rental we acquired? Olli Jokinen? Nik Andropov? I'm tired of being good but not good enough, and giving up one second rounder could put us over the hump without decimating the team in the long run. Winnik would have been an excellent add for that price.
That's the point Prod. For some reason dump thinks it is ALL or NOTHING. Like I am saying deal ALL the picks. Like you are saying deal ALL the picks. I actually said I would NOT deal Skjei, Buch, Miller, or Duclair. So I am missing how I don't value picks or prospects. I value what deserves to be valued, not the 48th pick in the draft, or a coin flip to make the NHL 4th round pick. For every oh look at this 2nd rounder or 5th rounder or 6th rounder, I can name 10 that didn't make it dump, of course you don't want to discuss that. I am not acting as if the 26th pick is garbage or a throw away, but I also know it isn't gold and a stud HOF guy in waiting. Interesting that other teams can deal these picks, but we act as if OMG if we do the whole organization will be crushed. That is ridiculous. We HAD a 1st last year, and his name is Kevin Hayes, don't forget that when you read the Rangers had no 1st last year and don't have one this year...yes we did last year. Prod nailed it, no one is saying deal the whole draft. No one is saying deal all the top kids. But I sure as hell know we could have dealt a late 2nd NEXT SEASON and a coin flip 4th to get Winnik. If Sather does nothing that is the deal I will be angry about. We easily could have made that deal...no two ways about it. And that would have been an upgrade for us, and he now fits in like a glove on a direct rival of ours...awesome. But Sather gets until Monday at 3. Will not flip out yet. I still believe the Zona Vermette deal is coming, and he is a better fit than Winnik IMO.
And BTW...mentioning Hank getting older as part of your "defense" of your position shows you are not understanding it. That is a reason to feel as Prod and I do, Hank is 33 now, how much longer will he be a stud? I know this year and the next 2 are what I would target as the prime Hank years, takes him through the playoffs at 35, so that is the window we need to win a cup in. That is all the more reason to go for it now as Prod said. Somehow you spin it as a reason not to go all in for a cup, which I don't get at all. Like we know that a kid like Halverson is going to be a good NHL goalie. Like he will be Hank, or even 85% of Hank. That is crazy. Keep Halverson, okay all good, but Hank at 33 is a reason to go all in, not a reason to say he isn't a robot who will be elite for 10 more years so don't deal picks. Come on dump. This is a good debate though. Differing POV's debated respectfully, nothing wrong with that.
The Coyotes recalling Henrik Samuelsson kind of indicates that they could be close to trading Antoine Vermette. I don't think Vermette makes it out of NY a Coyote (never makes trip to Boston for their game Saturday IMO). Could even happen today. I'd say us and the Hawks are the teams to watch for him.
The injury to Kane could work against us here, I could see the Hawks being more desperate and giving up some absurd package including a first. They know they'll have to dismantle that team soon to fit those two huge contract extensions, this could be the last shot with their current roster. Need Sather to work his magic here.
Ask the LA Kings if they would have won EITHER cup without their deadline deals in 2 of the last 3 years. Those moves both years paid huge dividends in the playoffs and IMO they would not have won a cup either year without them. You have to balance the current with the future. There have been some HORRIFIC deadline deals in recent memory (Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg anyone?) but recent history has taught us that sometimes moves have to be made. Chuck is right about 2012. We all knew it that team was simply running out of gas, in large part due to Torts ridiculous taxing style of playing 82 games like a playoff series but they had to make a deal that year and Sather failed the franchise. I don't know if this team has to make a deal or not to win this year but I am off the mindset that its worth the risk to try and get better, particularly on face offs. Also sometimes getting reinforcements give you the mental edge you need. It's not an all or nothing. This team is very very close and a move they make by March 2nd could be the difference between a playoff run and a cup.
St. Louis is an impact player. Winnik is not. Sekera has had a crap year. I think he will be an upgrade 0n LA. However, giving up a 1st for a guy who had one good year can also be argued as stupid.
This deal I had no issue with. Not smart for us to offer a 1st for a rental 3rd pair dman for us. This is not the move I would get angry about. Winnik I will be angry about if we do nothing. And right now I would go all in for Vermette (no 1st and keep the 3 or 4 kids I mentioned all on the table outside of that). Sather just has to do something. I don't think we make the ECF as is, and mentally if we do nothing it is a little downer. Sather cannot fail the team again like 2012. THE TIME IS NOW.
