I want to see what a Smith deal looks like before I say he wasn't about money. If the deal has an AAV of 4.2 +/- then he wasn't about money. If he gets 4.5 or more then it was I think. As for Shatt, they may pass. If he wants 7 X 7 then we have to pass. Truth is we don't need him unless he is really dying to play in NY for the Rangers and shows it in the contract. If we resign Smith that gives us a real solid 3 in McD/Smith/Skjei. Then you hope DeAngelo can fill the PP QB and R shot role (there is a reason Gorton asked for him in the deal). You know Staal gets a spot. And the last spot will be filled by Holden/Graves/another kid. Not awful, but who plays with McDonagh and Staal and Graves are both LD, so Graves might be the odd man out. You could see McD/DeAngelo Skjei/Smith Staal/Holden to start the season. I really did not think Gorton would leave McD without a proven partner, but it could happen if we don't sign Shatt...unless we make a trade. That is always possible.
Still think Thornton and Marleau stay in SJ. And if they leave you have to think it would be about a better deal, and I don't see us being the team to do that. We can afford it, but I doubt we want to offer a multi year deal to either for solid money.
Hard to say in June but i think Bereglazov earns a spot in Sept. Especially when you factor in his KHL clause. He's also 23 and has more experience than Pionk and Graves who are pretty close themselves. I could see he and Holden alternating some. Maybe they even deal Holden before camp.
Shattenkirk's average salary was $4.25, think it's wishful thinking that he'll leave money on the table. This is his payday contract, signing Smith makes more sense financially.
Rumors about Marleau and Thornton. Lord know. No old farts. I thought this team was trying to get younger.
The Red Wings were hoping to re-sign Smith for a three-year deal worth $3.5 million per season, but Smith is likely to get $4 million per season from the Rangers. (Ansar Khan) If we get Smith for a cap hit of 4 or 4.1 mill I would be perfectly fine with that.
Heard that is going to happen. Yeah. He's worth 4 easy. Unlike the rest of our pansy defenseman he actually hits people.
Have to love the dumb fucks on HF. They think giving Smith 4.5 or less is a bad contract. A guy that played great here. Is proven in this league and actually can play defense. Yet the stupid fucks on that board loved the Flyers paying 4+ for long term to Gostisbehere who sucked moose dong last year, plays no defense, has no clue how to play defense and who they didn't have to pay for another 2 years. Dumbest posters on the net over there.
Smith signed 4 years 4.35m Overall I am happy with this. Its a little overpay maybe as 4m felt right but so be it. Good stay at home guys who have a mean streak don't grow on trees
I am with you Disturbed. I was thinking 4 to 4.2 as the #, so maybe 200-300 K too much, but not going to flip out over 200-300 K. I am happy he is resigned. He played well for us and adds a good mean streak to our D. We have a nice base 3 with McD, Skjei and Smith. How we fill out the other spots will be an interesting watch. To Shatt or not to Shatt...
I don't think it is just us, it is the league now. I don't love that, but as long as it's limited I can live. Still leaves options if we wanted to deal him.
McKenzie saying it's being finalized at 4/4.3m. Conflicting reports on how interested we really are in Shatt, as Buffalo is apparently going to be a strong suitor. I think it is ours to lose with him. Hopefully Kovalchuk dosen't end up in Columbus.
Good signing. Now they need to plug in the rest of the holes. Too bad they couldn't make a trade for Duchene
I don't disagree, all I am saying is unfortunately that is the new hot fad in the league...it is not just a Ranger thing. Sad reality. So with that being the case if it's 10 teams or something like that, so be it. Gives the player a chance to say I really hate these hand full of locations and want no part of them, so give me some peace of mind that I won't be traded to those teams.
Here is my concern if we aren't going after Shatt now because we resigned Smith, and BTW I agree with passing on Shatt if he wants a mega deal (no way I'd sign him for crazy money), the D has been our issue the past two seasons, and our big changes are DeAngelo in for Girardi and Smith onboard for the full season. Now we also have a couple of kids who will battle for 3rd pair roles, Graves being one of them, along with Staal and Holden, but is this really enough of an upgrade considering how poor our D has been? And I still wonder where is the partner for McDonagh that Gorton said he wanted so badly. Is DeAngelo really that guy? No final judgement here, will reserve that for 4 or 5 days from now, but today I am concerned about the D being upgraded enough. Love the 2nd pair of Skjei and Smith. Still question who is the guy to play with McDonagh on the 1st pair though.
A big part of the D problems the past 2 years were also Stepan and his overpaid, lazy ass. He was pathetic vs Ottawa. Cost us 3 huge goals late with his incompetence. Brassard was also another guy who was pathetic defensively two years ago here. When your top, two paid centers don't play any defense any longer, your defenseman will look bad.
