No serious rebuild can take place without trading or dumping Hank and his $8.5 mil contract. Hank's resigning was perhaps Glen's worst, a smart GM would have let him test the free agency market and then paid him the $6.5-$7 he deserved. Going into his 4th year Hank's contract still ranks 10th highest in the NHL with 2 more years left. Hank ranks 44th in save % and 56th in the NHL in GAA this year (granted a few above him have played a handful of games) but this has been commonplace for Hank since his payday. Last year he was 36th in save %/ (.915) 56th in GAA (2.98); 2 years ago 52nd save %/(.910) 56th GAA (2.74); 3 years ago 25th save % (.910) and 38th GAA (2.48). I must confess being a huge Richter fan and had the opportunity to meet him in Lake Placid many years ago and he was truly a humble dude but Hank's numbers don't lie and even the most optimistic fan is hard pressed to see brighter days ahead.
He's still an above average goalie despite the poor numbers, especially with the garbage defense we've had in the past 3y. I think his numbers are skewed a bit. He's so well conditioned that i can see him playing until Brodeur did, around 42. Obviously his cap hit is outriding his levels now but it's not that big a gap imo. That said i would certainly check in with him at the next 2 deadlines(20' and 21') to gauge if he wants to go help a contender. Would bring us at least a 1st and a very good prospect. Somewhere like Calgary or even Buffalo who could be at a pretty high level in 2y.
Not happening. He will be a lifelong Ranger. IMO, he will take the backup role to Shesterkin. He probably would rather play to 42-43 as a backup here and hope the Rangers are contending in a year or 2. They might. This rebuild will be coming quickly if they can sign Panarin and Kravtsov is the real deal which he appears to be. If they let Hayes go, bring back Zucc and go with the following. Gorton has to purge the team of money other than Hayes. Staal has to go. Vesey has to go. Namestnikov has to go. Smith bought out if they can't deal him which they probably can't. Hopefully, Howden will take a big step up next year. Seems like the kind of kid that will work all summer on his speed, strength and game. Hoping Andersson does the same. Signing Panarin and bringing back Zucc is the key. That will give them a dynamite top 2 lines and allow the other 2 lines with mostly kids to mature at their own pace. Kreider-Zibanejad-Zucc Chytil-Kravtsov-Panarin Buchnevich-Howden-Andersson Fast-Fontaine-Meskanen There are rumors the Islanders are scouting the Rangers for Hayes. I doubt they give up Dobson or Wahlstrom. However, Wilde is a good bet and he's had a big year and is that big, righty defenseman our system has lacked forever. Bellows also is an option. Gorton pisses me off sometimes. He said he wants a top prospect, a first and a roster player. Why the fuck does he want a roster player? We don't have enough open spots as it is for our young players. If he took a first, Wilde and Bellows for Hayes and Namestnikov I would be thrilled.
Really disagree on this Panzer. There are far worse contracts that Glen has handed out. Far, far worse. And the stats you cherry-picked are very misleading. Where are the percentages on high danger shots? 5v5 shots? To go off of the last handful of seasons, which includes the downfall of AV and two rebuilding years is not fair. The first three years after his deal he was above .920 every year...no other goalie during that time did that. Not to mention a Stanley Cup appearance and 2 ECF appearances right in the middle of that. No mention of this? Just last year Henrik became the first goaltender in NHL history to face 50+ shots in two consecutive games and win them both. That's a testament both to him and to the team that's been playing in front of him lately. The Rangers have the second most expensive blueline in the entire NHL and they still give up those kind of shot numbers. That's a much bigger problem money-wise and a bigger example of financial mismanagement than Henrik's contract. No mention of that either? Also, friendly reminder that Henrik's career numbers in Game 7's are a 6-2 record, 1.10 GAA and .958 SV. And you're telling me he doesnt deserve a top contract? Also, you mention the "6.5m-7m" he deserved." The offseason before he signed his contract, Tuukka Rask signed an 8 year deal for $7m per. There was no chance Henrik was going to be paid less than freakin Tuukka Rask on the open market. Since Henrik signed his deal Carey Price, who has 2 good seasons under his belt, signed a deal for 10m per. Hasnt hamstrung the Canadians all that much as they are in the playoff race.
I agree on most of this. I think we have a way better chance of Zucc coming back on a reasonable contract than Hayes. Hayes is a very important player but he's in line to get paid. Zucc I think would clearly take less to come back. He's been on a roll lately - maybe he's already discussed it with the front office? Curious why you have Chytil on wing and Kravstov in the middle. Chytil is a natural C and I thought Kravstov was a natural winger though I know he's been playing C lately overseas. I like Chytil's size in the middle and his game reminds me a bit of a young Kopitar, while Krav looks like he could be an excellent off-wing playmaker. If we can get a top 6 of Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello, then Panarin-Chytil-Kravstov next year we'd be in very good shape. I'd keep Vesey over Buchnevich - Vesey is more of a tough player who can penalty kill, Buchnevich doesn't add much of what we don't already have. If we ditch Namenstikov I'd also keep Strome just for some C depth in case a kid goes down. Also damn is Zib on fire. I saw you calling him out a few weeks ago on here...looks like the reverse dump jinx strikes again. No way should he be moved. Kreider-Zibanejad-Zuccarello Panarin-Chytil-Kravstov Vesey-Howden-Andersson/Strome
Funny that you say I'm cherry picking with GAA/save % Prod and then you use a 2 game stretch, Game 7 stats and "high danger shots" to bolster your argument. I did post that there were guys above Hank who only played a handful of games but removing them still leaves Hank at the bottom for GAA/save %. I agree the defense is overpaid, soft and has stunk for years and have posted as much going back to the ESPN board days but Hank's backups should have had their stats similarly affected - that wasn't the case for Talbot or Raanta. Hank has played spectacular hockey for the Rangers, no doubt but the Rangers have young prospects and I don't see Hank being comfortable as the world's highest paid backup. Tuukka Rask signed for 8 years $56 mil in 2014, the year before Hank resigned. As I recall there were only two other teams in 2015 that had the cap space to even make a serious offer to Hank so letting him test free agency was a safe strategy. Hank loves NY, he would have come back for less.
Chytil blows on faceoffs. I thinkn Kravtsov will figure that out. I have been a Buchnevich critic. Howver, Vesey at this point has no upside. Buchnevich does if he like DeAngelo can get his head out of his ass via Quinn. I'd rather risk it on Buch. Either way. We should have 3 first rounders this year like last year.
Panzer, Lundqvist won't be a backup as long as he's on this contract. At worst, in his last year he would probably play 50g while Shest took 30g. He would never go for being a designated backup playing 25g. If anything he would probably ask for a trade if so. If Lundqvist chose to sign for 2 more years at age 40 then it's a different story.
Shesterkin, who seems to be the most likely replacement from within the organization, is tearing up the KHL 20-3-1 1.21 GAA and .947 save %. He's not going to be lured here to play 30 games. Gorton traded away the Captain last year, which I thought was a great move even before seeing Howden and Namestnikov play. I don't think there's much market for Hank unless a frontrunner loses a goalie to injury. Gorton has drafted well so far, it's not every year the Rangers send 4 players to Juniors, could have been 5 if Chytil wasn't busy. For a 19 year old Filip looks comfortable out there and is already strong offensively, a great pick. I think Gorton sees the defensive unit as a weakness and drafted accordingly. Hopefully we'll see some of the dead wood cleared out at the deadline like last year opening up opportunities for youth. There's a lot of encouraging news on the Rangers website prospect update especially on the defensive front, now's the time to break in a new goalie.
They have dominated with their defenseman picks and deals the last 3-4 years overall. Miller and Lundkvist look to be top 4 guys for sure. Rykov and Reunanen have broken out this year big time. His Gross and Keane picks looks very promising as well. Hajek has all the tools. Just needs the game to slow down for him and it will. Other than one team, he's been on bad teams his entire career. That sucks, but hopefully, he will be on the big club and they will be good again. The Morgan Barron pick will be a big factor in what they do with the draft. If they think he's the real deal and he hasn't given any reason as to why he isn't, They can go with more high risk, picks of need than say best player on their board. Righty shots would be at the top of list. Also, a righty defenseman with size. Of course, the returns in trades will big the top factor on what direction they go. I believe Hayes will go to the Av's. Kaut is a talented, big, righty shot winger that was taken first overall by the Av's. They are too close to the wild card to mail it in with that top line they have. My guess is they will also want a defenseman in return. Honestly, Staal would help them a lot. Hayes, Staal for Av's first Kaut Something tells me Carolina is going to be all in at the deadline. They have a ton of cap room and an extra second rounder. Hayes and Zucc to the Canes for their first, second and Necas Personally, I like Necas better and would take the second deal. I don't think the Canes could pass that up.
I would be open to trading Hayes with the intention of resigning him in the offseason but he's coming off a $5.175 contract as an UFA so there's no telling how high offers from other teams may reach especially because of his size. I would trade Zucc too, his value is sky high now. I wouldn't resign him. I like McQuaid, he's the physical RD the Rangers have lacked and coming off a $2 mil contract. Would be nice to see Staal and Smith gone. The Rangers have a lot of RFAs making under $1 mil - Pionk, DeAngelo, Buchnevich, Howden, Zborovsky, Lettieri, Gropp, Halverson. Buch's free agency status is reason alone to bring him back, his contract will be cap friendly.
I think you guys are both right on Hank. He's regressed a little due to age but with any kind of D in front of him still more than adequate in goal. The problem with hank is he is of little value right now especially with his salary on a rebuilding team. I agree that he is not leaving the rangers by choice but if shesterkin is to come he's going to need more games than a backup to leave home. Hank is not our future in nets in a year or 2 when were a top team again hopefully but I don't know how the rangers get out from this situation
I agree with a lot of this. Would never say Henrik is the same goalie as he was 5 years ago or that he’s the future for us, but he can still play and I definitely wouldn’t say that his contract is Sather’s biggest mistake. When Igor comes over do we think he’s going to spend a year in the AHL first? I think it would make sense at least for the first half of the year. Let him play every day and get acclimated to the North America style (the traffic in front, tighter spaces, etc.). I don’t think the timeshare would start right away and I anticipate Henrik the full time starter most of next year. But once Igor is ready for the NHL, all bets are off and Henrik needs to understand that.
