I think I'd rather include Chytil than Buch in any big deal. He's now a proven guy at W and Chytil is still a bit of WC and isn't optimal at C. Buffalo or Florida would probably want the younger guy anyhow.
Here is the issue with that, cap hit. Buch with arbitration rights will be maybe at 5.5 mill per +/-. Meanwhile Chytil will be 2.5-3 mill. That's a big difference.
Yeah it is but i think they can still make it work keeping PB even with the 3m difference. If the cap can then rise a few million a year it should give enough cushion with future RFA's. I just think Chytil is still a bit of an unknown with point production whereas Buch has established himself enough to be a vet type of presence. Plus i think a trading team may want Chytil more which helps the package.
Chytil is 21, to question his toughness is ridiculous, he can't even grow a playoff beard yet and he's an RFA making next to nothing - no way I trade him. If Buffalo wants to deal Eichel we have plenty of dmen to bolster their awful squad.
The cap will be flat for at least 2 more seasons, which makes keeping Buch difficult if we want to add a C. I am a big Buch fan, but when I look at the makeup of this team, and the # of finesse skilled wingers we have, I just don't think it is smart cap management to pay Buch 5.5 +/- per season. I think he may have to go in a package for a C or some grit/toughness.
Sam didn't seem very happy at the opening of the last telecast. I have a feeling next year could be his last, but who knows. Maybe he won't let the JD firing bother him too much.
I mean, let's face it. I think most of us expected the Rangers to make moves at the trade deadline. They did nothing. We expected them to get some toughness to protect the team, especially the kids. They did nothing. Previous draft picks in the first round are not looking like great playoff pieces. Andersson didn't work out here. Chytil is talented but is super soft. Kravtsov looks like another soft euro. Miller and Lundkvist are extremely talented but as of this moment, neither plays with an edge. Only last years draft with Lafreniere and Schneider with Cuylle in the second round look like they will be guys to win in the ally's with as Messier said. What do three of those guys have in common? From Canada and played in juniors. I've been saying this team was too Euro for years. Those stupid bastards at OTG and HF suck off every Russian prospect and they do it every year. So with JD here, they started to change.
Not sure why most would have expected us to make moves at the DL. We weren't really in the playoff hunt, and we weren't totally out of it, at best in neutral. We didn't have a lot of guys to sell off, and we certainly weren't in a position to be a buyer. So the DL went quietly as I think most expected. As for the toughness aspect, no doubt it was a miss to not add at least one guy for "protection", but I also know we have been in cap hell with dead money against the cap and bad contracts, which for the first time in years we have none of this summer (31 mill of cap space projected). They also drafted for toughness and grit last draft, and I think fully deserved the chance to finish it off this summer, which included added some toughness/grit. These moves were a year too early as has been said. If they didn't get it done this offseason/next season, then they all should have been fired. At days end I do not trust Dolan to have that type of read on the team. Which leads me to snake Sather playing a role, and Drury may have blood on his hands as well, he didn't seem too broken up that two guys that have given him a ton of responsibility got canned for him to rise up. That strikes me as a bit odd as well, and now he is in a role, President, that he has no business being in at this point in his young career. We'll see where it goes, but I think it is very unfortunate what happened, and to trust in Dolan is something I will never do.
Two centers I would focus on acquiring are Horvat or O'Reilly. The Blues window has closed. They're finished. O'Reilly has two years left on his contract. We need to get a faceoff stud. He's 29. I suspect something like Strome and Buchnevich with a Jones would get it done. He's worth it. He's a playoff stud also. Horvat is 25. A deal using Buchnevich and Chytil should be enough. However, I suspect they will want defenseman. They have nothing on the right side of their defense worth shit. Especially puck moving wise. Because dumb fuck Gorton gave Trouba a NMC and NTC like he seems to do with every player, we seem to have a log jam on the right side. Is Horvat worth giving up Lundkvist in a deal with Chytil? I don't know. I mean, you have Fox, Trouba and Schneider that seems to be the group going forward. It's hard to win playoff games with really young players. Especially on defense. Either deal has to be contingent on an extension. Horvat has 2 years left on his deal as well. Neither player gets a NMC or NTC.
Yeah, i didn't really expect them to do anything at the DL except ride it out and if they happened to sneak in great, if not no biggie. Selling off Lemieux who had no role going forward was saying we're getting more assets and if we lose some toughness for the rest of season it's not a huge deal. Backfired a little but i had no problem with it as this is still a transition year.
The overall picture to me, and why I am really annoyed by untrustworthy Dolan, is this summer was always the target I believe. This is when it would all come together with no more terrible contracts and loads of dead cap money. And Dolan pulls the plug on Gorton and JD right on the goal line of them making their big final moves. That's what really pisses me off. That and the JD thing, as a franchise icon this never should have happened.
James Dolan essentially screamed to the hockey world that the rebuild is over. In his only interview since dismissing John Davidson and Jeff Gorton, he basically said he doesn’t like his hockey team. While he praised their work for amassing all this young talent, he claimed something was missing. Usually with Dolan that means more marquee names and bringing in those with proven track records. Patience may not be his biggest strong suit. So now the New York Rangers appear to be back to heading to their old ways. It’s time to go shopping and get some big toys on Broadway again. This is the one trade rumor in the NHL that will not die down or go away. Jack Eichel and the Rangers almost feels like preordained destiny. Even Johnny Gaudreau and the Flyers settled down after awhile. If you try to surmise everything that James Dolan said in the wake of the dismissals, his patience had run out and he wants a winner now. When the news broke, I had a feeling one of the reasons why a change was made had to do with the failure to land Jack Eichel before the season. Another is brewing that the Blueshirts failed to land a player with term at the deadline. Whatever the cause, it’s all in for Eichel this summer. Remember, Elliotte Friedman noted that the Rangers had a “reasonable offer” that obviously wasn’t good enough. That was probably a major factor in Dolan’s decisioning. Now those Jack Eichel talks are back with Friedman noting that the plan even before the change was to make another pitch. With Chris Drury at the helm, it sounds like it will be more aggressive. “They were in on Eichel before this,” Friedman began. “It’s not like they were afraid to go after Eichel, they made the Sabres an offer on Eichel in the offseason. It’s one that at least made the Sabres think before deciding they weren’t ready to make the move yet. I don’t think Chris Drury will be any more or less inclined to make a move for Eichel as the organization is already prepared to do that.”
I have felt it for a long while, Eichel is going to be a Ranger, and I feel it even more now. Only way I don't see it happening is if the Sabres stubbornly decide to hold onto him, or if the Sabres ask the Rangers for much more than any other team. If they are fair and looking for a very good package highlighted by Strome, or Chytil, or Buch, and a dman like Jones or maybe even Lundkvist, and some picks (including their 3rd rounder back), Eichel will be a Ranger.
Gorton didn't do anything at the deadline because he turned into an incompetent GM. Bennett was there for the taking. He's been there for 2 years and Gorton did jack shit to acquire him. He easily had enough to get that guy. Jenner on Columbus is another plus faceoff, tough role player. The Jackets suck and are totally void of talent. Where was Gorton going out and getting a guy like that when that team has no scoring all over their roster and most of their defenseman suck.
Good points by Brooks: I have made it clear that I believe the Rangers need to do far more than improve on the margins. I believe they need to hunt for big game to change the dynamic of their top six, and yes, of course if there is any way to pry Matthew Tkachuk out of Calgary that should become Drury’s singular obsession. There is nobody, but nobody, who would be a better fit. Of course the bounty sent the other way would be massive. The Rangers have four players with no-move clauses in Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, none of whom would suit the Flames, anyway. I’d wall off Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox and Alexis Lafreniere as untouchable, I’d designate Ryan Lindgren nearly untouchable and go from there. Does that mean I’m in a hurry to move Kaapo Kakko? No. Or K’Andre Miller? Certainly not. But as I have said before, the Rangers are going to have to trade someone they don’t want to sacrifice in order to get a transformational top-six player. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t envision a package consisting of a permutation of Filip Chytil, Pavel Buchnevich, Vitali Kravtsov, Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist and future first-rounders getting it done. Do you think Neil Smith wanted to trade Tony Amonte?
I would look at the Calgary C's Monahan and Lindholm if I could not get Eichel. You have to think the Flames are open for business after missing the playoffs in a weak division. I also think they could use some goalie support, so maybe Georgiev could interest them in a package with Buch, a dman, and a pick for one of their C's. Georgiev, Buch, Jones, 3rd or 4th FOR Monahan or Lindholm Watch the Flames, they could be a great match.
