Nemeth isn't great but if you need a bottom 6th defenseman to win a cup you're fucked. The Av's are using Jack Johnson as a top 4 and he sucks moose dong.
I can't believe teams are willing to give up a 1st plus other things for Chiarot. He's just not that great.
It is the same every single trade DL. Either teams pay the high cost, or they don't and watch the teams around them pay the cost and get better. That is how it works every single year. I know the pick obsession is very high by some in here, but how many picks in the 20's + really develop into very good NHL players. I'm not saying you throw them away or they don't count, but they are not gold. And smartly/strategically if you have to deal one every so often to add what could be a final piece, you have to do it IMO. With that said, you know it most likely won't work out because only one team can win the cup, but you can also quickly recoup picks if you fall off and then can deal your players for picks, this is what Gorton did very quickly. I think Drury will be smart here. We will add a top 9 forward, but he will hold his bigger chips for something down the road, especially if Strome leaves. But we also have to realize these kids all cannot play here, we cannot pay them all, not all of them will pan out, and our cap gets tighter and tighter moving forward, so right now is a good time to strike. At some point you jump in otherwise you waste a lot of kids and just tread water.
Teams that throw away their first and second rounders eventually get to a point where they have to rebuild. Thus why the Rangers had to rebuild. They would still be rebuilding if Panarin didn't come here and Fox refused to play for any other team. Without those 2 players this team is not a playoff team.
We are the New York Rangers, players like Panarin will always want to come here. We need to act like it. Dealing a pick here and there to go for it is smart strategically. Don't go nuts and deal everything, but smartly done it is the right approach. Simple math says we have to move soon or we risk losing kids for nothing, or wasting them since we cannot pay/play them all. This is a good time for Drury to strike smartly. Smartly being the key word. Go add a top 9 forward and maybe even another depth dman and/or forward, and see what happens. Hold the bigger assets for down the road for a potential upgrade from Strome.
Rumors they are interested in Radulov. He’s another unrestricted free agent he might pick it up if he comes here
I like Radulov a lot but he is an aging vet who's production has fallen off a cliff. It wouldn't take much to get him but I'd rather they use some of their assets to bring in a younger player with a more dynamic game.
TB giving up back to back first round draft picks in '23 and '24 for Hagel from Chicago...wow. Also, Giroux scratched from the Flyers lineup tonight. Wonder what Colorado is giving up to get him!
Teams that are close don't view the 23rd, or 25th, or 27th pick in the draft as some major piece. I don't disagree with that assessment when you are close. Plus in this case he is under contract with a $1.5M AAV, and that is huge for cap strapped TB.
Maybe we'll have a new transaction today. Lindholm could be a possibility though that could be a bidding war until Monday.
Through 23-24, so two seasons after this one at $1.5M against the cap. Huge for a team like TB. Drury needs to be smart here, but has to be aggressive IMO. The cap gets real tight real quick after this season. Time to add is now. I would deal our 1st rounder, but ideally for someone with an extra year on his deal. Plus we have an extra 2nd rounder as well, and we could deal one of those picks if we didn't want to deal our 1st.
I wouldn't be surprised if they extended Vatrano for another year or two. Gauthier can be used in a deal he just doesn't fit that well here. Barron has some decent potential but i wonder if he will ever add enough offense even as a bottom six player. Othmann and Cuylle should be close after next year.
I see Barron and Gauthier going at some point. I agree, Vatrano I'd like to see extended for a couple of seasons. I'm not bringing back Rooney either. If they keep Vatrano, the 4th line will most likely be Reeves-Goodrow-Blais.
I suspect they will bring him back. His presence is a big deterrent to other teams getting overly physical.
Players coming off the board very quickly, and Drury doing nothing of note so far. He should have some pressure on him. Other teams getting better, the Rangers staying stagnant so far, and he made a decision to leave a ton of cap space open this season, money that could have been used to improve the team. On top of that, those who say patience and wait, the cap gets real tight starting next season. Doesn't mean make a bad desperation deal, but he has to do something of note IMO. When you make a decision to leave a good deal of open cap space on the table for the season, and your team performs above expectations, you have to be aggressive. If he doesn't do anything big, someone explain to me why he didn't offer a player or two one-year bigger money deals to use our cap space. Did we need Nemeth as the vet LD added with a bunch of extra cap space? Did we need to be short in the top 6 with a bunch of cap space? Sorry, but that is not good money management by Drury. If he didn't want to deal picks/prospects and use the cap space at the trade DL, why not use it this past summer on one-year deals. Doesn't make sense.
