Brooks wrong again? Shocker! There is a good possibility that Drury did make offers to some of these players and they chose to go elsewhere, the Breadman took less money to come here. Drury should at least get the benefit of the doubt after signing Trocheck but his player relations skills suck, it's business but I doubt the locker room is behind Drury with the Trouba nonsense. Jacob and the Breadman are gone in 2 years, Lav needs to pop his head out of his ass and coach, he's at the top of my list of why the Rangers lost - no better than GG at this point.
Trouba is probably going to get a hard time from the fans this season. Women as usual complicate things. Honestly, as much as Florida was outplaying the Rangers, if Lava wasn't a thickhead and took Zibanejad off the first PP unit and put Lafreniere on RW where he gave them a one time option from that side as a lefty shot, the Rangers may have won that series and got their PP going. Zibanejad must not be on the first PP unit again. If Lava does that, he should be removed. Drury also because it will be a move to keep Lafreniere from getting 80 to 100 points like he should next season in a sad attempt to keep his contract down. There wasn't much Drury could have done. The contracts being handed out are insane. I stick to what I said all yesterday. Teams will be trying to dump contracts like lunatics at the deadline, eating half the contract and giving away good picks to do so. So, the Rangers might be a little lower in the standings but it won't mean jack shit if they can add players at the deadline and actually get picks doing so. It will be interesting to see if dickhead Zibanejad did what Panarin did and come back with a purpose. He clearly is on the shit list of the fans now. We can't sleep on Othmann either. He's got the grit of Cuylle but is a lot more talented.
You do understand how the trade deadline works right. The guys who were just signed to multiyear deals 99% will not be traded at the deadline. The guys in the final year of their contract will be available from bad teams as usual, and yes there will be some money retention involved as there always is. But get ready to trade your 1st round pick if you want the big dogs, something you flip out about every trade deadline, that goes double this year considering the Rangers don't have a 2nd round pick in 25, 26, and 27 (they also don't have a 3rd round pick in 25). That is the way the trade deadline works every single year for decades, and this upcoming season will be no different. I have little doubt you will be flipping out on the Rangers, or any team, as you always do for the crazy deadline prices they'll have to pay for top players. As for Zibanejad, and even Panarin, nothing they do in the regular season changes anything, it is nice and helps the team get points, but we have all been there and done that with these two. As usual, both of them disappeared in the playoffs, and that is when they need to show up and prove it. If the Rangers make the playoffs, which is not a lock with the current roster, I care about these two soft players showing up when it matters most, not having great regular seasons again.
According to “two people with knowledge of the situation” speaking to Vince Mercogliano of USA Today on July 1, Trouba is “not pleased with the way this has gone down” and he “does not want to move his family.” One of Mercogliano’s sources added that “it will require ‘a major cleanup’ to mend fences if the captain sticks around.” Trouba’s settling in Manhattan could present a hurdle to the Rangers’ brass when attempting to move him elsewhere as he doesn’t want to leave New York. “(Trouba’s) wife, Kelly, has a medical career in New York and their first child, Axel, arrived in January,” Mercogliano reported. “The belief is that [Rangers general manager Chris] Drury wants to rip the band-aid off, which may leave Trouba resigned to accept his fate. Regardless of how it turns out, the state of the locker room is a concern.”
My own opinion is you need to trade Trouba now. I am sure Trouba will be a good leader and teammate as always, but I just don't think it makes sense given all the back and forth. Rip the band-aid off as it says. If Trouba won't report or accept a trade to a team not on his 15 team no trade list, then suspend him. I know it is a mess, well done Drury, but keeping him when you want to move on is not the right move for the team. I respect the fact that Trouba is focused on family, but this is a business, and his contract, which he signed, gives the Rangers the right to trade him to a team not on Trouba's list. I don't think Drury has handled it well, but I am not sure Trouba has either if he is pushing back on going to a team not on his list. Who knows what the truth is, but it does appear this is quite the soap opera....
Not with this amount of drama of course, but I saw this coming with Trouba after the first year of his deal.
Hopefully, the dumb fuck Rangers will no longer give out these dumbass NTC and NMC's. I've said it for years. If Dolan was a good owner he would make it an organization policy to not allow them. I'd gladly take less FA's coming here knowing the organization didn't give them out. Develop 90% of the team through the draft.
Doesn't look like Trouba's going anywhere so we can look forward to hundreds if not a thousand more hate posts for a guy who's not replaceable. good times.
The issue is, just about all these top players get some sort of NMC or NTC in their deals, it is all over the league. Just like overpaying on contracts, and overpaying in trade DL deals, you can complain about it and take a stand, then watch your team fall by the waste side as you miss out on good players time after time, or unfortunately you have to play the game. So, live in a world where you won't pay big money for contracts on July 1st, don't make trade DL deals, don't give out NMC's/NTC's, but know it will hurt your team in the long run, as the other teams do it and you don't. Look at the final 4 teams in the playoffs this past season, all have at least 6 players with NMC's/NTC's on their roster. That's the way it is for better or worse. You don't think Igor is getting a NMC/NTC in his deal, 1000000000000000000000000000000000000% he will, you can take that to the bank.
The truth on Trouba is before his injury he was solid. Not great, had some ups and downs, but he was solid for the most part. After his injury he was a mess and a big liability IMO. So, one would hope that if he is fully healthy, and I am sure he will be, we'll see the solid player again this upcoming season if he stays. I think he'll be on the 3rd pair at this point, but I am sure he will play a big role on the PK, which is important. Let's hope for health, and a return of the solid Trouba.
Trouba forced a traded out of WPG to his preferred destination, yet still held out for top dollar. That was his right to do so, but when the cap crunch comes, the first people placed under the microscope are the guys not living up to their price tags. Trouba put a target on his back the second he demanded $8m from Gorton. If staying in NY was this important, then he would have signed for a bit under market and negotiated stronger NTC protection. But he didnt. He demanded the whole $8m, and is playing nowhere close to that value. To turn around and thwart a deal out of here because apparently he is the first athlete in history whose wife has a job in the same city is a joke. My opinion of him has changed drastically. Staple still speculates that the writing is on the wall and Trouba will likely not be here. I hope that is the case. We absolutely cannot go into next year with the same defense. It will not work. Lindgren cannot be on first pair. If he is on third pair, his partner cannot be Jacob Trouba. I dont know how this gets fixed at this stage. Chychrun would have been a great target. Sean Walker in FA would have been a pretty good target. I don't know the backup plans now. But by delaying the submission of the no-trade list until the minute it was due (again, his right) Trouba threw a lot of sand into the gears on upgrading the defense.
I agree with you pretty much 100% Prod, especially on the D needing a change, and Lindgren would be better off on the 3rd pair with a bigger more physical guy added to pair with Fox. The guys you mentioned (the Chychrun deal was a good deal for the Caps), I liked Dillon, Zadorov, and Roy all of whom would have been good fits to replace Trouba. The issue is no one is left now, so I am not sure how you replace Trouba at this point, unless it is via trade. I would not be surprised if Trouba is here and I would not be surprised if he is gone, that's where I am at based on all the reporting and comments, and where things are after day one of free agency, nothing would surprise me.
Looking at the left D FAs still available and how they might fit. Oliver Kylington is still unsigned. He could be intriguing. A guy who showed a lot of promise but missed a year and a half for personal reasons. Good skater and puck handler/mover. Not overly physical but not small. I can't say I saw much of Calgary once he came back but reports seemed positive. Lindgren out for picks/cap relief. Miller-Fox Kylington-Schneider Jones-Trouba. Not great but not awful. If we are looking at the trade market, it has to be someone that plugs in on that top 4 left side. Not sure who may become available. In that scenario, Trouba is out, and someone needs to be signed on the RIGHT side to partner with Jones. Ryan Suter could be a very steady, one-year add. Miller-Fox TRADE-Schneider Jones-Suter Might be better, depending on who the trade target is. In either scenario, I think the right move for the roster is to move Lindgren out. I respect the guy a ton, but the wants term and his body is not going to hold up. He is not a first pairing player. He is below average at everything besides putting himself in vulnerable positions and getting cut on his face, at which he excels.
Sometimes you have to roll the dice on guys, especially when you dont have the flexibility to pay for the proven commodities. Grabbing a guy like Kylington for cheap could pay huge dividends. Florida got Forsling on waivers after he had already been given up on once and traded. Look how that turned out.
I would be shocked if both Trouba and Lindgren are gone, I think at least one is back. What I read this past weekend is they were in good discussions with Lindgren on an extension, and he was being reasonable. If Lindgren is reasonable, 4 years $4M per +/-, I think he should be back. He'd be a really solid fit on the 3rd pair if they can upgrade the top 4. Trying to guess at pairings is always a moving target, but I think we'll see Miller-Schneider together, and the Fox partner is the question, Lindgren or other. And does Jones get the chance to be a regular on the 3rd pair, that is also an open question.
Suter is fucking ancient. Fox, Lindgren, Schneider and Miller are here to stay. They probably will have to eat shit with Trouba for one more year. Mancini is a kid who is 6’4 and reminds me of Girardi where he’s coming in as a defensive defenseman under the radar. He’s right handed. A Kakko deal for a young left handed defenseman and a third center prospect would be ideal. Look to Buffalo.
It would be fine to keep Lindgren around for the 3rd pair and PK on a reasonable deal. The problem is Trouba should be 3rd pair as well, behind Fox and Schneider. A Lindgren/Trouba pairing at 5v5 would be an unmitigated disaster. To avoid that, one of them would have to move into a top 6 role they are not suited for, or for which there are better options. Rolling out the same pairs but with Jones subbed for Gus is not going to solve the issues we saw on the back end in the CAR and FLA series.
Kakko is NOT bringing that back. You have to give Kakko and a pick/top prospect to get anything worthwhile. Everyone has seen what we have seen. Potential? Yes. Reality? Never reaching it. Because of that we are selling low on Kakko. Best case with him is he starts the season off red hot and we trade him then when his stock goes up.
To me the Rangers need a legit 3rd line C who can win FO's (enough with the skill/finesse 3rd line), a # 1 RW that can play with Kreider and Zibanejad, and a bigger more physical dman to pair with Fox (one of Lindgren or Trouba goes the other is on the 3rd pair). That's how I see it. Maybe you cannot get all three spots solved, but I would like to think Drury can come away with solving two of the three, so far, he is at zero.
