Is This/Could This Be the Year?

[Kick save and a beauty]

I know, I know there is already a trade deadline thread but this is mare about taking the temperature of the fanbase to see how many of you really think that this year is a possibility.

 

Yessss - All in baby!!

It seems like a pretty stark choice.  if we think we could win it all this year by simply adding one or two major pieces then the answer is obvious. Go out, mortgage everything in sight and do that,  Typical deals mean that we will be giving up some (or lots) of our future and handcuffing ourselves cap-wise either a little bit or a lot down the road, often when we will be looking to re-sign our own guys.  Paying next Tuesday for a hamburger today if you will.

 

No - This was never going to be the year
If, on the other hand you are in the camp that says typical Stanley cup champions need several playoff seasons building their roster and playoff experience before they can win the big prize then it would be foolish to spend like a drunken sailor now.  2021/2022 was always going to be be the first "seasoning" year for this Rangers team and we got a bit ahead of ourselves in the regular season results.  I confess I am in this camp myself .  We really need for Kakko and Laffy to play up to their draft positions and we are just now seeing the beginning of a spark with Laffy.  The rest of our young defense needs another year under their belts and TBH we need a serviceable backup goalie to boot,

 

So what to do?

Two rounds in the playoffs are much MUCH better than one for a young team so I would buy whatever our cap room this year let's us buy at the trade deadline but not much more than that.  Strome has done his job with the young kids so far and as unfair as it may seem i would not be surprised to see him moved again as a throw-in for another player at the deadline.  His career seems to be cursed in that respect.  If a bigger deal is available for someone who can fit under the cap and who has a reasonable runway taking him out into our championship years then I would be OK with that too.  We are not built for the physical nature of playoff hockey this year and changes need to be made starting from the back to get us there.  Miller has to go.  He is a big guy who skates really well but refuses to play to his size.  Somebody out there will fall in love with his potential.  Actually we really miss Sammy Blais' physicality (eff you PK Subban) and it will be good to see what kind of a difference he makes next year.

 

The game last night really confirmed how not ready to contend this team is right now.  Sorry for the rant.

 

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

With a couple adds this team could be decent enough for Shesterkin to carry them to a cup. He’s playing like a god and if that continues in the playoffs im struggling to see him lose 4 out of 7 games against anyone.

 

I’ll say go for it

[BrooksBurner]

You go for it, but I don’t agree with sending away a 1st round pick or bluechip prospect like Othmann for a 2 month 3rd line rental either. So all-in within reason.

[Tomas Sandstrom]

100% you go for it.

 

If not, then why were JD and Gorton fired in the first place?  Owner says Go For It.

 

It's the NHL Playoffs...anything can, and usually does, happen.   

 

Give me the best goalie in the game, an experienced coach, let's add a gritty goal scorer or 2, some depth on the blue line, and let's go to War. 

 

If all our guys are (relatively) healthy come playoff time, we've got as good a shot as anyone else to catch fire and go deep....

[Pete]

With the amount of cap space they have, assets to move, and a season you're not likely to ever get again from Krieder and Igor...You absolutely go for it.

 

It's because they need help in so many places that they have to take a big swing. A minor tweak is a lateral move.

[Valriera]

You go for it simply bc the cap reasons, you're not going for it in any other year soon, so do it now. The core may be good enough to just win later but go for it now while you can

[ThirtyONE]

I'm not sure what the point of making the playoffs is if you're not in the mindset of "going for it." Do I think this is the Rangers year? No. But why the hell not take a swing or two and see if you can't surprise some people? 

 

We've got so much cap space, it would be insane NOT to spend some of it. So long as the major players on the team stay put and it's only prospects and picks going out the door, I'm 100% on board with going for it.

[Sod16]

Sometimes the window closes and you don't even know it.  In 2015, we were the President's Trophy winner probably would have won the cup absent a rash of injuries in the playoffs.  The team was young and the window seemed wide open, but some seemingly minor roster changes had more impact than might have been thought, and we did not challenge again. 

 

It's too bad JT probably won't be available at the end of the day.  He would be the difference between where we are now and an elite contender.  

[jsm7302]

33 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

Sometimes the window closes and you don't even know it.  In 2015, we were the President's Trophy winner probably would have won the cup absent a rash of injuries in the playoffs.  The team was young and the window seemed wide open, but some seemingly minor roster changes had more impact than might have been thought, and we did not challenge again. 

 

It's too bad JT probably won't be available at the end of the day.  He would be the difference between where we are now and an elite contender.  

If that is the true belief then you swing for the fences and make it a reality. You may lose the trade but if you win the cup then all was worth it.

[Keirik]

21 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

Sometimes the window closes and you don't even know it.  In 2015, we were the President's Trophy winner probably would have won the cup absent a rash of injuries in the playoffs.  The team was young and the window seemed wide open, but some seemingly minor roster changes had more impact than might have been thought, and we did not challenge again. 

 

It's too bad JT probably won't be available at the end of the day.  He would be the difference between where we are now and an elite contender.  

In all fairness, the window didn’t close on us. Management decided to close the window themselves with a silly letter, trade our captain, trade a 24 year old talent we currently are trying to get back, hire a guy that had no idea what he was doing to coach the team, and tell our hall of fame goalie sorry bud, we aren’t going to try and compete anymore until you’re done. 
 

  Luckily it worked oit for us thanks to some serious fortune we are reaping the rewards of now but I never thought it was a good idea to just blow it completely up like that. 

[fletch]

6 hours ago, Kick save and a beauty said:

I know, I know there is already a trade deadline thread but this is mare about taking the temperature of the fanbase to see how many of you really think that this year is a possibility.

 

Yessss - All in baby!!

It seems like a pretty stark choice.  if we think we could win it all this year by simply adding one or two major pieces then the answer is obvious. Go out, mortgage everything in sight and do that,  Typical deals mean that we will be giving up some (or lots) of our future and handcuffing ourselves cap-wise either a little bit or a lot down the road, often when we will be looking to re-sign our own guys.  Paying next Tuesday for a hamburger today if you will.

 

No - This was never going to be the year
If, on the other hand you are in the camp that says typical Stanley cup champions need several playoff seasons building their roster and playoff experience before they can win the big prize then it would be foolish to spend like a drunken sailor now.  2021/2022 was always going to be be the first "seasoning" year for this Rangers team and we got a bit ahead of ourselves in the regular season results.  I confess I am in this camp myself .  We really need for Kakko and Laffy to play up to their draft positions and we are just now seeing the beginning of a spark with Laffy.  The rest of our young defense needs another year under their belts and TBH we need a serviceable backup goalie to boot,

 

So what to do?

Two rounds in the playoffs are much MUCH better than one for a young team so I would buy whatever our cap room this year let's us buy at the trade deadline but not much more than that.  Strome has done his job with the young kids so far and as unfair as it may seem i would not be surprised to see him moved again as a throw-in for another player at the deadline.  His career seems to be cursed in that respect.  If a bigger deal is available for someone who can fit under the cap and who has a reasonable runway taking him out into our championship years then I would be OK with that too.  We are not built for the physical nature of playoff hockey this year and changes need to be made starting from the back to get us there.  Miller has to go.  He is a big guy who skates really well but refuses to play to his size.  Somebody out there will fall in love with his potential.  Actually we really miss Sammy Blais' physicality (eff you PK Subban) and it will be good to see what kind of a difference he makes next year.

 

The game last night really confirmed how not ready to contend this team is right now.  Sorry for the rant.

 

I'd take most of your no-never going to be the year.  Typically you need at least one solid playoff season. We either need Kakko and Lafreniere to elevate their game, otherwise there are still too many holes.  Short two top performing wings on the top two lines, lack cohesion on the third/fourth lines. I don't agree with finding a rental at the deadline.  I think you are better off trying to fill holes in the offseason than overpaying at the trade deadline.

[Sod16]

1 hour ago, Keirik said:

In all fairness, the window didn’t close on us. Management decided to close the window themselves with a silly letter, trade our captain, trade a 24 year old talent we currently are trying to get back, hire a guy that had no idea what he was doing to coach the team, and tell our hall of fame goalie sorry bud, we aren’t going to try and compete anymore until you’re done. 
 

  Luckily it worked oit for us thanks to some serious fortune we are reaping the rewards of now but I never thought it was a good idea to just blow it completely up like that. 

I don't think we were a cup contender in 2016 and 2017, due to some bad personnel moves mainly.  We definitely were not at the time of the letter, although the burn down and start over approach was foolish.  The incremental approach represented by the Brassard and Stepan trades should have been continued, and such moves, combined with getting Panarin and Fox basically without charge, would have put us in a good position, even if we didn't get to play the ping pong ball game.

[Keirik]

9 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

I don't think we were a cup contender in 2016 and 2017, due to some bad personnel moves mainly.  We definitely were not at the time of the letter, although the burn down and start over approach was foolish.  The incremental approach represented by the Brassard and Stepan trades should have been continued, and such moves, combined with getting Panarin and Fox basically without charge, would have put us in a good position, even if we didn't get to play the ping pong ball game.

It’s all perspective. Lighting looked like their window was closing after several years of getting bounced or not making the playoffs. 

[Pete]

The Rangers were right to blow up the team when they did. They had too many UFAs who were risky to re-sign and the cupboards were bare. 

 

The issue is the assets they got back, basically the only NHLers returned from all the picks and prospects are Miller and Lindgren. 

 

That's bad. 

 

And then they lucked into the the unluckiest of ping pong balls. Twice. 

 

This "rebuild" was done via free agency and players forcing their way to NY via trade. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Pete

[RichieNextel305]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

The Rangers were right to blow up the team when they did. They had too many UFAs who were risky to re-sign and the cupboards were bare. 

 

The issue is the assets they got back, basically the only NHLers returned from all the picks and prospects are Miller and Lindgren. 

 

That's bad. 

 

And then they lucked into the the unluckiest of ping pong balls. Twice. 

 

This "rebuild" was done via free agency and players forcing their way to NY via trade. 

I still think it’s too early to write off Lafreniere, who I still do think is going to become an impact player for this team in the long haul. But overall, I agree.

 

Nevertheless, we are where we are and it’s a better place than we were. The one thing I will say is this: when Henrik was here, it felt like we were wasting his best years with hardly a punchers chance. It was him, and literally only him, for many years. Sure there were years where guys like Gaborik and Nash hit 40 goals, and we had guys with iron balls to compliment the roster.

 

But when you look at this team now with Igor in net, you at the very least have an elite level PP which is not something we ever featured, and multiple game breakers up front in their prime. There are still glaring holes before we become whole; maybe some get taken care of in the next 2 weeks, maybe some get taken care of in the summer. 

[Pete]

9 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I still think it’s too early to write off Lafreniere, who I still do think is going to become an impact player for this team in the long haul. But overall, I agree.

 

Nevertheless, we are where we are and it’s a better place than we were. The one thing I will say is this: when Henrik was here, it felt like we were wasting his best years with hardly a punchers chance. It was him, and literally only him, for many years. Sure there were years where guys like Gaborik and Nash hit 40 goals, and we had guys with iron balls to compliment the roster.

 

But when you look at this team now with Igor in net, you at the very least have an elite level PP which is not something we ever featured, and multiple game breakers up front in their prime. There are still glaring holes before we become whole; maybe some get taken care of in the next 2 weeks, maybe some get taken care of in the summer. 

Pretty much agreed, I also haven't written Laf off. But if you're grading it on what it is today, it's not great. 

 

Also they somehow turn Chytil, Lundkvist and Hajek into JT Miller... I guess some of those assets from the Tampa trade would finally be used for good lol. 

[RichieNextel305]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

Pretty much agreed, I also haven't written Laf off. But if you're grading it on what it is today, it's not great. 

 

Also they somehow turn Chytil, Lundkvist and Hajek into JT Miller... I guess some of those assets from the Tampa trade would finally be used for good lol. 

That Tampa trade still makes my eyes bleed when I look at it. Woof, lol.

[Sharpshooter]

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

Pretty much agreed, I also haven't written Laf off. But if you're grading it on what it is today, it's not great. 

 

Also they somehow turn Chytil, Lundkvist and Hajek into JT Miller... I guess some of those assets from the Tampa trade would finally be used for good lol. 

That's the only result that would make me feel better about that trade. lol