Mercogliano Rangers Expected to Sign Lafreniere to 2-year Bridge With $2.5–2.75m AAV

[Pete]

1 hour ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

I would think if an offer sheet was going to happen it would’ve already happened.  

 

There is no offer sheet. Clubs don't have money. Many also don't have their own picks required for compensation. A team is not going to Kotkaniemi him, they saw how that turned out for Carolina.

 

They won't give him big money, and the Rangers can match any offer that a club would give him within reason. If they want to get nuts, take the picks.

 

[Phil]

Just now, Pete said:

 

There is no offer sheet. Clubs don't have money. Many also don't have their own picks required for compensation. A team is not going to Kotkaniemi him, they saw how that turned out for Carolina.

 

They won't give him big money, and the Rangers can match any offer that a club would give him within reason. If they want to get nuts, take the picks.

 

 

The only way this works is a team like Montreal, for example, going the 1st + 3rd compensation route for one year, like Kotkaniemi. Poison pill. But I don't see it happening either because, like you said... look how that turned out. He's one expensive ass fourth-liner.

[BrooksBurner]

7 minutes ago, Pete said:

 

There is no offer sheet. Clubs don't have money. Many also don't have their own picks required for compensation. A team is not going to Kotkaniemi him, they saw how that turned out for Carolina.

 

They won't give him big money, and the Rangers can match any offer that a club would give him within reason. If they want to get nuts, take the picks.

 

 

It seems to be turning out pretty well for Carolina, actually.

[Br4d]

25 minutes ago, Pete said:

How does it damage the team's position? How do we know they haven't told him directly. Maybe the info going public is because they're been saying it for 3 years now, and nothing is different.

 

It damages the team's position because it devalues Lafreniere in any number of ways but not least with the teams they might like to trade him too.

 

You never want to go public with a criticism of a player from management's perspective.  From a coaches perspective the calculus can be a little different in a tactical sense but generally speaking you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[Pete]

1 minute ago, Br4d said:

 

It damages the team's position because it devalues Lafreniere in any number of ways but not least with the teams they might like to trade him too.

 

You never want to go public with a criticism of a player from management's perspective.  From a coaches perspective the calculus can be a little different in a tactical sense but generally speaking you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Fair. That's pretty much why I don't think it was a leak (leaks are intentional, this wasn't).

[siddious]

I would love to see the drama of Gorton offer sheeting him though. That’s worth something. 

[The Dude]

Seattle could maybe use a LW. They have cap space. Shane Wright would be a nice addition for future center depth, incase Chytil doesn't pan out or they can find a taker or new position for Trocheck. 

 

WTF is Seattle doing with Wright anyway? 

 

Fat fuck for Wright. Straight up  

[Cash or Czech]

38 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Seattle could maybe use a LW. They have cap space. Shane Wright would be a nice addition for future center depth, incase Chytil doesn't pan out or they can find a taker or new position for Trocheck. 

 

WTF is Seattle doing with Wright anyway? 

 

Fat fuck for Wright. Straight up  

 

They're doing right what we did wrong, not forcing a kid obviously not ready to contribute at an NHL level to play NHL games, and instead letting him develop properly. They're not gonna trade him.

 

They're also pretty set on the wing with Eberle, Schwartz, Bjorkstrand, McCann, Tolvanen, and Yamamoto. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Cash or Czech

[Phil]

It's conjcture, but the teams most likely to want Laugh are probably Vancouver (his former agent, Emilie Castonguay, is AGM there now), Montreal, and Ottawa (hometown teams).

[Bugg]

8 hours ago, Phil said:

It's conjcture, but the teams most likely to want Laugh are probably Vancouver (his former agent, Emilie Castonguay, is AGM there now), Montreal, and Ottawa (hometown teams).

Suspect that while Gorton drafted him, the Habs institutionally are disinclined to have another offer sheet situation possibly  blow up in  their faces. 

[RangersIn7]

13 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

They're doing right what we did wrong, not forcing a kid obviously not ready to contribute at an NHL level to play NHL games, and instead letting him develop properly. They're not gonna trade him.

 

They're also pretty set on the wing with Eberle, Schwartz, Bjorkstrand, McCann, Tolvanen, and Yamamoto. 

The  rule restrictions regarding prospects playing in the AHL and that limitation has to go.

 

Kakko and LaFreniere would have benefited greatly from playing in the A.

[BrooksBurner]

13 hours ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

They're doing right what we did wrong, not forcing a kid obviously not ready to contribute at an NHL level to play NHL games, and instead letting him develop properly. They're not gonna trade him.

 

They're also pretty set on the wing with Eberle, Schwartz, Bjorkstrand, McCann, Tolvanen, and Yamamoto. 

The Rangers have a chance to change that pattern with Othmann. Even Cuylle might be getting more AHL time, which is probably a good thing too. If we want to develop “gritty talent” in the top 9, which I hope is the plan, it’s important for these guys to develop their offensive games more in the A than it is getting 10 a night just looking not to fuck up.

[Sharpshooter]

20 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

The Rangers have a chance to change that pattern with Othmann. Even Cuylle might be getting more AHL time, which is probably a good thing too. If we want to develop “gritty talent” in the top 9, which I hope is the plan, it’s important for these guys to develop their offensive games more in the A than it is getting 10 a night just looking not to fuck up.

Yeah, maybe they realized they kind of fucked that up with Kakko and Laf, so they're doing their due diligence with the others. 

[RangersIn7]

1 hour ago, BrooksBurner said:

The Rangers have a chance to change that pattern with Othmann. Even Cuylle might be getting more AHL time, which is probably a good thing too. If we want to develop “gritty talent” in the top 9, which I hope is the plan, it’s important for these guys to develop their offensive games more in the A than it is getting 10 a night just looking not to fuck up.

 

1 hour ago, Sharpshooter said:

Yeah, maybe they realized they kind of fucked that up with Kakko and Laf, so they're doing their due diligence with the others. 

It’s not just top guys

Good organizations consistently find and develop lower guys, 3rd/4th liners, bottom pairing D’s, backup goalies, spare forwards and defensemen, that can play and contribute within a role, and are steady.

 

Rangers have never been the greatest there. 

[Phil]

3 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

The Rangers have a chance to change that pattern with Othmann. Even Cuylle might be getting more AHL time, which is probably a good thing too. If we want to develop “gritty talent” in the top 9, which I hope is the plan, it’s important for these guys to develop their offensive games more in the A than it is getting 10 a night just looking not to fuck up.

 

Especially together. This crop of potential HFD players feels similar to the Callahan, Dubinsky, Ansimov + era for the first time in ages.

 

Sykora, Othmann, Cuylle, Berard, etc — I want all of these guys coming up together. Tampa model.

[RangersIn7]

25 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Especially together. This crop of potential HFD players feels similar to the Callahan, Dubinsky, Ansimov + era for the first time in ages.

 

Sykora, Othmann, Cuylle, Berard, etc — I want all of these guys coming up together. Tampa model.

I’m encouraged that Drury was in Hartford. Hopefully he puts that kind of stamp on things.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Phil said:

 

Especially together. This crop of potential HFD players feels similar to the Callahan, Dubinsky, Ansimov + era for the first time in ages.

 

Sykora, Othmann, Cuylle, Berard, etc — I want all of these guys coming up together. Tampa model.

They just can't be the first line. That's the issue we face. Once the stars leave and you're left with Chytil/Laf/KK as the top line...Let's just say that it doesn't look promising today. It may down the road.

 

[Phil]

Just now, Pete said:

They just can't be the first line. That's the issue we face. Once the stars leave and you're left with Chytil/Laf/KK as the top line...Let's just say that it doesn't look promising today. It may down the road.

 

 

100%. I've said it out loud a few times: I'm terrified of what this team will look like when the torch gets passed to these guys, because I don't believe in any of them.

 

But a lot can change between now and then. Maybe they pull another Brassard-Zibanejad like trade, or just sign another big free agent like they did with Panarin?

[Pete]

6 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

100%. I've said it out loud a few times: I'm terrified of what this team will look like when the torch gets passed to these guys, because I don't believe in any of them.

 

But a lot can change between now and then. Maybe they pull another Brassard-Zibanejad like trade, or just sign another big free agent like they did with Panarin?

Yea. Free agency is never the reliable route to go. It really seems like most teams are just locking in top players long-term, early.

 

Also Panarin is an anomaly, there shouldn't be an expectation that you're getting that, as a UFA, in New York.

[Phil]

16 minutes ago, Pete said:

Yea. Free agency is never the reliable route to go. It really seems like most teams are just locking in top players long-term, early.

 

Also Panarin is an anomaly, there shouldn't be an expectation that you're getting that, as a UFA, in New York.

 

Nope, definitely not. Most of the time it's Brad Richards. Good for a year or two, then an often rapid descent into madness.

 

But this is the bed they made for themselves. Laugh/Kakko/Chytil have to take the next steps or the house of cards comes crashing down IMO. This is also why I'm so happy with the Drury era drafting, though. I'm kind of anticipating this and I think they'll end up in a soft reset mode where they miss the playoffs once, maybe twice, and "retool on the fly," fully transitioning from this weird amalgamation into the team Drury probably envisions in the big picture where a lot of the hard-to-play-against types are regular NHLers by that point.

 

It's impossible to project yet, but my guess is an even greater emphasis on straight line hockey and a pull back on the east-west stuff.

[Pete]

12 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Nope, definitely not. Most of the time it's Brad Richards. Good for a year or two, then an often rapid descent into madness.

 

But this is the bed they made for themselves. Laugh/Kakko/Chytil have to take the next steps or the house of cards comes crashing down IMO. This is also why I'm so happy with the Drury era drafting, though. I'm kind of anticipating this and I think they'll end up in a soft reset mode where they miss the playoffs once, maybe twice, and "retool on the fly," fully transitioning from this weird amalgamation into the team Drury probably envisions in the big picture where a lot of the hard-to-play-against types are regular NHLers by that point.

 

It's impossible to project yet, but my guess is an even greater emphasis on straight line hockey and a pull back on the east-west stuff.

I think the key is that they've drafted a bunch of hard workers. It's a lot easier to get behind a rebuild if you're looking at a team that's playing hard, even if they're not good. 

[Phil]

Easier to sell to fans, too. Even though it's technically missing the most important aspect — talent.

[Br4d]

22 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Nope, definitely not. Most of the time it's Brad Richards. Good for a year or two, then an often rapid descent into madness.

 

But this is the bed they made for themselves. Laugh/Kakko/Chytil have to take the next steps or the house of cards comes crashing down IMO. This is also why I'm so happy with the Drury era drafting, though. I'm kind of anticipating this and I think they'll end up in a soft reset mode where they miss the playoffs once, maybe twice, and "retool on the fly," fully transitioning from this weird amalgamation into the team Drury probably envisions in the big picture where a lot of the hard-to-play-against types are regular NHLers by that point.

 

It's impossible to project yet, but my guess is an even greater emphasis on straight line hockey and a pull back on the east-west stuff.

 

I think if this build falls through it's going to be more than a couple of seasons retooling.  The Rangers core with the exception of Fox and Miller is all over 30 at this point.  If the current kids don't join the core that means the Rangers will be in an almost full rebuild by '25 or '26 and the young guys Drury has drafted will be filtering up at that point, joining a roster largely bereft of talent.

 

Igor also will be on the way out of town and it will just be ugly to watch.  This is an effect put in play by the repeated trade deadline moves of the last few seasons none of which retained the talent acquired at the deadline.  That means the current core just got a few years older in that process without ever getting a better chance moving forward.

 

If you want the Rangers to be really successful this season and moving forward it almost requires Lafreniere, Chytil and Kakko to take major steps forward and join the core.  That's the scenario where the Rangers can do the things they're going to have to do with the cap over the next few seasons and still remain competitive.

 

Note that getting Tarasenko back does not resolve the overall dynamic in play.  It makes the Rangers better this season no questions but they're still going to be humped in '25 and '26 as they begin to shake out the cap issues.  This is true even if the cap is 15% higher by '26 and sitting at $93-95M.  This is because an increase in cap size is going to drive salaries up.  It's not just going to create additional space to fill '23 salaries with.  It's going to be '26 salaries.

[mbob]

Been heads down in life shit of late, peaking up how the f is Laf not signed yet?  Is he holding out for the donut of the month club?  Must be more to this no?

[Br4d]

19 minutes ago, mbob said:

Been heads down in life shit of late, peaking up how the f is Laf not signed yet?  Is he holding out for the donut of the month club?  Must be more to this no?

 

I wouldn't read anything more into it than he wants more than they're offering.  If we start seeing a lot of chatter about trade talks then we'll know.