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

[RangersIn7]

8 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

The last time the Rangers won a Cup is so old it’s basically more off topic than the Saquon Barkley convo that got moved.

Lol!

 

Yeah man… I’m on a roll with that!

I brought up Petr Nedved yesterday too!

[Sharpshooter]

11 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

Lol!

 

Yeah man… I’m on a roll with that!

I brought up Petr Nedved yesterday too!

Still should have made the Rangers in 2008!

[RangersIn7]

Just now, Sharpshooter said:

Still should have made the Rangers in 2008!

Lol

 

He was what, 37-38 that season?

[Sharpshooter]

1 minute ago, RangersIn7 said:

Lol

 

He was what, 37-38 that season?

I think so, yeah. He had a really good preseason too and I just wanted it to happen. lol

[Drew a Penalty]

Damn. Lafreniere can't even remain relevant in his own thread.

[Sharpshooter]

25 minutes ago, Drew a Penalty said:

Damn. Lafreniere can't even remain relevant in his own thread.

You know it's bad when we're talking about Petr Nedved's 2008 PTO performance.

[Br4d]

1 hour ago, Drew a Penalty said:

Damn. Lafreniere can't even remain relevant in his own thread.

 

What hasn't been discussed yet?

 

It's hard for a 21 year old player to generate a lot of material because he's a 21 year old player.

 

Chytil you can talk about because he's been around for 5 years and is finally showing some of the promise he had when the Rangers drafted him.

 

Kakko you can talk about because he was pretty bad for 3 seasons and then finally showed up and gave us a bit of hope last season.  He hasn't been cockblocked the way Lafreniere has and despite that we've had only a few glimmers of the player he was supposed to be when he went #2OA.

 

Lafreniere has had 3 mediocre seasons which only compare well to Chytil and Kakko's first 3 seasons.  There isn't a lot to say beyond he'll either turn it up or he won't.

 

All 3 of these guys are key to the Rangers moving forward but only one of them, if you squint a bit, looks like he might be a star over the next 5 seasons.

 

It's sad to say but it is what it is.

[RangersIn7]

35 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

What hasn't been discussed yet?

 

It's hard for a 21 year old player to generate a lot of material because he's a 21 year old player.

 

Chytil you can talk about because he's been around for 5 years and is finally showing some of the promise he had when the Rangers drafted him.

 

Kakko you can talk about because he was pretty bad for 3 seasons and then finally showed up and gave us a bit of hope last season.  He hasn't been cockblocked the way Lafreniere has and despite that we've had only a few glimmers of the player he was supposed to be when he went #2OA.

 

Lafreniere has had 3 mediocre seasons which only compare well to Chytil and Kakko's first 3 seasons.  There isn't a lot to say beyond he'll either turn it up or he won't.

 

All 3 of these guys are key to the Rangers moving forward but only one of them, if you squint a bit, looks like he might be a star over the next 5 seasons.

 

It's sad to say but it is what it is.

I understand his detractors and the points they make.

But I don’t understand the doom and gloom, utterly pessimistic, this is in an awful place, he’s a lost cause, and can’t at all improve, point of view on him and it all in general.

 

This shit takes time.
It’s often non-linear.

There are fits and starts, and struggles along the way.

And it isn’t an easy task to begin with.

 

The terrible playoff showing and early exit plays into it too. Recency bias. That’s our last bite and it left a bad taste.

And that a was team wide failure.

 

But it’s been nearly 3 months since that Game 7 loss.

We all need to turn the page and move on.

 

[Br4d]

40 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

I understand his detractors and the points they make.

But I don’t understand the doom and gloom, utterly pessimistic, this is in an awful place, he’s a lost cause, and can’t at all improve, point of view on him and it all in general.

 

This shit takes time.
It’s often non-linear.

There are fits and starts, and struggles along the way.

And it isn’t an easy task to begin with.

 

The terrible playoff showing and early exit plays into it too. Recency bias. That’s our last bite and it left a bad taste.

And that a was team wide failure.

 

But it’s been nearly 3 months since that Game 7 loss.

We all need to turn the page and move on.

 

 

Oh, I get all of that but I still think the Rangers are going to find reasons to bury Lafreniere in the overall plan.  There are two veteran LW's who are clearly more productive at this point.  Both of them are still young enough to be playing for their next contract and any idea that they will help Lafreniere unseat them is laughable.

 

I really wish Lafreniere was the RW and Kakko the LW because we know how one configuration went and we'd at least have had a shot on the other.

 

The first mistake the Rangers made with Lafreniere was not converting him to a Center.  That would have been an onsides conversion and it would have reflected what he was actually doing at the junior and international levels.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Br4d
Addendum

[RangersIn7]

20 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

Oh, I get all of that but I still think the Rangers are going to find reasons to bury Lafreniere in the overall plan.  There are two veteran LW's who are clearly more productive at this point.  Both of them are still young enough to be playing for their next contract and any idea that they will help Lafreniere unseat them is laughable.

 

I really wish Lafreniere was the RW and Kakko the LW because we know how one configuration went and we'd at least have had a shot on the other.

 

The first mistake the Rangers made with Lafreniere was not converting him to a Center.  That would have been an onsides conversion and it would have reflected what he was actually doing at the junior and international levels.

 

 

They couldn’t convert him to C bro.

Hes not a C. Never been. And when you’re 18 and the best prospect in the game, the team that drafts you 1OVA isn’t going to move you in that extreme of a way. 
Plus it’s not really conducive to his skill set and his development.

 

However, what they should’ve done, for the last 2 seasons and in the subsequent off-seasons, was work on him being able to consistently play and move between both LW and RW.

That should’ve happened already. It hasn’t.

I think though that there’s a good chance you’ll see them play him on the RW this year, depending on how Laviolette sees and does things with his top-9 forward group.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, RangersIn7 said:

They couldn’t convert him to C bro.

Hes not a C. Never been. And when you’re 18 and the best prospect in the game, the team that drafts you 1OVA isn’t going to move you in that extreme of a way. 
Plus it’s not really conducive to his skill set and his development.

 

However, what they should’ve done, for the last 2 seasons and in the subsequent off-seasons, was work on him being able to consistently play and move between both LW and RW.

That should’ve happened already. It hasn’t.

I think though that there’s a good chance you’ll see them play him on the RW this year, depending on how Laviolette sees and does things with his top-9 forward group.

If Laf moves to the right (and I think he should), the path becomes clear.

 

CK Zib Kakko — Had good metrics

Panarin Chytil Lafreniere — Had good metrics

Goodrow Trocheck Wheeler — A checking line that can score, and Wheeler doesn't have to lug the puck

[Phil]

8 minutes ago, Pete said:

If Laf moves to the right (and I think he should), the path becomes clear.

 

CK Zib Kakko — Had good metrics

Panarin Chytil Lafreniere — Had good metrics

Goodrow Trocheck Wheeler — A checking line that can score, and Wheeler doesn't have to lug the puck

 

It's exactly this. Laugh really fucks everything up if he has to be on the left because it's the same issue as last season just on repeat. Too "good" for the third line, but not good enough for the top-six. They end up moving bodies around to make it work, but the third line always ends up an amalgamation of leftovers.

 

Vince's latest pod he said he fully expects the kid line to be broken up, likely to the point that all three players start on each of the top three lines, so my guess to start is:

 

Kreider-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Wheeler

Laugh-Trocheck-Goodrow

[RangersIn7]

30 minutes ago, Pete said:

If Laf moves to the right (and I think he should), the path becomes clear.

 

CK Zib Kakko — Had good metrics

Panarin Chytil Lafreniere — Had good metrics

Goodrow Trocheck Wheeler — A checking line that can score, and Wheeler doesn't have to lug the puck

 

20 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

It's exactly this. Laugh really fucks everything up if he has to be on the left because it's the same issue as last season just on repeat. Too "good" for the third line, but not good enough for the top-six. They end up moving bodies around to make it work, but the third line always ends up an amalgamation of leftovers.

 

Vince's latest pod he said he fully expects the kid line to be broken up, likely to the point that all three players start on each of the top three lines, so my guess to start is:

 

Kreider-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Wheeler

Laugh-Trocheck-Goodrow

It needs to be a fluid thing to some degree. 
 

We have no idea what will work within a new system with varying combinations.

 

And things will change periodically. Guys and combinations will run hot and cold, things get stale, other guys slump and peak, etc.

 

GG was stubborn and pigeonholed everything. And when he did switch things up, he did so oftentimes in a forced, begrudging manner, and quickly abandoned that thing. 

 

[Phil]

55 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

 

It needs to be a fluid thing to some degree. 
 

We have no idea what will work within a new system with varying combinations.

 

And things will change periodically. Guys and combinations will run hot and cold, things get stale, other guys slump and peak, etc.

 

GG was stubborn and pigeonholed everything. And when he did switch things up, he did so oftentimes in a forced, begrudging manner, and quickly abandoned that thing. 

 

 

Well, I'm viewing this through two factors that, I think, are going to dictate the way these lines ultimately break:

 

1. An acknowledgement that Laviolette wants/prefers/will implement a true checking third line that requires players capable of playing to that style.

2. An understanding that his general 5v5 system is a modified left wing lock where the center and right wings (F1 and F2) are the players sent in harder on the forecheck to force turnovers.

 

When you combine the two, what you end up with is something close to what Vegas just won with, which was built on forward pairings that are complemented by a specified third man — the left wing on each line who is the floating attacker.

 

Using Pete's lines:

 

Kreider-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Lafreniere

Goodrow-Trocheck-Wheeler

 

Using mine (which aren't necessarily mine, but what I think they'll start the year with):

 

Kreider-Zib-Kakko

Panarin-Chytil-Wheeler

Laugh-Trocheck-Goodrow

 

On paper, it works. Especially down the left side where you (again, on paper) have a player capable of doing something with the puck when it's pressured and turned over onto their sticks.

[RJWantsTheCup]

With all the trade rumors and all the bust talk surrounding Donut Hole I don't see him being switched to RW.

Most likely they are going to try him where he's comfortable playing.  He'll probably get a shot playing with Zibby and get more power play time even though I hate the thought of it.  I think he should show something first and then get moved up.  If he's not showing any improvement by the trade deadline he's more than likely being sent somewhere else.

[RangersIn7]

Not sure how much Wheeler helps on a “checking” line.

Not exactly known for his ability on the defensive side of things.

 

We likely see a bunch of different options play out though 

[Pete]

8 hours ago, RangersIn7 said:

Not sure how much Wheeler helps on a “checking” line.

Not exactly known for his ability on the defensive side of things.

 

We likely see a bunch of different options play out though 

Beat reporter for Winnipeg was on Vince's pod and said Wheeler was a very responsible defensive player in terms of positioning and puck decisions. 

[RangersIn7]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

Beat reporter for Winnipeg was on Vince's pod and said Wheeler was a very responsible defensive player in terms of positioning and puck decisions. 

I listened to that. Didn’t catch that part I guess.

[Sharpshooter]

He still hasn't signed! Tarasenko still hasn't signed either!

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

[Pete]

4 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

He still hasn't signed! Tarasenko still hasn't signed either!

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Yes, and they both received the same memo this morning.

 

"There's no money left." 

[Sod16]

Left standing in musical chairs after the music stopped.

[Phil]

On 7/22/2023 at 6:51 AM, Pete said:

Beat reporter for Winnipeg was on Vince's pod and said Wheeler was a very responsible defensive player in terms of positioning and puck decisions. 

 

This is one of those situations where we likely need to appeal to authority (the beat writer). There's a Twitter narrative that Wheeler sucks defensively that's littered with red bar bad, but apparently last season he was blue bar good? I honestly have no idea. I don't watch the Jets very often. I'd trust Murat Ates (the Jets' beat who Vince spoke to) here.

[RangersIn7]

35 minutes ago, Pete said:

Yes, and they both received the same memo this morning.

 

"There's no money left." 

If either want to play for any team that’s a true contender, they’re going to have to play for less. Quite a bit less.

 

Figure out where you want to be for the next season and take what you can get.

 

Both these guys don’t need the money at this point. And they don’t have to leave a boat load on the table cause they can go UFA again next summer. They’ve made $170 million combined in their careers. 

[Sharpshooter]

Goodrow getting dealt to make cap space. Drury could be working magic. Otherwise, yes, they have zero funds. lol

[The Dude]