The Athletic Rangers Rank 25th in 2023 NHL Front Office Confidence Rankings

[Phil]

9 hours ago, Pete said:

But it doesn't matter, is the point. That criticism matters when you're going to continue to be old, in the context of this article.

 

Probably, yeah. My guess is they stay relatively old for the next one or two years as this crop of AHLers continues to develop. You'll likely see a pretty big wave of youth come in all at once, or one after another, between Othmann, Cuylle, Berard, Sykora, etc. Then Perreault and a few more will be three to four years out. Whole new team by that point.

[The Dude]

23 hours ago, Phil said:

 

I mean, they do have one of the oldest rosters in the league now. They were pretty much dead on the mark last season. The NHL average was 27.65 and their average roster age was 27.6.

 

Since then, they've subtracted Hajek (25), Kane (34), Tarasenko (31), Motte (28), Mikkola (27), Halak (38), and added Quick (37), Wheeler (36), Bonino (35), Pitlick (31), Belzile (31), Gustafsson (31) and Riley Nash (34). T hat's a whole lotta thirty-somethings depending on who exactly you think makes the final cut or not.

 

Everyone else on the roster is a year older, as well. My guess is their average roster age is gonna be among the oldest in the league by the start of the year. The only teams I think will definitely be older are the Caps and Pens, off the top of my head.

I forgot how old Quick was, but he's actually younger than Halak no?  I guess adding Wheeler and Bonino pushed them up a click.  After all is said and done, I'd think Cuylle or Othmann find their way onto the roster along with Jones, pushing Pitlick,  Nash and the other schmoe to the waiver wire. 

 

They're not the only team that got a year older. Every team ages. Not just the Rangers.  Nevermind that other teams also added a bunch of vet depth. I'd venture to think they're still pretty middle of the pack like last year. 

 

The only key piece that moves that age needle is Wheeler. The rest are spare parts and nobody that is an immovable object pushing a prospect down. Not long term pieces. I'd be surprised if the depth guys last the season. 

[Ozzy]

18 hours ago, LindG1000 said:

Yeah...I dunno. This feels really harsh. 

 

I don't think Drury is a poor trader. Quite the opposite actually.

I don't think he's bad at free agency, but I can get him taking a few dings over Trocheck and Goodrow.

I'm not really sure how much you can really assess draft and develop in two years. Drury's first draft pick was Brennan Othmann - I'm not really sure how to grade this fairly. It's been a sore spot for a while, though.

 

Feels like an angry over-reaction from the fanbase to me. 

 

I still wanna see how Laviolette deploys Goodrow, and or Trochek.  I think handing Gallant players like those, was like giving a caveman a nuclear missile.  Using Goodrow as a wrench, when he's actually a hammer is what I'm feeling.  Trocheck maybe not so much, because he's  less of a "role" type player to me, but who knows.

 

Clean slates all around for me until I see how Laviolette approaches this roster, and who fits with whom, G man.  I like what Drury has done in the time he's been here, and I still think he's got a little bit of a mess to clean up with a couple of contracts.  It's not terrible, but it can use a few alterations/upgrades over the next couple of seasons.  I think he's the guy that will take us there though.

 

As far as the roster being old...yeah...this year.  Agreed.  After this season, I have a feeling once these, "one and done" contracts are out, and the cap jumps a little, we'll see the average age fall pretty quickly.

 

Hey!!!  It's September!

[Ozzy]

18 hours ago, LindG1000 said:

Yeah...I dunno. This feels really harsh. 

 

I don't think Drury is a poor trader. Quite the opposite actually.

I don't think he's bad at free agency, but I can get him taking a few dings over Trocheck and Goodrow.

I'm not really sure how much you can really assess draft and develop in two years. Drury's first draft pick was Brennan Othmann - I'm not really sure how to grade this fairly. It's been a sore spot for a while, though.

 

Feels like an angry over-reaction from the fanbase to me. 

 

I still wanna see how Laviolette deploys Goodrow, and or Trochek.  I think handing Gallant players like those, was like giving a caveman a nuclear missile.  Using Goodrow as a wrench, when he's actually a hammer is what I'm feeling.  Trocheck maybe not so much, because he's  less of a "role" type player to me, but who knows.

 

Clean slates all around for me until I see how Laviolette approaches this roster, and who fits with whom, G man.  I like what Drury has done in the time he's been here, and I still think he's got a little bit of a mess to clean up with a couple of contracts.  It's not terrible, but it can use a few alterations/upgrades over the next couple of seasons.  I think he's the guy that will take us there though.

 

As far as the roster being old...yeah...this year.  Agreed.  After this season, I have a feeling once these, "one and done" contracts are out, and the cap jumps a little, we'll see the average age fall pretty quickly.

 

Hey!!!  It's September!

[fletch]

@Phil Since I don't have access to the Atlantic, can you (or someone else) list the first 5 and the last 5 teams in the rankings?  This sounds like a metric for fan crankiness.  

 

I'm guessing Flyers fans are in the last 5 teams.  Don't let me down Philly, you've got a reputation to uphold!

[Br4d]

2021-22 was a good all around season for Drury including the moves at the deadline.

 

2022-23 not so much.  You can debate how much of that was GG futzing around with the lines trying to find the right fit but in truth there were way too many options presented during the season and particularly from a couple of weeks before the trade deadline to the end.

 

It felt like Drury and GG were at odds from early in the season and then when GG finally found some fits and the Rangers took off it was only about 6 weeks until two major trades threw everything up in the air again.

 

Two particular issues that bothered me were the rapid advance of the kid line in that 6 week period and then their disappearance after the Tarasenko trade and then the hoops the Rangers jumped through to make the Kane deal happen.  I get that the talent level of the team improved with the deals but the performance level of the team did not.  The Rangers become more spectacular but less steady and that's exactly what their playoff performance against the Devils mirrored.

[Pete]

Any GM would have made that move for Kane. 

 

What happened in the playoffs is a direct result of GG and lack in of strategy adjustments. 

[Bugg]

On 8/30/2023 at 11:26 AM, RangersIn7 said:

A lot of that is based on signing 2 players to play reasonably limited and specific roles. 
And they are admittedly conceding that the kids need to take a further step, which is a plainly seen and known fact.

 

 

Gonna turn on whether Laff and Kakko become stars or JAGs. If they suddenly get it, Drury's a genius. If not....

[Bugg]

On 9/1/2023 at 4:35 PM, Pete said:

Any GM would have made that move for Kane. 

 

What happened in the playoffs is a direct result of GG and lack in of strategy adjustments. 

Both of Gallant's seasons here ended blowing 2 games to none advantages in a playoff series. Have no idea if that has never happened before in the NHL, but would wager it's highly unusual. Lots of variables go into all that, but the math; as of 2021, NHL teams down 0-2 were 51-330 in series. It sounds really hard to do statistically. Speaks to  a guy who doesn't handle things well and is in fact outcoached. 

[RangersIn7]

14 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Gonna turn on whether Laff and Kakko become stars or JAGs. If they suddenly get it, Drury's a genius. If not....

Yeah

The kids need to be doing more.