Good afternoon, boneheads!
I found this part 2 of Staples’ mailbag …ahem.. entertaining. The first one contained mostly predictable blah..blah..blah about Lafrenière, I didn’t think it was worth posting.
https://theathletic.com/4757037/2023/08/08/rangers-filip-chytil-jacob-trouba-contract-buyout-panarin-lindgren/
129 responses to “New nothing…”
What does it say about Panarin? I don’t pay for the Athletic.
…ain’t nothin’ shakin’ but the leaves on the trees.
Nothing new. Panarin produces in the regular season, but not in the playoffs. Arthur thinks Lavy should give Chytil a shot with Panarin. Save your money.
Laffo-Busto traded yet?
Did bread score in playoffs with Chicago or Columbus?
Bread 66 pts in 82 career playoff games
16 points with 6 goals in 20 playoff games the year before this one for the rangers
I’d say last year was a whole team fluke
Bread can score in playoffs but recency bias makes clowns like staple crow
I love bread, just not when it’s stale.
Some August manur from The Athletic today:
The 5 truths all NHL fan bases need to hear this offseason
TORONTO, ON- MAY 12 – Fans reacts as referee Jean Hebert (15) waves off a Morgan Rielly goal that would be called back as the Toronto Maple Leafs are eliminated by the Florida Panthers in five games with a 3-2 overtime loss in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. May 12, 2023. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star
It’s August, barely anything is happening, and the casual fans are all focused on baseball, barbeques, “Barbie”, and the occasional NFL preseason games. In the hockey world, only the diehards are still around. If you’re reading this, then that’s you.
Good. We need to talk.
I wouldn’t write this piece during the season because the casual fans would take it personally. They’d probably get upset. But you? You’re still reading hockey content in mid-August, even when you know there’s nothing to read about. You can handle some big kid talk. And that’s what you’re getting today.
We need to talk about you. Specifically, about your fan base. There are some truths that you and your fellow fans need to hear.
No, I don’t know which team you cheer for. That’s the beauty of it — I don’t need to. Because today we’re going to talk about some things that apply to pretty much every fan base. Even yours? Yes. Especially yours.
You may not like them, but it’s better that you hear them from a friend. Here are five hard truths your fan base needs to hear.
*You’re overrating your prospects and young players*
They’re not that good.
OK, yes, some of them are. Depending on where your team has spent the last few years on the whole contending-to-tanking continuum, they may even be very good.
They’re just not as good as you think they are.
That’s because you’re probably falling into the same trap that virtually all fans do: You’re looking into a future where all your team’s prospects have reached their ceiling. If every one of those guys is as good as the experts say they could be, we’re in great shape! But you’re not because that’s not how prospects work.
A few of them will reach their ceiling. If you’re very lucky, one or two might even go Tage Mode and smash through that ceiling. But other guys will stall out before they reach their full potential, and some will just end up as busts who never make it. That’s true even if your team is especially good at developing. It’s just the nature of how sports work.
And you know this, of course — when it comes to other teams. But when it’s your guys, and you’ve paid close attention to everything said about them, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and confuse a ceiling with a most-likely outcome. And once you’ve fallen into that trap, you get very mad when somebody comes along and suggests that the future isn’t exceedingly bright. Look at this prospect list, you want to yell, it’s filled with future stars. Except it isn’t.
An especially funny version of this happens when a team has a legitimately lousy prospect list, and their fans have to resort to pushing quantity over quality. Don’t say we don’t have prospects, they’ll tell you, we have like five young defensemen in the system. Yes, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Every team has lots of prospects. Nobody’s out here passing on draft picks, or icing an AHL team full of beer-leaguers. You might have a bunch of blue line prospects, but they’re all going to be competing for that eighth defenseman spot three years from now. That doesn’t move the needle as much as you might hope it would.
*The refs aren’t out to get you*
Neither is the league. Neither is the department of player safety. Or the replay war room, or the series supervisor, or Gary Bettman himself.
Deep down, you know all of this, of course. Virtually nobody actually believes in sports conspiracies. They repeat them because the “everyone is against us” card is a fun one to play, and can even take some of the sting out of an especially painful loss. For the most part, pretending that Bettman is hiding in his office, twirling his villain’s mustache while ordering the refs to make sure the borderline calls go in favor of his chosen teams, is harmless fun.
Just don’t get carried away. On a related note, many of you get carried away.
The conspiracy schtick is cute, up to a point. But once you start taking it seriously, it gets tedious real quick. Don’t do that. And if you see your fellow fans going too far down the rabbit hole, please roll up a newspaper and give them a smack on the nose.
Sure, it might be true that your team has an especially good or bad record with certain officials. You might hit a stretch of bad luck with the review system, and you never really know what the department of player safety guys will be thinking on any given day. When the hockey gods have it in for you, sometimes things just don’t go your way. We’ve all been there, and it’s frustrating.
But remember Hanlon’s Razor, the old adage that I’m assuming was coined by the former Red Wings goalie: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. Think about the leadership in this league. Do you really think they’re orchestrating top-secret plots targeting your favorite team? These are the same guys who couldn’t pull off an outdoor game because they hadn’t realized it might be sunny during the day. Even if they wanted to hold your team back, they wouldn’t be able to pull it off.
And speaking of being out to get you…
*The media doesn’t hate your team either (probably)*
OK, so the hockey world doesn’t really secretly hate your team. But what about the media? Especially that one idiot. You know the one — they never seem to have anything good to say about your team. That one’s obviously personal, right?
No! Almost certainly not. Probably. OK, maybe.
Look, people in hockey media are human, or at least close enough. Sometimes we get grumpy, or even carry a grudge or too. But far more often, we’re just doing the best we can to offer up well-informed takes that we hope you’ll find interesting. So when you respond to mild criticism of your favorite team with some performative rant about how we just hate your favorite team and its fans, it makes you look silly.
Does Dom Luszczyszyn sneak in and program his mathematical model to spit out results that work against certain teams? Of course not. Is Pierre LeBrun reporting that your favorite team might have to move a star player because he wants you to be sad? No. Is that one beat writer secretly rooting against your team because he used to cover a rival and somehow that makes him their fan? You sound ridiculous. Is McIndoe making fun of the Canadiens again because he’s a big baby who’s still not over the 2021 playoffs? Absolutely, but that’s the exception that proves the rule. Most of the time, there’s no agenda in play.
Are we completely and totally impartial, all the time? No, because again, we’re human. But you’re not impartial either, not by a long shot. If we don’t see eye-to-eye it’s at least possible that it’s a you problem.
*You’re not the loudest fans in hockey*
Yes, I know some broadcasters said that a few times, and some writers on Twitter mentioned something similar, and there was that one time somebody asked a visiting player about you guys and he basically said “They’re fine, I guess.”
Here’s the harsh truth: They were being nice.
The reality is that you guys are loud sometimes. Very loud, even. When your team wins a playoff game, you blow the roof off the arena, and it can be a very cool thing to witness. You’re also pretty underwhelming at other times, especially when the game isn’t going well. In other words, you’re like pretty much every other fan base.
Claiming to be the NHL’s loudest fans has its obvious appeal, but at some point, it starts to lose its meaning when roughly 25 fan bases around the league are doing it. That doesn’t mean you have to stop, because it’s fun — especially if you’re a non-traditional market and there’s a hint of “nobody believed in us” mixed into the claim. So sure, go ahead and keep saying it, especially if it annoys the sort of people that it’s good to annoy. Just don’t buy into so much that you flip out when you inevitably run into a matchup with some other fan base that’s spent the last decade saying the exact same thing.
(And let’s not get started on your being the smartest fans, or the most loyal, or the “best”, no matter what your team’s social media account says.)
And finally …
*Your rival fan base isn’t as awful as you make them out to be*
I saved this one for last because I feel like out of all of these, this is the one that people will push back on the most.
If there’s one thing that every fan base seems to feel extremely passionate about, it’s telling you about how that rival fan base is a bunch of no-class jerks. They show up in your building, they get drunk, and they start fights. They’re loud and abrasive. They swear in front of small children and elderly nuns. Then they try to fight them too.
Meanwhile, your team’s fans are sitting politely with hands folded in laps, focused on enjoying the game and then going home and getting a good night’s sleep so you can wake up early and help build that orphanage.
Here’s the thing: That rival fan base you hate so much says the exact same stuff about you guys.
And to be clear, sometimes it’s true. Every fan base has some genuine idiots, who really do behave like morons. Run into the wrong batch of these dummies, and they can ruin your night. Some people are just jerks, whether it’s in the stands, in the parking lot, on the subway, on social media, at the sports bar or wherever else you cross their path.
But the key here is that it’s true of every fan base, including yours. And while the distribution might not be exactly equal across all 32 teams, it’s pretty close. If you’re adamant that’s just not true, and those rival fans really are so much worse than your own, then you’ve either had some bad luck or (far more likely) you’re falling into confirmation bias. You see a few drunk idiots wearing the right colors, and they’re just having fun. But if they’ve got the wrong jerseys on, you chalk it up as yet another example of how Fan Base X are all morons.
The truth is that people are people, and at any given moment they can be good or bad or anywhere in between. Those rival fans aren’t as bad as you say, and your fan base isn’t a bunch of saints, no matter how much you might be wired to pretend otherwise.
That’s it. Five truths that you needed to hear. Feel free to head into the comments section and add your own suggestions. (Or just tell me you agreed right up until the end but that Fan Base X really are all jerks.)
Ah yes, I have Nothing for the new post:
Depeche Mode – Nothing
Cyberaktif – Nothing Stays
John Wetton – Nothing Happens For Nothing
he’s wrong on isles fans. they really are trashy. can’t stand going to ranger isles games even at the garden
“…hockey fans are focused on Barbie?” Seek thee a grip on realty and apply it forthwith! 🙂
Philly fans pride themselves in fights and sucker punches in cheesesteak lines
I used to think NYR fans were better until that jerk on video suckered that fan on the walk out (not sure if it was a lightning fan or maybe capital?)
I’m sure you know NY has as many jerks as any other city. Unfortunately, some of them are Rangers fans.
Having said that, the Devils fans are real jackwagons. 😃
What manly hockey fan is going to watch Barbie. It’s an abomination even to insinuate that.
Barbie success ….just the latest example of the rampant stupidity in this country
I don’t understand why anyone cares one way or another about Barbie. It’s a Summer movie that has been well packaged and promoted. It will be forgotten about by Labor Day. Let’s move on.
YOU move on! Generalissimo.
Stupidity is often the result of indoctrination.
Example…Islander fans!
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
― George Carlin
True, bobbyo – If 100 IQ is the mean, every other person you meet is below average. or worse.
If Barbie is the biggest concern of either the nation or NYR fans I may need to move to Canafire.
‘I don’t want to set the World on fire,
I just want to start
A flame in your heart…’
Not sure how accurate this is but…
Lafrenière plans on staying a NY Ranger
“Yes, it’s coming. My agent and the Rangers are in discussions and I hope it will be settled in the next few weeks. I love playing there, and it would be super cool to continue. I’m really looking forward to re-signing.”
– Alexis Lafrenière
A lifetime message for Boneheads!
We seem to be less patient than LAF.
I Love Sam. I plan on Enjoying any season he has left in the booth.
Not sure we will ever have another voice welcoming us for so many decades.
Makes it Feel like home.
One lifetime to the next Stanley Cup!
Who’s looking forward to regular season east-west hockey that dries up in the playoffs? 🖐️😐
Craign it does make for a fun regular season 😉
Can’t explain it (well, I can), but even amidst all of those “dark ages” seasons from the late 90s through early 2000s, this is the first season that I’m just not looking forward to. When you think about it, other than qualifying for the post-season, the regular season means nothing, and in a good chunk of cases serves as a mirage (see Boston).
There are only so many decent seasons followed by playoff collapses this team can have before my enthusiasm goes numb.
Yet strangely, I’ll still watch every regular season game because it’s what I do, and I’ll probably get my hopes up if they have an exceptional regular season because, again, it’s what I do. BUT, it still doesn’t change my lack of excitement for the season ahead. Unfortunately, for me, it’s cup or bust with this team. 50+ regular season wins mean nothing if you’re bounced in the 1st round.
Us Rangers fans are the definition of insanity, aren’t we…
St Pete luv your stale bread post. Also wondering about Sam. Was that his last great call. Agree with you guys on Islander fans; they give a more severe meaning to the word stupidity
CraigFormerWeatherNowPR
I completely agree being Rangers is an unforgiving addiction.
I have more hope Craig
Laviolette and Wheeler were good additions to go away from east west
Laffy will come in strong and Chytil and Kaako less timid each year
Kreider is a beast
Zika and bread are motivated
Miller will find his snarl
Trouba will shut many troobadoors on people trying to step inside (looking at you kadri)
Schneider will continue to blossom
Lindgren will be healthy
4th line overhauled
Goodrow will lead by example
I must be in the good row.
Just a bit outside!
QMJHL bans fighting
The future of fighting in hockey took its first big blow when the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League put some heavy sanctions regarding the extracurricular activity.
Per the QMJHL Rules (Section 4):
Fights In order to prevent physical and psychological violence that may result in minor or serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death, the QMJHL is responsible for establishing rules of intervention when a fight occurs between two or more people during a game, regardless of whether they are players or other team members (coach, assistant coach, trainer, etc.).
Rule 47 of the Playing Rules, starting with the 2023-2024 season, provides for fights being prohibited with more restrictive and dissuasive sanctions in order to emphasize a safe quality of play conducive to the development of players participating in QMJHL activities.
The QMJHL will ensure that the sanctions mentioned in the following paragraphs are applied.
As soon as a fight occurs, those engaged must be systematically ejected from the game.
Any player found to have instigated the fight will also receive an automatic one-game suspension. The person declared to be the aggressor during the fight will receive a minimum of two automatic games of suspension.
In addition to the game misconduct, an automatic game suspension is imposed starting with the player’s 2nd fight of the season. This suspension is in addition to the sanctions described in the preceding paragraphs.
So who thinks more QMJHL players will suffer concussions from players taking liberties, now that those players know they won’t have to answer for it on the ice? Personally, I think the elbows will be up a lot more with these new rules.
Craig weather guy
we are by no means a cup favorite. best guess is we’re 3rd in division (and that’s if all goes well)
8.11.23: James G checked in from “his cousin from BAWstin’s”
Alex,
They’ll be lucky to snag the 3rd spot.
I still have 5 teams from the Atlantic getting in with 3 from the Metro.
Of course, anything can happen once you get in, but I see that as part of the problem with the NHL these days. There’s no such thing as an “upset” anymore thanks to the salary cap taking that element away. Butt-man wanted parody, and he got it. It deems the regular season useless as far as I’m concerned, short of qualifying for the post-season. To me, that just sucks.
When the Rangers won the cup in 94, it was almost expected that they’d win the cup. It wasn’t the easiest path for them, but in the end, they accomplished that goal. 9 times out of 10, you could hang your hat on your favorite team going far in the post-season if they had a stellar regular season. But now, it essentially means nothing. So, what’s the point of watching the first 50-60ish games anymore? I think that’s what’s responsible for my lack of excitement for the upcoming season, along with last season’s first round loss/epic collapse to Tampa the year before.
Good morning, Boneheads!
Next step for QMJHL? Make it mandatory every team watch Barbie before this season starts.
LMAO ilb
ilb
I just spit out my coffee. Is no contact Buttman hockey on the horizon?
Think QMJHL going too far. No problem banning the staged fights but should leave the regular stuff alone. Increase penalty for use of equipment during or to start a fight.
LOL, ilb! Soooo true.
Craig weather guy
agreed except the loss to tampa was due to 2 very long series before while tampa had very short series with fla. which hurt tampa for game or 2 vs us but after that we were getting more and more gassed. lesson needs to be win some series in short form. like we did in 94. like vegas did this year. like you said the cap has ruined a lot of hockey excitement and makes it even worse in many “fans” get to play the blame game on players. if things were always this way i doubt i would have gotten into hockey as much as i did. now it’s embedded in my blood stream
The hard cap is awful, and has really ruined my connection to the sport of hockey.
It’s frustrating as a fan to watch a team build and build, get closer to winning, then have to shed home-grown players in favor of journeymen in order to be compliant.
The “Buchnevich for Blais for Tarasenko, then nothing” trade has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Buttman’s expansion caused all of this. Supporting small market teams is like supporting ex-wives!
I agree with Coos 100%. The hard cap penalizes teams that actually draft well and build their teams the “right” way. We rag on our scouting staff and the drafts but what does it matter? If we hit the jackpot and every draftee turns out to be a good player, you already know the sands are running out on your team because there is no way you can pay all these guys. You get a guy like Lindgren who we got as a raw defenseman and now look at him. And we as fans all love the guy. But wait – he’s going to need whatever million and we need that for Miller or Lafreneiere or whoever so off he goes. And then he ends up winning a Cup somewhere else. It kills me – every year some ex Ranger is winning a Cup and chances are it was a guy we just couldn’t afford to pay. It IS very demoralizing as a fan.
Agree with St Pete Eli about Bettman and expansion too.
I am 26 plus but I still view hockey as if I am five. I fall in love with our guys and then we trade half of them for salary cap issues. I hate the cap and I hate judging players on how much they make. I get it – it’s the way it is these days. I don’t like that a lot of you don’t like Trouba – I love him! But a lot of that dislike is due to his salary (which I do agree is a bit high). Just sort of ruins a lot when you have to judge everyone on what they make.
The QMJHL didn’t ban fighting. They just made their rules align with the NCAA and any other league not in North America. There is a game ejection and a one game suspension for fighting. There is nothing novel here. You are not banned from the league if you fight.
The idea that a league consisting of mostly teenagers would essentially encourage fighting is actually kind of nutty when put it in context with any other sports league with players of the same age group. I’ve done lots of USAHockey games where player decide to fight knowing they will likely be suspended. It’s not a ban. It is just stricter sanctions. If you fight you will sit out a game.
wrhkeeper
a big part of our cap problems is signing ufas like bread or trading for trouba and then paying him a fortune.
add basically a flat cap and we’re up against it
and if laffy and kakko produced to their hype when drafted we’d lose even more guys for cap reasons
The game of hockey….like all sports I think is about survival of the fittest. The salary cap flies in the face of the laws of nature…it throws survival of the fittest in the toilet.
It is my humble opinion that the salary cap should not exist. If an organization cannot financially keep up….then they go extinct. That is the natural order. Instead what Mr. Bettman has imposed on all of us is equal misery so to speak. Financially sound organizations are not permitted to flex their monetary muscles. So….. yes just when some teams are about to reach for the brass ring the cap reaches out and bites them on the buttman. And then they must trade or lose commodaties that they have developed. The process is already starting to infect our team. Thanks Gary Butthead.
My thoughts…The problems arise from poor drafting or not building through the draft like the devils, Blackhawks, etc. Not doing so causes teams like the Rangers to sign players aka Zibanejad, Kreider to long expensive contacts in their late 20’s making it difficult to keep players they have drafted and developed. Plus signing free agents like Stale Bread and Troubadour to ridicules contracts to stay competitive. It’s like burning down the village to save the village. THE CAP SUX!
st pete
kreider was drafted and developed in house. he’s been one of our better players especially in playoffs. if anything he’s underpaid. mika is still worth way more than trouba or bread get.
but can’t agree more that the flat cap truly sux.
Alex
I agree.
If you take my entire post in context you’ll see I point out signing the Vets to long term contracts in their late 20’s regardless of how they were acquired.
Alex, agree with you about Bread. To an extent on Trouba but not going to argue. Definitely agree about what is basically a flat cap. Bettman also seems to dangle a carrot out there every year as if it may go up to a reasonable level. Then it gets upped by one million which is ridiculous. How can a GM plan anything out?
Rich – I assume you are in Maryland. Not sure if you are along 83 but I’ll be dropping someone off in Baltimore on Wednesday at the law school. If I see any signs that say Hagerstown I will honk and say Yo, Rich!
The Derbils have “built through the draft” because they have (1) put incompetent teams on the ice for most of the past decade, and (2) can’t attract and/or don’t want to pay for marquee free agents, in order to stay a bottom dweller for as long as possible.
Bettman, in order the protect the “good old boys” owners who run barely financially solvent franchises in “small markets” created this awful hard crap. The CAP, which is as you guys have pointed out, is anathema to survival of the fittest competition.
Kick rocks, Bettman.
wrhkeeper…I will be listening for your honk.
…you silly goose…
Don’t goose me, silly!
the fact that a bunch of our former guys that NYR can’t afford anymore or were given up on or weren’t good anymore or whatever go on to win Cups elsewhere tells me that it is in fact possible for teams to win Cups in the NHL, problem ultimately is with the rangers not the system. unfortunately.
Filip Chytil’s future, Jacob Trouba buyout, and Ryan Lindgren contract possibilities: Rangers mailbag, Part 2
Q&A with Arthur Staple (The Athletic)
Is Filip Chytil ready to be the 2nd line center? Likewise, is Kaapo Kakko ready for a top-six role? — Brandon W.
Hot take from me: Kakko was ready last season for a top-six role. For whatever reason, Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko never quite took hold, but Kakko has the skills already to be a good complement to either top line.
Chytil and Panarin should be something that Laviolette at least investigates during training camp. The team’s best passer and a still-developing, highly skilled shooter? Yes, please. I’d heard a while back that they weren’t a fit for whatever reason, but that was over a year ago. Unless Panarin and Mika Zibanejad are ticketed for a line, Panarin-Chytil-whomever Should be in the mix. So I guess that makes Chytil ready for a shot at No. 2.
How would you project the Rangers plan for goalie workload this year and would they be willing to shift to Louis Domingue if Jonathan Quick starts out with the same numbers as last year? I’m worried about Quick being able to perform at league average for the 25-30 games that Igor realistically should rest, as the division and conference are both too competitive to waste games waiting to see if Quick can return to form. — Chris H.
This, to me, is the biggest question for the Rangers heading into camp. We’ll have a deeper dive into the data on Quick from the last five seasons but asking a goalie, even a surefire Hall-of-Fame one, to reverse a decline at age 37 and in his first year as a true backup seems like a heavy lift. Domingue is a well-practiced No. 2/No. 3, so he should be able to jump in if need be. The key will be the coaching staff, goalie guru Benoit Allaire and Drury being able to read the signs early on and adjust accordingly.
Can you see last season being a blessing in disguise and us actually being better even with less talent? Seemed from the job last year that we took the regular season and doing the little things for granted because we thought we’d walk to the ECF. Might have humbled them a bit and upgraded at coach in the process. — Justin H.
I could see this scenario: Slightly worse in the regular season but better prepared for the postseason. The Rangers did get older in depth spots, so it might not be as smooth a regular season run as the last two years. But those veterans understand the job that’s needed in the playoffs so, provided they get there, the postseason could be when this Rangers team comes together well.
It will also likely take time to put a Laviolette system together, so the start of the season could be somewhat rocky. If the Rangers peak at the right time and they’re staring down the usual Metro Division gauntlet (Devils/Penguins/Hurricanes), they should be prepared for what’s to come in April and May.
What do you think the third pair left D pairing is gonna look like? 30 games of Erik Gustafsson, 30 games of Zac Jones, 20 games of Ben Harpur? — Owen T.
I would give Gustafsson a bigger number. My sense is he’s going to be the No. 6 barring anything unforeseen and Jones/Harpur/Connoy Mackey are competing for the spots behind Gustafsson.
The battle for Jones may be to simply stay in the organization. If he doesn’t have a strong camp, all this veteran depth might mean Jones is expendable in a camp trade. So if he stays, I’d think 20 games is more in line for him.
Do Will Cullye or Brennan Othmann have a chance to make the team? While Gustafsson was a good signing should the Rangers spend an extra 300K to sign Marc Staal back — Matthew F.
Cullye has a very outside shot and Othmann has an even more outside shot. Those are probably good things, at least to start.
And Staal had a great run in Florida last season, but that’s more mileage on a guy who’s been around. Gustafsson thrived under Laviolette in Washington last season, plus he’s good on the power play. Don’t mind this choice at all.
I feel this team’s heart and soul is Ryan Lindgren. How much do you think he wants to and will they re-sign him? I feel as Jeff Beukeboom was to Brian Leetch, he is to Adam Fox — Matthew F.
This will be a tough contract decision. Lindgren has plenty of wear and tear and he’s probably more valuable to the Rangers given his connection with Fox than he would be to other teams, not that that means anything when negotiations begin.
I could see, if the Rangers decide they agree with you, this being a long-term/lower-AAV deal. Something like 7-8 years in the upper 3/low 4-million range, the type of deal you see Lightning players sign to keep the cap flexibility. It would certainly be a deal that won’t age well by year 4 or 5, but that’s the price of retaining your young free agents.
Or the initial talks could become a stalemate quickly and the Rangers would look elsewhere for a top-four LHD next summer.
Do you think the Rangers will give a legitimate chance for Cuylle and Othmann to grab the wing opposite Panarin? I feel like Wheeler and Kakko will fill the right side along with Mika and either Chytil or Trocheck on the 3rd leaving a big hole in the top 6 — Ben S.
Don’t see either young guy moving to the right side permanently just yet. Othmann will almost certainly get some work in on the right side, but that’s a big transition for a player who has almost no chance to make the team at his natural position.
If Cuylle can be a top-six forward, that’s a ways off. He has a shot to make it but likely as a bottom-six LW.
Can we talk Jacob Trouba? I am a fan and respect his leadership ability but he seemed like an obvious buyout candidate! The projected $5.77 million savings (CapFriendly) would have gone a long way in solidifying the top 6 and/or locking in Miller long-term. What was Drury’s hesitation? Is Schneider not ready to step into the top 4? Are there concerns with the organizational depth and ability to backfill the 3rd pair? Are the buyout numbers more favorable after this season? — Jerry H.
I’m of the mindset that the Trouba contact is really restricting the team’s financial flexibility. He’s a second-tier d-man making top tier money. Do you see any way they get out from under that contract? — Christopher V.
It’s a pretty straightforward buyout if it were to happen next June: Two seasons (24-25 and 25-26) with $ 4 million in cap savings and two seasons (26-27 and 27-28) with $ 2 million in dead money on the cap. Thank you to CapFriendly for the details.
The big difference between this summer and next summer is Trouba’s no-move clause becomes a 15-team no-trade clause, so Trouba could be dealt more easily.
I’d guess Drury’s decision not to buy out Trouba has to do with a new coach coming in, a captain who is still the leader of the current group and a very, very young defense corps that still needs a veteran like him on it. To name three reasons.
The Rangers looked uninspired during Games 3-7 of the Devils series. As a fan watching on TV it looks like they got out-hustled. Who’s responsible for that, is it the coach or the players? — Mike P.
It’s on everyone, to go with the cliché answer. Sometimes those answers are the most accurate — Gerard Gallant and his coaching staff didn’t adjust well to the Devils gaining confidence after pulling out Game 3 and the players didn’t adjust well to losing their grip on the series.
An ongoing debate among fans is what, exactly, are NHL head coaches responsible for — do they have to motivate the players or are they just there to guide them? It’s a mix, really. For me, there should be an element of motivation, of being able to command attention and a room at the right time. Plus, you need to know how to integrate playing styles, data, and individual attitudes in the room. There’s a reason these guys get fired so much.
So Gallant didn’t have the ability to turn his team in a slightly different direction after Game 3. And his players didn’t turn things up a notch, so there was more pressure on the coaching staff to make adjustments.
Will Laviolette give Laf and Kakko a real opportunity at the start of the season by playing them with Mika? Seems that will set everyone in their place at the same time see what Laf, Kakko, and Chytil can really do.
Here’s what the rest of the lines would look like:
2nd Line — Panarin Chytil Wheeler
3rd Line — Kreider Trocheck Goodrow
4th Line — Vesey Bonino Pitlick
What are your thoughts? — Mark S.
I want to share my suggested line combos and what are we going to do at RW on line 2?:
Lafrenière Mika Kaapo
Panarin Chytil Vesey
Kreider Trocheck Wheeler
Goodrow Bonino Pitlick/Belzile — Mike P.
As we discussed in the first part of the mailbag, it’s hard to envision Laviolette and Drury handing over LW1 to Lafrenière before there’s been some serious evaluation during training camp. If he earns it, great. If not, there’s no shame in starting out on the second or third line and working your way up.
Here’s my ideal four-line scenario:
Panarin-Zibanejad-Kakko
Lafrenière-Chytil-Wheeler
Kreider-Trocheck-Goodrow
Vesey-Bonino-Pitlick
I think having Laf and Chytil stay together at least at the start of the season will help both of them, as may Wheeler as a quality distributor. If Kreider stays with Zibanejad, I would probably start Panarin-Trocheck-Wheeler and put Goodrow with Laf and Chytil.
What roles do you envision for the FAs signed? — Eric S.
Bonino is almost certainly going to be the 4C. Wheeler could be anywhere from top-line RW to third-line. Gustafsson is the sixth defenseman. And Quick is the backup goalie. Alex Belzile, Riley Nash, Mac Hollowell and Connor Mackey could all be in the mix for call-ups and games if needed.
Any word on Jim Ramsay’s exit? Was it so he could go to Montreal? Or was it because of Kane? Heard a few rumors about the latter. — Adam M.
The Rangers aren’t saying much and Ramsay isn’t either, given that he’s with a new team. All I know is the dismissal from the Rangers was not performance-related, Ramsay was as well-liked in the room as he ever was and if there were a concern about treatment with a player, the Canadiens never would have hired him.
If the salary cap finally goes up more than a million dollars after this season (as expected), do the Rangers look to use that extra space to re-sign Lindgren and possibly extend Wheeler if his performance justifies doing so or do they finally give Cuylle/Othmann/Robertson/Sykora types a shot at roster spots and spend the money on another big name FA who might become available (Mark Scheifele or William Nylander)? — Dennis G.
Re-sign Lindgren? Sure. Extend Wheeler? Let’s see about that one next summer when Wheeler turns 38.
Above all, these are the Rangers. After a few years of restraint, we are fully back in the “what can we do to win now” phase, so if there’s a big-name player available and there’s cap space available, you can figure on them being in the mix.
Any sense of how collaborative Drury is on personnel decisions? Who is in his inner circle? Does he consult with the coach, especially with an established veteran coach? — Jay B.
Not sure there was much consultation between Drury and Gallant, so I can’t venture a guess on how it will go between Drury and Laviolette. If Drury decides that adding Patrick Kane makes sense in November or adding, let’s say, Adam Henrique makes sense in March, then I’d guess Drury will do the adding and Laviolette will do the fitting in.
I don’t think Drury’s inner circle is much of a circle. He has Ryane Clowe as an advisor who’s around on occasion and there’s more of Drury’s own staff in other hockey ops jobs, but he’s his own man.
The biggest complaint about the Rangers nowadays is their lack of speed. Would it make sense for Laviolette to have them play essentially a trap, where they mostly just try to frustrate the other teams through the neutral zone and capitalize on turnovers? — James B.
Laviolette has used a version of the trap in his previous coaching stops. I’m sure many of the forwards on the Rangers roster have played it too, so it will likely be something the Rangers employ. Whether the higher-end forwards can play with that kind of patience defensively is a big question.
Is there any way on Earth that, at the trade deadline, the Rangers can convince Panarin to join his buddy Strome in Anaheim, freeing up cap space so that they can actually bring in some playoff performers? — Brian B.
Don’t see it.
Is Panarin the most unappreciated Ranger ever? — Виталий
The counterpoint to the earlier Panarin question — he seems to be very polarizing among fans. I’ll stick with what I’ve written plenty: You don’t get to the regular season results they’ve had the last two years without Panarin. But he has to change his thinking in the playoffs.
How long do you think Drury’s leash is? It seems that his priority is winning now but not by trading the youngsters, presumably so he can build a winning program that’s infused with homegrown talent, à la Tampa or Colorado. Do you think Dolan will be patient even if the team doesn’t win the Cup in the next three years? — Young M.
What type of season do the Rangers need to have for Drury to keep his job at the end of the year? — Jim O.
Considering that the GM before Jeff Gorton hired six coaches in a 15-year span and is still around, I think Drury isn’t on any sort of hot seat yet. Jim Dolan seems to have placed full trust in Drury after the Gorton era, which is something Gorton didn’t really get.
There is so much focus on the forward lines but what about the D? Is Miller really that good? He seems to make a lot of miscues, and given his size, he does not have a huge D-zone impact as far as I can tell. Given his offense and Fox’s, do the Rangers need more physicality? Is Schneider the real deal? He seems to be progressing slowly. — Jonathan M.
The old-school line about NHL defensemen is they need at least 200 games before you know what they are. Miller is at 214. He also just had 43 points, 38 of those at even strength. Only six other Rangers defensemen have ever done that. So yeah, he might really be that good!
Schneider is at 124 NHL games. It’s been a slow climb for him given who plays in front of him on the right side, but he could grab some more minutes from Trouba this season.
The Rangers have some flaws. The D corps isn’t a front-burner one.
wwpd—
The problem isn’t that there isn’t a Stanley Cup winner each year under Bettman’s system, the problem lies with the path a franchise must follow in order to win one.
In order to be competitive for a Stanley Cup, a franchise must bottom out for years, collecting draft capital, then some of that capital must pan out as expected or better, then sign free agents around this core. While this may sound fair and reasonable, it actually is designed to prevent franchises from being as competitive as possible each season in favor of tanking for multiple seasons. This is the “Derbil Model.”
The other way that works to build a champion under Bettman’s system is to spend half a billion dollars to open up a franchise in a Bettman-preferred market (like Vega$), and get awarded preferential draft status and access to very good-excellent players from all other NHL teams in an expansion draft… (hey you get what pay for, right?). This is the “Golden Showers Model”.
Tampa is an outlier from the above because despite their excellent GM and coaching, they benefit from the Florida tax break advantage that Bettman inexplicably chooses to ignore.
The NHL isn’t alone on the cap basis. No other sports league accounts for differences in local tax rates or cost of living in its cap calculations. We can blame a lot on Bettman, but he didn’t invent the salary cap. He has just copied it from other sports. He does have the most restrictive model from the point of team flexibility. There is no luxury tax, or contract restructuring or Larry Bird exceptions to help teams hold on to home grown players and build fan base loyalty. But Jacobs et al. love “cost certainty” and there will be no changes to the cap as long as people keep showing up to watch the games. Bettman has been loyal to his masters and been richly rewarded for that loyalty.
Post Sports+ – Inside The Rangers
Why Chris Kreider wanted to be a part of the NHL’s new Player Inclusion Coalition
By Mollieблату!
Chris Kreider considers himself extremely lucky to have had hand-me-down equipment from family and friends in the early days of his hockey career.
Anybody who had older brothers would lend Kreider skates, padding and other equipment for him to participate in youth leagues.
Not everybody is as fortunate, and that is not lost on Kreider.
“I was fully aware of how expensive it was to play that sport and the kind of time and sacrifice it takes to play that sport,” Kreider said at the Shoulder Check Showcase charity event in Stamford, Conn., earlier this month.
“The barrier to entry can be a little higher. Just walking into a pro shop now in the offseason and seeing what equipment costs is a bit jarring. Inflation is a real thing. We kind of have to acknowledge that I don’t know if I could’ve played if the price was like that when I first started out.
“Makes me very grateful and appreciative of everything my parents did and all the people that gave us hand-me-down skates. At the same time, like I said, the barrier to entry can be very high for this sport. We talk about ‘everyone can play,’ everyone can play, but you need the equipment, right? It’s the first step.”
The longest-tenured Ranger recently joined the NHL’s and NHL Players Association’s Player Inclusion Coalition, a group of current and former NHL players and women’s professional players who will work to “advance equality and inclusion in the sport of hockey on and off the ice.”
The 20-member coalition, co-chaired by Anson Carter and PK Subban, also features former Rangers Ryan Reaves and Kevin Shattenkirk.
More than $1 million has been dedicated to support the coalition’s programs through contributions to grassroots organizations, player-perspective storytelling and other special projects, according to a June press release.
“It’s been a very interesting experience,” Kreider said of joining the coalition. “Kind of sitting back and trying to listen and learn a lot. I think it’s a great thing that the union’s done. …
“There’s a lot of room for growth within our sport, within our league. I think everyone acknowledges that. The first big step is having those conversations.”
Kreider chose Ice Hockey in Harlem — an organization that offers ice hockey and off-ice programming that exposes young people in Harlem to experiences that prepare them for their future — to receive a $5,000 grant from the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition Action Fund.
Kreider has worked with Ice Hockey in Harlem for most of his career.
“Something I’ve been lucky to get involved with through the [Garden of Dreams Foundation], so I think that was an easy [choice] for me,” he said.
The formation of the coalition began in the summer of 2020, when the police killing of George Floyd sparked a worldwide movement advocating for racial justice and spilled into the sports world as athletes made demonstrations.
The Coalition’s official debut came on the heels of a dramatic 2022-23 season in which there were several controversial incidents surrounding Pride Night celebrations around the league.
A handful of players and certain teams refused to wear rainbow-colored jerseys for warmups as they had in the past, which took away from the purpose of the event and prompted the league this offseason to nix all plans for teams to wear any themed uniforms going forward.
Former Flames player Akim Aliu and several other current NHLers created their own initiative, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, in June 2020.
The major difference between that program and the one Kreider joined appears to be the backing of the NHL and NHLPA.
Early last month, the Hockey Diversity Alliance released a scathing statement calling out the league for forming its own inclusion committee despite the organization’s prior existence.
Heads up for Troubs
Bleacher Report did a fun segment with the NHL players who participated in the Shoulder Check Showcase charity event. Each guy was asked who he would not want to get hit by.
The overall consensus?
Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.
Recently I asked for questions on my Texts from the Blue Seats text-message conversation with Sports+ members (join here). Here are the answers to some leftover questions:
Do you think Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette will be able to help Alexis Lafreniere reach his potential or is the logjam at left wing too big an obstacle?
— Patricia Tamburello
The hope is always that a coach will be able to get the most out of a player, but it always will be up to the player to figure it out.
I think Laviolette will be a breath of fresh air, just like Gerard Gallant was when he first came in. One of the major differences between the two, however, is Laviolette’s approach to inciting hard work from his team.
Lafreniere could respond well under such circumstances, or it could be much of the same that we saw under David Quinn and Gallant.
The logjam on the left side and on the power-play front are obstacles to Lafreniere no matter what.
It is on the 2020 first-overall pick to make it work, whether it be committing to a transition to the right side — which Lafreniere has repeatedly said isn’t an issue for him — or demanding minutes with the man-advantage. There hasn’t been enough of that in the few opportunities Lafreniere has received.
Why does the NHL continue with the absurd “lower body/upper body” charade to describe injuries? It’s the only major [sport] that does that. You would think that with the new gambling connection the league has, the books would demand more info.
— Doug Sutherland
You would think, right? My understanding is it is a preference of the teams, NHLPA and players in general. Having more secrecy around the injury prevents it becoming a well-known weak spot for the competition.
Sure, it’s frustrating. Especially as someone whose job it is to provide detail, the lack thereof makes it incredibly difficult to write about. I’ve gotten used to it at this point, but there are teams that do not disclose any sort of detail about player’s injuries, and that’s where it becomes a problem, in my opinion.
Injuries happen. Players have to miss time. There really is no reason to be shady about it. Of course, it’s difficult for the organizations to gauge timelines and things of that nature, but it’s really easy to give a day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month prognosis to give fans and media a general idea of the situation.
Max Comtois is still out there
The Rangers problem comes down to three things. The number one problem is poor drafting. Throwing away two top 10 picks(Anderson & Kravstov) was a killer. Lack of production from Laf and Kakko also hurts. In the salary cap world, you need those cheap youngsters that can make a meaningful contribution.
Number two is not signing their good young players earlier, to a team friendly long term contract.(Like Tampa, Devils, Boston did). The bridge deals just increase the costs down the road. As a result, Laf, Kakko and Miller will cost significantly more than they should have. They get a pass on Fox, since the market was already set before they could sign him to long term deal and he had a Norris trophy.
Third is overpaying FAs and giving out NMC (Trouba, Panarin, Trocheck, Goodrow) which prevents them from being able to improve when they are finally ready to make a run. Panarin’s contract, along with disappearing in playoffs, will prevent Rangers from making a meaningful run. They are not in Devils or Canes league.
Teams overpay for FAs and nmcs every July
Admiral, at this point i’d settle for being one of those teams that just catches a stray Cup, like the Blues. Though now that mention it, it’s interesting how many catch a stray SCF appearance, like the panthers, habs, stars, preds, sharks… and don’t pull it off like the Blues.
This I’m proposing
So no time for dosing
For no one’s opposing
What Minx is exposing
The window is closing
I agree with most of what everyone is saying here, except let’s not paint the Derbils as the touchstone for franchise development.
Finishing as a bottom-dweller for most of the past 10 seasons while accruing very high draft picks year after year that finally gelled together was more a byproduct of cheap ownership than strict, disciplined adherence to some “master plan.”
Let’s not put the Derbils on the same pedestal as many put Chicago, Boston, or Tampa Bay.
the New Devils haven’t win anything yet, so there’s that!
staple didn’t seem to realize that marc staal signed with philly.
he and some of the questions again focus on moving kreider to 3rd line. i don’t get it. laffy has done nothing to force that change
St Pete you’re at it again. How about moseying along
CCCP like your ideal 4
Panarin-Zibanejad-Kakko
Lafrenière-Chytil-Wheeler
Kreider-Trocheck-Goodrow
Vesey-Bonino-Pitlick
However Cullye & Othmann might surprise
Moseying right along I prefer…
Panarin-Chytil-Kakko
Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere
Goodrow-Trocheck-Wheeler
Vesey-Bonino-Pitlick
Tyoma shaved his head and now thinks he’s a gangster
https://i.ibb.co/TqBXNZV/Screenshot-20230815-194201-Instagram.jpg
Panarin finally decided to shoot 🙂
Not a very good time for bread to be visiting mother russia
Putin doesn’t like him
Will they do a prisoner swap to get him back to Dolan if he gets the Brittany Griner treatment?
A bunch of unsigned college draft picks became UFAs yesterday. John Faranachi being the most prominent. Flyers first rounder, Jay O’Brien is also available. He’s not thought of as highly.
Yo Rich!!!
Faranacci signed with Boston.
Russian weapons law far less strict than drug possession policy apparently. in exchange for Panarin, we trade russian blini dealer held for shoplifting.
So LAF will go down to opening of training camp? There may be more here than anyone is admitting.
Anyone know when training camp opens? Will be nice to start to see what new coach and new staff can get put of this team.
Drury should trade Goodrow and sign Comtois?
Cum-Twa
T
There. I finished your word
Corporal
I don’t get it 😉
Corporal Punishment
Oh you kids!
Boredom!
Trade Busto to Ottawa for Shane Pinto and move Chytil to RW.
Krusty Pinto Chytil
Kreider Zibanejad Krakko
Comtios Vermont Wheeler
Vesey Bonino Pitlick
Pitlick Dinner
Pitlick Bull!
Yawn.
YAWN x 100.
Wake me when it’s over…the summer!
The Summer of our Discontent as we no longer mount barbed steeds to fright the souls of fearful adversaries.
“One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter. “
See you in September.
Good morning, boneheads!
September is just around the corner, ORF.
It’s too bad there is nothing of value to even link to this place.
‘…and the days dwindle down
To a precious few
August…September
And these few precious days
I’ll spend with yoose
These precious days I’ll spend with yoose…’
LGR!
Maybe this one?
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-current-players-ranked-top-20-defensemen/c-345580664?tid=290583266
Comtois is still out there
bobbyo2019, it may have something to do with this:
https://www.sportskeeda.com/ice-hockey/news-hockey-canada-scandal-nhl-insider-provides-lingering-update-sexual-assault-investigation
I guess I never got the memo as to why Comtois would be a valuable addition to the NYR?
Thought Comtois already denied any involvement
Beezle a big young physical winger at a discount would be valuable to most teams
Where’s the Press beloved non-defenseman, Third Row Miller?
coos
Practicing Shuffleboard with one of the Staal brothers!
Another winger? No thanks. Plus there are a couple big guys that are not going to be in the minors that much longer.
Should be looking under rocks for a big center at low cost
May as well find Big Foot !
What an awful trade by Lamoriello to dump Devon Toews.
can’t the 5:08 idiot be blocked
this is a hockey blog not a haven for political bs
2016 called. They need their top defensemen list back
That list is funny. It describes importance of a defenseman at the tip and then focuses on point getters
Glad maaker and fox are up there but how do you still have burns and doughty still on there
I had a dream that somewhere, a puck dropped.
Puck? Must have been a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
If a puck falls onto the ice and no one is around to shoot it, does it make a sound?
If it falls in Long Island, it has a chance to make the Sound.
Post Sports+ – Inside The Rangers
Alexis Lafreniere’s ask, Jonathan Quick’s grip and the most intriguing Rangers going into training camp
By the Islanders Beat Writer
We are around a month away from Peter Laviolette’s first training camp as coach of the Rangers.
With a slightly retooled roster from the one that was unceremoniously eliminated by the Devils in the first round of the playoffs in April, in particular missing the slew of trade deadline additions GM Chris Drury made in hopes of a title run, it will be an intriguing few weeks beyond the introduction of the new man behind the bench.
The Rangers come in with the same championship expectations as last season, but will be more heavily reliant on their younger players and on a group of free agents signed by Drury to try to paper over the team’s holes.
Here are the five most important players coming into camp.
Alexis Lafrenière
It is a little odd that Lafrenière remains unsigned at this point in the summer, but barring something unexpected, the former top overall pick will be back with the Rangers, who have $2.27 million of salary cap space left (per CapFriendly) to accommodate the restricted free agent.
Assuming he agrees to a deal at some point between now and the opening of camp, Lafrenière will come in as the player with the most to prove under Laviolette.
It’s no secret that he hasn’t quite lived up to the billing, putting up 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) last season and failing to break into a permanent top-six role.
The bridge deal he eventually signs should amount to something of a make-or-break for Lafrenière ever turning into that player, especially given that Laviolette will be his third NHL coach.
Given where the roster is — with Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko gone and the salary cap stopping Drury from making major additions this summer — the Rangers are also banking on Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko (more on him in a minute) to become high-end producers in 2023-24.
Lafrenière should get ample chances to break into the top six, and there will not be much of an excuse if he can’t.
Kaapo Kakko
Much of what is said about Lafreniere also applies to Kakko, with the caveat that the Finn is a little further ahead in his development (which makes sense, given he was drafted a year earlier).
Like Lafreniere, though, Kakko hasn’t produced at quite the level expected of a high-lottery pick, and the Rangers will need him to become a consistent top-six player sooner rather than later.
Unlike Lafreniere, Kakko is coming to the end of his first bridge deal, which was signed last summer, meaning this season will have a large impact on his earning potential as a restricted free agent next summer.
Kakko also could get the first chance lining up next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers’ top line — a trio that got 229:43 together last season with favorable numbers, per Natural Stat Trick. If he can stick there in training camp, that would answer a big early question for Laviolette.
Artemi Panarin
Maybe training camp is the wrong forum to have Panarin on this sort of list, given that no one is really questioning his regular-season production.
But the dialogue around Panarin this summer after a second straight disappointing playoff run dictates he will be a story at camp. So too does his shaved head, after a reportedly getting the haircut to remove evil forces and negative energy.
With Panarin turning 32 two weeks into October, it’s also reasonable to wonder whether his production will start tailing off. There are still three years left on his contract, which pays $11.6 million annually, so any kind of drop from the 90-plus points he’s put up in every non-COVID shortened season with the Rangers would be a serious blow.
Given that he’s led the Rangers in points every season since signing on Broadway, it’s almost certainly premature to start thinking about that. But Panarin is too important to the Blueshirts’ Stanley Cup chances for his poor playoff series against the Devils to go unnoticed. At least for now, he can put a rest to that talk quickly once camp starts.
Jonathan Quick
Lost in the first day of free-agency chaos during which Quick inked a one-year, $825,000 deal to be Igor Shesterkin’s backup was that he might not end up being Shesterkin’s backup when all is said and done.
Certainly, Quick comes into camp as the favorite for the job, but over the past two years, the 37-year-old has an .897 save percentage despite good teams in front of him, and the Kings decided they no longer had use for him.
According to MoneyPuck, Quick saved negative-17.2 goals below expected last season, worse than all but four goalies who played more than 10 games.
Louis Domingue has not been a full-time NHL backup since playing 26 games for the 2018-19 Lightning, but the chances of him beating Quick out are not zero.
And keeping Shesterkin’s workload relatively light is an important piece of the puzzle for the Rangers, who played the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner 58 times last season compared to 52 in 2021-22.
Blake Wheeler
Of the Rangers’ group of July 1 additions, Wheeler is the one the Blueshirts are most depending on to contribute toward the top of the lineup this season. The soon-to-be 37-year-old has declined from his peak, but put up 55 points last season in Winnipeg with his most common linemates being Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti.
If the Rangers can get similar production from Wheeler this season, it would go a long way — and come at a bargain-bin rate of $800,000. The chances should be there for Wheeler to play alongside the likes of Panarin and Filip Chytil, so seizing them early in camp will be vital.
On paper, it seems as if adding Wheeler was a slam dunk for Drury — or at minimum, the sort of low-risk, high-upside move that rarely presents itself in free agency. But it is on the player to deliver now.
Honorable mentions
The competition between Filip Chytil and Vincent Trocheck for the second center spot will be one to watch throughout camp.
Ditto for the battle between Zac Jones and Erik Gustafsson for the sixth defense spot.
Barclay Goodrow was the subject of trade rumors going into the offseason — he will be playing to impress Laviolette.
It is unlikely Brennan Othmann or Will Cuylle will make the opening night roster — Cuylle likely has the best chance, but the better path to playing time goes through Hartford, for now. Still, comparing the Rangers’ best prospects to NHL competition throughout camp and the preseason will represent an important benchmark.
How to fix a slump
Former Ranger Brandon Prust, appearing on the “Missin’ Curfew” podcast last week, relayed a tale about then-coach John Tortorella’s way of dealing with a slow start for Brad Richards when he first signed with the Rangers in 2011-12.
“We’re out after the game one night, and Torts must call Ritchie on the way home,” Prust said. “Ritchie comes in, we’re going for dinner. He goes, ‘Torts just called me. He told me to do drugs and stuff.’ Torts was like, ‘Ritchie, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but go out. Get f—ked up. Do drugs or something, man.’
“I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a good night.’”
Oh, man. Where the heck are you, Torts?
Zac Jones, lol
Rangers sign RFA W Alexis Lafreniere to a 2 year deal worth $2.325M per year.
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