NFT: 2022-23 NY Rangers Season Thread

[DaveBrown74]

I understand the thought process...but I would hesitate to trade a talent like that.  I don't think his struggles in the playoffs were as much a product of him not being able to play playoff hockey as much as Ryan Strome's struggles to play hockey at all.  I feel like one of the reasons he looked so much better on the power play was because he was playing with proper talent around him.  Imagine how many points he'd have ended up with this season if he wasn't playing with that Hunt anchor around his neck.  He put up that season with Hunt unable to capitalize on what seems like over a dozen beautiful setups from Panarin.

Now there is obviously no guarantee they can provide him with better linemates next season, though upgrading from playoff Strome doesn't seem like entirely that big of a chore.

Do you they try putting Kreider/Zibs/Panarin all together?  Do they move Laffy and/or Chytil up there with Panarin on the 2nd line?  I just think that a talent like him is not easily replaced.  You need guys like Goodrow/Motte on the roster especially in the playoffs but those guys are a lot easier to find than somebody like Panarin where any time he touches the puck the Rangers are a threat to score. 

And remember, Game 7 vs the Penguins was a home game because of how they played throughout the regular season.  They'd have not been home for that game without Panarin all year and oh by the way..he also scored the OT winner. 

I think if the Rangers keep Panarin they need to get comfortable with the idea of losing a couple of these top young talents they have. With the huge contracts of Kreider, Panarin, Zibs, Trouba, and Fox, while they will be ok in 2022, they're not going to be able to keep everyone.

I get your points, but to me a truly great player who is the second biggest cap hit in the league should not be making the excuse that his surrounding talent wasn't good enough to play well in the playoffs. Someone making that kind of money should be elevating those around him, and Panarin did not do that. He was downright invisible in a lot of these games. For me personally, that was pretty eye-opening.

I don't think they're going to move him this year because they don't really have to. They're clearly going to be more focused on various tweaks of the roster and figuring out a 2nd line center. I think this may be a bigger discussion point next season though, and it will be harder to move him or any of these other guys a year older and coming off perhaps not quite as good a season. I really just don't want to see them in a position where they have to pick and choose among several really good young players about which one or two they can't afford to keep. And then we watch that player or two players go be stars somewhere else for a decade while our albatross contract holders push their mid-late 30s.

[DaveBrown74]

Some draft notes from The Athletic:


• Adam Sykora, the Rangers' pick at No. 63 who doesn't turn 18 until September, gave his Marchand comparison in a very spirited chat with reporters after his selection. Sykora is only 5-foot-11 and 174 pounds but "plays with real energy and fearlessness," according to Rangers scouting director John Lilley.

• Bryce McConnell-Barker, who the Rangers grabbed with the 97th pick at the end of the third round, was the fourth overall selection in the OHL draft two years ago. He's a left-shot center who didn't have an OHL season due to the pandemic in 2020-21 and had 49 points in 68 games last season with Sault Ste. Marie.

• A couple of draft picks with NHL relatives: At No. 161 the Rangers took forward Maxim Barbashev, younger brother of Blues top-nine forward Ivan. And at No. 191 the Rangers took center Zakary Karpa out of Harvard. His father, Dave, was a Rangers defenseman from 2001 to 2003.


The article also discusses other aspects of the Rangers' offseason:


-Thinks the two most likely backup goalie candidates are Thomas Greiss and Martin Jones.

-Thinks there is still an outside chance they keep Copp, but unlikely. Copp wants something in the 7 year/$5.5mm per range. The Red Wings and Predators are both apparently interested.

-Talks about how the Rangers will be in a real crunch in 2023, with Laffy, Chytil, and Miller all needing to be signed.


Here is the article. There is a paywall though:

https://theathletic.com/3410402/2022/07/08/rangers-copp-draft-free-agency/



Meanwhile, in the Post, Brooksy makes a push for Patrick Kane:

https://nypost.com/2022/07/08/patrick-kane-must-be-rangers-target-if-theyre-ready-for-next-step/

[Jaime]

Rosehill, you and I are in the same camp. That's with regards to the level of difficulty involved with a Panarin Trade.
As I mentioned previously, that disappearing his 12.5 Mil salary, would do wonders for pursuing a 2nd Line C and RW.
As for Bread's five on five effectiveness, it diminished the further we advanced into the Playoffs. Even though he notched the OT winner, I wouldn't credit that solely to a home ice advantage. I mean, we took the Canes apart in their Barn in game seven. I concur that Panarin's level of talent around him on the PP certainly doesn't hurt. But I'll hang my hat on the increased amount of time and space, that allows Panarin's finesse game to flourish. By the time we got to the third Round, the Bolts made Panarin invisible five on five.

[Shoelessjoe]

Unless Panarin agrees to a move, all seven years of the contract comes with a no-move clause. First you have to find a trade partner and he has to agree.  Then the question comes up what would they get in return. 

It appears that much of his salary is tied up in Bonuses, which means that a player would get paid even in the event of a strike or a lockout and why at the signing of the contract this was a desirable type of contract in the league.

Reading all of this I don't think that he is going anywhere.

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/artemi-panarin
https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/artemi-panarin
https://elitesportsny.com/2019/07/03/new-york-rangers-artemi-panarins-contract-is-front-loaded-with-bonuses/

[DaveBrown74]

Not sure if you guys have been following, but the Patrick Kane talk has really been heating up. He has now formally requested a trade, and from what I am reading it sounds like the Rangers are at the top of his list.

Here is an article that was written a couple days ago talking about the considerations for the Rangers.

https://thehockeywriters.com/rangers-could-shift-focus-from-miller-to-kane/


I have mixed feelings about Kane myself. On the one hand, he is an elite player who would instantly add a ton of offense to the equation for the Rangers. We are very thin at RW, so he would be a big lift to that position. And I can't even begin to fathom how nasty an already very good power play would be if he joined.

On the other hand, he is 33 right now, and this is the last year of his contract, so the Rangers would presumably be in a position where they would have to give him a new contract. With big contracts already on the books with Bread Man, Zibs, and Kreider, they would be paying good money for an extended period to a number of guys over the age of 30. Not to mention they have a very big contract with Trouba.

We also still very badly need a center. Having Kane would be great, but with Stromer leaving our centers as of then will be Zibs, Goodrow, and Chytil. I'm sorry but that's brutal for a team with designs on winning a cup. We saw how important center play was in the playoffs. We need to get better there. I'm not sure I'm ready to trust Chytil as the clear number two center, and even if we do, we have no depth at all.

If the Rangers can figure out a way to get both Kane and a solid number two center, I think I'd be interested, but I don't think this team needs another winger more than it does a solid center, no matter how good that winger is. You also have to question how many 30-somethings you want to be tied down to for several years when you have all these young guys like Miller, Laffy, Kaako, Chytil, Schneider etc who will all be up for contracts soon.

[Gmo11]

Not sure if you guys have been following, but the Patrick Kane talk has really been heating up. He has now formally requested a trade, and from what I am reading it sounds like the Rangers are at the top of his list.

Here is an article that was written a couple days ago talking about the considerations for the Rangers.

https://thehockeywriters.com/rangers-could-shift-focus-from-miller-to-kane/


I have mixed feelings about Kane myself. On the one hand, he is an elite player who would instantly add a ton of offense to the equation for the Rangers. We are very thin at RW, so he would be a big lift to that position. And I can't even begin to fathom how nasty an already very good power play would be if he joined.

On the other hand, he is 33 right now, and this is the last year of his contract, so the Rangers would presumably be in a position where they would have to give him a new contract. With big contracts already on the books with Bread Man, Zibs, and Kreider, they would be paying good money for an extended period to a number of guys over the age of 30. Not to mention they have a very big contract with Trouba.

We also still very badly need a center. Having Kane would be great, but with Stromer leaving our centers as of then will be Zibs, Goodrow, and Chytil. I'm sorry but that's brutal for a team with designs on winning a cup. We saw how important center play was in the playoffs. We need to get better there. I'm not sure I'm ready to trust Chytil as the clear number two center, and even if we do, we have no depth at all.

If the Rangers can figure out a way to get both Kane and a solid number two center, I think I'd be interested, but I don't think this team needs another winger more than it does a solid center, no matter how good that winger is. You also have to question how many 30-somethings you want to be tied down to for several years when you have all these young guys like Miller, Laffy, Kaako, Chytil, Schneider etc who will all be up for contracts soon.

Yea Kane seems like a luxury more than a necessity at this point.  If he's willing to take a smaller deal for some reason then sure, it'd be great to add him to the line with Panarin and watch the both of them thrive together, but as you said they need to get the Center situation squared away first. 

[DaveBrown74]

Yea Kane seems like a luxury more than a necessity at this point.  If he's willing to take a smaller deal for some reason then sure, it'd be great to add him to the line with Panarin and watch the both of them thrive together, but as you said they need to get the Center situation squared away first. 

I have read a few Blackhawks fan tweets, and it seems like they will miss Kane because he's clearly still very good, but at this point they want to rebuild knowing they aren't going to contend for a Cup anytime in the very near future.

Also, everyone wants to maximize their chances at the number one overall pick in 2023. Connor Bedard is being hyped up as the next McDavid/Crosby caliber player to come into the league. Needless to say, I don't like our chances of getting him.

[jgrangers2]

Yea Kane seems like a luxury more than a necessity at this point.  If he's willing to take a smaller deal for some reason then sure, it'd be great to add him to the line with Panarin and watch the both of them thrive together, but as you said they need to get the Center situation squared away first. 

This is my feeling as well. The other issue with Kane is what the cost would be to trade for him in both prospects and cap space. I'd much rather focus on figuring out the center position right now. Maybe a guy like Malkin on a short term deal.

[DaveBrown74]

This is my feeling as well. The other issue with Kane is what the cost would be to trade for him in both prospects and cap space. I'd much rather focus on figuring out the center position right now. Maybe a guy like Malkin on a short term deal.

Malkin wants a four year deal, and he wants at least as much of an AAV as Letang got. The guy is still good, but at 35 he is not what he used to be, plus he was an injury-riddled mess last year who missed a ton of games. I could see doing something like a two year with him, but no way I want to give him a four year for 6-7mm.

[Blue Fire]

It always seems to come back to JT Miller. He is younger than both and really blooming at this stage of his career. He is also a PERFECT fit roster wise and system wise. We badly need a bigger burly two player especially for what GG likes to do offensively.

Short of that would love Kane as I think that could rejuvenate Panarins game but it worries me that it could be Gallants preferred style of play as maybe the bigger issue at play here.

[DaveBrown74]

I honestly don't know what is going to happen. There have been so many rumors going around. Nobody outside of the people in the room at the highest level with Drury knows anything. Today all the buzz is around Kadri.

[Blue Fire]

I honestly don't know what is going to happen. There have been so many rumors going around. Nobody outside of the people in the room at the highest level with Drury knows anything. Today all the buzz is around Kadri.

Where you seeing the Kadri buzz?

[DaveBrown74]

Where you seeing the Kadri buzz?

https://nypost.com/2022/07/12/how-rangers-can-pull-off-adding-nazem-kadri-in-nhl-free-agency/

[files58]

I wrote the following 7/5 on the other Ranger thread; The answer may be don't trade for DuBois, don't sign Strome and Copp, and sign Vinnie Trochek.

Just saw this;
https://nypost.com/2022/07/13/rangers-expected-to-sign-vincent-trocheck-in-nhl-free-agency/

[jgrangers2]

Trocheck is fine but the term isn't great for a 29 year old. Also, they now have $65M committed to 11 players for the 23-24 season without contracts for Kakko, Laf, Chytil and Miller. Either the cap goes up significantly or they need to move a contract (Trouba?).