Trade deadline approaching: What do we need to win the Stanley Cup?

by earthworm on Feb 1, 2012 7:35 PM EST

With the deadline looming in a couple of weeks and the halfway point just past us, what does out team need to WIN the Stanley Cup? I know alot of us suggested a couple of weeks ago that they would stand pat. The logic is that the Rangers should be a very good team for at least the next 4 or 5 year and we can develope into that Cup Team. I am thinking that this season has been such a bonus in that nobody expected this team to be as good as it is especially with the injuries to our defensive core....we are so close, we need to go for it without sacrificing the core. We have seen the rumors linking the Rangers to Bobby Ryan, Suter, Weber, Ruttuu etc. What does this team really need to make the run? I think arugably outside of Boston, The Rangers have the best goaltending tandem in the league.....similar to 1994. Biron has played about as good as any starter in the NHL. More than capable back up to the King. I know the Rangers are a top 6 forward away from being deadly to even the top teams in the league. I don't think a guy like Prospal makes us significantly better at this time nor does it make us more dangerous in the playoffs. Yes, I love the dollar sign graphic when he scores but I think we need a core player to add not only for this season but for the next few. Considering we are likely going to lose a player like Dubinsky on any serious deal we make. While Bobby Ryan interests me, Paul Stastny has me salivating. This guy is apparently available and I beleive he is signed through next season. I just read where 75% of colorados roster is UFA or RFA this summer, so they are going to have a ton of work to do. Statsny is about a pt a game player over his almost 400 game career so far. I think he is dynamic and he would give us some instant street cred......I liken the effect to getting Parise which will never happen. I think Stat's it that kind of player with that kind of potential impact. Proposal: To NY- Paul Statsny 3rd rd pick To Colorado- B. Dubinsky, W. Wolski, P. Valentenko, 2nd rd pick (or) Dubinsky, Wolski, Boyle (this option would increase the need to bring in a player like Rutuu) I'm at a loss at what to do with the defense. If Sauer was here, I'd likely stand pat but without him and addressing the need for a power play QB, can we make a move that addresses both defensive improvement and offensive production from the blueline? Going for a guy like Suter who may not resign is too dangerous for us. I think our current line up gets us into the 2nd rd. Maybe if we are lucky the 3rd. This is a very good team, but not quite a cup winner yet. sorry in advance, I couldn't figure out how to space out the paragraphs.

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1st. Please organize with paragraphs, because it makes things so much easier to read.

2nd. I think a lot of what happens is the health of Michael Sauer. If he’s either playing, or at least showing signs of being close to coming back, we stand pat with our D at the deadline. Stralman’s playing some good hockey right now and I wouldn’t replace him.

Where we do need help is obviously at LW and scoring. As to whom, I think Ryan is off the table unless Anaheim gets blown away. Think of trading for him like us trading away Gaborik, then add to the price of what we’d pay. That leaves options like Smyth, Ruutu, Doan, Whitney etc. Nothing great, but solid players who should get top 6 or top 9 minutes over Feds/Mitchell/Rupp/Prust.

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by Caerid11 on Feb 1, 2012 8:37 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Stastny has a $6.6 million cap hit. No thanks.

If you don’t want to wreck the future potentially you don’t trade for Stastny.

A minor move is all this team needs for right now.

"Anson Carter is a highly skilled, versatile player who we feel will play a very significant role on our team this season. He is a very intelligent player who brings a strong presence and leadership qualities." - Sather

"He's the best first passer in the game. He moves the puck up exceptionally."- Sather on signing Wade Redden

"If you look through the NHL, there aren't many players with his type of ability; he has superstar ability."- Sather on signing Vladimir Malakhov

by RichieToGabbySCORE on Feb 1, 2012 10:42 PM EST reply actions

I tend to think that something is about to be done in the next few days. Consulting with my dear friends in the big office, there has been lots of chatter…but not the way you might think.

It actually turns out the calls have been coming to Sather, not the other way around. Interestingly, two of the names that have been going back and forth have been Avery and Woywitka. It appears that the team’s depth is drawing a great deal of attention.

Three teams are getting antsy about acquiring depth of their own: San Jose, Tampa Bay, and Winnipeg. One of the reasons that names like Clowe (SJ), Malone (TB), and Wheeler (WIN) have been coming up in rumors (if you’re not sure what I’m referring to, consult ESPN.com and TSN.com), is that players like these have lengthy contracts (this is the case with Malone and Clowe); with the Rangers having as many players with expiring contracts available, looking into next season, there will be a possible shift in the new CBA towards potentially lowering the salary cap, this particular deadline MIGHT have a multitude of trades.

I tend to think you better look to Tampa, potentially for Malone and Kubina (as a depth move just in Sauer needs more time). Although I’m not as sure who Sather would give up totally, it could be a potential move.

I’d still like to see Bobby Ryan here…by the way.

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by Danz10 on Feb 1, 2012 11:31 PM EST reply actions

Supposedly, last night’s box had 18 scouts from 15 teams listed at the Rangers game.

by BigB22 on Feb 2, 2012 6:58 AM EST up reply actions

I would imagine it was mostly for Buffalo. I don’t see the NYR giving up much from the current roster.

Aucune clause de Mouvement

by Blueshirt in Paris on Feb 2, 2012 8:02 AM EST up reply actions

Yea I can’t imagine after doing practically nothing (a good thing) at last years deadline that Sather would lose faith in this team’s core.

by Zuppa Di Pesce on Feb 2, 2012 8:47 AM EST up reply actions

I made a post earlier last week about the Rangers should look at Malone. Not sure of his contract but he is the type of player who would help them during the grind……moreso than guys like Brad Boyes or Prospal.

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 2, 2012 10:17 AM EST up reply actions

From what I’m reading around the players the Rangers would “need” to win a cup as of today before Buffalo game, Ray Whitney, Bobby Ryan, Brendan Morrow, Teemu Selanne, Shea Weber, Zach Parise.

Out of those 6 probable 4 would be able to acquire, not going by sallary cap, years and so on, this is just a fantasy pick. But the 4 the Rangers would have a chance for are Ryan, Whitney, Weber and Morrow.

Bobby Ryan because he’s young and isn’t playing ideal hockey in Anaheim, but he’s gotten almost 60 or more pts in the last 3 years.

Ray Whitney because he’s like the Prospal of last year, gives us a veteran that was part of the hurricanes cup win.

Shea Weber, well he’s more of a back-up plan if we wont have Sauer come the end of the season.

Finally Brendan Morrow, he’s gotten over 40 pts in almost every year, has been with Brad Richards in Dallas and is a power Left Winger who can score and get pts.

This is my opinion on what i think but out of the 4 I’d like to see in a Blueshirt is Ryan and/or Morrow.

by dman24 on Feb 2, 2012 12:01 AM EST reply actions

Personally I think that Doan or Morrow would fit in best with Torts system. They are defensively responsible, physical and can finish in the difficult areas. Those guys I think would fit in better than Stastny, Parise or Ryan, and they would not cost as much.

by Berthe on Feb 2, 2012 8:09 AM EST up reply actions

NO.

Why would you want to get Stastny? So we can pay him 6+ mil to be our 2nd or 3rd line center when we already have Richards, Stepan, Anisimov, and Boyle?

All these trade threads are RIDICULOUS. No Bobby Ryan, no Ryan Suter, no Shea Weber, no Zach Parise, no Paul Stastny! All those guys have big contracts, which we cannot take because of all the re-signing of the RFAs we have to do in the next few years. Sure, if we wanna win the cup this year we should add a few more pieces, but not at the expense of forfeiting the future by giving away players and picks while taking on salary when we need to be saving our room for players we have to re-sign as well as the possibility of the new CBA and the challenges that will bring ahead.

Please people, think with your head! Why would you want to change a team that could be dominate for at least the next 5 years to ensure one great season now? We did that before (we HAD to) and yes it was an amazing season, but we literally mortgaged our future from 94-97 which put us in that giant hole of sub-mediocrity. We shouldn’t do that again, because honestly, we will have the best defense in the league, with the best goalie. That wins championships.

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by Tripodi on Feb 2, 2012 6:55 AM EST reply actions 5 recs

rec'd for surviving the youth purge of 1994-1997

@joereiter
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by joereiter on Feb 2, 2012 9:04 AM EST up reply actions

Haha purge.

If Neil Smith was Joseph Stalin was does that make Mike Milbury?

"He's the best first passer in the game. He moves the puck up exceptionally."- Sather on signing Wade Redden

"If you look through the NHL, there aren't many players with his type of ability; he has superstar ability."- Sather on signing Vladimir Malakhov

by RichieToGabbySCORE on Feb 2, 2012 5:40 PM EST up reply actions

Hitler maybe?

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 2, 2012 5:52 PM EST up reply actions

I mean Mike Milbury was 10000000x worse a GM than Smith.

At least Smith won a Stanley Cup. Milbury is like Hitler to the 100th power of hockey GM’s. He managed to single handedly destroy a franchise forever. They will never recover.

"He's the best first passer in the game. He moves the puck up exceptionally."- Sather on signing Wade Redden

"If you look through the NHL, there aren't many players with his type of ability; he has superstar ability."- Sather on signing Vladimir Malakhov

by RichieToGabbySCORE on Feb 2, 2012 9:58 PM EST up reply actions

Well, I think that’s a bit much. That team has also had horrible ownership issues to go along with the absolute shit-hole they call an arena. Even if he didn’t orchestrate some of those awful trades, do you think many of those players stick around of their own volition?
Granted, they wouldn’t be perennial bottom-feeders, but they weren’t going to return to their glory-years whether Milbury was a galactic fuck-up or not.

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by Caerid11 on Feb 2, 2012 10:28 PM EST up reply actions

True about the arena and ownership

but if Milbury actually did sensible things with the club people might realize “hey, he was impeded a bit because ownership didn’t want to hand out big contracts, and players didn’t wanted to come there as free agents, and players wanted to leave there immediately.”

Maybe if he did that he’d still might be working as a GM in the NHL today, but he didn’t.

"He's the best first passer in the game. He moves the puck up exceptionally."- Sather on signing Wade Redden

"If you look through the NHL, there aren't many players with his type of ability; he has superstar ability."- Sather on signing Vladimir Malakhov

by RichieToGabbySCORE on Feb 3, 2012 6:43 AM EST up reply actions

It could be a bit much

But when you trade away Luongo for DiPietro, it isn’t. When you have the opportunity to draft Zach Parise (who’s father played for them!) and you take Frans or Robert Nilsson, whichever one, then it isn’t.
Milbury got rid of Luongo, Spezza, Redden, Chara (basically the successful Ottawa team that went to the cup), Bertuzzi, Olli Jokinen, and didn’t draft Parise.

Literally killed the franchise, IMO.

by Tripodi on Feb 4, 2012 3:33 AM EST up reply actions

i agree with everything

except the rangers passed on parise too

would’ve been a nice way to blot out that goal his old man scored in ’75, but nooooooo they needed hugh jessi—

—fuck it, i’m not saying his name

by joereiter on Feb 4, 2012 10:51 AM EST up reply actions

he's on twitter.

his name is hugespecimen

"He's the best first passer in the game. He moves the puck up exceptionally."- Sather on signing Wade Redden

"If you look through the NHL, there aren't many players with his type of ability; he has superstar ability."- Sather on signing Vladimir Malakhov

by RichieToGabbySCORE on Feb 4, 2012 1:41 PM EST up reply actions

You don’t think a player with contract will be moved in return to get a Stastny type forward? Dubi/Wolski pretty much makes it wash in cap hit, maybe we gain space in that deal. I think Stastny is a tremendous upgrade in scoring and skill over AA and he doesn’t fall down all the time If AA did something similar to Hartnell Down, he’d be broke already. Hell, I’d trade AA instead of Dubi for him if I could. Why keep Stastny at center? If the Rangers don’t get a bonafide scoring forward, they are not going to go far in the playoffs. Brad Boyes and Prospal are not the answer for us. We are not getting Parise or Weber. I would not mind Malone and Blake Wheeler though, but even with both of them, I don’t think they add the scoring punch we need. I hardly think trading either Dubi or AA would make much of a difference in the future of this team…along with prospects who likely will never see regular roles with the team. Callahan, Richards, Gabby, Step, Girardi, Staal, McD, Hank, Prust…that is your core….most other players are interchangeable. Last season Dubinsky would be among them but this year, not so much.

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 2, 2012 10:30 AM EST up reply actions

Core players are core players

They don’t change from season to season.

And yes a contract would probably be moved for Stastny, but Dubi and Wolski isn’t going to cut it. And yes, I love AA but Stastny is an upgrade over him, the difference? One makes 6.6 mil, the other makes 1 something mil.

I’m not sure if you understood the point of my comment though, yes I know if they Rangers don’t make a trade for some depth and a veteran presence then we probably would not make it as far in the playoffs, but my whole point was that you don’t trade away important pieces (or even just useful pieces) in a team that is clearly on the rise. Yes, this year could be better if we sell the farm for the playoffs. But the next 5 years could be 5 times as better if we just stick with our plan.

Let me put it this way, we aren’t in rebuild mode anymore, but the youth movement sure as shit isn’t finished.

by Tripodi on Feb 4, 2012 3:38 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

I agree with you for the most part, I’m not saying sell the farm but I do think we have seen that Dubinsky and AA are certainly not the consistent players we thought that they would be…..at least this season. I’d hate to give up on either but for the right player, I’d have no choice but to move them.

I hope AA gets better quickly, I think he has the potential for tremendous upside but with guys like Krieder wating in the wings, AA might never be more than a 3rd line center for us. I don’t even know what to say about Dubi, I think he led the team last season, even moreso than Cally who also went down a cuple times with injuries. I love the guy but the 6 guys in front of him are playing better and more consistently…..I think he becomes expendable provided his stock does not drop drastically. I would not trade either of them for a rental player.

I think Stastny is considerably more talented than AA and instantly becomes another serious threat that teams need to watch out for. The bottom line is this, the defense and Hank are winning games for us consistently. We’ve averaged two goals a game for……. for the last 30 odd games or so. We will not win in the playoffs if we can’t increase the scoring and improve the PP.

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 4, 2012 6:22 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Stastny’s numbers are a bit lower than Richards this season, for what it’s worth.

by BigB22 on Feb 4, 2012 7:30 PM EST up reply actions

Absolutely, but you build a team for a future, not for one chance at the cup.

Yes, Stastny is better than AA. Of course he is. But Stastny makes like 3.5 times as much.

In order to build a competing team, you need players who are cap effective. Just look at the Bruins.

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LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

by Moshe52792 on Feb 4, 2012 8:25 PM EST up reply actions

I agree with this 100% in every single way.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

by Moshe52792 on Feb 4, 2012 8:23 PM EST up reply actions

I protest you can’t agree with your own point. lol

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 4, 2012 11:34 PM EST up reply actions

I agree with that 100%!

Absolute Worst Ranger Fan!!!!!!....yet incredibly realistic and usually correct.

by earthworm on Feb 4, 2012 11:34 PM EST up reply actions

We are not going to land a top 6 player (non-rental) in a trade without giving up something significant. Plain and simple. This team does not need that type of shakeup nor should we weaken our prospects depth for that. And all these Ryan and Stastny trade talks amount to basically trading production for production which washesd out. Sure you might have the ‘better’ player but if the end result doesnt make your team that much better, why do it.

If we are to add a top 6 without giving up anything it will have to be via FA. And that will have to wait till the summer. The one that makes sense is Parise. If we sign him that makes Dubi expendable. So it cost nothing to land Parise, about 2-3mil extra in cap hit and we also gain an asset from trading Dubi.

Sauer’s injury is the big question mark for us leading into the deadline. Woy, Emniger and Bickle should be nothing more than a 7th D for a team looking to make a serious run. You can forget Suter and Weber, that wont happen.

One D that is intriguing is BoomBoom Garrison from Florida. UFA after this year. Huge shot and can also play in his own end. Glenn Miller did an interesting piece on trying to figure out how to determine the best defensive dmen with a bunch of adv stats. To summarize it does show Girardi and McD as one of the top in the league. But to my point above, Garrison also showed up on that list 2 years in a row.

http://www.snyrangersblog.com/2012/01/30/advanced-stats-identifying-the-leagues-top-defensive-defensemen/#more-66277

Aucune clause de Mouvement

by Blueshirt in Paris on Feb 2, 2012 8:32 AM EST reply actions

Here’s another one, which says Girardi, while good, is riding coattails.

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by George E. Ays on Feb 2, 2012 8:38 AM EST up reply actions

Always been interested in the synergy effect of pairings. But it makes sense to me that a good part of Girardi’s success has been his partner. Not to take away from him, there is value in being able to play next to multiple partners successfully and allow them to play their game.

Interesting article. I am not intelligent enough to break down the comparisons of the two methodologies used in the two but nice to have someone a bit more than and eyeball test or silly +/-.

Do you have any thought on Garrison? I assume he plays LD since he is left handed which does not help our right side. Is there any way to tell if a player can play on their off-hand/side besides actually watching the games?

Aucune clause de Mouvement

by Blueshirt in Paris on Feb 2, 2012 8:59 AM EST up reply actions

I didn’t check Glen’s methodology that close, but anything that spits out Bergeron as the top defensive d-man needs to be questioned, and quickly. Now that I read it more, he doesn’t penalize Bergeron for his sugar sweet quality of competition or that he starts in the offensive zone more than any non-Sedin. So I’d question the validity of his list, even if the rest seems to make sense.

Do you have any thought on Garrison?

No, but scanning quickly, he seems to be doing a decent job at ES, and obviously we know his PP success.

Is there any way to tell if a player can play on their off-hand/side besides actually watching the games?

Not really. For instance, I had no clue MDZ has no issues playing the right side until this year.

by George E. Ays on Feb 2, 2012 9:16 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah he calls that out at the bottom about Bergeron that he didn’t include it but would after seeing the results.

Then again the other list had Bowmeester as a top D, I never think of his as that.

On MDZ, either did I lol.

Aucune clause de Mouvement

by Blueshirt in Paris on Feb 2, 2012 1:14 PM EST up reply actions

Bouwmeester’s very good defensively. He was just hyped to be a Norris-guy.

by George E. Ays on Feb 2, 2012 1:30 PM EST up reply actions

We need a powerplay to win the Stanley Cup.

We need to stay healthy to win the Stanley Cup.

Some consistent scoring from players like Dubinsky, Richards, and Anisimov wouldn’t hurt the cause either. I don’t think we need to add any huge pieces to make a serious run, maybe just add a veteran like a Ray Whitney to add some more depth scoring. Maybe we can trick Phoenix into taking Wolski back.

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by Dig Deep on Feb 2, 2012 1:34 PM EST reply actions

I think we need to make the playoffs, then win 4 games each playoff round

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by Brandon C. on Feb 2, 2012 10:54 PM EST reply actions

the Rangers will get rentals, whether it’s a forward or D, or both, and then clear the decks for Parise. Brooks writing that Smyth may come here to make a run makes a lot of sense since he can dictate where to go (NTC) and facilitate a deal. He’s going to re-sign with the Oilers anyway so the price should not be too high. Smyth would be perfect for what the Rangers need inclusive of on the PP. Then they can get another D for depth as well. But I believe the Rangers will make a run at Parise so a blockbuster is unlikely.

by Richter1994 on Feb 3, 2012 7:18 AM EST reply actions

what you really need to win the cup

by joereiter on Feb 4, 2012 10:53 AM EST reply actions

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