In the offseason, Drury either retires or gets bought out. Dubinsky, Anisimov, Callahan, Sauer, Boyle are all re-signed. I would re-sign Eminger if he takes 1 mil per season or less for 1-2 years. I'd certainly consider bringing back Fedotenko for 1-2 years as well if he'll sign for under 1 million.
If we can sign Brad "Savior" Richards, then he replaces Prospal on that first line. If we miss out on Richards, then I would rather re-sign Prospal for another 1 year, 1 million dollar deal, even with bonuses than go after ANY of the available second tier centers. They will all likely require more than 2-3 year deals and we don't need more mediocrity. Our core is brilliant. We need an elite playmaker, preferably a center. We also need a PPQB (In Richards, we fill BOTH needs.) If Kaberle hits the market (which I highly doubt he will now that Boston got him, especially for what they gave up for him), I'd consider him as an option, only if we strike out on Richards. I don't think we can realistically afford both of them as UFA's. We could look at Jonathon Ericcson (d-man for the Wings) if he actually hits free agency. His game is underrated; he's quietly very solid, and a strong passer and I think he's still developing.
Sather can also explore trade options. I'd likely be willing to give up the assets for Zach Bogosian, Jack Johnson. I don't want Spezza. He's a better version of Gomez. They have the same goofy, unfocused attitude. They both float and take shifts off. They both suck in their own zone. He is not the type of player we need. Needless to say, Spezza and Torts would not be on the same page.
So, if everything goes to plan, we start next season like this:
Hemsky Richards Gaborik
Dubinsky Stepan Zuccarello or Dubinsky Anisimov Callahan
Wolski Anisimov Callahan or Wolski Stepan Zuccarello
Prust Boyle Avery
Kreider / Werek / Hagelin / Thomas as potential AHL call-ups. I'm not so sure that Kreider is going to be able to make the jump from NCAA to NHL right away. I think he may need half a season in Hartford first. I'd love for him to prove me wrong though.
Staal Girardi
McDonagh Sauer
Foster Eminger
Valentenko, or whoever looks best in camp, or a cheap vet UFA.
Then, we can make a move during the season, perhaps at the deadline to add another puck-moving defenseman or a real tough SOB on the back end. It depends on how the team plays and what need becomes apparent.
P.S. McDonagh will score his first NHL goal next game.
N0--haven't given on MDZ. This season may be a disaster but he's a legit talent. This trade might make us stronger now but not in the future--and we're going to be looking for another young offensive d-man. Besides Hemsky seems a bit injury prone.
Hemsky-Richards-Gaborik would be the best first line we've had since Jagr-Straka-Nylander. Also I wouldn't have to close my eyes during the PP anymore.
I'll go a little further. When someone says about a player--that he's soft--it's all relative. What does that mean? ????? It's easy or best to ignore and say 'look at how much skill he has' but Hemsky is soft and also injury prone and FWIW Gaborik IMO has been playing soft all season long and he's injury prone too. We might ('if' we were to add Richards) I suppose have our best line (at least on paper) since Jagr, Straka, Nylander or maybe not. Foster is a bit soft as well and for a d-man not that great in his own end. Oiler posters when his name has come up before have commented on that. Where does MDZ fit on the talent and softness scale? His talent is up there with Hemsky's. He's just younger. Neither are big or strong for their position but MDZ at least hits. Have to give him credit for that even if right now he is a disaster in his own end. Throwing in Grachev--a 2nd and a 3rd for a injury prone $4 mil per year player who can dazzle but is very likely to disappear when the going gets tough against say the Flyers if we meet up with them doesn't seem like a great idea to me. At best it's a short term solution that leaves us looking for another young pwp qb to develop.
I wish we could have come up with a package for Erik Johnson.
Hemsky is another one of the highly skilled, underacheiving, lazy p.o.s. players that we should be avoiding at all costs.
Let alone giving up Del Zotto and other assets for.
NO.
But, he produces.
We're getting a little picky here with what we're asking. This specific Rangers team has a number of guys who excel defensively. We could surely accommodate a player who has some offensive savviness. Hemsky is that.
We're not going to find a player who produces consistently AND fits the teams mold to the T. If Hemsky was that guy, he wouldn't be available at all.
Hemsky is another one of the highly skilled, underacheiving, lazy p.o.s. players that we should be avoiding at all costs.
Let alone giving up Del Zotto and other assets for.
NO.
Underachieving? Lazy? What Hemsky are you watching? Maybe injury issues is the only con. I would easily trade Del Zotto in a package to acquire Hemsky. Outside of the Rangers he's my favorite player in the league. Him and Datsyuk.
We're getting a little picky here with what we're asking. This specific Rangers team has a number of guys who excel defensively. We could surely accommodate a player who has some offensive savviness. Hemsky is that.
We're not going to find a player who produces consistently AND fits the teams mold to the T. If Hemsky was that guy, he wouldn't be available at all.
We're getting a little picky here with what we're asking. This specific Rangers team has a number of guys who excel defensively. We could surely accommodate a player who has some offensive savviness. Hemsky is that.
We're not going to find a player who produces consistently AND fits the teams mold to the T. If Hemsky was that guy, he wouldn't be available at all.
Be realistic, people.
You're right. Those guys are named Sidney Crosby, Zach Parise, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg.
I agree that we can't be TOO picky, but I for one think we should wait to see if we can grab Richards, and then see how he works with Gabby and Co. If we lose out on him, let the core develop, see who's legit, and deal out of our depth for a scorer.
We're getting a little picky here with what we're asking. This specific Rangers team has a number of guys who excel defensively. We could surely accommodate a player who has some offensive savviness. Hemsky is that.
We're not going to find a player who produces consistently AND fits the teams mold to the T. If Hemsky was that guy, he wouldn't be available at all.
Be realistic, people.
Edit
Re-phrase:
He wasn't productive most of the season, and he isn't the kind of guy to carry a team deep into the playoffs.
Last edited by SupersonicMonkey*: 02-19-2011 at 02:06 PM.
I'm a big fan of Hemsky and his talent would be a welcome addition to the team.
But from a managerial standpoint I would be wary in investing even more organizational assets (cap space, players, picks) into another player with injury (not to mention consistency) issues. Banking on Gabby AND Hemsky to consistently put it together and carry this team is too risky.
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Hemsky-Richards-Gaborik would be the best first line we've had since Jagr-Straka-Nylander. Also I wouldn't have to close my eyes during the PP anymore.
Hemsky is young, and he plays at a point per game pace, surrounded by absolutely no-one.
You want to give them:
Grachev: a scoring prospect, that his own team, that is having tremendous scoring difficulty, isn't inserting into the line-up for help? Our NYR offense and scoring has been a mess for months, and yet Torts and SLats don;t appear to have any faith at all that Grachev can step in and help. Bust.
Christensen: LOLreally? Nobody wanted him on the waiver wire, and aside from about a dozen strong moments in games last season he's been an ineffective center. Nope.
The 2nd and 3rd in '11 mean nothing to a team that isn't looking for role players but some serious talent (like Edm). Edm is looking for teams with early 2nd's and 1st's if it's going to move it's premeir top talent.
MDZ: would be a piece in a deal that would bring back Hemsky. But you;d have to offer significantly more, as any team that wants Hemsky, is giving up a ton more than you offered.
Reports say that the price for Hemsky starts with a solid young player, a top prospect, and a 1st rounder. Sather isn't going there for a concussion prone player.
His injury problems don't bother any of you, though?
Same can be said of Gaborik and we went for him, and Hemsky is an incredible talent who i would love to have on the team, but if you're going to pay a kings ransom with prospects, picks, and NHL talent I don't believe it should be for a guy who very likely won' t play a full season.
