But if I had a gun to my head then I'd choose Staal. His passing just sucks... He can't put it to the tape and even when he does, its' difficult ot receive.
I would have to trade Girardi from the above listed players as the core player going the other way for an offensive talent. It would hurt me as a fan (), but I know it would be the right move for this team going forward, and ultimately it would make us better.
I agree that out of the 4 I would move Girardi for the big offensive winger we need. Only problem with that is Girardi is the only RD of the 4. It's a real tough spot.
I also agree that Sauer plays a huge part in this. If he is deemed 100% healthy for 2011-2012, I think one of these defensemen MUST be traded for two reasons: salary cap issues and a lack of top 6 forward talent.
A healthy Sauer gives this team 5 excellent d-men to go along with solid 3rd liners in Bickel and Stralman (I'm assuming Eminger and Woywitka are goners), and two excellent prospects in the minors in Erixon and McIlrath. For all of you anti-McIlrath guys, you can shove it because there is no way the current management (ie. Sather/Gortie Clark) are going to give up on a guy they controversially drafted 10th overall. Makes them look bad. Plus, in case you haven't noticed, they sure can use a guy like McI on this team, as we're (almost) all getting tired of seeing Prust & Dubi get their heads kicked in.
As for whom I trade, I vote Girardi. He's got the most wear & tear and a healthy Sauer is a similar player. No way I trade Staal or McDonagh, and I'm also a BIG fan of MDZ. The 6 d-men I hope to see a few years from now are Staal, Sauer, MDZ, McD, Erixon and McIlrath. I also hope we can get a shifty center with some moves who can create offense, unlike Brad Richards.
g is the obvious answer to this hypothetical question. his trade value is going to be at his highest this off-season after an "all-star" season. combine that with a the untapped potential of mdz and mcdonagh and the ability for staal to get to his 2010-11 level +.
i doubt any of them get moved. but, that's what i would do.
to me early playoff exit has zero implications on what we do in the offseason.
Go hard after parise. if you cant sign him, trade for nash. if you cant trade for him, and im assuming Bobby Ryan is prohibitively expensive, then stand pat. get rid of some of the lower end players...ie, fedotenko, scott, maybe Rupp except hes signed for another year isnt he?
Bring in Kreider, JT Miller (if hes ready) and Erixon and go with the full blown youth movement. accelerate the teams transition to our kids.
if you strike out on everyone, go with this next year...
AA - Stepan - Gaborik
Kreider - Richards - Callahan
Hagelin - JT Miller/Mitchell - JT Miller/Mitchell
Rupp - Boyle - Prust
MCD - Girardi
Staal - Erixon
MDZ - Sauer
Agree i dont think we need to start signing more free agents and go against are plan of building from a good core and brining young guys to add to this core. You never tough Stall or for that matter Mcd, Girardi is a guy that may have wear and tear but he demonstrates heart and will that spreads to other guys, I dont think we will be out that early in the playoffs, its up to Richards and Gaborik to play up to there max level, than we have a good shot. The rest of the guys will follow. Obviously Parise is a guy id love to have so would every team he plays in the dirty areas and is offensively talented, i usually not high on signing free agents but he is a guy if we have a shot, i would give him as much as he wants, hes that good. Hes young, plays the way we want to play, the only thing is we start to build a heavy cap if Richards stays.
Trading Girardi is not an option. He is our only guy who plays the right side. It has got to be one of Del Zotto, McDonagh or Staal.
If we trade Girardi we're looking at:
Staal-Sauer
McDonagh-Bickel
Del Zotto - Stralman
Torts is adamant on playing dmen on their natural sides. That means we'll have three pairings of poo instead of 2 golden pairings...
I'd prefer to trade Staal because he has the most trade value relative to what he does, compared to the other three. Also contract wise the other two are bargains...
Thats why you get a good enough return to offset the loss of a leader.
It's a business. These guys know it. Chris Drury was a captain who was demoted, benched then ultimately bought out.
If Staal was traded for a guy like Nash or Ryan or Weber, people -- fans and players -- would get over it in a hurry.
I know I would.
Are you out of your mind Stall for Ryan or Nash,no way id move our potential best D man for many years for a 60 point player with some pf in them, when we have Krieder who is supposed fit that role. That is complete garbage. Weber fine but thats not happeniing.
Where's the "none of the above" option? Our defense as constructed is perfect for our system. Next season when Staal and (hopefully) Sauer are healthy McD and Girardi won't get overworked like they did this year. Erixon may be ready for NHL play, too, which would really help keep minutes down. Let the young guys continue to improve, bring in Kreider, and stay the course.
I think Sauer's recovery will play a big part in what happens next.
IMO, Sauer can be just as good defensively as Staal when you factor in Sauer doesnt make the bonehead passes Staal does on a nightly basis. In fact, after seeing Staal regress because of the head shot, I'm convinced he's going to be the odd man out.
Something has to give. The Rangers used the 10th overall pick on a defenseman. They went out an acquired one of the 10 best defensive prospects in the game.
Staal is the most expensive asset on the blue line, but he also has the notoriety and the term. He's easily a guy many teams would covet.
In Summation -- trade Staal.
Staal is quietly finding his game again. In my opinion, hes been the Rangers best defenseman over the last couple of weeks.
When both are healthy, he is a superior player to Sauer. Cant believe you'd even make such a comparison.
Bottom line for me is that the depth on D is a bit of an illusion at this point. No reason to deal any of the top 4.
As I have said before, 95% of Ranger fans over 40 would want anything to do with that spawn of evil (Parise).
For those of you who don't know, Zac Parise's father, J.P., who was basically a no-name scrub, scored a overtime goal seven seconds in at the Garden in Game #3 of the opening round (they played 3 game series back then) of the 1975 playoffs for the Islanders. This gave the Islanders legitimacy, and started the Rangers into a tailspin. The Rangers were a contender for most of the early 70's. This playoff exit is what started the whole "curse" nonsense and the "1940" chants.
The name Parise should NEVER be on the back of any Ranger sweater, PERIOD!
LOL
If you'd let that stop you from having Zach friggen Parise on your team then I feel sorry for you
If we don't win the cup, AND miss out on Parise, someone from our top four D-men has to go (because it's the only place where we have depth) so we can acquire a legitimate offensive talent in the Summer,
Wrong.
No reason why we cant let our D corps come into the season healthy (I.e. no Staal sized hole in it and hopefully either Erixon and/or Sauer are ready.)
Guys like STepan, hagelin, Artie, (richards grows into the team more) and the whole D continue to grow. Sign maybe a free agent to cover some 2nd or 3rd line duties. let Kreider join in too and bam you're good. This is a very viable option. taking a huge chunk out of the D does not HAVE t0 happen that is short sighted at best
As I have said before, 95% of Ranger fans over 40 would want anything to do with that spawn of evil (Parise).
For those of you who don't know, Zac Parise's father, J.P., who was basically a no-name scrub, scored a overtime goal seven seconds in at the Garden in Game #3 of the opening round (they played 3 game series back then) of the 1975 playoffs for the Islanders. This gave the Islanders legitimacy, and started the Rangers into a tailspin. The Rangers were a contender for most of the early 70's. This playoff exit is what started the whole "curse" nonsense and the "1940" chants.
The name Parise should NEVER be on the back of any Ranger sweater, PERIOD!
Ahhhh the twists of destiny.... Ya know Darth Vader turned out to be Lukes father and it all turned out ok...
Too busy to detail it, but went with (guess who) Girardi
He has most wear and tear and least upside of the four choices indicated.
Girardi is great, but if we get the right sniper in return we need to make a move like this...
Who plays right side for us now?
Suter is also LH.
Have you seen the pairing lately. Torts is only really comfortable playing Eminger on the left side. Everyone else he prefers on their natural side. We lose Girardi, we have one of worst groups of right handed dmen in the league.
But if I had a gun to my head then I'd choose Staal. His passing just sucks... He can't put it to the tape and even when he does, its' difficult ot receive.
I agree 100% that Staal would be the best player to move because he would fetch the best return of all of our players on the roster.
Too busy to detail it, but went with (guess who) Girardi
He has most wear and tear and least upside of the four choices indicated.
Girardi is great, but if we get the right sniper in return we need to make a move like this...
Not sure this team needs a sniper. I think a bigger need is a center with the speed and hands to make moves and create offense. Someone who can get into the zone on the PP and make a defender miss with a deke/dangle (no Zherdev jokes, please).
If we don't win the cup, AND miss out on Parise, someone from our top four D-men has to go (because it's the only place where we have depth) so we can acquire a legitimate offensive talent in the Summer, whether that talent is Bobby Ryan, Rick Nash, or trading for a top two pick at the draft, etc.
In this situation we could afford to do this, and should do this. Erixon, who has 29 points in 39 games for the CT Whale, has a 95% chance of coming up next season, plus we should have Sauer back by then, or at the very least sometime next season. If you ask me this is a call between Girardi and Staal.
Pick your poison.
McDonagh
Del Zotto
Girardi
Staal
We all love these guys, but we have to put that aside. The fact of the matter is that trades that get you talent where you need it are SUPPOSED to hurt. Trades like the Gomez trade are anomalies and should not be expected.
If we win the cup, then the team ain't broke so we shouldn't fix it.
If we fail in the playoffs because of our lack of offense, and don't sign Parise, one of these guys has to go.
I would have to trade Girardi from the above listed players as the core player going the other way for an offensive talent. It would hurt me as a fan (), but I know it would be the right move for this team going forward, and ultimately it would make us better.
Couldn't resist using "Del Z," sorry guys.
I agree with your premise but I may wait until the deadline next year in case one of our prospects suprises us and brings alot of offense.
this team is first in the East by 6 pts and we see Threads like Biron sucks, Trading our beloved top 4............will you guys freaking chill already
I rather see some issues now then playoff time.......take a breather
You're making that statement completely out of context. We ARE in the lead by 6 points, but we've lost 3 of the last 4: in 2 of those games we've scored only 1 goal and the other game we blew a 2 goal lead and lost in OT. Not to mention the team below us is incredibly hot, and oh yeah, they're probably getting back their best player soon who also happens to be the best player in the NHL.
Trading Girardi is not an option. He is our only guy who plays the right side. It has got to be one of Del Zotto, McDonagh or Staal.
If we trade Girardi we're looking at:
Staal-Sauer
McDonagh-Bickel
Del Zotto - Stralman
Torts is adamant on playing dmen on their natural sides. That means we'll have three pairings of poo instead of 2 golden pairings...
I'd prefer to trade Staal because he has the most trade value relative to what he does, compared to the other three. Also contract wise the other two are bargains...
So yeah, Girardi doesn't go...
This is hypothetically after the season. You need to include Erixon in your pairings. Now it doesn't look that bad.
to me early playoff exit has zero implications on what we do in the offseason.
Go hard after parise. if you cant sign him, trade for nash. if you cant trade for him, and im assuming Bobby Ryan is prohibitively expensive, then stand pat. get rid of some of the lower end players...ie, fedotenko, scott, maybe Rupp except hes signed for another year isnt he?
Bring in Kreider, JT Miller (if hes ready) and Erixon and go with the full blown youth movement. accelerate the teams transition to our kids.
if you strike out on everyone, go with this next year...
AA - Stepan - Gaborik
Kreider - Richards - Callahan
Hagelin - JT Miller/Mitchell - JT Miller/Mitchell
Rupp - Boyle - Prust
MCD - Girardi
Staal - Erixon
MDZ - Sauer
Who do you expect to try and tempt Columbus with for Nash without a top-4 D-man? D is the only position where we have expendable value. Dubinsky is overpaid, no one wants him as a core piece for a star. We know Kreider will be ready, but I'm not counting on JT making it. If he does make it out of camp that's great, but we shouldn't force any young guys into our line up just for the sake of a mass youth movement.
), but I know it would be the right move for this team going forward, and ultimately it would make us better.
