I don't think that there is any jealousy or malice involved here at all. Lombardi is simply looking at a position that the Kings desparately need help with and considering all of his options. If he determines that Lundqvist is worth the picks then it certainly does him no harm to make the offer.
If he does and Lundqvist doesn't accept it, fine. If Lundqvist accepts and the Rags match, then fine. Lombardi will have done his job by making every attempt to improve the Kings. Point is, there is more than one way to skin a cat. With a cap in place, spending big money in the UFA market isn't the only way to get it done.
most people loved for their teams to get one of Gomez or Drury.. lots of compliments about their games and intangibles, winning attitudes, etc.
now, after the Rangers got them, these same players are sell outs, they are the 2nd (etc) coming of the Fleury, Lindros, et al., days.. wah wah wah..
we all have a cap, we just spent a LOT, but everyone has $50.8 mil..
btw, everyone praised Lou when he manipulated the ***t out of it, but we don't get any props for having a huuuge amount to spend because we didn't sign anyone last year to $7 mil deals..
btw, everyone praised Lou when he manipulated the ***t out of it, but we don't get any props for having a huuuge amount to spend because we didn't sign anyone last year to $7 mil deals..
That's not true alot of people were complaining that what he did wasn't ethical and legal.
I don't think that there is any jealousy or malice involved here at all. Lombardi is simply looking at a position that the Kings desparately need help with and considering all of his options. If he determines that Lundqvist is worth the picks then it certainly does him no harm to make the offer.
If he does and Lundqvist doesn't accept it, fine. If Lundqvist accepts and the Rags match, then fine. Lombardi will have done his job by making every attempt to improve the Kings. Point is, there is more than one way to skin a cat. With a cap in place, spending big money in the UFA market isn't the only way to get it done.
A couple of points:
First on the idea of someone such as the Kings poaching Lundqvist as a RFA:
1) We can very comfortably match an offer to Henrik in 4 first rounders as compensation territory, much less in the 2 first rounders plus a 2nd and a 3rd. Seriously, do people even look at our cap situation? (Don't get mad at us, get mad at the Capitals...)
2) As others have stated, he loves NY
3) He is on a team that is now in position to win the cup for at least the next two years - and possibly beyond that if our fantastic cupboard of prospects keeps progressing to either play for the team or become trade chips. The Kings? Eh... not so much.
As to the hate coming back:
People hate NY. Always have, always will. It's for a variety of reasons - the money focused here, the media attention, the many, many things that make us different (think John Rocker), etc. And to be fair, we have a developed a collective chip on our shoulder (somewhat fostered by the hatred). We're kind of like the older sibling to the rest of the country - if we get attacked from the outside (don't mean to draw references to Sept. 11 here, I mean simply if say a Dutchman were to talk smack about NYC), they'll back us up, but when it comes to internal family squabbles (such as sports), there is an immediate, irrational hatred that pops up. (Personally, I love it. )
I love that the Ranger$ are trying to buy success. Two overpaid players in one fell swoop is great.
And I love how karma has come back to bite your arrogant team and arrogant fans right in the ass over the last few days.
With no real future outside of Parise and possibly Zajac and Martin, your team looks pretty bleak unless something major happens in the next couple of seasons.
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Sestito still on the make a wish tour. - rholt168
Or here's another idea. You trade us Montoya on the cheap in order for us to stay away from Lundqvist.
Done deal. Montoya and Malik for Kopitar and Visnovsky.
Seriously though. Everyone forgets that any team can exceed the cap by 10% until the season starts. If the Rangers need more room they will exceed the cap upper limit like Lamarego did and just put Malik and Cullen on LTIR.
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Last I checked every team in the league is subject to a $50 million salary cap. Last I checked no team in the could spend more. Last I checked we are under the cap. Therefore, people shouldn't complain. We signed two players, they can't say nothing.
If the Rangers want to overpay for players, thats their problem. On that note, Gomez was severely overpaid. This is a guy who has only scored 20 goals ONCE, and only ONCE in his career. Now I dont like the Rangers or the Devils, but I just love how he signs with a hated division rival. Also, the hate for the Rangers has always been there, its just been quiet for a while.
Last I checked every team in the league is subject to a $50 million salary cap. Last I checked no team in the could spend more. Last I checked we are under the cap. Therefore, people shouldn't complain. We signed two players, they can't say nothing.
Eff em, let them hate.
Thank you. Thats exactly my point. There are a good number of teams in the league who are closer to the cap than we are. Its not our fault we signed the players you wanted. So finally accept it and get over it.
you paid a 60 point center like 7M a year....good job. ahaha im jealous. No seriously you improved yourselfs in the short term, but we will see what the long term brings.
We signed Gomez to be a playmaker, not a goal scorer...
I think Jagr, Shanahan, Prucha, Straka, and potentially Callahan are all good enough in the scoring department, we just need players who can pass to them.
you paid a 60 point center like 7M a year....good job. ahaha im jealous. No seriously you improved yourselfs in the short term, but we will see what the long term brings.
In the long term we have our #1 and #2 centers locked in , a yound defense, an elite goaltender and tons of prospects on the wing set up to build around.
In the long term we have our #1 and #2 centers locked in , a yound defense, an elite goaltender and tons of prospects on the wing set up to build around.
Drury has always looked better to me as a wing, I think age will just highlight that. Gomez is solid center, but I do not consider him elite-though with Jagr he could get 70 assists. The question is in 4 years will Gomez be your number one center? I just look at Gomez and say wow perfect second liner, not franchise center.
it is great to see all the nonsense being posted about us after the signings.
And it's most enjoyable from Devil fans because as I've told then for months now, under the new CBA and with Lou actually not owning their rights until 31 yrs old where he had all the leverage, now players have many more choices at a much earlier age and when presented with a choice NOBODY will choose to sign in NJ or on LI unless there is nobody else left with Cap room.
The Devils can't draw a Drury or a Briere or even Gomez as we just saw beause even if the Devils were top bidder nobody wants to play infront of 1/2 empty arenas in secondary markets.
They have a terrible prospect pool, only Parise-Zajac as far as young players and they have cemented what the THN poll showed in that NJ is amoung the last places UFA's would ever sign so keep bashing us signing 2 of the top 3 UFA's available because the alternative which you are facing is so much more appealing.
And the kings fan coming here is great as well but I can understand his frustration as he is actually in a big market and the california lifestyle is a great selling point when chasing UFA's but you know what, apparently not enough as we saw Lombardi trying to pull off what only we were able to and now he's crying because nobody would take his fist-full of money so he had to overpay for secondary talent.
i'm mad but not at the ranger's, i'm mad at the sabres front office. you guys have a great lineup and have to one of the contender's for the cup. But a great does'nt gaurantee that you'll win it.
There's a cap and there is still whining about how much money is spent. Goes to show that some people will never stop whining, they will always find something. They're called losers. Guess what? Your team could have found the cash to prevent the Rangers from doing this. And they didn't, sucks for your team.
(This is a general post on the topic, not directed at any one person in particular)
No one's hating your team. People are just pointing out that Gomez and Drury are both overpaid, especially Drury. 7 million for a second line center is nothing to be jealous about. If it works out, good for your franchise, but no one is hating you team (except for fans of your divisional rivals).
i'm mad but not at the ranger's, i'm mad at the sabres front office. you guys have a great lineup and have to one of the contender's for the cup. But a great does'nt gaurantee that you'll win it.
But thats the thing nobody said that we are guaranteed to win it all. Its just Devils fans are pissed off at us because theyre pissed of at Gomez for signing with the Rangers after he said he wouldnt (Rightly so I might add). And other fans like Kings fans are whining because they didnt get Drury, so now they flood the boards with these hillarious ridiculous ideas of how Lombardi is going to make Lundqvist an offer to drive our salary up because he cant get over the fact that he was outbid
I have to say my hate is not directed toward the Rangers per se (aside from the normal, healthy everyday hate I have for them as a Devils fan) as much as it is at Blowmez for signing with our archrival. I think getting Blowmez and Drury will pan out to be very good moves, at least in the short term, for the Rangers, and they're operating within the cap. I'm a Yankee fan, too, so I have no patience for the "teams buy championships" argument. The NHL, like MLB and other major sports, is a business. This isn't the olympics. The owners are in it to make profits. More power to the Rangers for pulling off these moves. But I still want to see Blowmez positively pulverized in every Devils-Rangers game next year. If that's hate, then so be it.
Drury has always looked better to me as a wing, I think age will just highlight that. Gomez is solid center, but I do not consider him elite-though with Jagr he could get 70 assists. The question is in 4 years will Gomez be your number one center? I just look at Gomez and say wow perfect second liner, not franchise center.
Good enough for the Devils all those years, apparently.
I know I am not the only one who has sensed it on these boards the past two days after our big signings. People are starting to hate the Rangers again. It was a matter of time I guess. We are starting to see the old " Rangers just throw money around recklessly" and " the small markets can't compete with the big markets that front load contracts" rants. I gotta admit, i kinda like it. You can just sense the resentment in so many posts. Wheter it's because the team they root for did nothing to improve or because they wanted the two guys we got. Whatever it is, the hate is back, and I love it. The image of opposing fans angrily typing mean spirited posts as they mumble " stupid rags with their stupid front loaded contracts" is very entertaining.
I do feel the hate and I don't get it. The Rangers are not the only team to throw big money at players (McCabe, Kimmonen, Kubina). And if the small markets can't compete, maybe they should fold. There is a salary cap in place to help those teams compete. The league lost a season so those teams could compete.
And say what you will but there have been small market teams that have been among the best teams in the league of late (Edmonton, Ottawa, Buffalo, Nashville).
Whatever you want to say, Buffalo losing both Drury and Briere is disgraceful and they have no one to blame but themselves.
This is the first time I've really liked the Rangers off-season. Both Gomez and Drury are players, with a goaltender as dominating as Lundqvist and a player who can win games by himself in Jagr, NY should be pretty darn good next year.
