We do have the room, but if his salary result brings us too close to the cap, I suspect we'll walk away because we will need some wiggle room for potential trades.
I've heard Hossa is coming on for 4 years now. No, he's not coming on. He's fading out. Face it. The guy is a bust as a prospect. Only place he has value is on the 4th line and considering the organization drafted far superior role player prospects, he is not needed here at all. He brings nothing to the table. He's not a great PK player. He's not a good scorer. He's not a punishing, physical player. The team would be better off replacing him with a Byers who at least is capable of sticking up for players on the team and is a very good hitter with some offensive upside. Hollweg is beyond useless. He should have never left the AHL.
The mentality must change. We have a DEEP FARM SYSTEM now. The days of having to use players like Ortmeyer, Hossa, Hollweg and Betts is over. They were stop gaps. A new era has begun. The era of Rangers domination.
Almost hard to say that.
Hossa hasn't been a Ranger for 4 years....so I have no clue who was telling you that 4 years ago. Secondly.....the guy has become a solid 2 way player over the course of the last 2 seasons....and seemed to find some scoring touch before he hurt his knee last season.....to get rid of him now would be inevitably stupid....unless they cannot figure a way to fit him in under the cap! Like it or not....the Rangers have no prospects, ZERO, save possibly CHeraponov....who can maintain puck possesion like Hossa, not to mention the guy KNOWS how to use his size and strength now....he is very difficult to play against...it would be very shortsighted to let him go at this point. The best thing they could do is give this guy the first 25 games or so to establish himself this season and see what they actually have.....the potential...or the Hossa we all saw for that stretch last season.....these are the kinds of decisions that can come back to haunt a franchise if they are not made prudently...and are not maximized to the franchises benefit.
Hey guys, big Ranger fan here and new to the forum. Just thought I'd start here with a post on Marcel Hossa.
For those who watched the games in which he played with Jagr, it was stated many times that when he played on the 3rd and 4th line, he came to games not worrying about offense, however about playing a smart, solid game in his defensive zone. IMO I thought he was a smart penalty killer, as he didn't drift out of position and kept it simple clogging up the passing lane. (when his confidence was sky high), however as previously said he wasn't always willing to backcheck, as least it seemed that way to me. Most of his solid play,however only came on the top line, as he was playing with Jagr and Nylander. He showed his willingness to do the dirty work in starting a cycle to create space, as well as solid forecheck play, digging out pucks, and showing strength on the puck. I just didn't see the whole package when not on the top line. Whether it was in his head, or he just needs to be complimented by a strong, playmaking, scoring superstar (Jagr), he still only seemed to be fully noticable when on the top line.
Hossa did NOTHING at all on the 4th line, and being that he needs to play on a 1 or 2 line to see his play maximize, Hossa is expendible, as I feel we have enough solid guys on the PK that we don't need him there either (Cullen, Drury, Betts, Hollweg, Avery, hoping the contract works out ok, and Straka and Shanahan both used sparingly). If he's not playing with Jagr, he's not going to give us 1M worth, as he hasn't showed offensive abilities when he hasn't played with offense 1st players. And as said, I feel we have enough guys on the PK where he wouldn't be used.
There's no room for him to play on the top 2 lines, so we won't get the best results from him. Another team will be getting a solid player, if used properly and can utilize his talent more than the Rangers will be able to. Just my opinion here
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