Tkachuk would be a massive boost for the Rangers. The real question is the price and of course the no-trade clause he has.
NYR can actually send a few guys down to the minors for a few weeks to get by the cap and roster limitations until the playoffs start and load up at the deadline beforehand. I think this is the strategy that teams with young players on the 3rd and 4th lines are going to take. It's not fair per se but it could work.
Leetch and Tkachuk and the Rangers have the makings of a cinderella team. How many other teams have the best goalie and the best player in the lineup to go with good coaching and great team defence?
Not interested in Tkachuk at all. Though we could use size and strength up front, we have a good team that has had success as is; we should make moves that suplement what we already have not add a high profile player whose dominance changes the vibe. Tkachuk's a franchise player that you build around, not the missing piece to an already successful team's cup chances (Philly makes this mistake year after year).
Let's go after another power forward who's more of a second/third liner type of player. I'm thinking a guy like Barnaby would do more good with this team than Tkachuk.
I agree Tkachuk fullfills a void, but I don't make that kind of move this season. In the offseason I might make a play....
I hope Sather doesn't abandon the rebuild. It would take too much to land Tkachuck (look at what Carolina gave up for Weight). There is no guarantee it will actually help this team in the playoffs anyway. I hope he learned his lesson over the last couple of years - too many stars on one team never seems to work (in any sport).
Look at the Yankees, they haven't won't since Steinbrenner has gone crazy signing every superstar free agent he can get his hands on. Back when they won a few years in a row, it was role players like Sojo, Brosiuis, etc, etc., that contributed at the right time, combined with a few talented players drafted and developed by the team (Jeter, Williams, Petite, etc).
Or if some reason if there is a personality clash with Tkachuck and the Czech Posse. This team is 20 games over 500%, and in first place, I say this is basically the team they should go to war with, and just keep riding the hot goalie.
yeah like i said...the only way the deal makes sense for the rangers is if they can move someone like rucinsky or sykora off their main roster to make room for tkachuk. and that doesn't make sense for the blues...who will want someone like prucha (hell no) or some top prospects of the rangers (hell no X2) and draft picks (another hell no)
like someone said, the rangers aren't gonna get tkachuk the same way they got sykora...for a song and dance (poor max, he had/has potential but now just wants to go back to russia it looks like) and i definatly think there's a huge risk of upsetting the team chemistry at this point. the top two lines are actually working quite well, even if they aren't physical, and messing with that might cause more harm than good
i hate these kind of rumors because while it's easy to say "yeah tkachuk fills a hole the rangers have in their lineup) the reality just isn't that easy. someone said you build your team around someone like tkachuck, not add him in to a team, and that's exactly right. as much as it seems like he's a fit for this team, i really don't think he is
Yeah, let's bolster our scoring down the stretch run by trading for a player with a history of being a disappointment in the playoffs.
All kidding aside, the guy is a serious disappointment in "clutch" situations. I really don't know how well he fits in with the chemistry and game strategy of the Rangers scoring lines either. Definitely not my first choice.
Another problem with adding Tkachuk is where does he fit in the lineup and who moves where? LW is something we are a little deep on. I see no sense in breaking up the Nylander, Jagr, Straka line. So say Tkachuk goes to 2nd line. Then Prucha on the 3rd with Rucinsky on the 4th? I doubt St. Louis is looking to add pending UFA Rucinsky so we have a major log jam at Left Wing. I know we can move him to another team later, but why take that chance and deal with that headache when you are winning as is. Can we justify trading blue chip prospects or 1st round picks or young players for a 2nd line winger?
I would love a KT on this team mainly because i think what you need to succeed in the long grueling POs is different then what you need to succeed during the season..More specifically, we will need more size /strength on D, up front, and on the PP...Tkachuck would easily fill two of the needs...And I have no problem sliding a Rucinsky and/or Rucchin down to the 3rd line to accomodate him ...
Still, the main question are cost and chemistry.....Only if the cost is right...which means no Prucha, Immonen,Jessiman,Montoya, Stall, Sauer and maybe few others....And then you have to consider the chemistry..This team has GREAT chemisty, will it be negatively effected by a KT? I don't think so, but I'm not in the locker room....Rucinsky has played with Tkachuck and I have no doubt guys like Rucchin, Sykora and others will have a problem...but, what would JAGR think?.....If Jagr's on board and the cost is not too high, it's something worth looking into..
My bet though, is that the cost will be too high..That's fine..Except, I wouldn't be surprised to be playing against him come PO time in the east..
The cost is going to be high, and with the trade clause, this deal gets difficult to make, plus costly to be effective, and add in that he hasn't proven much in the PO's.
a guy id like to get is Doan. He is rumored to be available. We got young talent to offer. Doan and Matthew Spiller to Rangers for Tom Poti, Ville Nieminen, Al Montoya, Marcel Hossa and 1st in 06 and 2ed in 07.
I'm not a Rangers expert, but I see no way it would make sense to part with Al Montoya for anything less than a #1 center, for the Rangers. At this point.
I would love a KT on this team mainly because i think what you need to succeed in the long grueling POs is different then what you need to succeed during the season..More specifically, we will need more size /strength on D, up front, and on the PP...Tkachuck would easily fill two of the needs...And I have no problem sliding a Rucinsky and/or Rucchin down to the 3rd line to accomodate him ...
Still, the main question are cost and chemistry.....Only if the cost is right...which means no Prucha, Immonen,Jessiman,Montoya, Stall, Sauer and maybe few others....And then you have to consider the chemistry..This team has GREAT chemisty, will it be negatively effected by a KT? I don't think so, but I'm not in the locker room....Rucinsky has played with Tkachuck and I have no doubt guys like Rucchin, Sykora and others will have a problem...but, what would JAGR think?.....If Jagr's on board and the cost is not too high, it's something worth looking into..
My bet though, is that the cost will be too high..That's fine..Except, I wouldn't be surprised to be playing against him come PO time in the east..
The problem is that Rucinsky already is on the 3rd line when everyone is healthy and Tkachuk isn't exactly a Center (I believe he played there some with Roenick) so you can't move Rucchin down either. Worried about what the Czech Posse thinks? Well Prucha or Rucinsky will be getting 6 minutes a night with Orts and Moore.
a guy id like to get is Doan. He is rumored to be available. We got young talent to offer. Doan and Matthew Spiller to Rangers for Tom Poti, Ville Nieminen, Al Montoya, Marcel Hossa and 1st in 06 and 2ed in 07.
Why would the RANGERS do that? Let alone the Coyotes NEVER saying there looking to trade Doan, who like most have noted is a favorite of Gretzky.
Why would the Rangers give up Poti who has become a HUGE part of the success of this "no-name" defense this year, really stepping it up and somewhat starting to contribute on the scoreboard.
Also Montoya too? Montoya, a 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He could be used to trade up in this year's draft. I'd rather keep him than move him for Doan.
And a 1st round pick AND a 2nd round pick? C'mon! Why? I would love nothing more than to see the Rangers win the cup, and then try and compete next year and the year after that, BUT lets not forget they are still REBUILDING and trading picks is not the way to go especially again when you could trade up with that 1st round pick to get some of the nice talent available in the first 8 picks or so.
Also I really dont wanna see Nieminen traded. He fits in well with this team. He brings a good relaxed mood to the team with his humor and laid back style. And when he's on the ice he plays hard and has chipped in on the scoresheet a bit this year, most recently setting up Ward for the shorthander against Ottawa.
And Hossa. He is playing very, very hard lately. He is throwing his body by using his big size. And also with that big size he is shielding off opposing players. You saw it a few times today in the Russia/Slovakia game where he was winning battles along the boards. He starting to shoot a little bit more which is what I was hoping he would do because he looks to pass more than shoot. Right now Hossa looks like how Poti was in late November, early December because like Poti he is playing very hard and coming oh so close to getting out of that slump and heating up.
a guy id like to get is Doan. He is rumored to be available. We got young talent to offer. Doan and Matthew Spiller to Rangers for Tom Poti, Ville Nieminen, Al Montoya, Marcel Hossa and 1st in 06 and 2ed in 07.
Even on PS2 or XBOX you couldn't pull this one off. I want to know where you got hte idea that Shane Doan is available. Gretzky named himthe team captain,and brought him to Italy for the Olympics. With as bad as they might be right now, do you honestly think they'd deal this guy? He's their franchise player for crying out loud.
Sydney Crosby is going to be dominating the league for 20 years. He's like a Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic, if not a Wayne Gretzky or Lemieux.
You'd be crazy not to take the 18 year old #1 center for the 33 year old RW. Within 2 years, Crosby's production will be better than Jagrs.
I realize it would be a hit for Rangers this year, but are the Rangers going to win the Cup?
I doubt it.
Make the move to secure the future that CAN win you the cup, then.
Plus, in the dream, they are giving us a first, which we can turn into Jordan Staal.
If you didn't notice Jagr's dominating now. Short of Gretzky (which even for Crosby is a stretch) you can't do much better than Jagr. Plus I think the Rangers do have a shot at the cup. Are they the prohibitive favorite? No. Do they have a shot? Most definitely. I'm not trading that for the future (we seem to be doing plenty well kid-wise without Crosby).
And (this is besides the point but) from the early returns I'd rather have Ovechkin than Crosby because Ovechkin has more power and is only two years older. Ovechkin has shown more Gretzky type hockey sense than Crosby has (cue massive flaming war about how Crosby will much better than Ovechkin and how I have no right to live).
If you didn't notice Jagr's dominating now. Short of Gretzky (which even for Crosby is a stretch) you can't do much better than Jagr. Plus I think the Rangers do have a shot at the cup. Are they the prohibitive favorite? No. Do they have a shot? Most definitely. I'm not trading that for the future (we seem to be doing plenty well kid-wise without Crosby).
And (this is besides the point but) from the early returns I'd rather have Ovechkin than Crosby because Ovechkin has more power and is only two years older. Ovechkin has shown more Gretzky type hockey sense than Crosby has (cue massive flaming war about how Crosby will much better than Ovechkin and how I have no right to live).
I'm not going to flame you for saying that Ovechkin is better than Crosby; I happen to disagree pretty strongly, but I also think Ovechkin is a long term player and is going to be a scoring king as well.
But I think Crosby will be better in the long run.
Its irrelevant though, cause I'd take Ovechkin in that same deal, if I was offered it.
I'm not arguing that Jagr isn't the best player in the league right now.... but he's 34.
In 2-3 years, he'll be winding his career down. Sure, some players, like Messier, play till they are 40, but nobody is the same by that age. Jagr has only got a few seasons of dominance left in him... ESPECIALLY a player who has noted motivation issues in the past... the will could disappear at any time.
Crosby (or Ovechkin) has got 15-20 years, to Jagr's 3.
There is no scenario where you don't make this trade. Its not like this is some future first round pick that may take years to develop, or may not pan out. Crosby and Ovechkin are already among the league's best scorers, just like Jagr. What are we losing? A 120 point season and getting back a 90 point season? And that's only this year! Next year, both Crosby and Ovechkin probably break 100 points.
As I said, you'd have to be crazy to turn down a deal that included Jagr for Crosby/Ovechkin.
Its all hypothetical anyway, I said it was just a dream. But you can't argue that'd be a bad trade for the Rangers.
You know, normally, I like it when the Rangers are aggressive and acquire proven NHL talent. But Tkachuk is past his prime. He doesn't need a change of scenery, and even when we got the likes of Gartner, Nicholls, Messier, Bure etc, they still had a lot left in them (Bure was a shame because he was electric when he played).
Anyway, it doesn't make sense. We should have gone after him years ago, but not now, when we have a solid foundation and a playoff-calibre team.
Besides, he's one-dimensional. He doesn't kill penalties, is slow, and isn't nearly as intimidating as he once was. Same with Billy Guerin.
Now Jarome Iginla, well, that's a whole other story.
The Pens first overall pick equates into the first overall pick of the draft. At that point, you are not talking about Stall, but about Kessel.
IMO You are realistically talking about EJ-first, Kessel-second, Backstrom-third. Its all about different preferences and scouting eyes, and I'd even consider saying Staal, Mueller, Toews, and Frolik could be taken.
A couple of physical defensemen and a couple of physical forwards. Unfortunately those are awfully tough players to acquire.
By the way, when I use the word physical that does not translate into fighting goons. It means guys who when they get hit won't go flying and when they bear down on an opponent the opponent must fear being crushed into the boards.
The single most astonishing thing about this Rangers team is how they have been just so incredibly lucky at avoiding injuries. They take a helluva pounding in almost every single game and I can't help but feel that that luck may not continue.
a guy id like to get is Doan. He is rumored to be available. We got young talent to offer. Doan and Matthew Spiller to Rangers for Tom Poti, Ville Nieminen, Al Montoya, Marcel Hossa and 1st in 06 and 2ed in 07.
Part of this is just about getting rid of enough forwards that we don't like because then we'll have to play Orr every night, won't we? We couldn't call anyone up--it just wouldn't be fair. Is Doan some kind of superstar? Is Spiller going to replace Poti on the blueline or have we just opened up another hole in a worse place? A package such as this you might offer for Crosby and get laughed at but not laughed at as hard. Montoya--a first and a second for Doan? C'mon man! You're hitting the pipe too hard tonight. Take a couple breaths and let some oxygen back into the brain.
C'mon! Why? I would love nothing more than to see the Rangers win the cup, and then try and compete next year and the year after that, BUT lets not forget they are still REBUILDING and trading picks is not the way to go especially again when you could trade up with that 1st round pick to get some of the nice talent available in the first 8 picks or so.
