I'd love to see "2-3 years from now" posts from 2006.
I guess we can, actually.. but I'm too lazy.
Point is, who knows what could happen.
lol and whats funny is guys like del zotto and anisimov wont be on that list ebcuase they werent drafted yet....the point is you never know how these kids will turn out untill they get ehre or if they ever do get here
Outside of the pieces listed that are already all stars on the current roster (Lundy and Gabby) I see a bunch of third liners and some fringe NHL'ers, which makes it basically the same team we have right now. We need some elite level talent. Kreider could become elite but that door could swing the other direction completely. Not sure what Stepan or Grachev or even Ani for that matter will become at the NHL level. Cally and Dubi both need to take a BIG step forward to become top sixers within the next year or so.
The one piece that does have me excited 2 - 3 years from now is the defense. I am excited that MDZ and Staal can become a truly elite top pairing comparable to Keith and Seabrook in Chicago. All the other defenseman are question marks to me, might not even become NHLers, but there is a lot of depth there, to possibly produce two second pairing guys between Sangs, Gilroy, Sauer or McDonaugh.
So basically, we are missing a guy like Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin or perhaps, Cherepanov?
No way. The Rangers would be much more talented, younger and cheaper... meaning they'd have plenty of money to sign someone if needed to fill a hole.
But this time they won't be desperate so there won't be any need to sign Gomez and Drury or Rosie and Redden in the same summer. At most, it would be 1 expensive vet in two summers, not 4.
No way. The Rangers would be much more talented, younger and cheaper... meaning they'd have plenty of money to sign someone if needed to fill a hole.
But this time they won't be desperate so there won't be any need to sign Gomez and Drury or Rosie and Redden in the same summer. At most, it would be 1 expensive vet in two summers, not 4.
so your betting that most of the guys on that list, guys who have never played in the nhl before and guys that on most other teams are at best second liners make us a true playoff contender. just because we get younger and cheaper doesn't mean we have great talent.
and so much things need to happen before we can sign an expensive vet. i'll entertain that thought when 2 of the 3 contracts are out of here.
so your betting that most of the guys on that list, guys who have never played in the nhl before and guys that on most other teams are at best second liners make us a true playoff contender. just because we get younger and cheaper doesn't mean we have great talent.
and so much things need to happen before we can sign an expensive vet. i'll entertain that thought when 2 of the 3 contracts are out of here.
I think most of us who are optimistic about the future feel that in 2 to 3 years both Drury and Rozy will be gone and Redden likely in Hartford or waived. That fact alone would mean that the team will have cap room for another Gaborik like UFA signing...so that the propects listed above won't all need to be elite talents, but rather supporting cast members. If a guy like Stepan turns out to be a 1st line center even better.
Pointing out that we might of had high hopes in 06 about our future doesn't really mean that our current hopes are invalid. This prospect pool is regarded in higher esteem outside of our fans by impartial sources. At worst, we're going to end up with a homegrown, above average defense out of the players we have. We know what we're getting out of Staal, MDZ, and Girardi and they're already solid NHLers. McDonagh was considered a better prospect than MDZ and Sangs was pretty close. Out of the rest of the loads of names, I'm sure we'll find at least one guy capable of being the 6th defenseman. As far as offense, I'm not sure we're going to turn out any 1st liners but we'll be set with cheap options for the back 9 for years to come. We'll have the cap room to sign legit 1st liners some time. We're not there now but, if managed correctly, we'll be there sooner than later.
We won't take a step forward until at least one of the big contracts is taken care of. But as long as we have a healthy Gaborik and Lundqvist we'll continue to be at least mildly competitive.
That said, it so hard to predict what will happen in 2-3 years. I wouldn't be surprised if this team was much better and I wouldn't be surprised if we were in the run for the #1 overall pick that year. Lundqvist's durability has been insane since he's come into league. However, you can't expect him to finish out his career never sitting out because of some injury. And when the inevitable does happen it won't be fun visiting this board
I think most of us who are optimistic about the future feel that in 2 to 3 years both Drury and Rozy will be gone and Redden likely in Hartford or waived. That fact alone would mean that the team will have cap room for another Gaborik like UFA signing...so that the propects listed above won't all need to be elite talents, but rather supporting cast members. If a guy like Stepan turns out to be a 1st line center even better.
i dont even know who is available in 2-3 years. and who knows if we get an elite scorer or overpay for guys the way sather did gomez and drury. any fan of any team can say their team will be better with an elite signing. and of course there is always the problem of secondary scoring. most of our secondary scorers play so well that we send them to phoenix.
i dont even know who is available in 2-3 years. and who knows if we get an elite scorer or overpay for guys the way sather did gomez and drury. any fan of any team can say their team will be better with an elite signing. and of course there is always the problem of secondary scoring. most of our secondary scorers play so well that we send them to phoenix.
I think our secondary scoring would not be such of a problem if we had primary scoring.
Look at Pittsburgh. They have Crosby, Malkin and then a bunch of scrubs (ok, that's an exaggeration, but it's to make a point). Yet they're still probably going to finish atop the conference this season
I disagree that Johnson will be backing up Lundqvist in 2 - 3 years. Once they actually see he can play they'll have to guarentee more playing time for him to stay. He wants to play not sit on the bench for 75 games. His contract is up next year. Surprised if he stays after that if they don't give him some serious playing time that he deserves.
so your betting that most of the guys on that list, guys who have never played in the nhl before and guys that on most other teams are at best second liners make us a true playoff contender. just because we get younger and cheaper doesn't mean we have great talent.
and so much things need to happen before we can sign an expensive vet. i'll entertain that thought when 2 of the 3 contracts are out of here.
I would not bet on one person succeeding, but if you have several guys, you've gotta figure one will pan out. If not DZ, then Sang, if not Sang, then Gilroy, if not Gilroy, then McD, if not McD, then Sauer, if not Sauer, then Heineken.
Same at center. If Dubi doesn't take the next step, maybe AA will or Step will or Werek will.
You have to figure we'll have a couple of stars out of all those players plus Grachev, Kreider, Bourque, etc.
MDZ
Staal
Sangs
Gilroy
McDonagh
Kund
Heik
Sauer
Williams
Now this is not the order that I believe the players will be listed just a look into the future--I for one have to admit things could be looking very nice for us.
Some may be moved(and I might have left someone off the list) but hopefully Sather doesn't get greedy and thinks how good this team could look.
What does everyone think.
Law of averages states that at least half of those guys will never pan out. Not trying to be a jerk. Just the reality of it. I would say the Rangers should expect 2-3 guys from each draft since 2008 to crack the NHL at some point. What they do when they get there is up to them.
Also, you need vets.
I would say that in 3 years -- AA, Cally, Dubi, Stepan, Grachev, Gaborik, DZ, Staal and Macdonagh will be on the NHL roster, with Lisin a possibility and Kreider on the verge.
Sangs, Gilroy, Werek, Bourque, Heik, Sauer, Weise....I think they are all in the 2nd tier.
I see us having a strong farm system but a lot of the guys will be trade bait or just wont pan out.
They don't need all of them to be good. If only a third pan out, that should be enough to be a very good team.
thats a very simplistic way of looking at things...
of the 20 players listed, 4 or 5 of them are already proven quality NHLers...thats 25%...and we are certainly NOT a good team. How are another 2 of these kids making the club going to make us a very good team?
This team is beyond just needing young players. We already have young players. What we need are a combination of better players & the existing players taking the next step.
thats a very simplistic way of looking at things...
of the 20 players listed, 4 or 5 of them are already proven quality NHLers...thats 25%...and we are certainly NOT a good team. How are another 2 of these kids making the club going to make us a very good team?
This team is beyond just needing young players. We already have young players. What we need are a combination of better players & the existing players taking the next step.
Obviously I meant a third of the prospects, not Dubinsky and Callahan. I meant Sanger, Grachev, Step, Kreider, Werek and Bourque as well as rookies like DZ, Gilroy and AA.
If among the prospects 2 turn into above average NHL second liners or better, and at least one of the rookies becomes a first liner or a first pairing D, we are in very good shape.
Imagine the current team plus two excellent forwards and DZ is scoring 55 points, while Sanguinetti is doing what DZ is doing now.
The team is a shoe-in to make the playoffs.
Now, take out the salary of Drury, Redden, Higgins, Prospal, Kotalik and Rosie, and spend those $25 million on a star player plus raises for young players.
Say, Kovalchuk (or equivalent star a few years from now, just using his name because we don't know who'll be a superstar in 4 years) for $10, and another $15 for raises and entry level contracts for the rookies coming in.
Fact is that if you can fill 90% of the team from inside the system, you have a tremendous amount of cap space to play with to fill the other couple remaining spots.
The best organizations are constantly replenishing their shelves with young players. In the salary cap world, that has become much more of a necessity. Better drafting and more aggressive player procurement are a must to be and stay competitive. I'm pleased that Sather has put so much (well earned) confidence in Gordie Clark because he is a major upgrade over others who have sat at the draft table for the Rangers. But I also give Sather profs for doing things like acquiring McDonagh, signing overage players as UFAs and bringing in a guy like Heikinnen from Europe. It gives me confidence that they are turning over every rock to find good players. Unlike others here, I really think this is the way Sather prefers to build but he had to use extensive free agency signings to cover for years of dry rot in the system as well as some very bad luck (Blackburn, Cherepanov) along the way.
thats a very simplistic way of looking at things...
of the 20 players listed, 4 or 5 of them are already proven quality NHLers...thats 25%...and we are certainly NOT a good team. How are another 2 of these kids making the club going to make us a very good team?
This team is beyond just needing young players. We already have young players. What we need are a combination of better players & the existing players taking the next step.
Spot on. Our young players on the team have to take it the next level, and the incoming prospects would have to either match their performance or be even better to compete with some of the other teams loaded with young talent.
For example, take a look at the Blackhawks now. They already have great young players like Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Niemi, etc. And in the next few years, they will be integrating Skille, Beach, Aliu, etc. Is our young core going to be able to compete with the likes of that in the next 2-3 years? I doubt it.
I really think the #3 prospect ranking has gone to some fans' heads. It's fun to dream that our team will someday will be filled with mostly homegrown players, but that's not feasible in today's NHL. Every single team has a mix of homegrown players, players acquired via trade, and players acquired via free agency. And as long as Dolan is the owner, and especially as long as Sather is around, this team will always be active in the free agent market.
The older posters remember threads like this touting Brendl, Hlavac, Lundmark, Auferio, Cherneski, Blackburn, etc.....
That pretty much sums it up for me. It's hard for me to get overly excited about any prospect we have that we draft in any order. They are all prospects until.......
1. they prove they can make it to the NHL.
2. Prove they can stay in the NHL
3. prove they can do it in NY over an extended period of time.
All we can do is hope for the best. It's a crap shoot.
