Seeing the word flip-flopper...

in the banned political thread got me thinking a bit of our fearless leader, Glen Sather. Here we are, first week of August, and this team has a total of seven legit NHL vets, one centerman (Holik), one winger (Jagr), four defensemen (Rach, Poti, Kaspar and Strudwick) and a goaltender (Dunham). Quite honestly, I am a bit shocked that this team is currently in that state. I'm not saying disappointed, as I don't know what to think right now, but this is shocking.

Personally I thought Sather would make some draft day trades and secure some type of cornerstone player, be it a forward or defenseman, and I thought that cornerstone player would be young. That obviously didn't happen. But what shocks me is that Sather may be willing to go into the season with this team as it stands. I do personally believe the Rangers need a little help at forward still. There are 12 spots to fill. There currently is not a player you'd consider a top lne centerman, and Holik should not be the answer. There are a couple guys who have a shot as a top six forward/top nine forward. But then there's holes. And to me, for a guy like Balej (and others) to develop properly, they need to be taught properly, and that doesn't just mean in practice. They need to concentrate on what's going to make them better, and not be taken away from that because they do not have the proper support. I don't currently have the answers or solutions, but I'm still wary of what Sather may do. At least for the moment, many appear to be safer...

To me it's more important to sign character players, and leaders. We should add a couple vet forwards, but not top line players. I would look for a guy that can do a comparable job to what Andreychuk has done in TB. We need someone who players will respect, and learn from.

As for going out and finding a top line center - I just don't see any sense in that - it will just hurt our draft spot. We also shouldn't sign vets to anymore then a two-year deal at this point IMO.

The task is a rebuild. We are going to need top picks. We cannot afford another 6th pick. I think the Rangers really need to land a Crosby or Brule. Right now we don't have the players to compete with the Tampa, ATL, Pitt's, FL, and Caps of the world in 5 or so years. These teams have all landed big-time players along with a good core of solid players which will be a base for quality teams in the future. We've done a nice job getting some nice complimentary players, but we still don't have any top players which you need to win.

I wasn't so surprised that there weren't any draft day trades because it appeared the return was extremely low with respect to young "cornerstone" players...the closest examples being Bonk and Lalime who returned very little.

As to the team as it stands...while I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't sign a goaltender or another defenseman (we seem to have a lot on the roster now, many with little or no experience), it would seem likely that a forward or three will be added, perhaps after more is known about the CBA and what the state of the league will be afterwards.

I think it's too early to get worried Fletch. Sather traditionally likes to put the pieces together late in the game and this year, CBA uncertainty makes that somewhat prudent. There's also still a lot of uncontracted talent out there on the market. Talent that might not be interested in playing here unless they see options to play elsewhere diminishing. Plus, there's still plenty of time for deals. Who knows what will happen to some very attractive players after arbitration decisions are in. There's also the pending Messier factor and of course, a waiver draft which will almost certainly generate a roster player or 2 for us.

I cannot say I am surprised at the low amount of moves. Between Kasper, Holik, & Jagr, there's $25m that will count against any type of cap/luxury tax. And those 3 will be doing that for the next 3 years. Throw in Dunham & Poti for next year, and the # rises to $33m. Add in the uncertainty of there even being a season next year, and Sather's seeming desire to wind up in a good drafting position for the '05 draft, and you have the results that you have now. Low personel movement and a lineup that will resemble last year's Pens (minus Jagr & Holik).
Although when you stop to think about it, if they add a vet that will be like Rucinsky, team him with Jagr, and you have the makings of a legit top line. Keep Holik as your shut-down center, and you now have a legit checking line. So one scoring lin, one checking line, and a mostly Kid-2nd line (with Lundmark & Balej),and an energy 4th line.
Yep, we're heading for another top 5 pick in next year's draft.

I think almost all teams are holding out from making any major moves until they have an idea where this CBA is going. There's no reason for these teams to commit money if they think it's just gonna be wasted.

throuhout the league, so it's not totally quiet out there. I do wonder what type of factor Sather 'tried' to be in the UFA market. Obviously no significant signings, but I wonder what types of pitches went out there and how much UFAs shied away from the Rangers (for obvious reasons).

throuhout the league, so it's not totally quiet out there. I do wonder what type of factor Sather 'tried' to be in the UFA market. Obviously no significant signings, but I wonder what types of pitches went out there and how much UFAs shied away from the Rangers (for obvious reasons).

Throughout might actually be the wrong term. First off the majority of players that have been signed are what I'd term 2nd or 3rd tier players. Aside from that there are a number of teams that have done very little in the way of getting contracts with free agents signed.

Have no fear, the clueless one has a plan!

The Jackass is just waiting for the league to bash itself to pieces through labor unrest and then once that's out of the way, exploit the new system and "speed up" the "re-building" process. Obviously, that involves betting against a hard cap--but all things considered, that's not a bad bet. I think Sather is assuming that there will be some form of luxury tax (something the Ranger organization couldn't care less about) and that there will be a ton of talent out there just waiting to be signed by a organization with plenty of roster openings to fill.

Why make a trade, when you can just wait for them to come free? :shakehead