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Rangers let all know that the for sale is up |
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The Rangers officially confirmed today what had been suspected for a while: the fire sale is on. How deep and how far the potential will go still remains to be seen. But GM Jeff Gorton and President Glen Sather, backed by the support of owner James Dolan, informed all that what is currently on this team isn't good enough and some form of rebuild or retool is needed.
Rangers letter:
The big question asked is why did the Rangers release this letter? What team has ever explicitly come out and admitted that what they current have isn't good enough and assets will be traded? We complain when ownership and management isn't transparent. In addition, we also raise our voices when short-sighted deals - see Eric Staal - are made when looking to the future was the right call. Here, Gorton and Sather provided nearly full transparency. The coaching situation wasn't discussed, but that didn't shock me. Unless they announced in the letter that AV was gone, management isn't about to throw the coach under the bus. But, as the team ushers in a rebuild with youth, that make up is not one where AV thrives, as he is not known for his patience with young players.
Facebook live press conference:
By sending out the letter, having the press conference and Gorton speaking on ESPN Radio, the path forward is clear. The rebuild is on. New York's casual and diehard fans know, the ticket holders know it and the team knows it. By telling the fanbase what's happening, trading the current players to get younger becomes a bit easier, since the path has been paved. After the performance on the ice at home against Toronto and Boston, ticket holders would likely welcome seeing players who will play the full game rather than what has been on display lately. Expect to see youth on display and a full team evaluation the rest of the way.
To me, one of the key lines in the letter was: "this may mean we lose some familiar faces, guys we all care about & respect." The question is who did they mean by that line? How deep does that cut? Is it Rick Nash and Michael Grabner? Ryan McDonagh? Mats Zuccarello? Does it even get down to Henrik Lundqvist? The breadth and depth of the reshaping and restructuring has to be determined. Is is rebuild or retool? Tear down or no?
This stat is a pretty good indication of how Lundqvist has carried the team:
That about stat shows that the team has been bolstered by Lundqvist. This has been an issue for years, but in the past, the defense had for the most part been able to carry some of it's own weight, despite that GA variance. This season, the wheels have fallen off in a myriad of regards. Deciding to focus long-term, stocking the cupboards and not just foolishly chasing a chance to maybe make the playoffs and possibly earn a first-round win is the prudent course of action. Losing seven of their past eight while 6-12-2 in the previous 20 games support that decision.
The issue we saw most of the season were on full display during this really rough patch. An inability to create consistent offensive pressure resulted in the team struggling to score goals. Neutral zone play was less than optimal and the failure to execute proper defensive handoffs and coverage in their own zone made Lundqvist an island between the pipes. Recently, the team's battle level was far from good, as it sure appeared they gave up during games, All this does cover the slow starts that we saw all too often.
For all those who don’t remember the era from 1997 2005, go back and look at those teams. Then realize how fortunate we have had it. What stinks is that we all expected more and possibly could have had more but certain decisions, coaching and GM wise, caused that not to occur. You look back at 2014 and the blown leads in three of the four Finals' losses. The same in 2015, which was marked by the inability to beat Tampa at home and the absence of Zuccarello. Acquiring Staal and the first round collapse in 2016 against Piitsburgh. Then last year, when AV's player and deployment mismanagement cost the Rangers a second-round victory.
Placing Brendan Smith on waivers today, replacing him with Neal Pionk, was a fairly good indication that contracts won't matter. Signed to a four-year, $17.4 deal this offseason after filling a key role down the stretch and in the playoffs after coming over from Detroit, Smith failed miserably in trying to recapture that form. Smith came to camp out of shape and it went downhill from there.
In describing the move, AV said: “He got off to a slow start, we worked with him in a number of different ways, and he seemed to be having a hard time finding his game. This might be a little bit drastic, but management and the coaches felt this was the way to go for our team right now.” Message clearly sent. Gorton added: "We’ve done some different things to try and get him going, we’ve scratched him [10 times], and he just hasn’t played that well. There’s no real insight into [why], but he just hasn’t been able to find his game. Based on what we’ve seen in the past, Brendan is a good player who can play physical and who’s a good skater, but really, those elements haven’t been there this year. This is something, at this time, is best for him to go on waivers, see what happens, and then we’ll go from there.”
If at noon Friday, Smith clears waivers, as expected, he will be assigned to the AHL Wolf Pack. Once he is sent to the minors, the Blueshirts will clear a prorated $1.025 million of his full season $4.35 million cap hit. But, New York is in a good cap position, so that salary savings matters little. Instead, the hope has to be the shock of getting sent down forces Smith to take stock in himself and he finds a way to recapture that form of last year.
As of now, nothing should be off the table. Nash has drawn primary interest from Nashville and Dallas. Maximize the assets in return for him and explore the broader market. The same needs to be done with Grabner. Desharnais and Holden will clearly go. Then it gets interesting. Gorton and Sather have to identify who is the core to build around. But if you are offered a ridiculous deal, take it. That could be exits for McDonagh and Zuccarello, with Mac bringing back the higher return. The tear down could extend to J.T. Miller, a RFA after the season, and Chris Kreider, signed for two more seasons at $4.625 million per. That doesn't mean give either one away, as the ask should be very high for each. But if the offer is staggering, it has to be considered. Jimmy Vesey and/or Kevin Hayes also might be on the block, if the return warrants removing two more RFAs, who are up for raises this off-season.
I may be in the minority here but Lundqvist likely should be off-limits. He has stated that he would be willing to remain during a rebuild. Now, part of that statement is playing to the media and the public. One key aspect is how many teams would take on $8.5 mil for the next three seasons and would NY be willing to eat part of half that salary to move him? If the team went in that direction, the signal wouldn't be just a rebuild but a complete and utter tear down and I don't think that's where they want to go. Brady Skjei, Pavel Buchnevich, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are all key parts of the future. Beyond that, who knows?
No one likes to be in this position. But team management finally acknowledging this is the right path is somewhat of a positive. No more chasing playoff spots to just try and make the postseason. Now, Gorton has to prove that he is the right man to oversee this rebuild and usher the team forward in the right way.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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