Las Vegas appears to have made their selection from the Rangers and it's Oscar Limdberg. The Golden Knights basically had a choice of four players, Lindberg, Michael Grabner, Jesper Fast or Antti Raanta. George McPhee selected the player we expected but hoped wouldn't go.
In the poll I ran as to who would be the main painful for the Rangers to lose to Vegas in the expansion draft, the updated voting as of 4pm today was:
Jesper Fast 21% 168 votes Michael Grabner 18% 148 votes Oscar Lindberg 32% 261 votes Antti Raanta 29% 240 votes
Of the 817 votes casted, Lindberg was the slight leader. With this looking the case as to who went, what does this mean and now what?
1) Was there a side deal with LV to keep Raanta in NY or acquire another player? There are rumors NY did deal a first rounder, though no confirmed by anyone.
2) If NY was dealing a first, would you have done so just to protect Lindberg? I could see the rationale on either side. One, the player at 21 may not end up as good as Lindberg. Second, that pick could possibly bring back a better asset or be used for a player that pans put even better, though the flip side is that he is a bust.
3) Was keeping Raanta more of a priority given the decline we saw at times from Henrik Lundqvist and need to give him constant rest? In addition, he is a cheap asset who plays a key role, even if only for more year.
4) Where is LV going in net? There are rumors that MAF could be moved, so will it be Phillip Grubauer, Malcolm Subban as the top two, as Detroit is rumored not to have taken Petr Mrazek.
5) Keeping Fast and Grabner gives NY two cheap bottom-six wingers, each of whom outplayed their salaries a year ago.
6) If Derek Stepan is dealt, must a center come back? Now, you can't move Lindberg up to fill in if Kevin Hayes became the #2 and Mika Zibanejad the true #1. J.T. Miller could shift to C, but I think he is better as a wing.
7) Can Cristoval "Boo" Nieves fill the role Lindberg played on the fourth line? Does he possess the skill to play on the PK? He has the ability to be more of an agitative force and could get a chance to break camp with the team, at least as of now. If not, maybe Marek Hrivik gets a real opportunity, as I thought he played well when in the lineup.
More to come