2018-19 NHL offseason thread

I think? I can't keep up with what they're doing.
First game I saw there, two seasons ago, I sat next to a very nice, longtime Islanders fan. I asked him if the place was full of Brooklynites or folks from the Island coming in since the LIRR has a station right there. He said it was mostly from the Island, for now. They hated the place. Not designed for hockey, many seats have obstructed views. Atmosphere was almost non-existent.

If they lose Tavares and don't get a decent goalie, that could be a really shitty team. Really shitty. Of course, Trotz may make them more attractive to Tavares and some other free agents.

The ISLANDERS should play on LONG ISLAND. It's not that hard.

 

The Barclays Center was just a bad idea, not just because its a crappy place to watch a hockey game, but because the fan base for that team, as small as it was, was on Long Island, and they were the kind of people who wanted to drive locally to see their games. There was no way they were ever going to to create or take fans from the outer boroughs. It's Rangers country. So that left them with a small fan base to begin with, that had no interest in traveling to Brooklyn, and even if they did, watching games in an area that sucks for hockey. It was so predictable how that would go.

The Belmont Park arena is not going to be much better, I think, It will get a little excitement when it opens, but once the novelty wears off, it is still in the extreme western part of Nassau County, pretty much Queens. It's subtle, but when you are talking about the Northern State or Meadowbrook Parkway to get to a game, people on Long Island will hop in their cars and it's not that difficult. You start talking about the Cross Island Parkway and the perception is "Oh shit, we have to drive to 'the city for the game.' "

 

You'd think Grubauer alone would bring back more than a second.

 

Yeah, total salary dump. I figured they would trade Grubauer (clearly a luxury they can't afford) and buy out Orpik - if they had that option.
There's going to be another move somewhere and then maybe Carlson gets done.

 

The Rangers had three first round picks. I am just not used to that. Their history with the draft hasn't been all that great, so it was hard to be excited.

They are absolutely giddy about this Russian winger they took with the 9th pick, comparing him to Kuznetsov. He wasn't rated that high on any other boards. I am just hoping they didn't outsmart themselves yet again. At least the draft made it clear that they are serious about a rebuild, and they aren't going to do the typical New York thing where they only go half in because the fans are so impatient.

I have been reading Kevin Hayes' name mentioned a lot as the guy getting a lot of interest from other teams. I have mixed feelings. He seems stoned all the time. We laugh about it. After his rookie season he was putting on weight, and he had a bit of a sophomore slump. We thought it was a chronic case of the munchies, and he was going to eat his way out of the NHL. Then, he came into camp about 20 pounds lighter for his third season, like he was taking hockey seriously, and even though his demeanor still comes across as not giving a shit, his level of play has picked up the last two seasons. He's an RFA who is going to get $4, $5 mil per year, and they are loaded with young centers after all of their trades, so I am sure they are listening to offers. If it is a true rebuild, they'll have Zibanejad for their first line and they should give Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil each a full season to show what they have. If they keep Hayes and don't put him on the wing (and they really shouldn't), that leaves them with Ryan Spooner and Vladimir Namestnikov without spots. Not to mention Vinny Lettieri, who got NHL time last year and plays with a chip on his shoulder, Boo Nieves, who has gotten a few cups of coffee, and Brett Howden one of their trade deadline guys, who is supposed to be NHL ready. I am really not sure what they are doing. Last year they went into the season with 2 1/2 centers. Now they have way too many. Namestnikov started out last season playing on a line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Then the Rangers get him as part of their dumping of players at the trade deadline. ... and he finished the season on the Rangers fourth line with Cody McLeod as one of his wings half the nights. They had thrown in the towel on the season, and they didn't even seem interested in using the games to see exactly how good he is or isn't. Mats Zuccarello is the other player it will be interesting to see what they do with. Zuc is a free agent after the season, I believe, so if it is another season of blah, I can see him being a trade deadline chip. Maybe they keep him for now, and put a C on his jersey? He's respected by other players and he is a fan favorite. Ms. Ragu would take that one hard, if he goes.