Rangers GM Drury taking calls on No 2 overall Kakko

[HKSR]

30 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Not so sure Kuzmenko would work for the Rags, despite them having the cap space for him this season. That additional season could be more a hindrance than a help, both Schneider and Lindgren are due for raises as pending RFA D this offseason. They may have to replace Quick, they'll need to re-sign some of their bottom six. Chytil will also be back at some point, taking his cap space back. 

 

Monahan works better precisely because he's a pending UFA who can step into the Chytil spot. He's cheap too, which potentially leaves room for another addition (Kaako trade perhaps, or maybe he goes to Montreal for Monahan). 

 

Rangers have to be careful with the cap space they do have, I don't really see us as a good trade partner for them in a deal that doesn't involve Kaako. 

They're fine with the cap.  They've got $15M to work with next year.  Their core is locked up for a few more years.  Lindgren, Schneider, and a backup won't cost them $15M.  It's 2 years from now where they need to re-sign Lafreniere and Miller that might be tricky, but Kuzmenko's contract is done that year as well.  Hate to say it, but their cap situation looks pretty darn good. 

[The Lock]

I can't say I know Kaako's game well. How is he defensively?

 

If he's decent then I can see him being tempting as that could make up for a lack of scoring. If not, then I'd probably rather just wait for Podz or something.

[Coconuts]

1 minute ago, HKSR said:

They're fine with the cap.  They've got $15M to work with next year.  Their core is locked up for a few more years.  Lindgren, Schneider, and a backup won't cost them $15M.  It's 2 years from now where they need to re-sign Lafreniere and Miller that might be tricky, but Kuzmenko's contract is done that year as well.  Hate to say it, but their cap situation looks pretty darn good. 

 

Where is that coming from? Am I missing something? Capfriendly has them at $5,237,500 in both current day cap space and deadline cap space. That's with Chytil on LTIR. They don't seem to have any large cap hits coming off the books, what am I missing?

 

 

[old guy]

30 minutes ago, spook007 said:

This is the best part about this management team... they have done well in most of the trades they've done so far... huge credit to them for that.

Without doubt they've been lucky with how the opportunities have presented themselves along the way, but you got to be good to be lucky vice verse

...and some people make their own luck.

[Caboose]

He needs to go somewhere he can play on the power play. Guy had 37 points at even strength last season.

[BigBird79]

10 minutes ago, The Lock said:

I can't say I know Kaako's game well. How is he defensively?

 

If he's decent then I can see him being tempting as that could make up for a lack of scoring. If not, then I'd probably rather just wait for Podz or something.

Defensively great, physical too.  6'2" and maybe 205?
Rangers were missing him when he was down for injury which I'm still not sure what it was they mentioned lung testing in an article or something.

Providing diligence is done and health isn't a concern it seems like he's going to be a casualty of them trying to push they have to make given the situation.

 

If we can swoop and make the deal he definitely fits a need for us in the short and long term and could be a huge steal.

[BigBird79]

Article from December while he was injured:

 

https://blueseatblogs.com/2023/12/12/kakko-is-underrated-hurting-rangers/

 

"He is easily the Rangers’ best defensive forward, and is a player that does all the dirty work in the top six so players like Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider can put pucks in the net. Think of Kakko like you would have Jesper Fast when he was in the top-six."

 

There are other quite positive articles around.  I don't think they want to move him but if they want temporary firepower that's one of the only options they have.

[JeremyCuddles]

I don't get why we trade Kuzy and a pick for this guy. He's far removed from his 2nd overall status. Kuzy almost had more goals last year than he had points. 

 

I'd rather send Kuzy to Chicago for a 2nd round pick and a B prospect.

[HKSR]

38 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Where is that coming from? Am I missing something? Capfriendly has them at $5,237,500 in both current day cap space and deadline cap space. That's with Chytil on LTIR. They don't seem to have any large cap hits coming off the books, what am I missing?

 

 

I'm looking at next year.  This year you are correct, they have 5.2M left (that's including the LTIR space).

 

Next year, because Lindgren, Schneider, Kaako, Wheeler, etc are all not signed yet, their cap hits are not counting against the cap.  So they have basically $15M left to re-sign them next year. 

[Coconuts]

6 minutes ago, HKSR said:

I'm looking at next year.  This year you are correct, they have 5.2M left (that's including the LTIR space).

 

Next year, because Lindgren, Schneider, Kaako, Wheeler, etc are all not signed yet, their cap hits are not counting against the cap.  So they have basically $15M left to re-sign them next year. 

 

Ahh, yes. But won't Chytil coming back whittle into that?

 

I'm assuming Kaako goes, but I'm assuming that cap space is used on the return. Hard to say whether it stays open or not. 

 

Their bottom six may get modest raises, nothing huge. 

 

I'm assuming Lindgren and Chytil get modest increases too, and that their backup costs more than Quick. 

 

Maybe Kuzmenko could fit if they moved out Goodrow. 

 

Dunno, I just don't really see Kuzmenko as being a great fit for New York. 

[HKSR]

1 minute ago, Coconuts said:

 

Ahh, yes. But won't Chytil coming back whittle into that?

 

I'm assuming Kaako goes, but I'm assuming that cap space is used on the return. Hard to say whether it stays open or not. 

 

Their bottom six may get modest raises, nothing huge. 

 

I'm assuming Lindgren and Chytil get modest increases too, and that their backup costs more than Quick. 

 

Maybe Kuzmenko could fit if they moved out Goodrow. 

 

Dunno, I just don't really see Kuzmenko as being a great fit for New York. 

Chytil coming back is already accounted for in the $72M cap hit for next year.

 

So if Kuzmenko is there, then yes, that $72M becomes $77.5M leaving them around $10M to re-sign Lindgren and Schneider along with some bottom end guys.  Lindgren probably takes up the bulk of the $10M, but I don't see Schneider and the other bottom 6 guys costing much.  Gustafsson might be a bit more expensive if they decide to keep him.

[BigBird79]

23 minutes ago, JeremyCuddles said:

I don't get why we trade Kuzy and a pick for this guy. He's far removed from his 2nd overall status. Kuzy almost had more goals last year than he had points. 

 

I'd rather send Kuzy to Chicago for a 2nd round pick and a B prospect.

He's 22? 23? Lots of room to grow and learn.
He plays the hockey style we are aiming to embody already so meshing with the system should be easy.

He's only 2.1m against the cap and won't be getting a huge raise due to to unfortunately injury cutting in to his play time.

Will he be a 30g scorer? Probably not.  50-60 point winger that's defensively excellent? You bet.  At least from what I've read.

 

Kuz is not old but he's not young.

He does not play our team hockey identify, he's learning it sort of but it's a slow progress.

He's our most easily movable cap flexibility option.

Will he score even 30g again? Maybe?  There's a decent chance that by trying to force a high scoring peg in to a 2-way hole he never gets that high.

 

3mil of extra cap space gives us a ton of options to get a 2c as well which then gives us a buttload of Top6 options.

[N7_Gyoza]

Any player that becomes available "kuzmenko and 1st should get it done" 

Every forum poster ever...poor kuz has been traded 20 times already haha 

[JeremyCuddles]

8 minutes ago, BigBird79 said:

He's 22? 23? Lots of room to grow and learn.
He plays the hockey style we are aiming to embody already so meshing with the system should be easy.

He's only 2.1m against the cap and won't be getting a huge raise due to to unfortunately injury cutting in to his play time.

Will he be a 30g scorer? Probably not.  50-60 point winger that's defensively excellent? You bet.  At least from what I've read.

 

Kuz is not old but he's not young.

He does not play our team hockey identify, he's learning it sort of but it's a slow progress.

He's our most easily movable cap flexibility option.

Will he score even 30g again? Maybe?  There's a decent chance that by trying to force a high scoring peg in to a 2-way hole he never gets that high.

 

3mil of extra cap space gives us a ton of options to get a 2c as well which then gives us a buttload of Top6 options.

Crapsoft was also really young with room to grow. We gave up a Lockwood, who they didn't even keep, and a 7th rounder. Kakko has shown very little improvement. Last year looked like a stepping stone, then this year went back to being a 4th liner. Kuzy for picks and prospects is better than Kuzy and picks for a young guy who hasn't really developed at all in his 5 years in the league already. People just see that 2nd overall draft status and want to shaft themselves on the trade cause of potential. One 40 point season in 5 years does not scream high end talent.

 

Kuzy for Kakko straight up at best, I am not throwing in picks for that guy. He doesn't help us fit a need and we trade our biggest trade asset for him. What are we gonna trade for that 2C? Cause Willander and Lekkerimaki should rightfully be off the table. A 1st, and Brzustewicz isn't gonna get you a very good 2C. We already don't have our 2nd this year or our 3rd rounders in 2025 or 2026. The whole point of trading Kuzy is to get cap AND get assets to flip for that 2C.

[Grandmaster]

1 minute ago, JeremyCuddles said:

Crapsoft was also really young with room to grow. We gave up a Lockwood, who they didn't even keep, and a 7th rounder. Kakko has shown very little improvement. Last year looked like a stepping stone, then this year went back to being a 4th liner. Kuzy for picks and prospects is better than Kuzy and picks for a young guy who hasn't really developed at all in his 5 years in the league already. People just see that 2nd overall draft status and want to shaft themselves on the trade cause of potential. One 40 point season in 5 years does not scream high end talent.

 

Kuzy for Kakko straight up at best, I am not throwing in picks for that guy. He doesn't help us fit a need and we trade our biggest trade asset for him. What are we gonna trade for that 2C? Cause Willander and Lekkerimaki should rightfully be off the table. A 1st, and Brzustewicz isn't gonna get you a very good 2C. We already don't have our 2nd this year or our 3rd rounders in 2025 or 2026. The whole point of trading Kuzy is to get cap AND get assets to flip for that 2C.

I’m with you on Kuzy for Kakko straight up. We shouldn’t add for that. 

[Diamonds]

53 minutes ago, BigBird79 said:

Article from December while he was injured:

 

https://blueseatblogs.com/2023/12/12/kakko-is-underrated-hurting-rangers/

 

"He is easily the Rangers’ best defensive forward, and is a player that does all the dirty work in the top six so players like Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider can put pucks in the net. Think of Kakko like you would have Jesper Fast when he was in the top-six."

 

There are other quite positive articles around.  I don't think they want to move him but if they want temporary firepower that's one of the only options they have.

That sounds like a beat writer trying to upsell Kakko. Fast was the top PKer on the Rangers and was quite physical (125 hits in 69 games his last season with NYR). But Kakko is not either of those things. He hasn't been used on the PK at all this year and last year only averaged 26sec/game on it. He also hits less than Mikheyev does. I don't really watch the Rangers, so maybe he's a great puck retrieval guy, but to sell him as some defensive god and physical player seems like a stretch.

 

If the cost is cheap, I'd be happy to take a flyer on Kakko but I certainly don't want to give up valuable assets for him. He also seems to have regressed offensively this year as compared to Lafreniere who seems to have finally taken the next step. Kuzmenko for Kakko one-for-one I would consider for the extra cap space and because Kakko is still young, but I definitely wouldn't offer more than that.

[Biff Tannen]

4 hours ago, Odd. said:

Kakko is NOT a center TSN

 

Maybe they've editted it, but where do they claim he is? If anything the article is saying they might trade Kakko in order to acquire a centre.

[WHL rocks]

5 hours ago, IBatch said:

So Kuzmenko and our first rounder make it on their board of best trade bait this year, at 9th and 11th respectively.   Also the only other first rounder is EDM's at 17th.    That means they are tracking EDM to pass us.     Those six points against EDM, at the start of the season are looking huge right now.   

 

Tanev at number two, to me anyways, makes his stock a tad too rich for us.    Marroon is the player on this list I hope we target.   Won't cost the farm, and would be a big counter to EDMs  dirty ways.     Good chance,  we will need to beat them to get out of the West.   Also would help against Vegas. 

 

Not to pass us in regular season points..

 

They're tracking EDM to go deeper in the playoffs. Meaning Oilers pick will be lower than ours. 

[WHL rocks]

Chicago should be all over this...

[HKSR]

5 hours ago, IBatch said:

So Kuzmenko and our first rounder make it on their board of best trade bait this year, at 9th and 11th respectively.   Also the only other first rounder is EDM's at 17th.    That means they are tracking EDM to pass us.     Those six points against EDM, at the start of the season are looking huge right now.   

 

Tanev at number two, to me anyways, makes his stock a tad too rich for us.    Marroon is the player on this list I hope we target.   Won't cost the farm, and would be a big counter to EDMs  dirty ways.     Good chance,  we will need to beat them to get out of the West.   Also would help against Vegas. 

In years past, these lists usually reflected a combination of value, but also likelihood of being traded.  So ranking 1st doesn't necessarily mean most valuable/expensive on the trade market. 

[The Lock]

5 hours ago, IBatch said:

So Kuzmenko and our first rounder make it on their board of best trade bait this year, at 9th and 11th respectively.   Also the only other first rounder is EDM's at 17th.    That means they are tracking EDM to pass us.     Those six points against EDM, at the start of the season are looking huge right now.   

 

Tanev at number two, to me anyways, makes his stock a tad too rich for us.    Marroon is the player on this list I hope we target.   Won't cost the farm, and would be a big counter to EDMs  dirty ways.     Good chance,  we will need to beat them to get out of the West.   Also would help against Vegas. 

 

Whether we want to admit it or not, EDM's going to be a tough competition in the playoffs. Both VAN and EDM have a ton of momentum at the moment. The difference right now is that Edmonton had to climb out of a hole.

[IBatch]

4 minutes ago, The Lock said:

 

Whether we want to admit it or not, EDM's going to be a tough competition in the playoffs. Both VAN and EDM have a ton of momentum at the moment. The difference right now is that Edmonton had to climb out of a hole.

EDM is scary right now for sure.    Hope they play Vegas and beat the tar out of each other in the first round.     EDM can be a dirty team.    Hope Allvin and JR are taking that into consideration.   Aside from one season with Pronger, can't re-call when both teams have been very good at the same time really.   

[DownUndaCanuck]

Not sure why they just thrust him straight into the NHL without a slower progression, just because he was drafted 2nd overall. He's a big strong guy, deserved a bit of longer cooking the way Raty's being developed. I doubt they get much for him now, he's having such a bad year.

 

Is he worth swapping Podkolzin for?

[Barn Burner]

4 hours ago, spook007 said:

Just wondering...

Podz is having a good season in the AHL. By all reports and from people watching him regularly, he is developing fine into a power forward with top 9 potential. Some already wants him on the big team now, and he is cheap. Just like Hogs....

 

Why are folks so quick to put these two into every trade proposal? 

 

Kaako has shown nothing yet, and although he obviously has huge potential, he is obviously not improving, otherwise Rangers wouldn't let him go.

Don't have a problem trading for him, but sure it should be to gain other advantages such as cap space etc., which can be used to get play off players...

Once this season is over we need cheap contracts, so both Hogs (who btw IS an NHL player) and Podz will come in handy...

 

Careful we don't trade away our own NHL potential players for scrubs regardless. of how high they were drafted....

Exactly. 

 

First of all, Pods is waiver exempt this year. And imo, that is one reason why he's been "stewing" in the AHL this year, plus, the fact that it helped with our Cap situation at the beginning of the season. Nothing too complicated there, folks. 

 

He's shown he'll be in the NHL either very soon, or he'll be here next year, as long as he isn't traded away, which, unless it was an absolute steal of a deal, I think our brain trust running the team have been doing quite well analyzing our entire organization, combined with stealth pro scouting, realize he's a keeper. He's THE power forward we're already looking for. 

 

I'd prefer they make these decisions than anyone on here. 

 

Again, it would have to be part of a groundbreaking deal to move either Hogz or Pods. 

 

Otherwise, it's absolutely ridiculous to propose these ideas. I don't get it either. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ngoway]

Kakko is definitely someone you take a flyer on as a project. Do I see us being the ones to take him on as the project though, no, at least not at this given moment.

 

Why not? Cause it would likely cost us one of our own developing prospects like Podkolzin or Raty, and I wouldn't want to let either go as they're progressing nicely. Taking on Kakko would be like starting again even though the supposedly ceiling is higher with Kakko. So only way that would happen is if the asking price is ridiculously low, which I don't think it will be.