Wednesday, August 10
Here is the latest from John Buccigross. He breaks down the East so far. On the Rangers, he writes...
Trade Jaromir Jagr now. This team is in that might-kind-of-barely-make-the-playoffs-and-draft-ninth-overall-forever mode. Clear cap space, develop players who want to be Rangers, hope you win next year's ping-pong ball contest, draft Kessel, and let Joe Thornton and Vincent Lecavalier's people covertly know that huge money and term years await these Broadway-bound darlings next summer. Does Glen Sather even think this way? Or is he thinking about his next cigar and next fishing expedition? Martin Straka? Are you kidding me?
He's wrong on a couple levels here, but what gets me is that he contradicts himself in the midst of all the bashing.
First problem: You don't trade Jagr now. The value of big-name players could not be lower. This is evidenced by the recent trades that have brought back conditional picks for All-Stars. Wait until February and someone will pony up a few prospects or at least more than a 3rd rounder for a chance at a Cup run with JJ.
His next idea is to clear cap space, don't make big splashes, and then... wait for it... Make big splashes next year. I'll start off by saying that I think this is idiotic. It's akin to saying, "Don't repeat your mistakes this year, wait until 2006 be dumb again."
But more importantly, Buccigross is recommending the EXACT course of action the Rangers have actually taken, and he's managed to do this in an article chastising they for the course of action they've taken.
Think about it for a minute. If your the Rangers and you've bought out Holik, let Leetch and the old guard go, skipped the Forsgberg and Naslund chase, signed slightly above-average players to one-year deals, and left about a half-dozen slots on your team open for rookies... Are you really doing anything other than re-building and waiting for next year? Does Buccigross truly think Sather was trying to round out a cup champion or make a NYC splash by signing Martin Straka to a one year deal?
It just seems to me Buccigross is looking to bash the blueshirts here. Otherwise I can't figure out why he's taking them to task for doing exactly what he recommends.
Trade Jaromir Jagr now. This team is in that might-kind-of-barely-make-the-playoffs-and-draft-ninth-overall-forever mode. Clear cap space, develop players who want to be Rangers, hope you win next year's ping-pong ball contest, draft Kessel, and let Joe Thornton and Vincent Lecavalier's people covertly know that huge money and term years await these Broadway-bound darlings next summer. Does Glen Sather even think this way? Or is he thinking about his next cigar and next fishing expedition? Martin Straka? Are you kidding me?
He's wrong on a couple levels here, but what gets me is that he contradicts himself in the midst of all the bashing.
First problem: You don't trade Jagr now. The value of big-name players could not be lower. This is evidenced by the recent trades that have brought back conditional picks for All-Stars. Wait until February and someone will pony up a few prospects or at least more than a 3rd rounder for a chance at a Cup run with JJ.
His next idea is to clear cap space, don't make big splashes, and then... wait for it... Make big splashes next year. I'll start off by saying that I think this is idiotic. It's akin to saying, "Don't repeat your mistakes this year, wait until 2006 be dumb again."
But more importantly, Buccigross is recommending the EXACT course of action the Rangers have actually taken, and he's managed to do this in an article chastising they for the course of action they've taken.
Think about it for a minute. If your the Rangers and you've bought out Holik, let Leetch and the old guard go, skipped the Forsgberg and Naslund chase, signed slightly above-average players to one-year deals, and left about a half-dozen slots on your team open for rookies... Are you really doing anything other than re-building and waiting for next year? Does Buccigross truly think Sather was trying to round out a cup champion or make a NYC splash by signing Martin Straka to a one year deal?
It just seems to me Buccigross is looking to bash the blueshirts here. Otherwise I can't figure out why he's taking them to task for doing exactly what he recommends.
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