2023-24 NHL Season Thread.

[Rosh]

I am still on the fence about the Lundqvist contract, but I do know I wanted him to remain a Ranger, and this ensures it. It's a lot of money, but this team would be no where without him. The one thing I really don\t like is this means that Talbot is pretty much going to be traded. As much as I like him, he isn't going to be a backup for long and could be a starting goalie for many teams right now. Perhaps Talbot and MDZ for a young goal scorer? Hmm....

Talbot is to fresh to become a first goalie for any team so he will without a doubt back up lundqvist for atleast a season or two. Hes played well, but then again he's overperformed and we've only had a small sample size of him so far.
No team is going to go crazy over the kid with so few games played in NHL.

He has a bright future no doubt, but again. We need to see more sample size for him to become a big deal

[Zeoni]

Then you dont understand how much a goalie is worth in a team.
No team, no matter how good they are will get to the playoffs without a solid goaltender.
Lundqvist has earned that contract tbh after all these years of carrying rangers. And yes he carried that team to the playoffs several times.

I don't understand how much a goalie is worth in a team obviously. I'm only a Calgary Flames fan and all. It's not like we had this incredible goalie who stood on his head from 2004-2012 and carried us everywhere we went. Nope, that guy never existed ever. 8.5 is too much to pay for a goalie, you're tying too much money up in goaltending and not enough in other places.

Look at Chicago if you want to see how a team should be run correctly. No one has an absurd contract and pretty much everyone takes pay cuts so they can have this incredible perennial contender.

[VanillaO]

To be fair, Chicago will start having an overpriced goalie next year... and the reason they don't have guys tying up a ton of cap room is because Bowman managed to unload a bunch of guys for lesser contracts or draft picks or whatnot after their first win. Toews and Kane both UFAs after next year, and you can bet they'll both be getting 7.5+ Will they both stay? Probably... however, will they both be willing to do so for less than 1M more than they're making right now? Doubt you'll get them both to commit to that.

[Rosh]

I don't understand how much a goalie is worth in a team obviously. I'm only a Calgary Flames fan and all. It's not like we had this incredible goalie who stood on his head from 2004-2012 and carried us everywhere we went. Nope, that guy never existed ever. 8.5 is too much to pay for a goalie, you're tying too much money up in goaltending and not enough in other places.

Look at Chicago if you want to see how a team should be run correctly. No one has an absurd contract and pretty much everyone takes pay cuts so they can have this incredible perennial contender.

Uhm. you kinda did, kipper did ALOT of work in calgary. Now with the goalies you have, no. Have a look at the link below and actually see how much Kipper actually was for Calgary.

You are aware that the contract henke got was about 1 million more than what Tuukka rask is earning atm(7.5 million) and 1.5 over Pekka rinne.
And just to prove you that he is worth it, have a look at yesterdays game.
If he werent in that net they would be walking home with a big loss, and that goes for the majority of the games rangers has had since he joined.

IF he were to get a shitty contract, you can bet your ass on it that some other team wouldnt even hesitate with making that offer to him. Islanders would kill to have lundqvist guarding their net. and as thei said on ESPN, wouldnt be surprising to see his salary being 9 million +.
Also dont be surprised if you see Miller getting about the same pay. he's at 6.250.000 atm with buffalo.

Few facts to look at.

There is very few goalies that would be able to put up these numbers in rangers. 08-09 : .916 | 09-10: .921 | 10-11: .923 | 11-12: .930 | 12-13: .926 and atm he is .919. Those numbers are over any average goalie in NHL and very hard to maintain over a season where he played unbelivable amount of games. he's had 4 straight seasons where hes played over 70 games.

- Since 1967 only 26 times has a starter that is 31+ posted a save % of .9.20 or better.

- Since Henrik Lundqvist's Rookie season in 05-06 he has won the most games (284) and has the best goals against average (2.26) in NHL.

People focus to much on the money than to actually realise Rangers locked up a deal with the Worlds best goaltender.

Rangers can afford it simply because in 2015 the TV deal will increase the salary cap significantly. and rangers need it due to , Richards., McDonagh and Nash will be costing the team a few pennies.

The TV deal imo was the seal in this deal. If it didnt pop up then rangers would still be sitting infront of the deal table to find out what they could give him

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Look at Chicago if you want to see how a team should be run correctly. No one has an absurd contract and pretty much everyone takes pay cuts so they can have this incredible perennial contender.

Correctly? Excuse me but chicago has one of the worst defenses in the league. If crawford werent there then we wouldnt even see chicago hitting the playoffs.
They do have insane offensive firepower, but what good is that when their defense leaks like a sinking boat.
There's a reason why crawford lately has been so agressive, have a look at the dallas game. He almost went apeshit because he's so tired of his defense not doing their job.
That kid will earn big money when his contract is up for renewal.

I wont say crawford is the best goalie in the league, there is plenty of goalies out there that is way better than him, but he is doing the job for chicago.

[Greeney]

Correctly? Excuse me but chicago has one of the worst defenses in the league. If crawford werent there then we wouldnt even see chicago hitting the playoffs.
They do have insane offensive firepower, but what good is that when their defense leaks like a sinking boat.

Ummm... What?
Keith/Seabrook are both elite defensemen and Oduya is pretty good as well. You aren't winning 2 cups in 4 years with a "defense [that] leaks like a sinking boat."

[Rennadrel]

Considering how Montreal really only has one good defenseman in Subban, I wouldn't criticize Chicago's defense. Their blue line core is solid, not spectacular but it gets the job done. If you were to have an all star blue line, I think Keith and Seabrook would be second pairing behind a guy like Suter and maybe Weber in terms of depth, though they are both miles from being as good defensively but they are good offensively.

Sounds like Bolland could return to skating by Christmas time which would be good news for us Toronto fans. We sorely need him right now.

[Reg]

Talbot is to fresh to become a first goalie for any team so he will without a doubt back up lundqvist for atleast a season or two. Hes played well, but then again he's overperformed and we've only had a small sample size of him so far.
No team is going to go crazy over the kid with so few games played in NHL.

He has a bright future no doubt, but again. We need to see more sample size for him to become a big deal

I'm not saying it will be immediate, but any team weak in the goalie department will be looking for an opportunity to pick him up, and probably for cheap. But I still think he could be a starting goalie for certain teams right now, even as young as he is.

[Rosh]

Ummm... What?
Keith/Seabrook are both elite defensemen and Oduya is pretty good as well. You aren't winning 2 cups in 4 years with a "defense [that] leaks like a sinking boat."

That is in the past. This season Chicagos defense is just shit compared to earlier. Despite still being 30% into the season. Keith/seabrook are a good pair, actually they were the top 2 in earlier seasons, this season they arent anywhere near what they were. but im not putting the full blame on them as there are more than a pair

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Sounds like Bolland could return to skating by Christmas time which would be good news for us Toronto fans. We sorely need him right now.

Toronto needs to shape up bigtime. if you look at the players in that team its like they are getting paid to play that bad. I also hope Bolland returns and perhaps changes around a few things. Toronto were so promising earlier in the season but they were overperforming too much.
They still have potential though

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I'm not saying it will be immediate, but any team weak in the goalie department will be looking for an opportunity to pick him up, and probably for cheap. But I still think he could be a starting goalie for certain teams right now, even as young as he is.

I dont think Talbot actually would do well at this point for any other team in the league. Rangers are actually the only team in the league that has a special feature between defense and goalies with their call-signs and tactics. Learned quite a bit when we had a goaliecamp with Lundqvist.
Its surely something more teams should start doing, the call-signs for plays are just incredible, same with the communication they use.
Talbot has incredible talent but he needs time to develop and he will do so in rangers. But its too soon to let him be starter for any team.
Later on in a few season no doubt we will see that kid shine if he keeps developing like he has

[Rennadrel]

Toronto lacks what they had last year and that was toughness. Maybe they just aren't playing as physically because they have had issues with injuries playing that way, it was wearing them out big time. I still maintain this team is missing a guy like Leo Komarov who wasn't afraid to hit anything that moved. I dunno, I just feel this team is playing a lot softer this year then they were last year and that is what is going to hurt their chances at making a good run.

[Rosh]

Projected NHL cap the next few years. Not official ofcourse

[Zeoni]

Uhm. you kinda did, kipper did ALOT of work in calgary. Now with the goalies you have, no. Have a look at the link below and actually see how much Kipper actually was for Calgary.

Sarcasm went right over your head. Understandable on the internet I suppose. I'm not saying Lundqvist is a bad goalie at all, that's the point you can't seem to grasp. It's throwing that much money at a goalie makes it so you can't pay a player of equivalent skill and status the amount of money you need to. Most teams can realistically sign 2 players for stupid money and everyone else has to take some sort of a pay cut to play there. I get they HAD to sign him but the point I'm trying to make is signing a goalie (it doesn't matter WHO it is) to elite player money is stupid because it limits your options. It's been proven that you can have a mediocre goalie and win/make a cup run, you can have an amazing goalie and do the same thing. But tying that much money up in goaltending makes it that much harder.

PS Rask's cap hit is 7 flat which is what I think is the max anyone should pay for a goalie. They can single handedly win you a game but they can also single handedly lose you a game, don't forget every goalie gives up a softy which makes the whole team have to work twice as hard. And when you've tied up one of your 2-3 big contracts in net, you won't have anyone to rely on to get you back in the game

Toronto lacks what they had last year and that was toughness. Maybe they just aren't playing as physically because they have had issues with injuries playing that way, it was wearing them out big time. I still maintain this team is missing a guy like Leo Komarov who wasn't afraid to hit anything that moved. I dunno, I just feel this team is playing a lot softer this year then they were last year and that is what is going to hurt their chances at making a good run.

AWW YEAH looks like you guys need RAGIN STAJAN back

[Rosh]

Peter Laviolette on his way in for the Islanders. that should be a boost for the team.

Sarcasm went right over your head. Understandable on the internet I suppose. I'm not saying Lundqvist is a bad goalie at all, that's the point you can't seem to grasp. It's throwing that much money at a goalie makes it so you can't pay a player of equivalent skill and status the amount of money you need to. Most teams can realistically sign 2 players for stupid money and everyone else has to take some sort of a pay cut to play there. I get they HAD to sign him but the point I'm trying to make is signing a goalie (it doesn't matter WHO it is) to elite player money is stupid because it limits your options. It's been proven that you can have a mediocre goalie and win/make a cup run, you can have an amazing goalie and do the same thing. But tying that much money up in goaltending makes it that much harder.

PS Rask's cap hit is 7 flat which is what I think is the max anyone should pay for a goalie. They can single handedly win you a game but they can also single handedly lose you a game, don't forget every goalie gives up a softy which makes the whole team have to work twice as hard. And when you've tied up one of your 2-3 big contracts in net, you won't have anyone to rely on to get you back in the game

Im grasping that you dont say he's a bad goalie.

I agree that 8.5 mill is ALOT of money for teams. And i would agree if you saw teams like Carolina hurricanes etc pay that for a goalie. But for rangers this is not a bad contract. They got good players for a cheap penny still in the team that wont be renewed before cap goes up anyways. and unless they want to shop for Sidney Crosby, malkin, ovie they will be just fine with the cap they have now, even with the contract.

i think you're the one that doesent grasp that we're talking about the WORLDS best goaltender. And the fact if rangers actually wants to have a shot at the stanley cup they need lunqvist.
Yes a team can win a cup with a mediocre goalie. Rangers? no. Not a chance in hell.
It doesent limit them in the long run. NOW it does. But it doesent matter at all seeing as the cap is getting increased therefor rangers wont feel the effect of lundqvists contract UNLESS he gets injured now and pulls a Dipietro.
IF the Tv deal werent in the picture i'd agree 100% that the money spent is way to much.

Yes a goalie can give up a easy goal. ANY goalie in the world will do that from time to time.
But that shit goes exactly the same for star players. They have a draught and that costs the team more than 1 goal now and then from a goalie.
Dont sit there behind your screen and think the players are immortal and never gets effected the same way a goalie is from time to time. it actually happens alot more for a player than a goalie. More games are lost because of star players not pulling their weight than a goalie letting in a soft one.

Its easier for a player to get away with bad games than a goalie, because the last thing you see is that puck passing the goalie. And im talking from 18 years of experience playing the game myself.

[Rennadrel]

Sarcasm went right over your head. Understandable on the internet I suppose. I'm not saying Lundqvist is a bad goalie at all, that's the point you can't seem to grasp. It's throwing that much money at a goalie makes it so you can't pay a player of equivalent skill and status the amount of money you need to. Most teams can realistically sign 2 players for stupid money and everyone else has to take some sort of a pay cut to play there. I get they HAD to sign him but the point I'm trying to make is signing a goalie (it doesn't matter WHO it is) to elite player money is stupid because it limits your options. It's been proven that you can have a mediocre goalie and win/make a cup run, you can have an amazing goalie and do the same thing. But tying that much money up in goaltending makes it that much harder.

PS Rask's cap hit is 7 flat which is what I think is the max anyone should pay for a goalie. They can single handedly win you a game but they can also single handedly lose you a game, don't forget every goalie gives up a softy which makes the whole team have to work twice as hard. And when you've tied up one of your 2-3 big contracts in net, you won't have anyone to rely on to get you back in the game




AWW YEAH looks like you guys need RAGIN STAJAN back

No, we don't need more mediocre forwards who are lousy defensively.

Oh and I am already predicting that the Guelph Storm are going to win the Memorial Cup this year, they traded for Kerby Rychel the other day and they were already destroying teams offensively before that.

[Zeoni]

No, we don't need more mediocre forwards who are lousy defensively.

Oh and I am already predicting that the Guelph Storm are going to win the Memorial Cup this year, they traded for Kerby Rychel the other day and they were already destroying teams offensively before that.

Heyyy, he's a centerman! 50% faceoff's too, he's not that bad defensively we're just a terrible team in general.

[Greeney]

I'd rather have Backes or Oshie than Stajan. I haven't watched St. Louis, but from what I understand they're the ones creating all the opportunity for him.

Confused Stajan and Steen. <_<

[VanillaO]

Projected NHL cap the next few years. Not official ofcourse

That seems more like 10 years than 4.

As for the Islanders, I don't see them turning it around in a big way. The sad part is they were almost .500 10 games ago, and now look like a complete mess.

[Elgefar]

That is what happens when your number 1 goalie is shaky enough as it is and then gets injured forcing the team to put on two below average goalies in net to try and replace him.

[Rennadrel]

Not to mention the Vanek trade is as expected, a colossal failure. He always was hilariously overrated.

[BicycleMafioso]

Gustavsson! Swedish goalies are the best!

(And I'd rather pay that amount of money for Lundqvist than Crosby)

[Zeoni]

Gustavsson! Swedish goalies are the best!

(And I'd rather pay that amount of money for Lundqvist than Crosby)

and you're not bias at all