Very easily…if ownership consortium orders you to do so. I fail to believe this consortium has the appetite for a 3-4 year rebuild - I need to see it to believe it.
Patch what ?
Team is 4-6 pieces away from being 4 years away
Very easily…if ownership consortium orders you to do so. I fail to believe this consortium has the appetite for a 3-4 year rebuild - I need to see it to believe it.
I was only half joking the other day when I said, I expect Gorton to go after Kadri, Bergeron & Klingberg on July 1st. A roster spot will be filled by the 1st pick this year on ELC..
I expect Chiarot & Toffoli at a min to be gone by deadline. That’s $8M w potential of $11M if Lekhonen gets dealt. Weber LTIR will free up another $7M.
$18M free space allows for overpaid signings to happen.
External solutions: Artturi Lehkonen has been all over the trade-targets lists for a bit, and sources told The Athletic that Drury and his former boss, Canadiens hockey operations chief Jeff Gorton, have been in contact regarding Lehkonen, who is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights and is due a $2.3 million qualifying offer. The talks are believed to have been preliminary.
Lehkonen is the sort of upgrade the Rangers would want not just for now but for the long haul. Sammy Blais filled this role before his torn ACL in November; Lehkonen will come in with a bigger RFA price tag beyond this season, but he does more and is better at it than Blais, having been a consistent 10-plus goal scorer his first four seasons before the shortened 2020-21 and ugly numbers this season for the bottom-dwelling Canadiens. He’s a third-liner and penalty-kill guy who contributes on offense and doesn’t kill you defensively. His 58.5 percent xG share is far and away the best on Montreal this season, so he must be doing something right amid all the wrong happening up there.
He won’t be cheap because he isn’t a rental. But Lehkonen gives the Rangers more options and a better third line even without other changes.
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How to fix the Rangers’ forward group: Internal solutions, plus trade targets for the top 6, third line and fourth line
Should the Rangers go after a big name like Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski or Claude Giroux to shore up their top six? Or focus on depth adds?theathletic.com
Lehkonen for Lafreniere straight up.See ya
Lehkonen for Lafreniere straight up.
The sooner the better...
Yup.
Let the auction begin. Tire Fire is the obvious first move.
But don’t self-flood the market with a fire sale. Calibrate supply and demand as best you can with the purge.
Called him "this year's Blake Coleman," who the Devils traded for a first rounder and Nolan Foote.
Yup - the Habs will need Lekhonen next season for their playoff push after loading up on a couple of key UFAs this summerI’ve long said he’s a coach’s wet dream. Lehkonen has a ton of value for the playoffs.
I’ve long said he’s a coach’s wet dream. Lehkonen has a ton of value for the playoffs.
Yup - the Habs will need Lekhonen next season for their playoff push after loading up on a couple of key UFAs this summer
Lehkonen will net a first but a very late first. Early second for all intents and purposes.If Lekhonen nets us a 1st alone, nvm a 1st and a top prospect, I’ll Vince McMahon meme fall out of my chair. Would be soooo good