Jerrydevil Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 One of these years.....maybe next year, the Rangers will become a really good team because they can buy great players who aren't even unrestricted free agents. Isn't Glen Sather a genius? I'm trying to figure out why Bettman allowed this to happen. Has he gone on record explaining why the Rangers could buy Kovalev for $4 million? If I'm a Phoenix Coyote fan, I don't like this deal, but I hate it even more as a New Jersey Devil fan. The Devils build a team legitimately and the Rangers try to do it by preying on a desperate franchise. It stinks on ice, and Bettman oughta get off his ass and do something about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 unfortunately, the rangers could legitamately put out these top 2 lines next year: Dvorak-Holik-Lindros Bure-Nedved-Kovalev that's pretty good. of course, their defense still sucks and their goaltending will be very suspect, but they could be like last years Penguins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I'm trying to figure out why Bettman allowed this to happen. Has he gone on record explaining why the Rangers could buy Kovalev for $4 million? He approved it for the benefit of the Penguins, not the Rangers. Pens needed the cash, and only the Rags were willing to part with it. Pens probably would have filed for bankruptcy again if they didn't get the money, and I guess Bettman didn't want anymore teams filing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDF Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Think of it this way one of these years the Rags will buy a team that makes a real run at it. But would you trade that for the part ten years we've had?? I wouldn't. Lou is doing it the right way and we are all the better for it. As fans we have to face it...we will never have a team loaded on offense unless we strike gold in the draft. Our frachise is built to compete for the Cup, not for ratings. GO DEVILS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 NJDF, sund, sammy......you all make good points. I still don't like it. I understand that Pittsburgh was desperate, but geez, at least the Pens got a couple legit prospects for Jagr. I don't like that the Rangers get to take shortcuts, while the rest of the league has to build their franchises with the draft and trade valuable assets to get what they don't have. It's anti-competitive and it's not good for the NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The league will do somethign about it in 2004-05. I hope the Rangers make the playoffs and face the Devils. I admit I'm more scared of them with Kovalev, but I'd love to see them lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I don't like that the Rangers get to take shortcuts, while the rest of the league has to build their franchises with the draft and trade valuable assets to get what they don't have. It's anti-competitive and it's not good for the NHL. I agree, but know what? By and large teams in the league recognize that the Rangers' style of building a team is flawed, and greatly so at that. Their playoff record over the past few seasons speaks for itself.... That's why I expected there to be only a few teams willing to give up young players for someone like Kovalev. I feel like many teams in the league now realize how important drafting is (not like they didn't before, but still) and they're not willing to trade away high-ranking picks so quickly these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 Insanity gallops, what the Rangers are doing is harmless until they put a good team on the ice with their "strategy." I don't think it's a given that the Rangers' plan is flawed and destined to fail. It'll only take one year of the Rangers being a good team that fans will REALLY start screaming about this. Well I'm screaming NOW. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Heh, fair enough Jerry. I don't doubt that, eventually, the Rangers will make the playoffs with their wheelings and dealings -- there's just no way they could NOT down the road, I think. I still don't think most teams will use their method though -- for one thing, I'd imagine the Rangers fans aren't too happy with the fact they don't have many players they can call "their own," you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dog Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 unfortunately, the rangers could legitamately put out these top 2 lines next year:Dvorak-Holik-Lindros Bure-Nedved-Kovalev The problem for the Rangers will be whether Bure can ever play a full season w/o getting hurt again. He will be either 33 or 34 next year and its getting harder for him to come back from injury. Also, I'm not sure what the deal is with Lindros. Almost two full years being injury free and his numbers have gotten worse. Maybe he is just being cautious with his head? Don't know but he has really dropped off as a force. Also, Nedved is so up and down I'm not convinced that he will be much good to them. He had done well with the team tanking most of the season, but I want to see what he can do over the last six weeks with a playoff berth at stake. My bet is Nedved pulls a very nice dissappearing act. I agree that on paper this looks impressive. But I think that reality will prove otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The Rangers will almost certainly go after a free agent this summer. Probably Fedorov, since they're the only ones that can afford to sign him. I think every team in the league will be gunning for them. Again, if the Devils beat them all three times, all it will take is 5 losses worth of help from the rest of the league to ensure the Rangers fall short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bg. Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Being that they tied in both of their matchups this season it is far from a given the Devils will hand the Rangers three losses. Jerry is dead on, sooner or later the Rangers are going to click, and when they do people will really be screaming. Its only a matter of time... This new CBA won't solve all the problems. Its one thing to try and control a team like the Rangers spending, but there are several others right behind. And don't forget, your Devil team has a payroll over 50M as well. As for Federov to the Rangers, no chance (they have Bure already, Bure, Federov, Anna) doesn't make sense. Of all the UFAs this season there is only one I'd be interested in, and he plays for an owner not afraid to spend money, so the chances of him leaving are VERY slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The Devils have a payroll over 50 million because they've spent wisely and developed their own players. The Devs will absolutely be helped by this new CBA.. by the time it comes around, Stevens and Daneyko will be gone, and the Devils will once again be a middle of the road team in terms of spending. I never said it was a given, but I think the Devs can take 2 out of 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetReal Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Triumph, by the time the new CBA comes into being the NHL may be over with the way things are being handled by owners and Bettman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrubbery Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Heheh, bg... just caught that Anna thing. Sure can't we draft her? She can distract the opposition. She'd probably distract the Devils too.. and the fans.... and the vendors.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Let the Rangers get every player. Let them get Iginla, let them get Federov; with each player they get they A. put themselves in more of a no-win situation (i.e. either they're even more embarassed losers or they're winners that could only do it by spending a lot more than anyone else and completely blowing up their farm system) and B. harden Bettman and the small market owners that much more for the upcoming labor lockdown. Heck, if the Rangers beat the Devs with all of their hired guns in a 1-8 series we'll know who's the best team and who had to basically build their team by being vultures. Funny thing is a month ago, Rangers-Devs in a 1-8 series I would have dreaded because the Rangers then looked like a scrappy team that was overcoming its injuries. Now it's like bring them on (if they HAVE to make the playoffs, which is no guarantee). Either we'll have the sweetest of victories or a loss dulled by the fact that the Rag$ had to buy it. And let's face it this game does need radical changes. If these two sides cannot hammer out a deal than I want a long lockout if it'll help change the game the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-C- Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 I hate it even more as a New Jersey Devil fan. The Devils build a team legitimately and the Rangers try to do it by preying on a desperate franchise. It stinks on ice, and Bettman oughta get off his ass and do something about it. Jerry obviously thinks the Devils are still owned by McMullen. This is hillarious coming from a fan of the team owned by YankeeNets. Bettman would be doing cartwheels if the Rangers make the playoffs and make some noise. Come on, Jerry, you're smart enough to realize this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted February 13, 2003 Author Share Posted February 13, 2003 C, Maybe you think it's Bettman's role to give the Rangers a boost, but I don't. Like I said in the NYRCafe, I'm angrier at Bettman than the Rangers. He's the one that allowed an unfair trade to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Oh, please, -C-. The Devils have built their team legitimately. They have not used the Yankees' method of buying everyone. Bettman is not on the Rangers' side anymore. He has recognized that the Rangers in the playoffs is not worth Glen Sather's scorched earth, damn the torpedoes mentality. When the Rags were buying Val Kamensky and Scott Fraser, fine. But to have all the star power in the league on a few teams is uninteresting. The Rangers can continue their prostitution-like ways when it comes to making a franchise. But the Devils don't need to buy it. And when the playoffs roll around, we'll see how important that really is. If the Rangers are even there. By the way, I was the biggest Yankees fan in the world in the early 90s. Now I could care less about baseball; greed and ego ruined that sport for me forever. Following the Yankees isn't any fun when they buy three players a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-C- Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 One other point... where were all the naysayers back in the early 90s when Pittsburgh had the highest payroll in the NHL? They were borrowing big time to pay guys like Lemieux, Stevens, etc. spending way more than they were taking in. They brought on their own demise, not the NY Rangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-C- Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The Devils have built their team legitimately. They have not used the Yankees' method of buying everyone. I never said they did. But it is silly for Jerry to bitch and moan about the Rangers spending the money that their fans give them to make the team better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Man Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 One other point... where were all the naysayers back in the early 90s when Pittsburgh had the highest payroll in the NHL? They were borrowing big time to pay guys like Lemieux, Stevens, etc. spending way more than they were taking in. They brought on their own demise, not the NY Rangers. Give me a break, C. You know the amount of money being paid to players 10-15 years ago is chump change compared to today. $9 million a year for a checking center? Some TEAMS' payrolls were probably $9 million around 1990. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bg. Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 Heck, if the Rangers beat the Devs with all of their hired guns in a 1-8 series we'll know who's the best team and who had to basically build their team by being vultures. If it comes to this the only thing that will matter is who wins the damn series. This isn't Yankees vs. A's, 125 million vs 35 million, this would be two high payroll teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 bg and C the Devils have a healthy payroll (unlike a growing number of teams in the sport) but comparing them to the Ranger$ and Yankee$ is absurd. They do not feast off of other teams like vultures like the Yankee$ and the Ranger$ They use their farm system for something more than trading players and then picking them up at a discount after they've developed like the Ranger$ do. They do not pay their minor league players insane amounts of money like the Yankee$ do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Man Posted February 13, 2003 Share Posted February 13, 2003 The Devils have a payroll over 50 million because they've spent wisely and developed their own players. Very true, Tri. I just looked at the NHLPA website, and here are the figures: Devs total payroll: $52.3 million Total payroll for players who started in the Devils organization: $29.1 million Total payroll for players who were acquired by the Devs during their career: $23.2 million ($20.6 mil of that is made up of 5 players: Stevens, Nieuwy, Friesen, Tverdovsky, Langenbrunner). This is how it should be done. Your team should be "improved" from outside acquisitions, not built through free agents & trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.