Proteau ranks worst signings of FA season thus far....

[Triumph]

To look at the worst signings, you'd have to look at two things: length and price, obviously.

To me, the worst signings of the off-season are as follows:

Sheldon Souray

Ryan Smyth

Ray Whitney

Todd White

Roman Hamrlik

Kimmo Timonen

Ruslan Fedotenko is obv a bad signing, but a one year deal can't be all bad. These deals were all inexplicable - locking up players who don't need to be locked up to long-term deals, on franchises who are nowhere near the Stanley Cup.

Scott Gomez shouldn't be mentioned - his deal is in line with the market and he will produce for the Rangers. Plus, the Rangers have a very legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup this year.

and yes, it's difficult to call one of these monster contracts handed out to a star in his prime bad. The Daniel Briere deal is way worse than the Gomez deal imo - who knows what Briere is outside of Buffalo, where I hear only the women are more inflated than the Sabres' point totals.

Edited July 22, 2007 by Triumph

[Derek21]

You may have noticed that at least 3/4 of the posters here bashed Gomez all of last season, many of them for much longer than that. If Lou had re-signed him for a similar contract, you'd see just as much, if not more bitching. I hardly think it's a "He's a Ranger so now he sucks" kind of thing.

The sentiment would've been the same no matter where he signed that contract. The fact that he's a Ranger just makes people a little more vocal.

I'd be willing to be that that same percentage had nothing but great things to say about his previous season. His '06-07 wasn't very good. He did however raise his level in the postseason and scored the biggest goal of the Tampa series to swing it New Jersey's way. The Devils under their GM wouldn't have even won that round without him. The fact is he was one of the team's best players along with Gionta. It was Parise that cooled off and Brodeur's inconsistent goaltending which hurt them against Ottawa.

And it's ridiculous that it would be the same sentiment if he signed elsewhere. He's a Ranger. That's why.

One final point. I've been posting on this board for seven years. And it doesn't seem to matter how great a player you are. If you underperform, you take a lot of criticism here. Some warranted and some of it wavering on insane. See Patrik Elias.

You want to talk about a player who this place has been hot and cold on. It's your team captain.

Edited July 22, 2007 by Derek21

[Derek21]

I did not say he sucks. I said, in general, expectations (not yours) are way out of line with past performance and that Gomez and the Ranger organization themselves have stoked those expectations by insinuating that NJ 'misused' Gomez...which, if you look at what they tried to do to improve his performance over the last several seasons, simply isn't true. It's a crock. At some point a player has to take some responsibility for his own damn failings/limitations. It's amazing to me that the NJ coaches were the ones who went to Gomez and offered to help him - he did not ask them for help - and they wind up being painted as the ones that tried to stuff him in a box and never let him shoot, never let him develop. I don't think he sucks. I think his STEADY upside is around 20 goals a year. I said that's not a bad thing. I also believe that if the Rangers hadn't offered him that $$$ someone else would have. Hell, someone else probably did. Period. I don't have a problem with the fact that he left. I have a problem with the fact that there seems to be all this insinuation that somehow he was 'misused' and he's going to just 'blossom' in NY - and it's not just the fans. And I personally believe it's a crock and I don't mind saying so. If you think I'm saying he sucks then you art having a hard time understanding English.

I'm not pointing to you. It just seems like some of the sentiment here is that way because of a couple of factors:

A.He didn't have a great '06-07.

B.The Devils never had a chance of re-signing him.

C.He wound up on the bitter rival here.

D.He went for the $$$.

So, you look at all those factors and it's understandable why he's so despised. But he doesn't suck. Is he worth his contract? Hardly. I wouldn't have given him more than an average between 6 and 6.5 which would've still been a nice raise from the $5 mill he made this past season.

Most players are overpaid. The difference now is that teams must have enough cap space to be able to ante up the big bucks to get these guys where as in the old system, the big market teams would just throw as much money as humanly (or unhuman if you think about it) as possible.

You must have a better idea of how you want to run things. In the two years so far, Lou Lamoriello hasn't proven he's the best at doing it. There have even been posters here who have started to ask questions. We'll have a better idea on this next year when his new acquisitions play a full season. A lot will be learned by how they perform.

I think Gomez is probably an 18-20 goal guy who can rack up 50+ assists. If he's able to do that and deliver in the postseason, I doubt many Ranger fans will complain.

I do believe the one area you're leaving out about whether his production is going to be the same is the ice-time he got in New Jersey. Let's face it. They are run differently than all 29 other teams. The checking line gets priority. Imagine what the EGG line could've done with increased ice-time. Would their be a huge hike in production? Who knows?

In looking at the ice-time for that line, it was basically the same as Madden and Pandolfo:

http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?service=pa...erGame&pg=7

Oddly enough, Gomez got a shade over 20 in the postseason and performed well. There's one other aspect about how he performs in New York that needs to be looked at. The Rangers aren't relying on him to carry the load. They can be put three scoring lines out there if they use their lineup this way:

Hossa-Straka-Jagr

Avery-Gomez-Shanahan

Callahan-Drury-Prucha

This is the one lineup which would probably have the most balance and allow Renney to keep Betts where he belongs on the fourth line. My guess is Gomez and Drury will start out on the top two lines before they try anything different.

[TravisZajac]

Honestly,i would not say "The Gomez signing is a good one/Bad one".This signing is kind of a bet: If the Rangers wins a Stanley Cup during the next 3-4years(When Gomez will be in his prime.)The signing is definately worth a shot.But..If Gomez can't live up to the talent of a guy of 7millions..Then that signing is a fail!I mean , he'll play with Jagr and Straka.That means he'll probably scores 20-25goals-60-65assits for 90points.

[Triumph]

Derek -

if Gomez gets 18-20 goals with 50 assists, this deal is worse than I thought. Gomez should be getting 25 goals with 55-60 assists at least, otherwise you've paid a slightly better Michal Nylander almost double what Nylander got.

As for Lou, I'm so tired of Mogilny, Malakhov, and McGillis behind brought up around here to say 'OMG Lou isn't perfect' - that's all over and done with. To me, he learned his lesson by bringing in 4 players who've never been in the Devils' organization.

[SatansDevils]

Sorry, but NO player is worth that kind of money or contract. There should have been other players listed here in that article.

[mddevsfan]

So, you look at all those factors and it's understandable why he's so despised. But he doesn't suck. Is he worth his contract? Hardly. I wouldn't have given him more than an average between 6 and 6.5 which would've still been a nice raise from the $5 mill he made this past season.

[Derek21]

Derek -

if Gomez gets 18-20 goals with 50 assists, this deal is worse than I thought. Gomez should be getting 25 goals with 55-60 assists at least, otherwise you've paid a slightly better Michal Nylander almost double what Nylander got.

As for Lou, I'm so tired of Mogilny, Malakhov, and McGillis behind brought up around here to say 'OMG Lou isn't perfect' - that's all over and done with. To me, he learned his lesson by bringing in 4 players who've never been in the Devils' organization.

[Derek21]

I believe most of the decent posters here would agree with you here. We're not saying Gomez sucks, just that he's not worth what the Rangers are paying him.

Check.

I think you may need to differentiate between the intellegent posters that actually contribute something to a thread (i.e. Sue, Triumph, Don, etc. - and hopefully myself occaisionally) and the "OMG!!! RAGS SUCK!!!" type of posters. The former would be ripping this signing no matter who made it, Devils included. Some of us are better at keeping emotion out of a logical analysis than you might believe.

Even with the quality posters you bring up, a vast majority were royally pissed and reacted that way. Anybody but the Rangers.

Not sure what this has to do with Gomez's signing. Most fans are hot and cold on all their teams players. I can't imagine what a Montreal Canadiens message board must look like.

[stevestevens]

Honestly, rangers made the best move with Drury, but worst with Gomez.

[Triumph]

He's not a goalscorer Tri. I'm not expecting him to be. Maybe he gets a hike there due to his linemates. But at this point, I can't even tell you who he'll play with. As for Nylander, I wanted him back. They decided to go for a younger player instead of giving Michael a huge raise at his age.

Edited July 23, 2007 by Triumph

[94Obsession]

Welcome to life under the salary cap. Bang for the buck is important if you hope to assemble a good team.

Edited July 23, 2007 by 94Obsession

[stevestevens]

the rags do have a pretty good allstar lineup under the cap. i just dont think cup winners though. too much ego possibly, but realistically, you cant win if the other team scores on you, which i can see happening.

[MantaRay]

I am not surprised about Souray being on this list (and very surprised many people on these boards were willing to sacrifice winning for the wonders of PP goals by trying to sign him here.).

I loved Gomer and wished we kept him, but I could not see us paying more than $5 million per season for him.

But when you consider (based on Derek's lines) that the Rangers are now paying $ 7 million per season for their 2nd AND 3rd line centers, it doesn't seem like money well spent, especially considering the poor defense after Rosival and Malik.

[halfsharkalligatorhalfman]

Gomez was the best devil against the senators. Gomez did not belong in NJ it was time for a change. He will be a very good Ranger for the next few years. If you want to get over the hump (like the rangers do) then you have to overpay for certain final pieces in order to win it all.

Jagr has 1-2 more years left. If you want to win with him you have to take chances now.

BUT

It is essentially mortgaging the future for a two year window. Good luck you have two years to get it done.

[eaglejelly]

It's just how this place is. Fans here have become spoiled by all the success. And sometimes, there are some irrational thoughts or threads about getting rid of certain key players who have been a big part of the solution. Winning. It's just how it is when you win a lot. I see it a lot with Yankee fans. And it's already starting with Mets fans and they haven't even gotten to or won a World Series yet.

Winning increases expectations and spoils fans rotten.

[stevestevens]

Every team shuld expect to win and be contenders each year, its not being spolied, its just having a good smart team.

[LOTCB]

As far as I am concerned I believe any Devils fan should be doubly annoyed that Gomez went to the Ranger$, I mean it does not matter who from the Devils leaves, if they do to the Ranger$, Flyer$, or to a lesser extent, the I$le$, it will bother a Devils fan. Just like if a Ranger$ fan saw a popular player of theirs go to a rival, their fans would feel the same way. I was pi$$ed that Drury went to the Rangers, but I can guarantee you if he signed with the stinking filthy Leaf$, I would have been doubly pissed.

While i do agree with Derek to a point that Gomez does not need to put up 30-40 goals, you just know there will be critics out there looking for it to ju$tify the big contract Gomez received. The key is how will that affect Gomez, a guy who has excelled for a great organization but has had the luxury of being off the spotlight and allowed to be productive..that changes now, BIG time.

Hockey is a much different animal then say, baseball. Intangibles are key. Chemistry is of upmost importance. The fact that A-Rod might not get along with his teammates does not adversely affect the Yankees when you look at the bottom line. If A-Rod produces big time, that matters the most. In hockey, it can be a bit different.

If you look at Drury's numbers on the surface, NO way does he justify a $7 million dollar a year contract. He has only scored over 30 goals twice (both with the Sabres) and has never had a 70 point season, ever. BUT....Drury is a leader, great on face offs, great on penalty kill, is a big time performer...THAT is how you value Drury..not solely on numbers.

[Devil Fan]

Gomez's 51M should be the worst one, consider he'll become the next Yashin......

[olesha]

I'm going to have to go with Briere as the worst. He's being paid for one really good year. He's fragile. He's small. Doesn't matter he's friends with Biron, it's how he's going to work with Gagne that will tell the tale.

What makes his contract, to me at least, one of the worst is the number of years Philly gave him and the no movement clause. Regretably I think he's going to end up being as reviled in Philly as Lindros.

Now about Gomez, time will tell if this was a good deal for the Rangers or not. He was only worth $5 million. So any team -- even the Devils -- would have overpaid if they paid out the $7M.

The one thing that works in the Rangers' favor is that Gomez didn't ask for or didn't get a NMC. I think the biggest worry isn't his goals or assists, it's whether Gomez has chemistry with Jagr. If not, then he's an overpaid second-line center. Or he's a high-paid first-line center who is responsible for Jagr's off-year. Yes, I think the media and fans will put this kind of responsibility square on Gomez's shoulders. Why, because as Sue has stated New Jersey has been set up as the worst thing that ever happened to Gomez. IMHO, Gomez isn't a case of less in New Jersey is more in New York, instead it's what you see is what you get.

Am I optimistic about Gomez's play with Jagr? Heck, no. I keep remembering how excited I was when we re-signed Mogilny. Ok, Jagr is not Mogilny. But the reason I was excited was because I rememer the chemistry Mogilny-Gomez had in 2000 and I was expecting some of that magic. Plus it would get Gomez away from Elias. What did I see? Bad hip and other stuff aside, I got Mogilny yammering at Gomez after a bad pass. Gomez ignoring Mogilny as Mogilny tapped his stick on the ice. NO chemistry. Heck, it appeared they didn't want to be on the same team, let alone the same line. Hopefully, for the Ranger fans, this type of history isn't repeated with Jagr and Gomez.

[stevestevens]

Gomez's 51M should be the worst one, consider he'll become the next Yashin......

[Vinnie]

He's not a goalscorer Tri. I'm not expecting him to be. Maybe he gets a hike there due to his linemates. But at this point, I can't even tell you who he'll play with. As for Nylander, I wanted him back. They decided to go for a younger player instead of giving Michael a huge raise at his age.

Gomez doesn't need to put up 90 points because the Rangers have plenty of balance. If he goes 20-50-70 and lights it up in the Spring, I could care less about what they're paying him.

As for Lou, you're tired of it? So what. It's not just those decisions anymore. Year 2 wasn't a success. It made him look like a hypocrite. I'm sorry to say it. But the luster is starting to come off Lou's squeaky clean reputation. There's a lot on the line in Year 3.