Name a New York Rangers’ fan anywhere that wouldn’t want to see a top defensive line of Shea Weber and Marc Staal?
With the Nashville Predators’ captain in a bit of a contract squabble at the moment, what would be more fun in the midst of summer than pretending to be Glen Sather and David Poile.
As I see it, from high atop the fantasy mountain, Glen Sather has plenty of depth in defense that he can bargain with.
Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer have emerged as true talented NHL defensemen. But coming up behind them is a literal plethora of defensive talent.
Tim Erixon appears to be a lock to play in the NHL. Michael Del Zotto is due to return to form. Pavel Valentenko, needs a bit more work on his positioning, but he’s poised to make the leap soon…by the way, if you haven’t seen him unload a shot from the point yet, we’re talking power in the Chris Pronger, Sheldon Souray, Zdeno Chara neighborhood.
Then there’s Dylan McIlrath coming up and will contend but is probably a year away. Mikhail Pashnin and Tomas Kundratek and Lee Baldwin had a very promising season in both Greenville and Hartford.
They could easily spare Dan Girardi, who they will have to give up just to start with to make the numbers work. They’ll also likely have to send Wojtek Wolski as well. But I would also give them Sauer and McDonagh and a draft pick.
For the Rangers it’s a steep price to pay, but with the kind of numbers that Weber is piling on and given that he is only 25-years of age and bound to get even better, I would be willing to surrender that much for a player that would likely elevate this team to Stanley Cup contenders and certainly among the Top Three best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Usually theoretical trade talk isn’t something we do on this site. Who would you give up to get Weber?
Now remember, Poile isn’t going to give up his team’s best player if he doesn’t think what he’s getting back isn’t going to either a) make his team better or b) get what he thinks is equal value.
So what do you think?
(photo courtesy of talkleafs.com)
Comments (12)
Andrewsays:
August 3, 2011 at 1:34 PMGirardi, Valentko or McDonaugh, Hagelin and our first rounder? 2 D-Men, a forward and a draft pick seems pretty reasonable, although I’d throw in Wolski in a heartbeat to tip the scales a bit more if need be.
Rangers Interested in Weber? « New York Rangers Blogsays:
August 3, 2011 at 1:45 PM[…] maybe not, but Mitch Beck at Howlings.net said the Rangers have enough young talent to make a pitch for Nashville’s star defenseman Shea Weber, who has gone to arbitration with the Preds after they couldn’t reach an agreement on a […]
Adamsays:
August 3, 2011 at 1:48 PMMy max offer would be something like Girardi, Kreider, Bourque and NYR 1st rounder in 2012…but even that I think Nashville walks away from. If Wolski is needed to tip the scales like Andrew said I’d be willing to do that. Nashville is always in search of Top 6 talent and if Wolski doesn’t work out his buyout is very cheap.
cwedesays:
August 3, 2011 at 4:03 PMIF Nash trades, they wont get a better offer than Adam’s.
NYR could even add a D prospect as well, such as Niemi or even DZ.
I’d hate to lose Kreider, he may be a bigger, faster Dubi.
Besides, that’s a lot of talent. and then there’s the $$$$ –
if the rumors of $7.5M are true, that’s more than Henry, BR or Gabi,
and only for 1 year.
Me, I’d rather find a way to pry Matt Greene from LA as a big vet Righty D, (the eventual Doughty contract may squeeze them) and build from within.
We have 2 imported all-stars. Now let’s just get on with Torts’ ‘process’
Mitch Becksays:
August 3, 2011 at 4:26 PMRemember that you have to give them enough that they’re going to want to take it and it’s going to have to be a better offer than they could get from anyone else AND you have to be able to make the cap numbers work.
The Rangers would need to clear space to make that happen so Girardi and Wolski would be a must. That would cover the bulk of it. Then you have to give them something that they are going to want. Throwing them three NHL ready D, that are young and inexpensive would get them off the snide.
A deal, if it’s going to be done needs to improve both teams or it won’t get done. While what I’m offering MIGHT be too much, you might have to pay too much to get a D-man who’s scored 16-16 & 23 goals over the past three years.
IMHO, if the Rangers could pull off that deal as I listed, with a little luck and a couple of breaks, I think they’re shining Stanley silver next summer. They’d easily be the best team in the East.
matt grauersays:
August 3, 2011 at 5:09 PMGirardi, Whatever combo of Wolski, Avery, Zucc that Nashville wants bc they’re weak at LW… + MDZ, JT Miller & 2012 First Round Draft Pick.
Throw in 2013 2nd Rounder as well. I wouldn’t offer Sauer and/or McDonagh b/c I see them being NYR 2nd pair dmen for the next decade but I would also throw either of them in to make the deal. Scott Hannan is still a free agent and could easily step in for next year or 2 until McIllrath is ready to make the jump so both Sauer-McDonagh are expendable.
Staal-Weber would be one of the top pairing Dmen in the league.
Make it Happen
matt grauersays:
August 3, 2011 at 5:33 PMGirardi 3.325
MDZ 1.1
Wolski 3.8 (Or Avery 1.9 + Zucc 1.75) is 3.85 = 8.275. That means either Zuc or MDZ might not exactly equal Weber’s contract (which will be around $7.5M) but maybe both don’t make their roster out of training camp. However, both are prospects with relatively high value. and this deal could very well work with draft picks (1st rounder and even 2nd rounder + another D-prospect in Erixon or Dylan McIllrath) could easily tip the trade balance. Like I said earlier, Nashville is weak at LW so Wolski or Avery or Zuc is a given + Girardi and several prospects / draft picks.
More often than not, blockbuster trades get done by sending 1 star for another, so you’d have to assume theyd ask for Staal or Dubi.
Mitch Becksays:
August 3, 2011 at 5:40 PMThey can ask for it, doesn’t mean they’d get it. I still think that what I’m offering makes an awful lot of sense. You want to throw Zuc in there and take either Sauer or McDonagh off the table then I’d do that. Remember, you can’t go too crazy. I think you’re offering WAY too much. You don’t want to empty the cupboard for one player. You want to give them some quality in areas that they could use it and where the team has depth. They have excellent depth in D-men so they can afford to give more from that. They’re not so deep up front so the thinking would usually be to try and hold as much of that back as possible. You also don’t want to give up too many draft picks because then the well can run dry. But as I said, I’d be willing to overpay a little because I think Weber would get the Rangers to the Stanley Cup.
Andrewsays:
August 3, 2011 at 10:10 PMDoes Redden’s $6.5M come off the cap during the season? it looks like it’ll be a one year deal for Weber so we could trade for him during the season, right? If not, correct on saying Girardi and Wolski would be a must, perhaps Bourque and/or Zucc and one of McDonaugh, Sauer or Valenteko and a first rounder…
Mitch Becksays:
August 3, 2011 at 10:27 PMYes Andrew, Redden’s cap hit is extinguished at the start of the season when he gets sent down to Hartford. He still has three seasons left including this one. It will be interesting to see what happens when the CBA is redone. My guess is there will be another get out of jail free card that the Rangers will get to play to buy out the rest of Red’s contract. Will be a shame too because he’s a terrific guy and a great influence on the young kids…
philsays:
August 4, 2011 at 7:19 PMMitch – Why would the Preds trade for three NHL-ready defensemen, especially when they’ve got a more than healthy core(Blum, Klein, Suter Franson and Ellis) already? I think the conversation with the Preds would start and end with either Staal or Dubinsky to begin with. Then maybe Wolski, Thomas and a first rounder.
Mitch Becksays:
August 4, 2011 at 7:30 PMPhil,
You make a good point; but here’s my thinking. Like in baseball you can never have enough pitching, in hockey you can never have enough strong defensemen. This would afford Nashville the ability to make other trades as well. I would agree that talk would start with Dubinsky or Staal, but neither of them are going to be dealt.
Others have pointed out other names up front that might make a difference to the Preds. One thing the Rangers are going to have to do is move some money with it, so that means that Girardi for certain has to go and Wolski is a must. A strong prospect package could be dealt but you can’t wipe out the cupboard as I’ve said before.
So who would you think that the Rangers would trade that Nashville would take?