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I don't think even Sather is dumb enough to offer a huge offer sheet to a RFA on another team knowing that he himself has Dubinsky, Staal, and Callahan to worry about.

Boy, I guess the "B's" are hell-bent on getting rid of this guy.

he will be back in black and gold next year with out a doubt....and many years after that

I just don't see it. Don't get me wrong, 36 goals is 36 goals, but everything about this guy has me thinking that whatever team DOES sign him will regret it almost immediately, and until the final season of the contract comes up and he is playing for his next one.

He didn't accidentally fall in his draft year status. His work ethic was questioned every year before this one, which just happened to be his contract year, "coincidentally". The Bruins would likely be the team that could pull the most out of him next year, but I think this time, Slats made the right move not trying to sign htis guy.

This one-way forward wants over $5million? LOL

Let's hope the Rangers did "botch" this one...

He could be just like Kovalev. When the team is average he is average when the team is good, he will be good and I don't like players like that.

Umm the guy is 21 yrs old and just scored 36 goals. Maybe once he got out of his teens he is starting to mature a little. Very picky everyone is.

I thought he would still have to add 2 first rounders. Penner got 3 first round picks. Also, what are the adds that they would get him on an offer sheet??? First the Rangers have no cap space as it is, and secondly you rarely see players get signed to offer sheets.

QUOTE(#7):

Originally posted 10:09 AM ET  06.29 by Vilgrain

Umm the guy is 21 yrs old and just scored 36 goals. Maybe once he got out of his teens he is starting to mature a little. Very picky everyone is.

I am shocked..Sather not showing foresight?

I don't think I'm being picky, I'm just not a big fan of putting out $20 million or so (4 yrs @ 5 per) for a guy who's performed to his capabilities one year out of the last 4 is all.

You don't convince me that you're big time by having one good year. Jim Carrey won the Vezina once, after all.

In fairness, I like that Sather seems to be taking a hardline as far as Heatly goes. Not that I would mind seeing him here, but I don't want him selling the farm

Why would the B's want to get rid of this kid? Do they know something about his recent shoulder surgery that no one else does? Seems like this kid could be really good.

"This just in! The rangers are going to sign every single high profile/price free agent this offseason!"

I bet if the Post said that they could save themselves a lot of time.

unrelated to this topic:

I watched the draft on tv and I have to say that I was really impressed by all of the clubs that really went out of their way to make sure to salute montreal and to thank the town in french. I thought that it was a really classy move and i know that the fans in montreal really appreciated that the teams did this!

A stupid article. Larry Brooks just bashes Sather any chance he gets.

QUOTE(#11):

Originally posted 10:46 AM ET  06.29 by Spiny Norman

In fairness, I like that Sather seems to be taking a hardline as far as Heatly goes. Not that I would mind seeing him here, but I don't want him selling the farm

Sather can't possibly do anything else. Because of his big deals he can't trade his young prospects for Heatley or sign Kessel. In fact he cant make any big moves unless another team takes Gomez,Drury,Redden,Roszival.... In the end this should actually help the Rangers as he won't be able to get rid of any prospects and Sather will try to make everyone believe this was the plan all along but we all know the truth. The Rangers this season will not be able to resign Morris, Mara, Antropov, Betts, Orr, Sjostrom nor replace Naslund because they don't have any financial room and will have to replace them with young guys from Hartford. If Sather goes out and signs a FA for any more than a couple of million it will only make the situation worse, especially with the cap going down next season. The bigger issue is they will have Korpikoski, Dubinsky and Callahan to sign this offseason and Staal and Girardi next season and could either lose them to an offer sheet or have to overpay to keep them. If Sathers scouts have done their job and assuming they can keep their restricted FAs the team will contend in 2-3 years. If not he will leave another team in shambles when he leaves. The guy is horrible.

if Kessel is asking for and gets $5.5 million Rangers will need to give up the following draft picks:

$2,615,625-$3,923,437 First- and third-round picks
$3,923,437-$5,31,249 First-, second and third-round picks
$5,231,249-$6,539,062 Two first-rounders, a second-round pick and a third-round pick.

You don't have to wait till your 3rd contract to be a contract year player, as far as I'm concerned, bgm. The 3rd contract guys have simply spent enough time in the league for there to be proof of that - it is a pattern. While Kessel hasn't had enough years in the league for the pattern to have developed yet, I still see it.

Mostly is comes from his last year in the juniors, after he had spent a couple years being touted as the American Sidney Crosby and a guaranteed #1 pick. He came into the season fat, and lazy, expecting it all to get handed to him, and cost himself a whole pile of spots in the draft as a result. I know people grow and mature, but it simply sets off warning flags to me is all.

Lastly - and I am about to tread on fight starting territory here - its the fact that he's American. Nothing against my good neighbours to the south, but its my opinion that American hockey players tend to have less of a desire, or heart for the game or SOMETHING that players from other countries tend to have. And I don't mean just Canadians, but Swedes, Fins, etc. I think it might be respect for the game or something, since hockey is so insignificant in the U.S., but it just seems to me that an American is a less safe bet than others, after a big contract and stardom is acheived. Keith Tkachuk, John LeClair, etc., those guys ruined it for me I guess, 'cause I used to be a major Lafontaine fan. I can't truly explain it either, its just a trend I seem to have either noticed, or simply fabricated for some reason, but I really think its a pattern that actually exists, for whatever reason it may be. Again, I apologize to Americans on here - its not meant to disparage the country, just the tendencies of alot of the hockey players that come from there.

Fully willing to agree with this disagreement. More than willing to be wrong about this as well, for this kid's sake. I simply stated my concerns surrounding him, and I would approach him were I a REAL GM instead of the armchair type

Considering his age I would hold off on calling him a contract player, for now. If he signs a three year deal and has two mediocre years and then a 35 to 40 goal year then he will have earned the "contract player" moniker.