The Shattenkirk buyout is bad in year two. The trade is okay from a Ranger point of view. Does it make any sense for St Louis?

you bought out shattenirk and kept Staal? what are you insane?

Smith is the only candidate that will be bought out. It doesn't make sense for the Rangers to buy either of those (Staal/Shatty/Hank) guys out because they only have two years left on their contracts.

Better buyout structure. A big hit in 2020-21 doesn't actually hurt us. Shattenkirk has a really manageable hit this year, but Staal's hit this year would be about 3M, and that could make or break our contract structure.

Barring a trade, it almost has to be done. Other alternatives (trading Buchnevich or Kreider) are less appealing.

Not sure, but I think Lindgren could be enough of a bribe to take on two years of that deal.

It's a nice-to-have; if we can't move Smith like that, we could pop him and Nieves in the minors and get a similar result.

why in the world would you buyout a good player and keep a bad one is the question here?....there's some presumption here that you think Shattenkirk deserves to be bought out, that he's not good. That's the ridiculous part that I'm acknowledging...

You're comparing them like they're equals and it's just about contracts.

We're talking about 2 players who are basically a full standard deviation apart. One has a positive affect on the team. One has negative...

That part isn't really a discussion.

Go to mine that I did yesterday or the day before. It has minimal things, but a whole description of what I believe the Rangers are trying to do. It has "Please Read Description" as part of the name. I don't think the Rangers will be burying Smith's contract. He will be dealt or bought out at this point because it will give them the most cap relief.

I get Staal is worse than Shattenkirk, even though they were both on for around the same net number of goals last year (-40). Not being the worse of the two doesn't make Shattenkirk good, though. We proved as much when we turned around and brought in two NHL caliber defenders on his side. Trouba, Fox, and DeAngelo are all going to be gunning for Shattenkirk's powerplay time, and if Shattenkirk shows anything like he did last year, they'll all be getting his powerplay time.

He's an average defender+PPQB specialist who doesn't get any PP time and can't score when he does. That's a problem.

I get Staal isn't good. He's also paid less. He's also getting less favorable zone starts and spent most of his season paired with Neal Pionk. He's also got a less buyout friendly contract when our need is immediate. It's not all about the on ice product, unfortunately.

Yeah. In yours, you're able to off Namestnikov. I'm thinking that may not be the case.

I'd rather get rid of him, too.

Yah, he has interest for him around the league. Teams were calling about him at the draft, but nothing came of it because maybe Gorton was asking too much for him. That is my best guess that he will be moved for a late draft pick and Smith will be tagged with a 3rd or 4th round draft pick for a 7th round in 2020 or 2021 draft just to make it worth it for other teams.

Yeah, I'm fine with that outcome too.

Shatty Buyout is bad for a number of reasons:
1. 2nd year cap hit is horrendous
2. Buyout is a last resort- yet if it comes to that, Smith is most likely followed by Staal...By almost all accounts, the combination of Staal’s prior Health issues and the fact that the game has passed him by make him impossible to move. However, with Smith- who may actually have some hockey left in him- the bang for his buyout is better in yr 1 than Staal.
3. Shatty most definitely has some good hockey left in him- just not for 6M +...would be a tough pill to swallow to buy him out and watch him sign on the cheap elsewhere- only to rediscover his worth as a 2nd or 3rd pair D...who can QB a PP

What return would you be expecting for a 50% retained Shattenkirk?

I honestly dont know. Before they added Trouba and Panarin they had lots of cap room and I would have wanted a decent return now (which I really wouldn't expect) or I would have held on to him thinking his value would be higher next offseason with just a year left. Now, if getting back a 7th round pick means you dont need to dump Buchnevich I'd do it.

I think Blues would consider Shattenkirk at 50%, but they're also looking for a future Bouwmeester replacement.
What do you think about Shattenkirk(50%), Namestnikov, Hajek for Schenn and a 2nd? Maybe 2nd becomes a 1st if Schenn doesn't re-sign? That's about $2.2 mil in freed cap space for you and a full year of Schenn without having to move Kreider or Buchnevich. I don't see why Schenn wouldn't consider re-signing either.

Doesnt Smith have a M-NMC? Probably wouldnt want to go to OTT.

I would do that. I like Hajek but they have a lot of LHD, young and old. Rykov could be ready for a spot before the year is out. If they dont feel Schenn is a good fit they can trade him to Winnipeg at the TDL.