Quoting: Jimbo1119
Your justification is exactly why 1sts get traded for guys like Giroux, Chiarot, etc. But if you go back through the years it would be interesting to see how many Cup winners did add a rental at TDL….my guess is far fewer than the 50% or so late 1st rounders who become relevant players.
I watch as many NYR games as I can- and I guess as long as Shest is on his game they can be considered “on the cusp” , reality is they are not on the cusp-nor 1 player away.
The other thing to say about 1st round picks is that even if you hit you probably won't see that you hit for another two years or so if you're drafting late in the first round, which is not ideal for a team that, on the cusp or not, is sort of in a win-now mode.
I guess the thing that I take issue with is the aversion to spending the assets when my view of the situation- and I'm not a Rangers fan, so you know, what do I know- is this is probably your best time to use those assets. The likelihood of winning after trading for a rental is always going to be low. The likelihood of winning after you don't trade for a rental is also going to be low. Only one team wins, that's just how it works, so I feel like framing it as "so many teams didn't win after spending a 1st round pick on a rental, therefore spending a 1st round pick on a rental is likely going to be a waste" is extremely limiting.
I'm not saying it has to be Tarasenko, but I do feel like if the Rangers stand pat and use both of those 1st round picks in the draft this year, that's malpractice. I more or less agree that they're not one piece away from being bulletproof. But I look at this team- especially their forward group- and I'm wondering how many more kicks at the can their core really has. Panarin at 31, Kreider at 31, Zibanejad at 29, Trocheck at 29. It just seems like, ready or not, you kinda gotta go for it now, because the likelihood of a drop off in fire power in the next two or three years seems pretty high. If you draft with those picks and hit, what's the team going to look like in two or three years when those picks are difference makers?
This is all doubly true considering they have two 1sts. They can spend one and pocket another for the draft and pretty much break-even no matter what happens in the playoffs.