Thoughts on Nils Lundkvist?

[bbfl1987]

I’m not sure what to make of this guy. The Rangers have a pretty crowded blue line. I have a chance to acquire him in my league, and can stash him on my prospect bench until he’s played 150 games. By the time he’s played that many games, will he have been worth the wait? Or should I just stay away?

[Feenom]

I like him a lot but he has a major roadblock ahead of him for PP1 time. Unless you can get him for a good price I would proceed with caution. He is going to be the second best Dman on that team, he can still get you about 40 points but he has more potential if he was on PP1 for sure. Good luck.

[Bubba55]

Depending on the cost he is absolutely worth waiting on. So...what is the cost?

[bbfl1987]

Depending on the cost he is absolutely worth waiting on. So...what is the cost?

Haven’t gotten that far yet. The Gm has just made him, McMichael, and Mercer available. Didn’t sound like he was needing a lot.

[Bubba55]

I consider Lundqvist to still be one of the best offensive D prospects out there. His circumstances are not favorable in New York for sure. But, things change. A Fox injury, a trade, lots can happen, and when it does, a low cost investment in Nils will very likely pay off big time.

[forsbergfan]

I think he'll be traded sometime in the next 365 days. The Rangers are going to eventually make a big trade to improve their young team with a superstar and Lundkvist is one of their best trade chips that they can easily afford to part with. Doesn't mean he'll be a stud (I sold high on him last offseason) - let's say he goes to Vancouver as part of a J.T. Miller trade - he's still only on the #2 PP behind Hughes.
I'd say temper your expeciations. It will all depend on the situation for him. He has lots of talent but is in a rough situation in NY - he's not breaking through with their current D corp.

[Henrik18]

Do you guys think he‘ll start in the AHL or will he get the chance to play with the big boys?

[senryu]

The Rangers have five defensemen under contract for next year: Fox, Trouba, Lindgren, Nemeth and Miller. They have 8 forwards under contract. They have Strome, Kakko, and maybe Copp and Vatrano, to re-sign, with 11.9 million of cap space. And they need a backup goalie. They need some cheap players.

I would guess that the Rangers really want Lundkvist to make the team as their 6th defenseman, but if he can't hack in in training camp, the expectations are too high to let him learn on the job. They'll sign a dead-end veteran (like Braun) before letting Lundkvist acclimate to the NHL. So it all depends on how Lundkvist looks next fall, if he isn't traded first.

[YzermansLegacy]

To that end, they've also got 4 young d who are all waiver-exempt and could fill in the #6 spot. Lundkvist, Schneider (who played during playoffs in that spot), Z.Jones and M.Robertson could all conceivably get time next year.

I could see them looking to add a vet (like Braun) at the TD, and save their cap space for forwards during the season while rotating those D and shuffling them to the A and back.

As others have said - I can see him being a solid trade chip they'll want to use... so I wouldn't worry about the block in Fox.

With D this young, I always try to bank on talent first, and situation second. There were similar comments about "situation" back when Seth Jones was in NSH.

[fungchen3]

Thoughts: trade bait.

I think he'll eventually be packaged with a young forward to help land the Rags a "missing piece" fish.

In the right situation, he could be a very nice option... good on the PP... bomb from the point.

Just too much unknown right now and the Rags blueline is crowded af.

[bnet]

Some possible destinations for Lundqvist
Mtl - With Weber done and Petry looking like a shell of his former shelf, they need somebody back there who can man the PP
Sea - With Gior gone and Dunn looking like a solid piece back there, but not one that can man a 1st unit PP, Lundqivst would be an ideal fit for them (unless they draft Nemec/Jiricek)

Those are the two teams I see with biggest glaring holes on their blueline, in terms of a D who can QB a PP.
I suppose you could add Wpg to the mix, I don't know if I would classify either Pionk or Morrissey as a true PPQB D, they can fill in but not ideal having either of them in that spot.

[ericdaoust]

The issue with the 150 GP limit is he might not be yet be ready to contibute to your main roster.

By all means make the trade if it's a good trade (obviously) but also understand the league you are in. If he's taking the slower development route you should look to "sell high" on him around the trade deadline when 3/4 of your league will want to go in rebuild mode.