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Four Nations Faceoff rosters, Elliotte Friedman rumors, JT Miller
December 5, 2024, 6:33 PM ET [98 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
Wednesday, the remainder of the Four Nations Faceoff teams were named. New York, who already has Adam Fox (USA) and Mika Zibanejad (Sweden) named as one of the original six players for those respective teams, added three more players while one possible option was snubbed. Chris Kreider and Vincent Trochek (USA) were mild surprises to that roster while Kaapo Kakko's (FIN) addition was not. Alexis Lafreniere was viewed as a possibility but he did not make that roster.



Vince Mercogliano had a pretty good look as those who were added and the one excluded. The Athletic took a deep dive into the rosters while Emily Kaplan (ESPN) went through how the USA roster was constructed. For all the criticism lobbed at the selection of Kreider and Trocheck, and exclusion of Cole Caufield and Tage Thompson, the rationale as to why each was added makes sense. Now, you can say the same for leaving off Caufield and Tage, and if the team can't score and/or fail to win gold, GM, Bill Guein has set himself up to be the fall guy.







Elliotte Friedman did a spot on NHL Network noting where New York stands right now. It sounds like these three days can be viewed as a reset period where GM Chris Drury is gathering intel and data as to who might be available from other teams, the level of interest in his players and where possible deals exist. In the piece, and the written 32 thoughts, Freidman mentions Ottawa. I will leave that there knowing who everyone wants. :)



For what it's worth, I don't think JT Miller is dealt for Kaapo Kakko and a first. New York needs lineup options that won't cost five-mil plus per year and Kakko, even with a good year, as a RFA is not likely to be at that price point. The third line has been their best line, so why break that up. In addition, substantive salary would need to be moved to free up another space to bring in Miller, though moving Reilly Smith and/or Ryan Lindgren for lower cost options in Brett Berard and Victor Mancini would certainly provided enough room. The Rangers don't have many picks in this draft, as they already lack a second through fourth round selection, so dealing a first rounder seems to make little sense.



All I will say is if the Rangers come out flat and/or the same mistakes are repeated again tomorrow, it could get very ugly at MSG. If that occurs, trade phone lines could burn up. I have no inside knowledge, but if the three days to reset and work on issues make no difference, blod actions might transpire. 

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