Boston goaltender Tim Thomas is the proof in the pudding. Thomas' 2009-10 season was a complete disaster, going 17-18-8 with a 2.55 GA and a .915 save percentage. Many in Boston were ready to move on to Tuukka Rask, their young semi-rookie goaltender who put up a blistering 1.97 GA and a .931 save percentage as well as 22 wins in 39 games in his first full season as Thomas' backup/replacement. If you remember after that season the worst kept rumor was that Thomas was being shopped around places such as Philadelphia and Dallas who were in need of goaltending. Boston GM Peter Chiarelli told ESPN after the Bruins cup victory that indeed the rumors were true but Thomas was adamant about not leaving Boston.
The Rangers now are in the same boat to an extent. They are a very young team up the middle, but it seems as though that Glen Sather is hellbent on getting the Rangers a true bonafide top line center to go with Gaborik. Assuming Brad Richards signs elsewhere, there are rumors abound on the internet and various message boards and the like of the Rangers taking a run at acquiring Jason Spezza in Ottawa. Spezza, with a cap hit of $7 million, has 4 years remaining of a front loaded 7 year, $49 million contract which thanks to capgeek pays 8 million the next two years, followed by 5 million in 13-14 and 4 million in 14-15. Acquiring Spezza at bare minimum would require a everyday player, possibly Anisimov, the Rangers 15th overall pick on Friday, unless Sather pulls a miracle and makes it a 2012 draft pick and a prospect which fans may have a problem with. Does Ottawa ask for Kreider? Or do they want someone who could crack the NHL roster in October, such as a further along Grachev or Chris Thomas? Perhaps since Ottawa's AHL team just won the Calder Cup and are just as deep if not deeper on the blueline than the Rangers, would want 2-3 everyday players and a draft pick for Spezza.
As you can see this dude isn't going to come on the cheap. I'm not crazy at all about a guy whose production has completely fallen off the map in the last two seasons, namely because of an aging and declining Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley being shipped off to San Jose after the 08-09 season. The Rangers have worked long and hard since the lockout to acquire their own home-grown talent. It would sure be a shame to see the Rangers and namely Glen Sather throw it all away with one swift move.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
2011 NHL Draft: should the Rangers trade down?
A few weeks ago at the NHL Draft combine, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke told the media that he was looking to package his 25th (acquired in the Kris Versteeg to Philadelphia trade) or the 30th overall pick (acquired by the Maple Leafs that sent Tomas Kaberle to Boston), as well as Toronto's 39th overall. There's a good chance that Gordie Clark, Rangers Director of Player Personnel, knows who he's going to select with that 15th pick, but I do think the Rangers should listen to offers such as this one and consider trading down if their guy gets taken before their turn.
I think the chances of the Rangers making a deal whether trading up but more likely down are decent. Not only are the Rangers obviously set at goaltender but there's no real prospect that'll be worth taking in the first round at all. They won't be going defense because of how loaded in that department they already were even before trading for Tim Erixon who was considered to be a top 10 pick had he been thrown back in the draft after Calgary was unable to sign him.
It's widely thought that this year is the calm before the storm in next years draft considered to be the deepest since 2003 but that doesn't exactly mean there isn't diamonds in the rough somewhere, diamonds such as Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and the biggest one of all Henrik Lundqvist.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post wrote a piece this morning how the Rangers and Ruslan Fedotenko are in talks about a 2 year deal however the sides are somewhat apart on the money. After only making 1 million last year I could only speculate how much of a raise Fedotenko wants. Sather can't get too caught up in these negotiations with much bigger fish to sign.
I think the chances of the Rangers making a deal whether trading up but more likely down are decent. Not only are the Rangers obviously set at goaltender but there's no real prospect that'll be worth taking in the first round at all. They won't be going defense because of how loaded in that department they already were even before trading for Tim Erixon who was considered to be a top 10 pick had he been thrown back in the draft after Calgary was unable to sign him.
It's widely thought that this year is the calm before the storm in next years draft considered to be the deepest since 2003 but that doesn't exactly mean there isn't diamonds in the rough somewhere, diamonds such as Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and the biggest one of all Henrik Lundqvist.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post wrote a piece this morning how the Rangers and Ruslan Fedotenko are in talks about a 2 year deal however the sides are somewhat apart on the money. After only making 1 million last year I could only speculate how much of a raise Fedotenko wants. Sather can't get too caught up in these negotiations with much bigger fish to sign.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Drury, Jagr, Rangers cap situation
So news broke Friday morning with Larry Brooks of the NY Post reporting that Chris Drury's knee injury is severe enough to prevent the Rangers from buying him out of his remaining year on his contract. It begs to argue whether Drury did the right thing coming back from injury before he was ready with just one game left in the season with the playoffs (at the time) in extreme doubt. After the Rangers were knocked out, it was discovered that Drury has a chronic knee issue that needed tending to. If this is something that could require surgery then the captain really needs do the right thing and consider retiring. I am a fan of Drury's and him skating around on one bad knee next season is not what I want to see, neither what Rangers fans want to see especially on the precipice of a break out season by the team as a whole.
Jaromir Jagr is reportedly talking to some NHL teams including the Rangers for perhaps one last go around the league. It is not known whether the Rangers have mutual interest in Jagr, but at 39 he has been playing well of late, including single handedly knocking out the Americans out of the World Championships 6 weeks ago. He's not capable of matching his 25 goal, 71 point final season in NY at the end of the 2008 campaign, but I do think he's capable as a third line guy who could hopefully pot you 40 points and be a mentor to some of the younger kids coming up through the ranks right now. I wouldn't mind at all bringing him back at the right price however I don't think it'll be here. There will be times that he should get nights off to prevent him from wear as he hasn't played anywhere close to a full 82 game schedule since leaving and considering his age and the Rangers offensive system, who knows how much he has left in his legs.
On Friday, the Rangers elected not to take any of their eligible RFA's to arbitration. This news is significant because it tells me that Sather sounds confident he'll be able to sign Dubinsky and Callahan painlessly. It does leave them open to offer sheets however its not likely that another team will do that. Compensation would come in the form of a first and third round pick if another team offer sheeted Dubinsky or Callahan at market value. See the 2011 RFA compensation value chart here .
Now in all likelihood that Drury will be sticking around for one more year it does put a bit of a damper in the Rangers hopes of acquiring Brad Richards or really any trades that Sather had up his sleeve that require the Rangers taking on salary. Like I stated in my last post, my hope is that the Rangers just stay the course and not do anything that could prevent them from making moves in the next year or two when this team is ready to take that next step that could put them over the top. I mean really, how much better is Boston compared to the Rangers? The difference is far from night and day and the Rangers did beat them 3 out of 4 times this year.
Lastly I do think the Rangers will be involved in a big trade relatively soon possibly the draft regarding one of their d-men, either to move up in the draft or acquire scoring somewhere. The Rangers have too much young talent on the blueline right now to keep in the minors.
Jaromir Jagr is reportedly talking to some NHL teams including the Rangers for perhaps one last go around the league. It is not known whether the Rangers have mutual interest in Jagr, but at 39 he has been playing well of late, including single handedly knocking out the Americans out of the World Championships 6 weeks ago. He's not capable of matching his 25 goal, 71 point final season in NY at the end of the 2008 campaign, but I do think he's capable as a third line guy who could hopefully pot you 40 points and be a mentor to some of the younger kids coming up through the ranks right now. I wouldn't mind at all bringing him back at the right price however I don't think it'll be here. There will be times that he should get nights off to prevent him from wear as he hasn't played anywhere close to a full 82 game schedule since leaving and considering his age and the Rangers offensive system, who knows how much he has left in his legs.
On Friday, the Rangers elected not to take any of their eligible RFA's to arbitration. This news is significant because it tells me that Sather sounds confident he'll be able to sign Dubinsky and Callahan painlessly. It does leave them open to offer sheets however its not likely that another team will do that. Compensation would come in the form of a first and third round pick if another team offer sheeted Dubinsky or Callahan at market value. See the 2011 RFA compensation value chart here .
Now in all likelihood that Drury will be sticking around for one more year it does put a bit of a damper in the Rangers hopes of acquiring Brad Richards or really any trades that Sather had up his sleeve that require the Rangers taking on salary. Like I stated in my last post, my hope is that the Rangers just stay the course and not do anything that could prevent them from making moves in the next year or two when this team is ready to take that next step that could put them over the top. I mean really, how much better is Boston compared to the Rangers? The difference is far from night and day and the Rangers did beat them 3 out of 4 times this year.
Lastly I do think the Rangers will be involved in a big trade relatively soon possibly the draft regarding one of their d-men, either to move up in the draft or acquire scoring somewhere. The Rangers have too much young talent on the blueline right now to keep in the minors.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Offseason thoughts part 1...
Been away for a few days... with the Stanley Cup Finals obviously dominating the news in the NHL right now, news in Rangerland has been somewhat slow outside of your occasional trade rumor or Brad Richards story. Here's a few things that have crossed my mind in the last couple days.
1. I know that right now I'm just assuming that Brad Richards is going to fly to NYC on July 1 and not leave the garden without a contract. But what happens if Brad Richards doesn't sign here? If that's the case the Rangers need to get on the phone with Prospal's agent and get him back under contract. Hopefully him and Gaborik and reignite the chemistry they had 2 full seasons ago with Stepan in the middle.
2. Dear internet, Dubinsky isn't going to Toronto and Paul Stastny, Jeff Carter, Stephen Weiss and Nik Antropov will not be traded to the Rangers. These trade rumors are border-lining on the criminally insane.
3. Dear Glen Sather, if you don't sign Brad Richards please don't do anything desperate to acquire a veteran top line center. You may already have one in the form of Derek Stepan.
4. Dear Derek Stepan, please no sophomore slump this year. We need you to improve upon your rookie season. With a hopefully rejuvenated (crosses fingers) Marian Gaborik at your wing, and some of our top prospects beginning to turn pro, there is a nice amount of talent around you.
5. Finally, Dear Michael Del Zotto, ok kid, time to wake up and get a move on. The Rangers went out and got themselves what they call a top 4 defenseman that will be playing in New York this year in the form of Tim Erixon. You need to step up your game DZ and be the player the Rangers need you to be.
Any news on Drury's buyout is going to have to wait until Friday at the earliest as per Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News posted on twitter this morning. Apparently no one realized about a rule in the CBA that states that the buyout period can't begin until 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final has ended. Of course, if and when that news happens, it'll be up on the twitter feed followed by a post here after.
1. I know that right now I'm just assuming that Brad Richards is going to fly to NYC on July 1 and not leave the garden without a contract. But what happens if Brad Richards doesn't sign here? If that's the case the Rangers need to get on the phone with Prospal's agent and get him back under contract. Hopefully him and Gaborik and reignite the chemistry they had 2 full seasons ago with Stepan in the middle.
2. Dear internet, Dubinsky isn't going to Toronto and Paul Stastny, Jeff Carter, Stephen Weiss and Nik Antropov will not be traded to the Rangers. These trade rumors are border-lining on the criminally insane.
3. Dear Glen Sather, if you don't sign Brad Richards please don't do anything desperate to acquire a veteran top line center. You may already have one in the form of Derek Stepan.
4. Dear Derek Stepan, please no sophomore slump this year. We need you to improve upon your rookie season. With a hopefully rejuvenated (crosses fingers) Marian Gaborik at your wing, and some of our top prospects beginning to turn pro, there is a nice amount of talent around you.
5. Finally, Dear Michael Del Zotto, ok kid, time to wake up and get a move on. The Rangers went out and got themselves what they call a top 4 defenseman that will be playing in New York this year in the form of Tim Erixon. You need to step up your game DZ and be the player the Rangers need you to be.
Any news on Drury's buyout is going to have to wait until Friday at the earliest as per Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News posted on twitter this morning. Apparently no one realized about a rule in the CBA that states that the buyout period can't begin until 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final has ended. Of course, if and when that news happens, it'll be up on the twitter feed followed by a post here after.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Draft prospects to watch...
I've targeted these five individuals that could possibly be available when the Rangers pick 15th overall at the draft. Keep in mind I'm not a draftnik by any means I've just done a little research on a few sites for players expected to go 10-20. To be honest all 5 guys are forwards, as the Rangers are extremely deep on the blueline and Hank is solidified in goal for the Rangers for the next decade.
Mark Scheifele - C - Barrie Colts (OHL)
This kid is my favorite he has some set of hands. I would love to see him in the NHL in 2 years.
Mark McNeill - C - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
At 6'-2" 210 lbs. he's physically ready for the pros. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the minors sooner rather than later.
Matt Puempel - LW - Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Led all OHL rookies in goals and points last year. Could be the left winger the Rangers are looking for. Not afraid to drop the gloves either.
Mark Scheifele - C - Barrie Colts (OHL)
This kid is my favorite he has some set of hands. I would love to see him in the NHL in 2 years.
Mark McNeill - C - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
At 6'-2" 210 lbs. he's physically ready for the pros. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the minors sooner rather than later.
Matt Puempel - LW - Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Led all OHL rookies in goals and points last year. Could be the left winger the Rangers are looking for. Not afraid to drop the gloves either.
Mika Zinanejads - C - Djurgardens IF (SEL)
Top euro forward ranked by NHL Central Scouting, projected to go 8-12 but needs more time in Sweden. Could fall to 15 if the Rangers are lucky.
Vladislav Namestnikov - C - London Knights (OHL)
He was pegged by some in the middle of the season as a potential Ranger draftee. His stock as fallen somewhat and could be targeted by the Rangers if they wish to trade to the bottom of the first round and recoup draft picks lost in recent trades.
For the record all videos are property of respective teams and leagues. No intention for copyright infringement. For informational purposes only.
Who's staying, who's going?
Yesterday I had written three articles. The first two were posted yesterday and the third one I was going to hold on to until Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. But with the conflicting reports out of the major NYC papers yesterday regarding buyouts of Chris Drury, Wojcek Wolski and Sean Avery, I had to make a few changes.
I had written yesterday that I thought the Rangers should keep the captain before Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News wrote on twitter that he had a source close to the Rangers saying that Drury was told by Ranger brass that he was going to be bought out when the buyout period starts in the middle of next week and that Wolski and Avery were not going to be bought out. While I still think that the Rangers should just do the reverse with the exception of Avery, I tossed that article out of the window and I'm just going to go with what the Rangers are likely to do from here on out regarding the Drury buyout and impending FA.
First and foremost the Rangers need to get Dubi, Callahan, Anisimov, Sauer and Boyle under contract. Currently the Rangers have 18.4 million dollars in cap space with 13 players under contract with just under 41 million invested. The Drury buyout adds 3.33 million in space plus the rise in the salary cap ceiling so the Rangers are going to have roughly 24 million in cap space come July 1.
The first thing I do is offer Dubinsky a back loaded 3 year, 11 million contract so he gets nice raises every year and Callahan 4 years at 16 million. The only tie-up I can foresee and more so with Dubinsky is in years. The last thing Ranger fans want to see is Dubinsky signing a long term, 5 years plus contract and not living up to it or being constantly injured. Especially with all of Sather's bad contracts gone except for the one sitting in Hartford.
For the record I never considered Boogaards contract a "bad contract." Was it a little long? Yeah, maybe by a year or two but I never had a problem with the 1.6 million that he was getting. Derek Boogaard's job was to protect Marian Gaborik and he was being paid handsomely to do that. He never reached the potential in NY that really made him a star playing for the Wild, but before he died it sounded like he was really determined to prove to the Rangers that he was worth a roster spot next season.
RIP Boogaard, the hockey world will miss you.
Getting back on track. I would like to see Anisimov get signed for about 1.5 mil per and Sauer to about a million per over 2-3 years for both. Boyle is a little bit of an enigma to me. I would offer just a 1 year, 1 mil dollar deal just to prove that he isn't an inconsistent player before I offered bigger money next offseason.
Sather isn't going to buy out Drury to bank cap space for next year. He's going to go after Richards hard just hopefully not to the point where his contract turns into Drury 2.0. While Richards isn't going to be the savior to the Rangers he goes a LONG way to serious cup contention. Honestly was Boston a better team than the Rangers this year? I don't think the Rangers are that far away from a cup as other fans and bloggers make it sound, its just unfortunate for the Rangers that the division they play in right now is the toughest in the east. This team can do it, and the cup run may be closer than everyone thinks.
I had written yesterday that I thought the Rangers should keep the captain before Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News wrote on twitter that he had a source close to the Rangers saying that Drury was told by Ranger brass that he was going to be bought out when the buyout period starts in the middle of next week and that Wolski and Avery were not going to be bought out. While I still think that the Rangers should just do the reverse with the exception of Avery, I tossed that article out of the window and I'm just going to go with what the Rangers are likely to do from here on out regarding the Drury buyout and impending FA.
First and foremost the Rangers need to get Dubi, Callahan, Anisimov, Sauer and Boyle under contract. Currently the Rangers have 18.4 million dollars in cap space with 13 players under contract with just under 41 million invested. The Drury buyout adds 3.33 million in space plus the rise in the salary cap ceiling so the Rangers are going to have roughly 24 million in cap space come July 1.
The first thing I do is offer Dubinsky a back loaded 3 year, 11 million contract so he gets nice raises every year and Callahan 4 years at 16 million. The only tie-up I can foresee and more so with Dubinsky is in years. The last thing Ranger fans want to see is Dubinsky signing a long term, 5 years plus contract and not living up to it or being constantly injured. Especially with all of Sather's bad contracts gone except for the one sitting in Hartford.
For the record I never considered Boogaards contract a "bad contract." Was it a little long? Yeah, maybe by a year or two but I never had a problem with the 1.6 million that he was getting. Derek Boogaard's job was to protect Marian Gaborik and he was being paid handsomely to do that. He never reached the potential in NY that really made him a star playing for the Wild, but before he died it sounded like he was really determined to prove to the Rangers that he was worth a roster spot next season.
RIP Boogaard, the hockey world will miss you.
Getting back on track. I would like to see Anisimov get signed for about 1.5 mil per and Sauer to about a million per over 2-3 years for both. Boyle is a little bit of an enigma to me. I would offer just a 1 year, 1 mil dollar deal just to prove that he isn't an inconsistent player before I offered bigger money next offseason.
Sather isn't going to buy out Drury to bank cap space for next year. He's going to go after Richards hard just hopefully not to the point where his contract turns into Drury 2.0. While Richards isn't going to be the savior to the Rangers he goes a LONG way to serious cup contention. Honestly was Boston a better team than the Rangers this year? I don't think the Rangers are that far away from a cup as other fans and bloggers make it sound, its just unfortunate for the Rangers that the division they play in right now is the toughest in the east. This team can do it, and the cup run may be closer than everyone thinks.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Drury buyout?
As Jesse Spector wrote for the NY Daily News this morning, the Rangers are reportedly set to buy out the remaining year of captain Chris Drury's 5 year, 35.25 million dollar contract. Buyout terms are as follows:
Chris Drury buyout from CapGeek.com
Keep Drury, dangle him at the trade deadline or trade him to a team like Florida or the new Winnipeg franchise if you have to if the Rangers want to open up cap room. Also it helps Florida and Winnipeg get above the cap floor so they can buy him out similar to what the Rangers did with Brashear.
Coming this weekend, I play GM and tell you what I think the Rangers should do this offseason to push them closer to serious Stanley Cup contention.
Chris Drury buyout from CapGeek.com
- 2011-12: $3,716,667
- 2012-13: $1,666,667
Keep Drury, dangle him at the trade deadline or trade him to a team like Florida or the new Winnipeg franchise if you have to if the Rangers want to open up cap room. Also it helps Florida and Winnipeg get above the cap floor so they can buy him out similar to what the Rangers did with Brashear.
Coming this weekend, I play GM and tell you what I think the Rangers should do this offseason to push them closer to serious Stanley Cup contention.
First let me introduce myself...
Hello and welcome to Just Blueshirts, a new hockey blog for the New York Rangers. My name is Neill Fowler and I've been a diehard Rangers fan since I can possibly remember. When I was younger I used to attend several Ranger games a year with my father. In 2000 I moved to southern New Jersey, deep into Flyers country and living here has only made my allegiance to the Rangers even stronger, despite the fact that the Rangers were just a terrible team between 2000-2004. I now live my fiance and our 18 month old son. Between raising my son and my job I'm only able to attend a few games per year but that doesn't stop me from passionately pulling for my hockey team. I'm really excited about the direction this hockey team is going in and I thought that this would be the perfect time to start a hockey blog.
As it is the offseason for the Rangers, I plan on updating this blog a lot over the next couple weeks just to get caught up on some things such as my take on the 2010-11 Rangers, the offseason up until now, as well as the impending NHL Entry Draft and free agency period and down the road a preview of the 2011-12 team once the roster is set.
I'm really excited to share my thoughts and opinions about my favorite hockey team, as well as hearing your questions and comments as well. I'll be starting a twitter account, so follow me @justblueshirts and perhaps a facebook account down the road as well.
As it is the offseason for the Rangers, I plan on updating this blog a lot over the next couple weeks just to get caught up on some things such as my take on the 2010-11 Rangers, the offseason up until now, as well as the impending NHL Entry Draft and free agency period and down the road a preview of the 2011-12 team once the roster is set.
I'm really excited to share my thoughts and opinions about my favorite hockey team, as well as hearing your questions and comments as well. I'll be starting a twitter account, so follow me @justblueshirts and perhaps a facebook account down the road as well.
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