Friday, September 7, 2012
Follow me over on the NYR blog!!!
I'm now contributing to the NYR blog and will no longer be posting content here. Join me over at www.nyrangersblog.com and follow me on twitter @theNYRblogneill
Friday, August 31, 2012
Know thy enemy: Philadelphia Flyers
Part 2 of the Justblueshirts blog offseason review focuses on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Notable players lost: Jaromir Jagr, Matt Carle, James Van Riemsdyk, Sergei Bobrovsky
Notable players obtained: Luke Schenn, Ruslan Fedotenko
Drafted Scott Laughton- 1st round, 20th overall
The Philadelphia Flyers have not had a very kind offseason handed to them as they've seen far more talent depart compared to what GM Paul Holmgren received in return. Before the draft, the Flyers traded highly touted backup goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for 3 draft picks and promoted Michael Leighton from Adirondack of the AHL. Leighton, if you remember nearly guided the Flyers to a Stanley Cup 3 seasons ago. Following the draft, the Flyers traded James Van Riemsdyk to Toronto for defenseman Luke Schenn. I was very critical of the trade at the time and felt that the Flyers should have gotten far more in return for trading away one of their young scorers. Jaromir Jagr and Matt Carle then left for Dallas and Tampa Bay respectively in search of raises. Not to mention, the Flyers also missed on Ryan Suter through free agency and Nashville matched the Flyers 14 year, $110 million dollar offer sheet for Shea Weber as a replacement for Chris Pronger, whose career may be over. Speaking of injuries, the Flyers have lost defensemen Andrej Meszaros to a torn Achilles tendon while training in Slovakia and Andreas Lilja underwent hip surgery. It didn't help their depth that they waited until the third round to draft a defenseman and do not have any NHL-ready defensive prospects waiting in their farm system. Nick Cousins, the Flyers 3rd round pick in 2011 and considered the Flyers top prospect was recently arrested on sexual assault charges. So as you can see, it has been a brutal offseason for the Flyers. After allowing 26 goals in 6 games to the Penguins in the playoffs and 18 goals in 5 games to New Jersey, Flyer fans should have every right to be upset on how this offseason has gone so far.
Elsewhere, Holmgren has given out big contracts to his own players recently to Braydon Coburn, Nik Grossman, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek. Nik Grossman's contract was the most ridiculed, as the 6 year veteran defenseman was signed to a 4 year, $14 million dollar contract with a no trade clause and will be on the Flyers third pairing once the season starts up. The terms Holmgren offered to Grossman are especially odd since the big defenseman only has 3 career NHL goals in 355 games and is only a career +10. The gross overpayment of Grossman and other players who recently had contracts renewed have left the Flyers with no wiggle room against the salary cap ceiling.
While the Flyers time to win a Cup is now particularly since they are such a high scoring team led by future captain Claude Giroux, but their window to win one is closing. With some of their younger forwards coming up to the end of their cap-friendly entry level contracts, the Flyers will be dependent on their younger forwards, now more than ever to lead them to the promised land.
Notable players lost: Jaromir Jagr, Matt Carle, James Van Riemsdyk, Sergei Bobrovsky
Notable players obtained: Luke Schenn, Ruslan Fedotenko
Drafted Scott Laughton- 1st round, 20th overall
The Philadelphia Flyers have not had a very kind offseason handed to them as they've seen far more talent depart compared to what GM Paul Holmgren received in return. Before the draft, the Flyers traded highly touted backup goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for 3 draft picks and promoted Michael Leighton from Adirondack of the AHL. Leighton, if you remember nearly guided the Flyers to a Stanley Cup 3 seasons ago. Following the draft, the Flyers traded James Van Riemsdyk to Toronto for defenseman Luke Schenn. I was very critical of the trade at the time and felt that the Flyers should have gotten far more in return for trading away one of their young scorers. Jaromir Jagr and Matt Carle then left for Dallas and Tampa Bay respectively in search of raises. Not to mention, the Flyers also missed on Ryan Suter through free agency and Nashville matched the Flyers 14 year, $110 million dollar offer sheet for Shea Weber as a replacement for Chris Pronger, whose career may be over. Speaking of injuries, the Flyers have lost defensemen Andrej Meszaros to a torn Achilles tendon while training in Slovakia and Andreas Lilja underwent hip surgery. It didn't help their depth that they waited until the third round to draft a defenseman and do not have any NHL-ready defensive prospects waiting in their farm system. Nick Cousins, the Flyers 3rd round pick in 2011 and considered the Flyers top prospect was recently arrested on sexual assault charges. So as you can see, it has been a brutal offseason for the Flyers. After allowing 26 goals in 6 games to the Penguins in the playoffs and 18 goals in 5 games to New Jersey, Flyer fans should have every right to be upset on how this offseason has gone so far.
Elsewhere, Holmgren has given out big contracts to his own players recently to Braydon Coburn, Nik Grossman, Wayne Simmonds, Scott Hartnell and Jakub Voracek. Nik Grossman's contract was the most ridiculed, as the 6 year veteran defenseman was signed to a 4 year, $14 million dollar contract with a no trade clause and will be on the Flyers third pairing once the season starts up. The terms Holmgren offered to Grossman are especially odd since the big defenseman only has 3 career NHL goals in 355 games and is only a career +10. The gross overpayment of Grossman and other players who recently had contracts renewed have left the Flyers with no wiggle room against the salary cap ceiling.
While the Flyers time to win a Cup is now particularly since they are such a high scoring team led by future captain Claude Giroux, but their window to win one is closing. With some of their younger forwards coming up to the end of their cap-friendly entry level contracts, the Flyers will be dependent on their younger forwards, now more than ever to lead them to the promised land.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Know thy enemy: Pittsburgh Penguins
My next series of columns will be a four part series reviewing what each Atlantic Division team has done this offseason to date. The first part will focus on the Penguins.
Notable players lost: Jordan Staal, Arron Asham, Zbynek Michalek
Notable players obtained: Brandon Sutter, Tomas Vokoun
Drafted: Derek Pouliot- 1st round, 8th overall // Olli Maatta- 1st round, 22nd overall
The Pens were ousted in a highly entertaining six game series to the Flyers in the Eastern quarterfinals. It was quite obvious the reason the Penguins were quickly outed was the Penguins inability to play any kind of defense in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and routinely left the goaltender hung out to dry. At the end of the six game series with the Flyers, Fleury's goals against was a brutal 4.63, a far cry of what should be expected from the former first overall pick. In an effort to shore up the back end, Pittsburgh was forced to trade Jordan Staal after declining an extension offer from Pittsburgh, to the Carolina Hurricanes for high end prospects that included Boston College alum Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin could quickly become a fixture in Pittsburgh as early as this season, although a stint in the minors is his likely course of action. In addition, the Pens do have decent defensive depth in their system that also includes former first rounders. 2009 first round pick Simon Despres will likely start on the Penguins roster this upcoming season after being one of the lone bright spots in the Penguins short playoff run. 2011 first rounder Joe Morrow is signed to a professional contract but loses junior eligibility after this upcoming season. The Pens also had the fortune of two first round selections and used both on defense. Pittsburgh selected Derek Pouliot 8th overall, and Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta 22nd overall.
With the majority of their defensive prospects at least 2 years away, it does not address their defensive struggles now and the Penguins next season once again are going to have to depend on outscoring the competition. James Neal and Chris Kunitz are both coming off career seasons with the Penguins and are entering their prime years. Of course we have to mention the Pens still have newly re-signed Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way.
The Penguins have won just one playoff series in the last three seasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Their lack of recent playoff success to me begins and ends with Marc-Andre Fleury. As good of a regular season goaltender Fleury has been, he has been downright brutal in the postseason since the Penguins had back to back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. Fleury's GAA in the past three postseasons has been north of 3.00 and his save percentage is well below 90%. The Penguins are still major players for the Stanley Cup, but the under-achieving Fleury needs to be much better for the Penguins if they wish to advance deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the immediate future.
Notable players lost: Jordan Staal, Arron Asham, Zbynek Michalek
Notable players obtained: Brandon Sutter, Tomas Vokoun
Drafted: Derek Pouliot- 1st round, 8th overall // Olli Maatta- 1st round, 22nd overall
The Pens were ousted in a highly entertaining six game series to the Flyers in the Eastern quarterfinals. It was quite obvious the reason the Penguins were quickly outed was the Penguins inability to play any kind of defense in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and routinely left the goaltender hung out to dry. At the end of the six game series with the Flyers, Fleury's goals against was a brutal 4.63, a far cry of what should be expected from the former first overall pick. In an effort to shore up the back end, Pittsburgh was forced to trade Jordan Staal after declining an extension offer from Pittsburgh, to the Carolina Hurricanes for high end prospects that included Boston College alum Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin could quickly become a fixture in Pittsburgh as early as this season, although a stint in the minors is his likely course of action. In addition, the Pens do have decent defensive depth in their system that also includes former first rounders. 2009 first round pick Simon Despres will likely start on the Penguins roster this upcoming season after being one of the lone bright spots in the Penguins short playoff run. 2011 first rounder Joe Morrow is signed to a professional contract but loses junior eligibility after this upcoming season. The Pens also had the fortune of two first round selections and used both on defense. Pittsburgh selected Derek Pouliot 8th overall, and Finnish defenseman Olli Maatta 22nd overall.
With the majority of their defensive prospects at least 2 years away, it does not address their defensive struggles now and the Penguins next season once again are going to have to depend on outscoring the competition. James Neal and Chris Kunitz are both coming off career seasons with the Penguins and are entering their prime years. Of course we have to mention the Pens still have newly re-signed Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way.
The Penguins have won just one playoff series in the last three seasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Their lack of recent playoff success to me begins and ends with Marc-Andre Fleury. As good of a regular season goaltender Fleury has been, he has been downright brutal in the postseason since the Penguins had back to back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. Fleury's GAA in the past three postseasons has been north of 3.00 and his save percentage is well below 90%. The Penguins are still major players for the Stanley Cup, but the under-achieving Fleury needs to be much better for the Penguins if they wish to advance deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the immediate future.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Bettman draws a line in the sand
Deal by September 15th, or else.
That was the message Gary Bettman told the NHLPA through the media on Thursday, make a deal with us or we lockout the players. Bettman pulled no punches while talking to reporters and the commissioner made it perfectly clear to Donald Fehr and the NHL Players Association that the owners are absolutely unwilling to play under the old collective bargaining agreement as was suggested earlier in the week by Fehr. Both men indicated that revenue sharing issues need to be worked out ASAP. Fehr mentioned that the two sides are a "meaningful gulf" apart on that issue. He also said that the NHLPA will submit their formal counter-offer next Tuesday. Sources speculate that the union's proposal will include a baseball-style luxury tax system, instead of the "hard salary cap" that is in place now.
While I've made my opinions known on twitter about the whole situation, I have become more and more pessimistic about the season starting on time, let alone if it gets going at all. As a hockey fan, you have to hope Thursday's developments light a fire under the leadership of both parties to compromise and get a deal in place for hockey this October. As I've been saying since the start of negotiations, as long as the two sides continue to talk there is some optimism. But any hiccups along the way will spell disaster not just for this season, but possibly the NHL as a whole.
That was the message Gary Bettman told the NHLPA through the media on Thursday, make a deal with us or we lockout the players. Bettman pulled no punches while talking to reporters and the commissioner made it perfectly clear to Donald Fehr and the NHL Players Association that the owners are absolutely unwilling to play under the old collective bargaining agreement as was suggested earlier in the week by Fehr. Both men indicated that revenue sharing issues need to be worked out ASAP. Fehr mentioned that the two sides are a "meaningful gulf" apart on that issue. He also said that the NHLPA will submit their formal counter-offer next Tuesday. Sources speculate that the union's proposal will include a baseball-style luxury tax system, instead of the "hard salary cap" that is in place now.
While I've made my opinions known on twitter about the whole situation, I have become more and more pessimistic about the season starting on time, let alone if it gets going at all. As a hockey fan, you have to hope Thursday's developments light a fire under the leadership of both parties to compromise and get a deal in place for hockey this October. As I've been saying since the start of negotiations, as long as the two sides continue to talk there is some optimism. But any hiccups along the way will spell disaster not just for this season, but possibly the NHL as a whole.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Time to start panicking over CBA talks?
I'm not going to go terribly in-depth as to what may or may not be happening at the NHL offices during CBA negotiations, but any knowledgeable hockey fan can't help but notice how tenuous the talks have been recently. The NHL is asking the players once again to make huge concessions, that already resulted in a lost season 8 years ago. I already went over here what the owners' initial demand was a few weeks ago. The NHLPA has yet to make its counter-offer and will not do so until the NHL becomes fully transparent with each team's finances. (The NHLPA received a portion of the requested financial information on July 31st but still awaits more.)
On the opposite side of the ledger, Gary Bettman has grown frustrated with the NHLPA's demands and has hinted at impatience towards the players. One gets the impression if the NHLPA doesn't have a formal counteroffer on the table by the expiration of the old CBA on September 15th, Gary Bettman will have no problems once again locking out the players.
This ultimately will come down to how to split the hockey related revenue and what that revenue ultimately entails. There's little doubt to me that the NHLPA will have to make some concessions and somehow prevent a steep salary rollback in order to have hockey this fall. The NHL at the same time cannot be rigid in their demands as they were back in 2004, when they were trying to sell the concept of a hard salary cap to the players. Issues with contracts, arbitration, unrestricted free agency will all fall into place once the bulk of the issues above are hammered out and agreed upon. As long as the two sides continue to talk during the summer, the better chance for hockey this winter.
On the opposite side of the ledger, Gary Bettman has grown frustrated with the NHLPA's demands and has hinted at impatience towards the players. One gets the impression if the NHLPA doesn't have a formal counteroffer on the table by the expiration of the old CBA on September 15th, Gary Bettman will have no problems once again locking out the players.
This ultimately will come down to how to split the hockey related revenue and what that revenue ultimately entails. There's little doubt to me that the NHLPA will have to make some concessions and somehow prevent a steep salary rollback in order to have hockey this fall. The NHL at the same time cannot be rigid in their demands as they were back in 2004, when they were trying to sell the concept of a hard salary cap to the players. Issues with contracts, arbitration, unrestricted free agency will all fall into place once the bulk of the issues above are hammered out and agreed upon. As long as the two sides continue to talk during the summer, the better chance for hockey this winter.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
What happens if Doan falls through?
It was reported on July 27th the Detroit Red Wings appeared to be out on negotiations with the last big name unrestricted free agent on the market, Shane Doan. Apparently the word was that he simply wanted more than Detroit was willing to give. The Red Wings as of this writing have around $13 million in cap space, $1.5 million MORE than the Rangers do. Detroit, after losing out on Zach Parise as well as Ryan Suter, were exploring on settling on Doan and decided against it. The Rangers on the other hand are looking for that final, over the top piece to their Stanley Cup puzzle after acquiring Rick Nash and to prevent former Islander Michael Haley from seeing 4th line minutes on the Rangers.
So while it would take quite a bit of $$$$ (give or take a cap hit of roughly $6 million) to get Doan to agree to come east, its entirely possible that Doan turns the Rangers away over a disagreement about the length of a new contract. So where would the Rangers go from there? The Rangers have had little issues in the past couple seasons calling up the kids to see how they stick. However, the Whale have experienced a heavy turnover, particularly their main goal scorers from a season ago. All the high-end Ranger prospects that have been drafted within the last two seasons should be playing in Connecticut this upcoming season. Christian Thomas and JT Miller who both skated in the OHL last season are virtual locks to make the Whale and will get a very long look by the Rangers coaching staff during training camp to see if there is room in New York.
While it's not the end of the world if Doan signs elsewhere, you would like to see the Rangers add a player of Doan's caliber. Doan has taken a lot of bad press as of late. You would think Doan's priority would be angling for a Stanley Cup right now rather than one last big contract with a team looking to get above the cap floor. On the surface the latter is a fair criticism, as he is giving the Coyotes every opportunity to get their ownership situation straightened out before deciding to re-sign with them. I hope Doan decides to put a Stanley Cup ahead of filling his pockets one last time in Phoenix. While the Rangers do not absolutely need Doan, his addition on the Rangers would make an already potent lineup among the deepest in the NHL.
So while it would take quite a bit of $$$$ (give or take a cap hit of roughly $6 million) to get Doan to agree to come east, its entirely possible that Doan turns the Rangers away over a disagreement about the length of a new contract. So where would the Rangers go from there? The Rangers have had little issues in the past couple seasons calling up the kids to see how they stick. However, the Whale have experienced a heavy turnover, particularly their main goal scorers from a season ago. All the high-end Ranger prospects that have been drafted within the last two seasons should be playing in Connecticut this upcoming season. Christian Thomas and JT Miller who both skated in the OHL last season are virtual locks to make the Whale and will get a very long look by the Rangers coaching staff during training camp to see if there is room in New York.
While it's not the end of the world if Doan signs elsewhere, you would like to see the Rangers add a player of Doan's caliber. Doan has taken a lot of bad press as of late. You would think Doan's priority would be angling for a Stanley Cup right now rather than one last big contract with a team looking to get above the cap floor. On the surface the latter is a fair criticism, as he is giving the Coyotes every opportunity to get their ownership situation straightened out before deciding to re-sign with them. I hope Doan decides to put a Stanley Cup ahead of filling his pockets one last time in Phoenix. While the Rangers do not absolutely need Doan, his addition on the Rangers would make an already potent lineup among the deepest in the NHL.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The Rangers salary cap situation
All figures below thanks to capgeek.com
updated: 7/28/12
2012-13 Salary Cap ceiling: $70.2 million
NYR contracts against the cap: 21
Total NYR contracts signed: 45/50
Total NYR contracts signed: 45/50
NYR Salary Cap payroll: $58,508,334
NYR Salary Cap space: $11,691,666
To be continually updated as the Rangers sign UFA's and potential trades.
To be continually updated as the Rangers sign UFA's and potential trades.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Rangers finally get their man, acquire Rick Nash
Rick Nash trade to New York Rangers in process now. Details to follow.After months and months of rumors, proposed deals and intense discussions on social media, the Rangers on Monday finally acquired Rick Nash from Columbus for Dubinsky, Anisimov, prospect Tim Erixon and a first round pick in 2013. The trade is a huge win for the Rangers. First and foremost, you have to commend Glen Sather for his steadfast patience in dealing with Jackets' GM Scott Howson as the Rangers the deal they wanted for an elite scorer. Howson most definitely caved to the Rangers demands after months and months where it seemed nothing was going to get done. The Rangers as an organization, has taken huge strides in the past 12 months that left them just 6 wins shy of a Cup and Monday's trade puts them right there with the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 23, 2012
There is no game breaker in Nash deal - NYR did very well in trading no core players #goodforNYR
— Ray Ferraro (@rayferrarotsn) July 23, 2012
Not ultimately getting JT Miller is really what makes me think Howson screwed himself a bit.If the McDonagh-Gomez trade didn't tell the hockey world about Glen Sather's trading prowess, the Nash trade certainly did. It was a minor miracle the Blue Jackets couldn't acquire better prospect talent from the Rangers. Yes, Tim Erixon is an NHL ready prospect (you would think) but what is left of Erixon's trade value, who just 12 months ago was deemed as the Calgary Flames' top prospect. But if Erixon fails again in his quest to stick on a NHL roster, he's just another Matt Gilroy.
— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) July 23, 2012
As far as the two roster players were concerned, my feelings about Artem Anisimov are well known. I don't think there is much more upside when it came to Artie. He only had 20 assists this past season playing on a line with Marian Gaborik for a good chunk of the year. I'm not sure Anisimov will ever come remotely close to the 81 point season, that included 37 goals that he had with Hartford just 3 years ago. To me, Anisimov was just another fringe top 6 player on the Rangers who'll net you 35-40 points a year. Sather didn't sound too optimistic in Monday's conference call that he would've been able to re-sign Artie after this season anyway.
Regarding Dubinsky, Dubi became a fan favorite two seasons ago when Callahan and Gaborik were out of the lineup due to their various injuries. Dubinsky was the Rangers best and most consistent forward in 2010-11 and was handsomely rewarded by the Rangers last offseason with a 4 year $16.8 million contract. It's quite unfortunate that Brandon was never able to improve on the 54 point outing he had two years ago leading into this past season. Whether Dubi was injured, tired or just snake-bitten, he just couldn't buy a goal last year which led to his steep decline in production and his inability to crack the Rangers top 6. When Dubinsky's game is on, he becomes quite dangerous with the puck on his stick from anywhere on the ice. The Rangers are going to miss Dubinsky's tenacious play and his physicality along the boards dearly, as well as his 2 on 1's with Callahan.
The Rangers are not quite finished with their offseason, the Rangers did trade away 2 centers and will likely be in the market for someone else cheap. Also can't rule out the possibility of Shane Doan signing with the Rangers as well. The Rangers are officially all-in fans!! It's Stanley Cup or bust now for the New York Rangers.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
NYR Untouchables
Since early February when it was discovered that Columbus was shopping Rick Nash, Ranger fans have been widely discussing exactly who on the Rangers should be deemed 'untouchable' in a trade. Before the trade deadline, many had wondered if it was going to take trading away a player like Kreider, the Rangers number 1 prospect in an all in push for the Stanley Cup. As we all know the Rangers came 6 wins shy of winning it all, Kreider's virtuoso performance in the playoffs quickly made him a star in the New York hockey scene and Rick Nash still sits unhappy in Columbus waiting to be dealt.
On every team there are roughly 5 players that GM's would be absolutely unwilling to include in any trade whatsoever. To me, the Rangers untouchable list right now includes Lundqvist, Richards, Callahan, McDonagh and Kreider. But as it stands right now there should be one more name on that list. To me, the sixth player on that list should be Derek Stepan, especially for any trade for Rick Nash and before you rip me to shreds, just hear me out.
I know of many who would say that Derek Stepan should not be the only thing that is holding up a trade to Columbus for Rick Nash. However the issue still remains, without Stepan the Rangers would have a very glaring hole on the second line. It would be a completely different story if the player you were trading for was another center, but since Nash does not play that position, Stepan is a deal-breaker. As far as your other options are concerned, Torts has Dubinsky over on the wing but if he is included in a potential Nash deal, that point is moot. This leaves you with Anisimov, Boyle and Halpern as your remaining centers and the latter two are penciled in on the bottom six. Anisimov would be a bad fit on a line with Kreider because like Gaborik, Kreider shouldn't be handling the puck before center ice. Anisimov doesn't make that accurate second pass to the open wingers the way Richards and Stepan do. Stepan and Kreider's style of play mesh so perfectly that Stepan centering a productive Kreider should make both of them 50-60 point players when the season starts up again.
The Rangers simply don't have anyone else that would be able to replace the skill-set Stepan possesses. Leave Stepan and Kreider alone on a line together and 10 years down the road you'll be happy the Rangers never broke them up.
On every team there are roughly 5 players that GM's would be absolutely unwilling to include in any trade whatsoever. To me, the Rangers untouchable list right now includes Lundqvist, Richards, Callahan, McDonagh and Kreider. But as it stands right now there should be one more name on that list. To me, the sixth player on that list should be Derek Stepan, especially for any trade for Rick Nash and before you rip me to shreds, just hear me out.
I know of many who would say that Derek Stepan should not be the only thing that is holding up a trade to Columbus for Rick Nash. However the issue still remains, without Stepan the Rangers would have a very glaring hole on the second line. It would be a completely different story if the player you were trading for was another center, but since Nash does not play that position, Stepan is a deal-breaker. As far as your other options are concerned, Torts has Dubinsky over on the wing but if he is included in a potential Nash deal, that point is moot. This leaves you with Anisimov, Boyle and Halpern as your remaining centers and the latter two are penciled in on the bottom six. Anisimov would be a bad fit on a line with Kreider because like Gaborik, Kreider shouldn't be handling the puck before center ice. Anisimov doesn't make that accurate second pass to the open wingers the way Richards and Stepan do. Stepan and Kreider's style of play mesh so perfectly that Stepan centering a productive Kreider should make both of them 50-60 point players when the season starts up again.
The Rangers simply don't have anyone else that would be able to replace the skill-set Stepan possesses. Leave Stepan and Kreider alone on a line together and 10 years down the road you'll be happy the Rangers never broke them up.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Shane Doan visits the Rangers, Casey Wellman traded
Shane Doan was spotted in New York Friday as part of the NHLPA contingent in ongoing collective bargaining sessions. He did find time in his busy day to visit the NYR organization as a potential landing spot for the (hopefully) 2012-13 season. I've stated on here as well as twitter how much I would love to have a player like Doan play out the end of his career in NY so he can get his well deserved shot at the Stanley Cup.
Doan would bring another strong locker room and on-ice presence as well as mentoring some of the younger Rangers. Any team signing Doan takes on some risk as he is 35, on the downslope of his career and the four year, $30 million contract that an Eastern Conference team reportedly offered him could scare away some suitors. In the Rangers' situation, that's well worth the risk.
Farmhand Casey Wellman, who was acquired during the season in the Erik Christensen to Minnesota deal, was traded Friday to Florida for a fifth round pick in 2014. Wellman scored 9 goals in 31 games for the Whale and was a point-per-game producer for the Whale in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Doan would bring another strong locker room and on-ice presence as well as mentoring some of the younger Rangers. Any team signing Doan takes on some risk as he is 35, on the downslope of his career and the four year, $30 million contract that an Eastern Conference team reportedly offered him could scare away some suitors. In the Rangers' situation, that's well worth the risk.
Farmhand Casey Wellman, who was acquired during the season in the Erik Christensen to Minnesota deal, was traded Friday to Florida for a fifth round pick in 2014. Wellman scored 9 goals in 31 games for the Whale and was a point-per-game producer for the Whale in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
How close were the Rangers to acquiring Shea Weber?
Breaking: Shea Weber agrees to offer sheet with Philadelphia. 14 years, upwards of $100 mil. Preds have 7 days to match. Wow!!
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 19, 2012
I'm trying to go back to bed. More info coming in. Philly, NYR, Detroit and San Jose were big players in Weber trade scenarios.Let me begin to say that this is full speculation on my end, but three things instantly came to mind when this Shea Weber news broke early Thursday morning. First, the Flyers willingness to extend an offer sheet to Shea Weber tells me that Chris Pronger's NHL career is likely finished. Second, this also tells me that someone was very close to acquiring Shea Weber via trade and because it was Philly (perhaps in a panic move) that extended the offer sheet, this says that the Rangers may have been the front-runners to acquiring Weber. So finally third, who were the Rangers willing to part with? You would have to imagine that one of the Rangers big 3 defensemen in Staal, Girardi and McDonagh were in play. You also might figure a mix of Dubinsky, Anisimov, Hagelin and maybe even Stepan were thrown around too. Throw in next years' first round pick, a decent prospect and Weber becomes a Ranger.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 19, 2012
Once Nashville reaches their decision on whether or not to match the offer sheet, the attention will focus right back on Rick Nash and whether or not he even gets moved. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has to be viewing this from afar, perhaps upset that Sather and the Rangers were willing to part with a roster player for Weber, that they weren't willing to part with for Nash. Even if the Rangers were the last team to be in on acquiring Nash, I wouldn't expect Howson to give the Rangers even a slight discount now knowing how close the Rangers may have been to acquiring another elite NHL player.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
CBA negotiations begin ugly
With news surrounding the Rangers at a stand-still, I'm going to start talking about bigger matters, beginning with the on-going talks between the NHLPA and the NHL on a new collective bargaining agreement. As reported on Friday night, the NHL owners laid out their first somewhat formal proposal and truth be told, I'm not as optimistic now about the season starting on time as I was Friday morning.
The first proposal laid down by the owners is a 54%-46% split in favor of the owners in terms of hockey related revenues. Currently the players enjoy a 57%-43% advantage, a big reason why the salary cap ceiling has sharply risen almost every year since the lockout. Although you have to take into account that this is just a starting point for the owners, you can bet the NHLPA will fight this aggressively as a swing that large will force the players accept a rollback in salaries, in turn dramatically altering the salary cap ceiling downward.
We've all seen recently the absurd contract lengths NHL front offices around the league have offered to un-restricted free agents to wiggle their way around the salary cap and at the same time giving players the money they think they're worth on the open market in the form of heavily front loaded contracts. The second proposal from the owners is limiting contracts to just 5 years with the same salary from year to year to close the loophole teams have enjoyed for the past few seasons. In my opinion, of all the proposals the NHL offered today, this is the one, (perhaps with some fine tuning) that will stick to the wall.
In addition to limiting contracts to just 5 seasons, the owners proposed entry level deals to be extended from 3 to 5 seasons rewarding teams who draft well by keeping their young talent longer.
Speaking of UFA's, players have to accrue 7 seasons before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. The 7 year rule is by far the toughest in the 4 major sports and will be another tough issue with the NHLPA especially since the owners now want to stretch that to 10 years. Personally, I think that 10 years is absurd and will probably be negotiated back down, but at what cost to the players?
It can't be stressed enough that all of the aforementioned proposals are just a jumping off point in negotiations in the days and weeks to come. We all hope cooler heads prevail and hockey is able to avoid another lockout of any duration which will severely hamper the growth of the NHL just as its beginning to become popular again in the mainstream.
The first proposal laid down by the owners is a 54%-46% split in favor of the owners in terms of hockey related revenues. Currently the players enjoy a 57%-43% advantage, a big reason why the salary cap ceiling has sharply risen almost every year since the lockout. Although you have to take into account that this is just a starting point for the owners, you can bet the NHLPA will fight this aggressively as a swing that large will force the players accept a rollback in salaries, in turn dramatically altering the salary cap ceiling downward.
We've all seen recently the absurd contract lengths NHL front offices around the league have offered to un-restricted free agents to wiggle their way around the salary cap and at the same time giving players the money they think they're worth on the open market in the form of heavily front loaded contracts. The second proposal from the owners is limiting contracts to just 5 years with the same salary from year to year to close the loophole teams have enjoyed for the past few seasons. In my opinion, of all the proposals the NHL offered today, this is the one, (perhaps with some fine tuning) that will stick to the wall.
In addition to limiting contracts to just 5 seasons, the owners proposed entry level deals to be extended from 3 to 5 seasons rewarding teams who draft well by keeping their young talent longer.
Speaking of UFA's, players have to accrue 7 seasons before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. The 7 year rule is by far the toughest in the 4 major sports and will be another tough issue with the NHLPA especially since the owners now want to stretch that to 10 years. Personally, I think that 10 years is absurd and will probably be negotiated back down, but at what cost to the players?
It can't be stressed enough that all of the aforementioned proposals are just a jumping off point in negotiations in the days and weeks to come. We all hope cooler heads prevail and hockey is able to avoid another lockout of any duration which will severely hamper the growth of the NHL just as its beginning to become popular again in the mainstream.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
NYR FA snooze fest Day 10- Jeff Halpern signs with NYR, more
Apologies for the lack of updates on the blog, but with little NYR related news to write home about, it's to be expected. You can always follow along on twitter here.
There was a Rangers signing last night as a report from CSN- Washington DC stated that center Jeff Halpern agreed to terms with the Rangers on Monday night and was later reported by Canadian sources that the terms of the contract are for 1 year and $700,000. Halpern, last season for the Capitals scored 4 goals for 12 assists and 16 points in 69 games. This is an interesting signing in 2 parts. First, this likely means no JT Miller to start the season. Second, the Rangers now have 5 centers (6 if you count Dubinsky) now on the roster and as I said on twitter last night is that I get the feeling the Rangers are getting closer to making that trade for Rick Nash or whoever else is on their radar. Of course, if anything does go down in the coming days, I'll be here to report on it.
**UPDATE** Sometime Tuesday morning, the Rangers agreed to terms with minor league defenseman Logan Pyett. Pyett's two-way contract is only for 1 year with an AHL salary of $105,000 per capgeek. Pyett was 2-25-27 for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate.
There was a Rangers signing last night as a report from CSN- Washington DC stated that center Jeff Halpern agreed to terms with the Rangers on Monday night and was later reported by Canadian sources that the terms of the contract are for 1 year and $700,000. Halpern, last season for the Capitals scored 4 goals for 12 assists and 16 points in 69 games. This is an interesting signing in 2 parts. First, this likely means no JT Miller to start the season. Second, the Rangers now have 5 centers (6 if you count Dubinsky) now on the roster and as I said on twitter last night is that I get the feeling the Rangers are getting closer to making that trade for Rick Nash or whoever else is on their radar. Of course, if anything does go down in the coming days, I'll be here to report on it.
**UPDATE** Sometime Tuesday morning, the Rangers agreed to terms with minor league defenseman Logan Pyett. Pyett's two-way contract is only for 1 year with an AHL salary of $105,000 per capgeek. Pyett was 2-25-27 for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
NYR FA Frenzy Day 3
With basically nothing happening league-wide on Day 2 of free agency, we skip ahead to Day 3, with a signing and other Ranger related news.
Taylor Pyatt: The former Phoenix Coyotes forward signed a 2 year, $3.1 million deal today, in a move that may signal the end of Ruslan Fedotenko. Pyatt scored 9 goals for 19 points in 73 games last season for the Coyotes which included 4 goals in the postseason which helped the Coyotes along to the Conference Finals. Pyatt will be a nice addition to the Rangers, who have kept adding size so far in July. This signing is somewhat significant because with Prust off to Montreal and the unknown situation with Feds, Sather went out and got himself a penalty killer. Good signing.
Anton Stralman: The NY Daily News reported that Stralman is expected to file for arbitration by Thursday. An arbitrator is unlikely to award Stralman an absurd amount of money, so there's a decent chance he does come back.
Jeff Woywitka- Woywitka signed a 1 year, $700k contract with the St. Louis Blues. No further explanation needed.
Jaromir Jagr- The former Ranger and now former Flyer signed a 1 year, $4.5 million contract with the Dallas Stars, who are starting to rack up the old and aging veterans suddenly. I was beginning to think Jagr was gonna try to make his rounds to all of the old Patrick Division teams, but the bankrupt Devils and the hapless Islanders aren't attractive destinations at the moment.
Rick Nash: Same shit, different day.
Taylor Pyatt: The former Phoenix Coyotes forward signed a 2 year, $3.1 million deal today, in a move that may signal the end of Ruslan Fedotenko. Pyatt scored 9 goals for 19 points in 73 games last season for the Coyotes which included 4 goals in the postseason which helped the Coyotes along to the Conference Finals. Pyatt will be a nice addition to the Rangers, who have kept adding size so far in July. This signing is somewhat significant because with Prust off to Montreal and the unknown situation with Feds, Sather went out and got himself a penalty killer. Good signing.
Anton Stralman: The NY Daily News reported that Stralman is expected to file for arbitration by Thursday. An arbitrator is unlikely to award Stralman an absurd amount of money, so there's a decent chance he does come back.
Jeff Woywitka- Woywitka signed a 1 year, $700k contract with the St. Louis Blues. No further explanation needed.
Jaromir Jagr- The former Ranger and now former Flyer signed a 1 year, $4.5 million contract with the Dallas Stars, who are starting to rack up the old and aging veterans suddenly. I was beginning to think Jagr was gonna try to make his rounds to all of the old Patrick Division teams, but the bankrupt Devils and the hapless Islanders aren't attractive destinations at the moment.
Rick Nash: Same shit, different day.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
NYR FA Frenzy: Day 1
Brandon Prust: Prust officially left the Rangers today to sign a 4 year, 10 million dollar contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Obviously the Rangers were no where close to offer Prust the money he received today from Montreal. He told the NY Daily News today that the Rangers "weren't really there or anywhere close to where Montreal was, and it's just Montreal showed just a lot more interest." I guess Prust's tweet last week that irked many Ranger fans, also burned the bridges with Ranger brass.
Jonathan Audy-Marchessault- This one really stings especially if you are one that is somewhat familiar with the Ranger prospects. JAM signed a 3 year, entry level contract today with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 21 year old Audy-Marchessault was undrafted and went 24-40-64 in 76 games last season with the Whale. It's safe to say that many within the organization wanted this kid back, however, the Blue Jackets offered more money in his ELC and that's what he went with.
Stu Bickel- In the only bit of good news today was that the Rangers re-signed the oft-unused defenseman to a 2 year, 1.5 million dollar contract. Bickel is a nice option for the Rangers to use as depth but will likely be riding the pine in most situations.
Arron Asham- I'm guessing once Sather learned he was definitely out on Prust, he signed journeyman Arron Asham to a 2 year, 2 million dollar contract. Asham, who played for the Penguins last season, as we all remember cross checked Flyers' Brayden Schenn in the throat that resulted in a 4 game suspension during the playoffs. Asham still has to sit for one more game to serve out that suspension. The signing, which stunned just about everybody, got many Ranger fans in an uproar. Personally, I didn't like the signing either at first, especially because I think he is a dirty player. But in an interview with the Daily News, he stated that his goal is to win a Cup. If Asham is able to keep the dirtiness at a minimum and play the right way, I think Ranger fans will warm to him.
Michael Haley- In what is hopefully a minor league move, the Rangers signed Michael Haley to a two-way contract. Other terms are unknown. Haley, a former Islander, racked up 125 penalty minutes in 51 games last season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders' AHL affiliate. If anything he'll be an injury/suspension callup if Rupp or Asham get into trouble next season.
Kris Newbury- In another minor league transaction, Newbury re-signed with the Rangers on a two year, two way contract and will spend next year with the Connecticut Whale. Newbury was 25-39-64 with the Whale last season.
Chad Johnson- The Rangers lost minor league goaltender Chad Johnson to the Phoenix Coyotes today. The Yotes continue to pick off Ranger prospects, thanks to former Rangers Assistant GM and now Coyotes GM Don Maloney. Losing Chad Johnson makes the Rangers goaltending depth pretty slim. It wouldn't surprise me if Sather went looking for a minor league goaltender in the coming days and weeks.
Rick Nash- Again no news on the Nash front. Sources continue to say that the window for him to be traded likely begins when Zach Parise is signed somewhere on the open market. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has not budged from his demands that the Rangers include a mixture of Stepan, Kreider, McDonagh, Dubinsky and Del Zotto as well as a pick and prospect somewhere in there too.
I wish management wanted me back as much as the fans.. Thanks for the love everyoneJohn Mitchell: Mitchell also left the Rangers today to sign a 2 year, 2.2 million dollar contract with the Colorado Avalanche. Mitchell will be making nearly double of what his salary was last season in New York. I thought at best Mitchell could have been back with the organization most likely with the Whale, but it seems the Avs see something in Mitchell that the Rangers don't.
— Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8) June 23, 2012
Jonathan Audy-Marchessault- This one really stings especially if you are one that is somewhat familiar with the Ranger prospects. JAM signed a 3 year, entry level contract today with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 21 year old Audy-Marchessault was undrafted and went 24-40-64 in 76 games last season with the Whale. It's safe to say that many within the organization wanted this kid back, however, the Blue Jackets offered more money in his ELC and that's what he went with.
Stu Bickel- In the only bit of good news today was that the Rangers re-signed the oft-unused defenseman to a 2 year, 1.5 million dollar contract. Bickel is a nice option for the Rangers to use as depth but will likely be riding the pine in most situations.
Arron Asham- I'm guessing once Sather learned he was definitely out on Prust, he signed journeyman Arron Asham to a 2 year, 2 million dollar contract. Asham, who played for the Penguins last season, as we all remember cross checked Flyers' Brayden Schenn in the throat that resulted in a 4 game suspension during the playoffs. Asham still has to sit for one more game to serve out that suspension. The signing, which stunned just about everybody, got many Ranger fans in an uproar. Personally, I didn't like the signing either at first, especially because I think he is a dirty player. But in an interview with the Daily News, he stated that his goal is to win a Cup. If Asham is able to keep the dirtiness at a minimum and play the right way, I think Ranger fans will warm to him.
Michael Haley- In what is hopefully a minor league move, the Rangers signed Michael Haley to a two-way contract. Other terms are unknown. Haley, a former Islander, racked up 125 penalty minutes in 51 games last season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders' AHL affiliate. If anything he'll be an injury/suspension callup if Rupp or Asham get into trouble next season.
Kris Newbury- In another minor league transaction, Newbury re-signed with the Rangers on a two year, two way contract and will spend next year with the Connecticut Whale. Newbury was 25-39-64 with the Whale last season.
Chad Johnson- The Rangers lost minor league goaltender Chad Johnson to the Phoenix Coyotes today. The Yotes continue to pick off Ranger prospects, thanks to former Rangers Assistant GM and now Coyotes GM Don Maloney. Losing Chad Johnson makes the Rangers goaltending depth pretty slim. It wouldn't surprise me if Sather went looking for a minor league goaltender in the coming days and weeks.
Rick Nash- Again no news on the Nash front. Sources continue to say that the window for him to be traded likely begins when Zach Parise is signed somewhere on the open market. Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has not budged from his demands that the Rangers include a mixture of Stepan, Kreider, McDonagh, Dubinsky and Del Zotto as well as a pick and prospect somewhere in there too.
Friday, June 29, 2012
FA Frenzy: Rangers re-sign Martin Biron
Very excited to be back in NYC for the next 2 years!! See you all in September. #NYR #therightway
— Martin Biron (@martybiron43) June 30, 2012
Congrats @martybiron43 on your new deal! Looking forward to keep working together as we push each other to the next level...See you in Sep!
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist30) June 30, 2012
The Rangers kicked off their summer by re-signing backup goaltender Martin Biron to a widely reported 2 year, $2.6 million deal. Biron's cap hit over the next two seasons will be $1.3 million. It is only the first of what is likely to be many transactions over the course of the next 48-72 hours as the Rangers look to improve on last years success.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Brandon Prust unlikely to return, test free agency
I wish management wanted me back as much as the fans.. Thanks for the love everyone
— Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8) June 23, 2012
As first reported by the NY Post this morning, it's beginning to sound like Prust has priced himself out of a new contract with the Rangers and will hit un-restricted free agency when it opens next Sunday. It's going to be tough to lose a guy like Brandon Prust, who is for all intents and purposes, a heart and soul guy in the locker room and a tremendous Garden favorite. At least, it will give another one of the younger Rangers on the farm a huge opportunity to make the team and potentially contribute more offensively than Prust did here.
Day 1 NHL draft day thoughts
Just like every other Ranger fan watching the draft Friday night, when it finally was the Rangers turn to pick, we were all surprised with the selection.
Of course we all said "WHO???" on the social media sites, but when you dig a little deeper, this kid ain't so bad. Brady Skjei, born March 26, 1994 stands at 6' 3" and weighs 200 lbs. Skjei, last season skated for the U.S National Development Team, with a commitment to the University of Minnesota in the fall. Skjei doesn't have mind blowing statistics for a defensive defenseman, but was able to pot 4 goals and 18 assists in 56 games in 2011-12. He has been called the best skating defenseman in the draft and for a guy his size that isn't half bad, look at Kreider for that example. Skjei is said to have a very active stick and uses a long reach to break up plays. Consistency issues are his biggest downside. As dangerous with the puck as he can be, Skjei has been said to rush the puck up the ice by himself too often leaving the defense vulnerable to odd man rushes the other way if there was an offensive breakdown. Hopefully spending time in the college system knocks some of the consistency issues out of him and coaches there are able to mold him into a rock solid defensive defenseman with small offensive upside. Not a bad pick by the Rangers and is likely 2-3 seasons away from sniffing pro hockey.
Elsewhere around the NHL, the Penguins surprised everyone by trading Jordan Staal just one day after the news that he declined an extension with Pittsburgh. Staal was shipped to Carolina for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin, and the eighth pick in the draft in which the Penguins selected Derrick Pouliot. Hockey fans should know Brandon Sutter is but if you were following Chris Kreider's career at Boston College, you should know who Brian Dumoulin is. In my opinion, Pittsburgh won this trade hands down over the long term, especially if Sutter begins to play at a higher level than he was in Carolina. Dumoulin enters the fray now in Pittsburgh who could potentially see time sooner rather than later especially after the Pens traded another defenseman to Phoenix during the draft. So while Pittsburgh freed up more cap space by trading away Zbynek Michalek to the Coyotes for prospects and the Flyers traded away their former on and off backup goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for 3 draft picks, including 2 today, pressure is slowly beginning to grow on Glen Sather to do something regarding the Rangers offensive depth with Gaborik out until Thanksgiving at the earliest.
Still not talking about Nash. He isn't coming here.
Curious to see if Sather trades away some lesser valued prospects for some later round picks. The Rangers do not have a pick after the 4th round.
Too soon in my opinion to draft a goalie with a high draft pick. Unless the Rangers feel like they are unable to re-sign Chad Johnson and Cam Talbot to contracts, I wouldn't expect a goalie to be selected on day 2.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Names to watch for at the draft
I've scoured the internet once again looking at some NHL mock drafts and have compiled a few names I feel may help the Rangers down the road. Remember, Gordie Clark and the Rangers scouting staff have surprised us for the past couple years when it came to first round picks, so the chances of one of these guys being taken by the Rangers when they finally pick 28th is slim.
Stefan Matteau 6' 1" 209 lbs - C - (USHL)
Of course I had to start with the son of a Rangers hero and legend. Last season with the U-18 US National Development Team, Matteau played 46 games and was 15-17-32. Matteau is ranked 17th in North America by Central Scouting. Matteau's positives are his forechecking ability and his ability to win puck battles along the boards. Has been called an "immovable object" in front of the crease. One of the biggest negatives about him is discipline issues although with maturity comes better discipline so I don't foresee that becoming an issue as he gets older and closer to becoming NHL ready. There are also some concerns about his skating ability and total offensive skillset. Basically what the NHL got from Stephane is the NHL future you hope for out of Stefan. Matteau is considered as a 'safe' mid to late first round pick, although a couple draft boards have him going early in the second due to his discipline issues that might scare away teams.
A player who has seen his draft stock rise recently, Bozon, a French national and son of former Blues forward Philippe Bozon, played for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL and was a point-per-game player this past season registering 36 goals and 71 points in 71 games in addition to another 5 goals in 11 games in the WHL playoffs. Bozon may have one of the best hands in the draft. He is lauded for his superb puck-handling skills with a fast release on his shot, passing the puck through small windows and a strong work ethic. Some negatives is the defensive aspect of his two-way game and has been called "lanky." Bozon earned a WHL Rookie of the Year nomination this past season. Seems like a bit of a reach with the 28th pick but still a name worth pondering over.
I've seen this young Finn in several mock drafts taken between 25th and 35th overall and felt compelled to do a small write up about him. Pokka was a key blueliner for Team Finland in the U-18 and U-20 World Juniors. Pokka was good for 6 points in 7 games at the U-18 juniors and had 7 points in 12 games at the U-20 tournament. I've read that Pokka in transitioning from defense to offense makes an excellent first pass out of the zone, which was a noticeable area of deficiency for the Rangers in the playoffs. Pokka is also a right handed shot which is a valuable commodity in today's NHL. Worked out well at the scouting combine. Some listed negatives about Pokka is that he is not fast and will probably get turned around by the elite skaters in the NHL and has a poor reach for a man his size. Although Pokka is likely about 3 years away from playing North American hockey, he is labeled as a sure fire high end second round pick who may sneak into the first round.
Stefan Matteau 6' 1" 209 lbs - C - (USHL)
Phillip Di Giuseppe 6' 1" 200 lbs - LW - Michigan (NCAA)
It could be time once again for the Rangers to tap right back into the Michigan University pipeline by selecting Di Giuseppe with the 28th overall pick this coming Friday. In his freshman year at Michigan, Di Giuseppe scored 11 goals for 26 points in 40 games. Di Giuseppe is listed as a pure goal scorer first and foremost, with the ability to forecheck, win battles along the half-wall and in the corners. Also described as extremely coachable with a strong work ethic and the competitive drive to get better. Di Giuseppe doesn't have too many negatives listed about him other than he is a 'work-in-progress' in his own end, but with time and added experience, scouts feel those concerns will evaporate. Di Giuseppe is widely listed as the No. 1 draft eligible prospect coming out of the NCAA ranks for this cycle. Some mock drafts that are high on this kid have him going top-20, but the majority have Di Giuseppe picked at the bottom of the first round.
Tanner Pearson 6' 0" 196 lbs - LW - Barrie Colts (OHL)
The 2012 draft will be the third time and likely final time Tanner Pearson will sit and wait to hear his name called on draft day. Because Pearson has an August 1992 birthday, a team probably won't hesitate to sign him to a contract and stick him in the minors from day 1. I've tried to figure out why he was passed over in the draft for the past two seasons. Besides being termed as a 'late-bloomer,' I couldn't really find any realistic answers to that question. Pearson has been scouted as a solid two-way winger, with incredible hockey sense and is said to make difficult passes with ease. Pearson's statistics with the Barrie Colts of the OHL exploded from '10-'11 to '11-'12 going from 15 to 37 goals and from 42 to 91 points and doing that in 6 less games from the season before. Pearson led the OHL in scoring going away at one point, but began to tail off towards the end of the season before breaking his leg in the final game of the regular season and missed the playoffs. Scouts say that Pearson doesn't have any major flaws but say his downside is that he has little upside and isn't dominant in any one area. However in my opinion, that can be fixed with a strong work ethic, motivation and heart. To some this also could be considered a reach at 28 but Pearson is forecasted by most to be taken at the top of the second round.
Tim Bozon 6' 1" 178 lbs - LW - Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Slater Koekkoek 6' 2" 183 lbs - D - Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Don't ask me how to pronounce this guy's name. Koekkoek has been sidelined since November with a torn labrum, which has extremely affected his draft stock. However, Koekkoek was considered as a consensus top-15 pick before his injury and has slid far enough down draft boards to where he may fall to the Rangers at 28. Koekkoek was logging 30+ minute nights for the Peterborough Petes scoring 5-13-18 in 26 games before his injury. Scouts love his size/speed/skill, he possesses a low, hard, heavy shot from the point and is not afraid to jump into the play on offense and knows when to stay back. Koekkoek is a superior skater with the hockey IQ to make sound decisions with the puck. There isn't a whole lot of negatives besides improving his game in his own end and could look to add a few pounds of muscle to his frame as his shoulder continues to improve. I've got to imagine the Rangers would be thrilled to see this kid fall on their laps at the draft and add him to the embarrassment of riches the team has had on their blueline recently and their depth would allow Koekkoek to come along slow and not be forced to rush to the Rangers roster too quickly.
Ville Pokka 6' 0" 198 lbs - D - Karpat (SM-liiga)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Stay or Go: Best of the Rest
For the final part of the blog's Stay or Go Series, a quick run down of the remaining Rangers up for contract renewal.
Mats Zuccarello- Zuccarello had his own entry to this Stay or Go series, but admitted on twitter on June 1st, that this past season was his last as a Ranger.
Steve Eminger- I can't imagine a scenario in which Eminger is on the club next season if the Rangers sign/trade for another defenseman either from the outside or call up a prospect such as Erixon. Also dependent on whether Stralman's contract is renewed.
Stu Bickel- Likely back to the Connecticut Whale next season.
Jeff Woywitka- Filled in admirably in Staal's absence, but only played one game in the 2012 calendar year. Slim to none chance at return.
John Scott- Ugh...
Mats Zuccarello- Zuccarello had his own entry to this Stay or Go series, but admitted on twitter on June 1st, that this past season was his last as a Ranger.
Steve Eminger- I can't imagine a scenario in which Eminger is on the club next season if the Rangers sign/trade for another defenseman either from the outside or call up a prospect such as Erixon. Also dependent on whether Stralman's contract is renewed.
Stu Bickel- Likely back to the Connecticut Whale next season.
Jeff Woywitka- Filled in admirably in Staal's absence, but only played one game in the 2012 calendar year. Slim to none chance at return.
John Scott- Ugh...
Friday, June 8, 2012
Just say 'nyet' to Radulov
Ever since Larry Brooks' article (and subsequent firestorm) in the NY Post last weekend over the Rangers calling up Nashville to kick the wheels on a possible deal regarding acquiring the rights to Alex Radulov, I given it little thought as to whether I really want this guy on my team. First off, it's virtually impossible for the Rangers to truly replace a 40 goal scorer without selling the farm to another team and Sather has made it clear he is under no circumstances about to do that. Radulov in any potential deal to the Rangers won't require Sather to really give up anything valuable in a trade. The Predators have zero leverage in any deal because of their outright willingness to get rid of him, so in that aspect it makes some sense that the Rangers would be interested. However, what does not make sense is exactly how he would fit on this team. If you read in-between the lines of quotes from Nashville brass from this offseason so far they couldn't wait for this season to end so their organization can finally wash their hands clean of Alex Radulov. I think Radulov would be a terrible fit in Torts' system. Forget about blocking shots, if Radulov ever gave effort back-checking it would be a shock. If and a big if, Radulov take a big paycut to play here on a 1 year contract, then by all means, but ultimately unless he's absolutely ready and willing to do what it takes to win the NHL and specifically the Rangers and not KHL Russian brand of hockey...
Pass.
Pass.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Stay or Go: John Mitchell
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of forward John Mitchell.
2011-12 Regular season and playoffs statistics- 81 GP 5 goals 12 assists 17 points
Contract history- signed 1 year $650,000 FA contract in 2011
Cap hit- $650,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
Season Review:
Called up to the Rangers along with Carl Hagelin from the Connecticut Whale on November 24. Mitchell at first was a productive player for the Rangers with 3 points in his first 3 games. But after the Rangers realized what they had in Carl Hagelin and Hagelin was taken off Mitchell's wing full time, Mitchell's numbers began to suffer. Mitchell only had 3 points for the entire month of December and his last goal came on January 24 against Winnipeg, 52 games ago. To be fair, Mitchell did start to be noticeable in the playoffs especially in the series against the Capitals. Tortorella made Mitchell his go to guy in the faceoff circle, a move that paid off in Game 5 against the Caps, winning the faceoff and earning the primary assist on Marc Staal's goal in OT.
Stay or Go:
One thing that is certain is that Mitchell probably won't be with the Rangers next season. If he does re-sign he'll likely play in Connecticut. Could be used as an injury call up.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
NYR trade thoughts
I stockpiled a few names from around the NHL that haven't really been talked about much that I feel could be available for the Rangers to explore in a possible trade in light of the Radulov rumors that have floated around the Rangers recently.
Brendan Morrow (DAL)- Morrow is coming off a injury riddled 2011-12 campaign. He missed 25 games last season with upper back and neck injuries and as a result only scored 11 times for a total of 26 points. Morrow's name was beginning to be talked about in the trade winds around the Rangers in early February when he was injured again and was subsequently out for the next 5 weeks. Morrow is only one season removed from a 30 goal season with the Stars. Obviously we can't forget about the Brad Richards connection here as well. The main reason I mention Morrow first is that he is coming into the final year of his contract that also comes with a cap hit of 4.1 million. Perhaps cornering the market on Morrow now, the Rangers can acquire him much cheaper than what they would have to cough up at the trade deadline next February. If Morrow at 33, can re-discover chemistry with Brad Richards could make for a very productive 2012 season for both players.
Ryan Getzlaf (ANA)- Ahh, not the name you were expecting from the Anaheim Ducks were you? Getzlaf, another guy coming off a down year, injury free however, in which he posted his lowest offensive point total since his rookie year. Getzlaf will be a highly sought after commodity if Anaheim has another down season next year. One kind of gets the feeling that Anaheim might be ready to do away with one of their top 3 forwards especially with the 2011 Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry up for a raise with Getzlaf at the end of next season. While Bobby Ryan appears to be the obvious choice on the surface to trade, Getzlaf could be moved for a top 6 center, as well as some picks and prospects to rebuild and retool with Jason Blake and Teemu Selanne nearing the end of their respective careers. Getzlaf unlike Morrow, does not have any known no-trade or no-move clauses in his contract.
Evander Kane (WPG)- Kane just completed his 3 year entry level contract with the Jets and is entering restricted free agency this offseason. He also is just coming off his first 30 goal season in his very young career. Although I find it difficult that the Jets would be willing to part with their young forward through a trade, that won't prevent teams from trying to offer sheet Kane and price out the Jets altogether. Ranger fans would love having this kid on the team, he can outright fly, he can score, and is not afraid to drop the gloves. In fact, you may recall when Kane KO'ed Matt Cooke two seasons ago. Anyway, "offer-sheeting" Kane is definitely worth a look if you are Glen Sather, to bring him and his knack for finding the back of the net to NY.
Brendan Morrow (DAL)- Morrow is coming off a injury riddled 2011-12 campaign. He missed 25 games last season with upper back and neck injuries and as a result only scored 11 times for a total of 26 points. Morrow's name was beginning to be talked about in the trade winds around the Rangers in early February when he was injured again and was subsequently out for the next 5 weeks. Morrow is only one season removed from a 30 goal season with the Stars. Obviously we can't forget about the Brad Richards connection here as well. The main reason I mention Morrow first is that he is coming into the final year of his contract that also comes with a cap hit of 4.1 million. Perhaps cornering the market on Morrow now, the Rangers can acquire him much cheaper than what they would have to cough up at the trade deadline next February. If Morrow at 33, can re-discover chemistry with Brad Richards could make for a very productive 2012 season for both players.
Ryan Getzlaf (ANA)- Ahh, not the name you were expecting from the Anaheim Ducks were you? Getzlaf, another guy coming off a down year, injury free however, in which he posted his lowest offensive point total since his rookie year. Getzlaf will be a highly sought after commodity if Anaheim has another down season next year. One kind of gets the feeling that Anaheim might be ready to do away with one of their top 3 forwards especially with the 2011 Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry up for a raise with Getzlaf at the end of next season. While Bobby Ryan appears to be the obvious choice on the surface to trade, Getzlaf could be moved for a top 6 center, as well as some picks and prospects to rebuild and retool with Jason Blake and Teemu Selanne nearing the end of their respective careers. Getzlaf unlike Morrow, does not have any known no-trade or no-move clauses in his contract.
Evander Kane (WPG)- Kane just completed his 3 year entry level contract with the Jets and is entering restricted free agency this offseason. He also is just coming off his first 30 goal season in his very young career. Although I find it difficult that the Jets would be willing to part with their young forward through a trade, that won't prevent teams from trying to offer sheet Kane and price out the Jets altogether. Ranger fans would love having this kid on the team, he can outright fly, he can score, and is not afraid to drop the gloves. In fact, you may recall when Kane KO'ed Matt Cooke two seasons ago. Anyway, "offer-sheeting" Kane is definitely worth a look if you are Glen Sather, to bring him and his knack for finding the back of the net to NY.
Stay or Go: Anton Stralman
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of defenseman Anton Stralman.
2011-12 Regular season & playoffs statistics- 73 GP 5 goals 19 assists 24 points
Contract History- Signed 1 year, $900,000 contract in 2011
Cap hit- $900,000K (RFA) (capgeek.com)
Season Review:
Signed a 1 year deal on November 3rd 2011, after Ranger coaches decided that rookie Tim Erixon wasn't quite ready for the NHL and looked elsewhere for depth with Marc Staal still out with concussion symptoms and Michael Sauer playing big minutes with a nagging shoulder injury. Stralman didn't even see the ice until 6 weeks after his signing when Torts benched Jeff Woywitka and inserted Stralman into the lineup where he stayed for the rest of the season. Stralman, who admittedly was a defensive liability in his own end drastically improved his defensive play and was counted upon by the coaches in key situations for the stretch run.
Stay or Go:
This is a tough one. First I can't imagine that if Stralman comes back, his salary and subsequent cap hit will go higher than the $800k he made this season. Second, the health and availability of Michael Sauer will likely have a direct impact on whether or not he does come back as there may not be room on the Rangers top 6 for Stralman. Also depends on any trades that Sather makes in the offseason (Justin Schultz) or competition from Ranger prospects behind Stralman (Dylan McIlrath, Tim Erixon.) Stralman does have a little trade value as well. I have the chances at 50% of an Anton Stralman return to Broadway next season.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Stay or Go: Ruslan Fedotenko
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of forward Ruslan Fedotenko.
2011-12 Regular season and playoffs statistics- 93 GP 11 goals 16 assists 27 points
Contract history- signed 1 year $1,400,000 contract in 2011
Cap hit- $1,400,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
Season Review:
Signed second 1 year contract with the Rangers last offseason and was a stready 3rd/4th liner grinder who potted in some timely goals for the Rangers this season. I was stunned to realize that Feds is only 33 and may still have something in the tank. However, his offensive production has steadily declined since joining the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 up until this season.
Stay or Go:
Feds is one of Torts' guys. Does everything the coach asks him to do, after all Feds did win a Cup with Torts behind the bench in Tampa. Big time veteran presence and Stanley Cup champion in the locker room especially for a younger team like the Rangers is important. To me, it's ultimately up to Ruslan as to whether or not he comes back. I personally would like him back but at a slightly cheaper deal and I would put my chances of his return at 75%.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Stay or Go: Martin Biron
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of goaltender Martin Biron.
2011-12 Regular season statistics- 21 GP 12 wins 6 losses 2 OTL // GA 2.46 SV .904 2 SO
Contract History- Signed 2 year, $1,750,000 contract in 2010
Cap hit- $875,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
While I did very much enjoy having Biron as a security blanket for Lundqvist this season, at 34 I really have to wonder how much he has left in the tank, even in a backup role. The Rangers boast 4 goaltenders down on the farm and I'm beginning to wonder if the Rangers are going to give some of those kids a chance the way the franchise has done with the rest of the roster. While none of the Ranger goaltending prospects are legit blue-chip players, it may be worth giving one of them a shot. Notably, Chad Johnson, who split time with Cam Talbot for the Connecticut Whale this past season, is the likely the choice to back-up Lundqvist if the Rangers don't decide to re-new Biron. The franchise must have some faith in Johnson as he was Lundqvist's backup a season ago when Biron was lost to a broken collarbone, although Johnson never saw the ice. While I give Biron a slightly better than 50-50 chance at return, I would like to see what else is out there before committing another contract to Biron.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of goaltender Martin Biron.
2011-12 Regular season statistics- 21 GP 12 wins 6 losses 2 OTL // GA 2.46 SV .904 2 SO
Contract History- Signed 2 year, $1,750,000 contract in 2010
Cap hit- $875,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
Season Review:
Biron was one of the better backup goaltenders in the NHL for a large swath of the season. Marty held a 10-2-1 record in the middle of February and was a unheralded reason for the Rangers success this season. However, Biron only won 2 of his last 7 starts as he began to struggle and allowed some bad goals that usually put the Rangers in the loss column for that night.
Stay or Go:
While I did very much enjoy having Biron as a security blanket for Lundqvist this season, at 34 I really have to wonder how much he has left in the tank, even in a backup role. The Rangers boast 4 goaltenders down on the farm and I'm beginning to wonder if the Rangers are going to give some of those kids a chance the way the franchise has done with the rest of the roster. While none of the Ranger goaltending prospects are legit blue-chip players, it may be worth giving one of them a shot. Notably, Chad Johnson, who split time with Cam Talbot for the Connecticut Whale this past season, is the likely the choice to back-up Lundqvist if the Rangers don't decide to re-new Biron. The franchise must have some faith in Johnson as he was Lundqvist's backup a season ago when Biron was lost to a broken collarbone, although Johnson never saw the ice. While I give Biron a slightly better than 50-50 chance at return, I would like to see what else is out there before committing another contract to Biron.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Stay or go: Michael Del Zotto
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of defenseman Michael Del Zotto.
2011-12 Regular season & playoffs statistics- 97 GP 12 goals 39 assists 51 points
Contract History- Signed 3 year, $2,625,000 entry level contract in 2009
Cap hit- $1,087,500 (RFA) (capgeek.com)
Drafted 1st round 20th overall by Rangers in 2008
Season Review:
Following a miserable sophomore season in 2010-11 in which Del Zotto was a frequent guest in Torts' dog house, struggled with his defensive responsibilities and the best part of his game, his offense on the power play fell off the map. Bigger expectations were expected out of him coming into this season and he did not disappoint. The 2011-12 season was by far his best season as a young pro. Del Zotto was among the league leaders in +/- for a majority of the season and was showing positive strides as far as his defense was concerned. Del Zotto was no longer the defensive liability that he was in his first two seasons as a pro and was thrust into a top 4 role when Mike Sauer was in and out of the lineup with injury issues. Torts even trusted him on the Rangers PK, a move that would have been ridiculed for the past 2 seasons prior.
Stay or Go:
This will be very interesting as to which direction Tortorella and Sather are going to go with the young defenseman. With the names that are currently out there on the market, coaches and ownership will have a tough decision on their hands. The decision is mainly dependent on how coaches feel where Tim Erixon and Dylan McIlrath's development will be going into next season as well as whether Sather decides to go after McDonagh and Stepan's former teammate at Wisconsin in Justin Schultz. Schultz, a defenseman, has the offensive upside that Del Zotto has, but Schultz has a much better defensive upside as well. Schultz will likely come cheaper than Del Zotto will and with the uncertainty regarding the CBA going into next year might be attractive to the Rangers' financially. Also have to wonder if Sather goes after a big, expensive name on the open market like Shea Weber or Ryan Suter. As of this post, I have Del Zotto at a 75% chance of a return next season although I expect that number to fluctuate violently as July 1 gets closer.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of defenseman Michael Del Zotto.
2011-12 Regular season & playoffs statistics- 97 GP 12 goals 39 assists 51 points
Contract History- Signed 3 year, $2,625,000 entry level contract in 2009
Cap hit- $1,087,500 (RFA) (capgeek.com)
Drafted 1st round 20th overall by Rangers in 2008
Season Review:
Following a miserable sophomore season in 2010-11 in which Del Zotto was a frequent guest in Torts' dog house, struggled with his defensive responsibilities and the best part of his game, his offense on the power play fell off the map. Bigger expectations were expected out of him coming into this season and he did not disappoint. The 2011-12 season was by far his best season as a young pro. Del Zotto was among the league leaders in +/- for a majority of the season and was showing positive strides as far as his defense was concerned. Del Zotto was no longer the defensive liability that he was in his first two seasons as a pro and was thrust into a top 4 role when Mike Sauer was in and out of the lineup with injury issues. Torts even trusted him on the Rangers PK, a move that would have been ridiculed for the past 2 seasons prior.
Stay or Go:
This will be very interesting as to which direction Tortorella and Sather are going to go with the young defenseman. With the names that are currently out there on the market, coaches and ownership will have a tough decision on their hands. The decision is mainly dependent on how coaches feel where Tim Erixon and Dylan McIlrath's development will be going into next season as well as whether Sather decides to go after McDonagh and Stepan's former teammate at Wisconsin in Justin Schultz. Schultz, a defenseman, has the offensive upside that Del Zotto has, but Schultz has a much better defensive upside as well. Schultz will likely come cheaper than Del Zotto will and with the uncertainty regarding the CBA going into next year might be attractive to the Rangers' financially. Also have to wonder if Sather goes after a big, expensive name on the open market like Shea Weber or Ryan Suter. As of this post, I have Del Zotto at a 75% chance of a return next season although I expect that number to fluctuate violently as July 1 gets closer.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Stay or go: Brandon Prust
In recapping the Rangers offseason, the Just Blueshirts blog will one by one go over each and every one of the 2011-12 New York Rangers whose contracts will have to be renewed going into the 2012-13 season.
Today I ask "stay or go" regarding the future of forward Brandon Prust.
2011-12 Regular season & playoffs statistics- 101 GP 6 goals 13 assists 19 points
Contract History- Signed 2 year, $1,600,000 contract in 2010
Cap hit- $800,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
Cap hit- $800,000 (UFA) (capgeek.com)
Season Review: After a career offensive season in 2010-11 and winning the Steven McDonald extra effort award as voted on by the fans, Prust's offense took a hit this season, but his role as a 4th line grinder and tough guy never changed. Played through half of the season with a torn tendon in his finger. Prust is a cornerstone block of the Ranger franchise and exemplifies the Rangers team identity.
Stay or Go:
Little doubt about this one. I want Prust back and I'm sure the Rangers want him back too. Probably the only Ranger that comes back with close to 100% certainty.
Monday, May 28, 2012
2011-12 New York Rangers Season in Review
The end of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals last Friday was a tough, bitter pill for Ranger fans to swallow especially considering how much the Rangers scratched and clawed their way through two equally tough series' against Ottawa and Washington. Fans should be proud of how the 2011-12 Rangers laid the groundwork for the future successes of the franchise in the very near future. The signing of Brad Richards last July was a very large piece to the Rangers' Stanley Cup puzzle and he'll continue to be a big part for the next several years. What was unexpected was the emergence of Carl Hagelin and the immediate dividends he paid as well as the sheer dominance of one Ryan McDonagh filling in for Marc Staal for half of the season. However what was not unexpected was the production from guys like Marian Gaborik, who had a fantastic comeback year from his injury riddled 2010-11 season and new captain Ryan Callahan, who set a personal career high in goals this season.
I strongly disagree with the notion that the Rangers "overachieved" this season. Tortorella had the Rangers giving it 110% in each game and in each practice. When some teams went in the tank in December and January, the Ranger coach would not allow his team to become complacent and always had them pushing forward. Still, one has to wonder how much the Rangers truly had left in the tank at the end of the season. The Rangers did not have the greatest March and had to hold off late season pressure from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In my final State of the Rangers column here, I showed how important it was for the Rangers to have a good final month leading into the playoffs. When you count the entire season, the Rangers finished with a record of 61-34-7. From the trade deadline to game 82, the Rangers were 12-9-1 and extending that record into the playoffs, the Rangers were 22-19-1. Adding up all those numbers, 56% of the Rangers total losses this season came only after the trade deadline on February 27th. Playing barely better than .500 hockey since February 27th is not the mark of a champion. By comparison, the Devils are 25-11-2 and the Kings are 24-7-3 since the trade deadline.
Numbers aside, the question now is what do the Rangers have to do personnel-wise in free agency to get them over this hump and into the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers are very capable of keeping with most of the teams in the Eastern Conference. As far as the offense is concerned, Rick Nash, No. Zach Parise, too expensive. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Rangers move that 28th overall pick in the draft as part of a package for a player the Rangers really like in exchange for one of the Rangers blue-chip prospects. It's too tough to speculate who the Rangers will go out and acquire who they think will put them over the top. Perhaps they move a player like a Artem Anisimov or a Brandon Dubinsky. When you bring in big money salary, somebody has to go and the Rangers cannot stand pat, especially after doing virtually nothing at the trade deadline. Defensively, the Rangers are just fine, although there will be slight tweaks on the back end of the Rangers 6 defensemen. Whether it would be acquiring Justin Schultz's rights from Anaheim or hoping that Michael Sauer is able to recover from his concussion and going with a nearly identical defensive corps is up to Torts and Sather.
Perhaps a change to the Rangers offense philosophically is in order. If you look back on the playoffs, the Rangers generated most of their goals from shots on net by their defensemen. Girardi, who had just 5 goals in 82 games this season, scored 3 times in 20 postseason games and was second on the team in postseason points. Think about that, Dan Girardi, ahead of Gaborik, Callahan and Stepan who were all top 5 in points in the regular season. Del Zotto had 2 fantastic rounds scoring 9 points in the first 14 games, before being consistently victimized by the Devils 4th line all series long and only contributing 1 assist in the Conference Final. So perhaps that kind of offensive style that starts with shots from the point with 2 forwards in front of the goaltender to get to rebounds rather than the cycling along the half wall and behind the net looking for the perfect pass to the middle of the slot is an idea the Rangers can toy with leading into next season. Boston works it to perfection and they aren't half bad, are they? No the Rangers don't have Zdeno Chara but that doesn't mean it can't work.
As I said up top, Ranger fans should be very proud of this team. The Ranger players themselves were far too proud to admit at the end of Game 6 that they just didn't have enough legs to keep up with the Devils in the end. Whether or not the Rangers will be able to replicate their regular season success into the 2012-13 remains to be seen, but that shouldn't prevent fans getting even more behind their hockey club in what is only the beginning of the most successful period in Rangers hockey.
I strongly disagree with the notion that the Rangers "overachieved" this season. Tortorella had the Rangers giving it 110% in each game and in each practice. When some teams went in the tank in December and January, the Ranger coach would not allow his team to become complacent and always had them pushing forward. Still, one has to wonder how much the Rangers truly had left in the tank at the end of the season. The Rangers did not have the greatest March and had to hold off late season pressure from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In my final State of the Rangers column here, I showed how important it was for the Rangers to have a good final month leading into the playoffs. When you count the entire season, the Rangers finished with a record of 61-34-7. From the trade deadline to game 82, the Rangers were 12-9-1 and extending that record into the playoffs, the Rangers were 22-19-1. Adding up all those numbers, 56% of the Rangers total losses this season came only after the trade deadline on February 27th. Playing barely better than .500 hockey since February 27th is not the mark of a champion. By comparison, the Devils are 25-11-2 and the Kings are 24-7-3 since the trade deadline.
Numbers aside, the question now is what do the Rangers have to do personnel-wise in free agency to get them over this hump and into the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers are very capable of keeping with most of the teams in the Eastern Conference. As far as the offense is concerned, Rick Nash, No. Zach Parise, too expensive. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Rangers move that 28th overall pick in the draft as part of a package for a player the Rangers really like in exchange for one of the Rangers blue-chip prospects. It's too tough to speculate who the Rangers will go out and acquire who they think will put them over the top. Perhaps they move a player like a Artem Anisimov or a Brandon Dubinsky. When you bring in big money salary, somebody has to go and the Rangers cannot stand pat, especially after doing virtually nothing at the trade deadline. Defensively, the Rangers are just fine, although there will be slight tweaks on the back end of the Rangers 6 defensemen. Whether it would be acquiring Justin Schultz's rights from Anaheim or hoping that Michael Sauer is able to recover from his concussion and going with a nearly identical defensive corps is up to Torts and Sather.
Perhaps a change to the Rangers offense philosophically is in order. If you look back on the playoffs, the Rangers generated most of their goals from shots on net by their defensemen. Girardi, who had just 5 goals in 82 games this season, scored 3 times in 20 postseason games and was second on the team in postseason points. Think about that, Dan Girardi, ahead of Gaborik, Callahan and Stepan who were all top 5 in points in the regular season. Del Zotto had 2 fantastic rounds scoring 9 points in the first 14 games, before being consistently victimized by the Devils 4th line all series long and only contributing 1 assist in the Conference Final. So perhaps that kind of offensive style that starts with shots from the point with 2 forwards in front of the goaltender to get to rebounds rather than the cycling along the half wall and behind the net looking for the perfect pass to the middle of the slot is an idea the Rangers can toy with leading into next season. Boston works it to perfection and they aren't half bad, are they? No the Rangers don't have Zdeno Chara but that doesn't mean it can't work.
As I said up top, Ranger fans should be very proud of this team. The Ranger players themselves were far too proud to admit at the end of Game 6 that they just didn't have enough legs to keep up with the Devils in the end. Whether or not the Rangers will be able to replicate their regular season success into the 2012-13 remains to be seen, but that shouldn't prevent fans getting even more behind their hockey club in what is only the beginning of the most successful period in Rangers hockey.
Friday, May 25, 2012
NYR 2012 Playoff Stats
UPDATED: Through Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals vs. NJ
Player GP Goals-Assists-Points
Brad Richards 19 6-8-14
Marian Gaborik 19 5-6-11
Dan Girardi 19 3-8-11
Artem Anisimov 19 3-7-10
Michael Del Zotto 19 2-8-10
Ryan Callahan 19 5-4-9
Derek Stepan 19 1-8-9
Chris Kreider 17 5-2-7
Anton Stralman 19 3-3-6
Marc Staal 19 3-3-6
Brian Boyle 16 3-3-6
Ruslan Fedotenko 19 1-5-6
Carl Hagelin 16 0-3-3
Brandon Prust 18 1-1-2
Ryan McDonagh 19 0-2-2
Brandon Dubinsky 8 0-2-2
John Mitchell 18 0-1-1
Henrik Lundqvist 10-9 GA- 1.76 SV%- .933 SO- 3
Player GP Goals-Assists-Points
Brad Richards 19 6-8-14
Marian Gaborik 19 5-6-11
Dan Girardi 19 3-8-11
Artem Anisimov 19 3-7-10
Michael Del Zotto 19 2-8-10
Ryan Callahan 19 5-4-9
Derek Stepan 19 1-8-9
Chris Kreider 17 5-2-7
Anton Stralman 19 3-3-6
Marc Staal 19 3-3-6
Brian Boyle 16 3-3-6
Ruslan Fedotenko 19 1-5-6
Carl Hagelin 16 0-3-3
Brandon Prust 18 1-1-2
Ryan McDonagh 19 0-2-2
Brandon Dubinsky 8 0-2-2
John Mitchell 18 0-1-1
Henrik Lundqvist 10-9 GA- 1.76 SV%- .933 SO- 3
Saturday, May 19, 2012
ECF vs. NJ G3: Hank turns off the lights, shuts out NJ 3-0 in Newark
There aren't going to be too many times where I feel that Lundqvist was the one sole reason for any Ranger victory, but in todays 3-0 win in Game 3, Lundqvist was simply unbeatable. The Rangers were badly out played and out hustled to every puck along the boards in the first period and the Rangers were extremely lucky to get out of the first period without finding themselves down on the score sheet. More of the same lethargic hockey came out of the Rangers to start the second period, but following what will likely be a landmark timeout at 1:51 of the second period by Tortorella, the Rangers play began to change, albeit slowly. The Rangers did get a few chances in the second including Callahan on the doorstep that he couldn't sneak by Brodeur.
The third period was a different Ranger team compared to the team from the prior 2 periods before. The Rangers had a little more jump to their game and finally managed to get a puck past Brodeur following a Richards faceoff win to Girardi, who sniped one past Brodeur stick side from the high slot at 3:19. The Rangers scored again less than 2 minutes later following a McDonagh shot from the point that Kreider tipped past Marty at 5:16, the rookie's fifth of the playoffs. The Captain added an empty netter at 17:47.
It's an ugly way to win playoff games, but its somewhat disheartening to see the Rangers play as lethargic as they did coming out of the locker room. Whether or not the game start time played any type of role in today's game you'd like to see the Rangers play 60 full minutes of playoff hockey. It looked at times that the entire Ranger team went bar-hopping Friday night with the exception of Lundqvist and Kreider who was the Rangers best forward today and the only one who seemed to have legs. I hate to say it but the Rangers are tired. Getting called for 5 penalties in a undisciplined fashion, to me showed where the fatigue level was throughout the team. But today's win was a character win by the club who simply will not say die even when it seems like they are teetering on the edge of elimination.
The third period was a different Ranger team compared to the team from the prior 2 periods before. The Rangers had a little more jump to their game and finally managed to get a puck past Brodeur following a Richards faceoff win to Girardi, who sniped one past Brodeur stick side from the high slot at 3:19. The Rangers scored again less than 2 minutes later following a McDonagh shot from the point that Kreider tipped past Marty at 5:16, the rookie's fifth of the playoffs. The Captain added an empty netter at 17:47.
It's an ugly way to win playoff games, but its somewhat disheartening to see the Rangers play as lethargic as they did coming out of the locker room. Whether or not the game start time played any type of role in today's game you'd like to see the Rangers play 60 full minutes of playoff hockey. It looked at times that the entire Ranger team went bar-hopping Friday night with the exception of Lundqvist and Kreider who was the Rangers best forward today and the only one who seemed to have legs. I hate to say it but the Rangers are tired. Getting called for 5 penalties in a undisciplined fashion, to me showed where the fatigue level was throughout the team. But today's win was a character win by the club who simply will not say die even when it seems like they are teetering on the edge of elimination.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Justblueshirts blog previews the Conference Finals
2012 Eastern Conference Finals
1. New York Rangers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Two teams nobody said at the top of the season would get this far into the postseason, let alone face each other for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. The season series between the two clubs has been eventful and playoff series promises to be no different. We all know that the Devils are a far cry from the neutral zone trapping team we all came to know pre-lockout and that system was the major catalyst to their 3 Stanley Cup Championships since the Rangers last one their title in 1994. The Devils now play a similar aggressive forecheck offensive style the Rangers employ and with the players the Devils possess to run that system, makes them a tough playoff opponent. The Devils were just an OT goal away in Game 6 and Game 7 back in the quarterfinals against Florida from being eliminated and embarrassed out of the playoffs by an inferior team that burned the Devils consistently on the power play despite the Devils nearly 90% success rate on the PK this season, an NHL record. If the Rangers were going to make this series easy on themselves, they'll need to duplicate Florida's success. The Rangers themselves have come into another series, fresh off of another Game 7 victory. A lot has been said, mainly by the national writers, to discount the Rangers going into the conference finals, mainly about how much the team has left in the tank after the Washington series. The Rangers' players themselves have had to answer a ton of questions surrounding that issue and the players continue to maintain that their conditioning is just fine and won't be an issue.
As far as matchups go, the Devils need to be very concerned with the Rangers forecheck and transition game. Outside of the Devils 1-0 win over the Rangers back in February, Carl Hagelin has showed up on the scoresheet in every single game against the Devils this year and if the Rangers are to advance to the Cup finals, he needs to be a factor each and every game. The other component to the Rangers forecheck is Chris Kreider. Kreider is a bit of an x-factor because of the way Torts has employed him since joining the team. Torts hasn't been happy with the way Kreider has played in his own end and was benched for the last 10 minutes of Game 7 following Washington's last goal. If Kreider is able to get a couple pucks past Marty in this series, I'm positive Ranger fans can look past the rookie's defensive deficiencies. Elsewhere, there really aren't any glaring 1 on 1 matchup issues I see becoming an issue for either team.
This needs to be the series when the Rangers bottom 6 forwards have to become a factor. Brian Boyle, who single handedly killed Ottawa, needs to be the guy he was before he sustained a concussion at the hands of Chris Neil. Same thing goes for Brandon Prust and Mike Rupp who have done little more than take up roster space through the first two rounds. I'm sure Ranger fans and Torts in particular are dying to see the magic Ruslan Fedotenko provided the Lightning back in their Stanley Cup run back in 2004. John Mitchell was called upon to take big faceoffs in those crucial games against the Caps and played a lot better as the semifinals went on and hopefully that can continue.
The Devils have yet to play a team with the goaltending and defensive depth the Rangers possess in these playoffs. They are also known to get a little bit unraveled and take dumb penalties <cough cough Kovalchuk cough> if things start to get tough. The way the Rangers came out in Game 7 against Washington and imposed their will on the Capitals convinced me that this is just the Rangers time. While I would love to see Callahan, Richards and Staal pose with the Prince of Wales trophy in front of 18,200 Ranger fans at MSG, 10,000 Ranger fans in Newark for Game 6 will suffice. Plus that isn't the trophy the Rangers are playing for either. Rangers in 6.
2012 Western Conference Finals
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
I'm not going to go terribly in depth into this series because I have followed little of either of these two teams in the regular season. What I do know is that these two teams have split the season series with each other and 5 out of the 6 games were decided by one goal. The Kings and Coyotes were only separated by 2 points in the Pacific Division standings. Both teams have gotten to where they are thanks in large part to their superb goaltending. Outside of the goaltending, both teams seem to be mirror images of each other. Both have defensemen who love to jump up into the play generate chances, Drew Doughty for the Kings and Keith Yandle for the Coyotes. The Kings can't overlook 20 year old Phoenix defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is going to be a star on the Coyotes' blueline for the next 10+ years and has averaged just over 26 minutes TOI in these playoffs. On the opposite side of the coin, the Kings have 2 guys who have been here before in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Both led the Flyers within 2 games of a Stanley Cup title just 2 seasons ago. Although Richards has been a solid nearly point-per-game player in this postseason, Carter is still struggling to find his game and only has 1 goal in the 9 playoff games the Kings have played so far. Can't forget to mention the two captains Dustin Brown for LA and Shane Doan for Phoenix who both have been key cogs in their respective teams' playoff runs. I'm quite frankly struggling to see where either team has an advantage over the other. As far as a prediction goes, I'm going to go against the grain and pick the Coyotes in 7 games. While it wouldn't surprise me to see LA move on, I don't think they are going to steamroll past Phoenix the way Vancouver and St. Louis let them. I'm curious to see how LA will respond to adversity as well. Should be a fantastic series.
1. New York Rangers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Two teams nobody said at the top of the season would get this far into the postseason, let alone face each other for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. The season series between the two clubs has been eventful and playoff series promises to be no different. We all know that the Devils are a far cry from the neutral zone trapping team we all came to know pre-lockout and that system was the major catalyst to their 3 Stanley Cup Championships since the Rangers last one their title in 1994. The Devils now play a similar aggressive forecheck offensive style the Rangers employ and with the players the Devils possess to run that system, makes them a tough playoff opponent. The Devils were just an OT goal away in Game 6 and Game 7 back in the quarterfinals against Florida from being eliminated and embarrassed out of the playoffs by an inferior team that burned the Devils consistently on the power play despite the Devils nearly 90% success rate on the PK this season, an NHL record. If the Rangers were going to make this series easy on themselves, they'll need to duplicate Florida's success. The Rangers themselves have come into another series, fresh off of another Game 7 victory. A lot has been said, mainly by the national writers, to discount the Rangers going into the conference finals, mainly about how much the team has left in the tank after the Washington series. The Rangers' players themselves have had to answer a ton of questions surrounding that issue and the players continue to maintain that their conditioning is just fine and won't be an issue.
As far as matchups go, the Devils need to be very concerned with the Rangers forecheck and transition game. Outside of the Devils 1-0 win over the Rangers back in February, Carl Hagelin has showed up on the scoresheet in every single game against the Devils this year and if the Rangers are to advance to the Cup finals, he needs to be a factor each and every game. The other component to the Rangers forecheck is Chris Kreider. Kreider is a bit of an x-factor because of the way Torts has employed him since joining the team. Torts hasn't been happy with the way Kreider has played in his own end and was benched for the last 10 minutes of Game 7 following Washington's last goal. If Kreider is able to get a couple pucks past Marty in this series, I'm positive Ranger fans can look past the rookie's defensive deficiencies. Elsewhere, there really aren't any glaring 1 on 1 matchup issues I see becoming an issue for either team.
This needs to be the series when the Rangers bottom 6 forwards have to become a factor. Brian Boyle, who single handedly killed Ottawa, needs to be the guy he was before he sustained a concussion at the hands of Chris Neil. Same thing goes for Brandon Prust and Mike Rupp who have done little more than take up roster space through the first two rounds. I'm sure Ranger fans and Torts in particular are dying to see the magic Ruslan Fedotenko provided the Lightning back in their Stanley Cup run back in 2004. John Mitchell was called upon to take big faceoffs in those crucial games against the Caps and played a lot better as the semifinals went on and hopefully that can continue.
The Devils have yet to play a team with the goaltending and defensive depth the Rangers possess in these playoffs. They are also known to get a little bit unraveled and take dumb penalties <cough cough Kovalchuk cough> if things start to get tough. The way the Rangers came out in Game 7 against Washington and imposed their will on the Capitals convinced me that this is just the Rangers time. While I would love to see Callahan, Richards and Staal pose with the Prince of Wales trophy in front of 18,200 Ranger fans at MSG, 10,000 Ranger fans in Newark for Game 6 will suffice. Plus that isn't the trophy the Rangers are playing for either. Rangers in 6.
2012 Western Conference Finals
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
I'm not going to go terribly in depth into this series because I have followed little of either of these two teams in the regular season. What I do know is that these two teams have split the season series with each other and 5 out of the 6 games were decided by one goal. The Kings and Coyotes were only separated by 2 points in the Pacific Division standings. Both teams have gotten to where they are thanks in large part to their superb goaltending. Outside of the goaltending, both teams seem to be mirror images of each other. Both have defensemen who love to jump up into the play generate chances, Drew Doughty for the Kings and Keith Yandle for the Coyotes. The Kings can't overlook 20 year old Phoenix defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is going to be a star on the Coyotes' blueline for the next 10+ years and has averaged just over 26 minutes TOI in these playoffs. On the opposite side of the coin, the Kings have 2 guys who have been here before in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Both led the Flyers within 2 games of a Stanley Cup title just 2 seasons ago. Although Richards has been a solid nearly point-per-game player in this postseason, Carter is still struggling to find his game and only has 1 goal in the 9 playoff games the Kings have played so far. Can't forget to mention the two captains Dustin Brown for LA and Shane Doan for Phoenix who both have been key cogs in their respective teams' playoff runs. I'm quite frankly struggling to see where either team has an advantage over the other. As far as a prediction goes, I'm going to go against the grain and pick the Coyotes in 7 games. While it wouldn't surprise me to see LA move on, I don't think they are going to steamroll past Phoenix the way Vancouver and St. Louis let them. I'm curious to see how LA will respond to adversity as well. Should be a fantastic series.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
ECSF vs. WSH G7: NYR advance to ECF for first time since 97
The Rangers on Saturday night put on a show for the ages. They played a FULL 60 minutes of Ranger hockey and did an incredible job of playing with the lead for 58:30 minutes of tonight's game. The Caps had only 4 shots on goal in the third period, which is an astounding defensive achievement to hold off a team like the Capitals facing elimination. Tonight's Rangers looked nothing like the team that showed up in Washington last Wednesday and had the Ranger faithful looking at Game 7 with a glass half empty attitude. Tonight's Rangers got bodies in front of Holtby, who never seemed as settled and locked in like his counterpart 200 feet away. Tonight's Rangers forechecked and cycled the Caps to death, unlike at any other point in this series, save for Game 1. Hagelin and Gaborik were all over the ice. It can't be overlooked how tremendous Brad Richards' goal 90 seconds into the game was.
The one lone mark against the Rangers was Roman Hamrlik's goal just 38 seconds after Del Zotto put the Rangers up two at the 10:05 mark of the third period. I hate to kill the kid again, but Kreider was partially responsible for allowing Laich to center the puck to a pinching Hamrlik who basically floated one up and past Lundqvist. Kreider did a half ass job getting his stick in the passing lane when he should've noticed Hamrlik flying into the offensive zone. Worse, Kreider then became a spectator watching Hamrlik (of all people) blow past him. Kreider never saw the ice for the remainder of the game after the Caps' goal. The other half of responsibility for the goal against goes to Del Zotto. I'm dumbfounded at the way Del Zotto stepped up to Hamrlik when he jumped into the play. Del Zotto for some reason decided to defend Hamrlik by spinning around counter-clockwise, facing his back at the shooter, allowing Hamrlik to get a clean shot on net.
All in all, it was a fantastic night for the Rangers who now advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1997. This series against New Jersey is going to become another epic battle. Remember what happened the last time these two teams met?
Yeah, get ready for an all out war.
MAAAAAAAAARRRRTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
The one lone mark against the Rangers was Roman Hamrlik's goal just 38 seconds after Del Zotto put the Rangers up two at the 10:05 mark of the third period. I hate to kill the kid again, but Kreider was partially responsible for allowing Laich to center the puck to a pinching Hamrlik who basically floated one up and past Lundqvist. Kreider did a half ass job getting his stick in the passing lane when he should've noticed Hamrlik flying into the offensive zone. Worse, Kreider then became a spectator watching Hamrlik (of all people) blow past him. Kreider never saw the ice for the remainder of the game after the Caps' goal. The other half of responsibility for the goal against goes to Del Zotto. I'm dumbfounded at the way Del Zotto stepped up to Hamrlik when he jumped into the play. Del Zotto for some reason decided to defend Hamrlik by spinning around counter-clockwise, facing his back at the shooter, allowing Hamrlik to get a clean shot on net.
All in all, it was a fantastic night for the Rangers who now advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1997. This series against New Jersey is going to become another epic battle. Remember what happened the last time these two teams met?
Yeah, get ready for an all out war.
MAAAAAAAAARRRRTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!
Justblueshirts reviews its Conference Semi-final predictions
1. New York Rangers vs. 7. Washington Capitals
Prediction: Rangers in 7
Actual: Rangers in 7
What else is new with the Rangers?
5. Philadelphia Flyers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Prediction: Flyers in 5
Actual: Devils in 5
Whoops. After looking so underwhelming against Florida in the first round, and needing Game 6 and Game 7 OT victories just to stave off elimination, I didn't think the Devils were a great matchup against a well rested Flyers team that was chock full of confidence leading into this semi-final matchup. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Flyers had a difficult time against the Devils forecheck and something called defensemen. The Flyers inexplicably couldn't hold nor capitalize any time they went ahead on the scoreboard, going 1-10 in all playoff games in which they scored first. The turning point for me in this series had to be the four goal - third period the Devils dropped on the Flyers in Game 2. The Flyers' swagger we saw in the Penguins series as well as the latter 3 periods (including OT) Game 1 in this series never returned after Game 2, as the Flyers were the more undisciplined, unprepared team.
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
Prediction: Blues in 6
Actual: Kings in 4
I can safely say NO ONE expected this result. A few completely wrote off Los Angeles going into this round after dispatching Vancouver in the first round without their best player in Daniel Sedin. LA was supposed to be the team that had fantastic goaltending and these big time goal scorers, who couldn't score. Not only did they get fantastic goal scoring in this series from Vezina trophy finalist Jonathan Quick, their goal scorers woke up as well. LA scored 15 goals in just 4 games. It wasn't as though 1 or 2 guys on the Kings suddenly woke up and took the series over either. The Kings had 10 different goal scorers in this series alone. With the balanced scoring as well as lights out goaltending from Quick, the Kings are going to be one tough out (if at all) for somebody.
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 4. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Nashville in 7
Actual: Coyotes in 5
Admittedly, I did not watch too much of this series besides the 3rd period of Game 5. When I made my prediction I thought the Preds were the better defensive team, with the shutdown pair of Weber and Suter combined with Pekka Rinne backstopping to cover up any mistakes. Turns out there's still some magic in those old legs of Coyotes' captain Shane Doan and Ray Whitney who can still fly (using that term loosely) now at the age of 40.
Prediction: Rangers in 7
Actual: Rangers in 7
What else is new with the Rangers?
5. Philadelphia Flyers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Prediction: Flyers in 5
Actual: Devils in 5
Whoops. After looking so underwhelming against Florida in the first round, and needing Game 6 and Game 7 OT victories just to stave off elimination, I didn't think the Devils were a great matchup against a well rested Flyers team that was chock full of confidence leading into this semi-final matchup. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Flyers had a difficult time against the Devils forecheck and something called defensemen. The Flyers inexplicably couldn't hold nor capitalize any time they went ahead on the scoreboard, going 1-10 in all playoff games in which they scored first. The turning point for me in this series had to be the four goal - third period the Devils dropped on the Flyers in Game 2. The Flyers' swagger we saw in the Penguins series as well as the latter 3 periods (including OT) Game 1 in this series never returned after Game 2, as the Flyers were the more undisciplined, unprepared team.
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
Prediction: Blues in 6
Actual: Kings in 4
I can safely say NO ONE expected this result. A few completely wrote off Los Angeles going into this round after dispatching Vancouver in the first round without their best player in Daniel Sedin. LA was supposed to be the team that had fantastic goaltending and these big time goal scorers, who couldn't score. Not only did they get fantastic goal scoring in this series from Vezina trophy finalist Jonathan Quick, their goal scorers woke up as well. LA scored 15 goals in just 4 games. It wasn't as though 1 or 2 guys on the Kings suddenly woke up and took the series over either. The Kings had 10 different goal scorers in this series alone. With the balanced scoring as well as lights out goaltending from Quick, the Kings are going to be one tough out (if at all) for somebody.
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 4. Nashville Predators
Prediction: Nashville in 7
Actual: Coyotes in 5
Admittedly, I did not watch too much of this series besides the 3rd period of Game 5. When I made my prediction I thought the Preds were the better defensive team, with the shutdown pair of Weber and Suter combined with Pekka Rinne backstopping to cover up any mistakes. Turns out there's still some magic in those old legs of Coyotes' captain Shane Doan and Ray Whitney who can still fly (using that term loosely) now at the age of 40.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
ECSF vs. WSH G6: lethargic Rangers sleepwalk in DC, fall 2-1
I'm never overly critical of the Rangers but tonight's game was just downright embarrassing. Sure it helped the Caps that they were afforded the bounces, particularly on Chimera's goal, but you cannot win playoff games by sleepwalking for 59 minutes. The Rangers showed zero killer instinct and no willingness to push the envelope and impose their will on the Caps. The fact that the Caps have outplayed the Rangers since Game 4, its a borderline miracle that this series is going 7 games.
Stralman in particular was abused tonight by Chimera, who had no answer for his speed along the boards, Del Zotto failing to keep the puck in the offensive zone on numerous occasions, Torts' lineup decisions outside of his top line were just brutal and I was critical of them even before Game 5. Kreider's bad Game 4 has cost him a boat-load of ice time in these past 2 games and the Rangers could've used him, especially 2 goals down and attempt to generate some kind of offense outside of the top line. Kreider TOI tonight: 6 mins and 6 seconds. If the Rangers had a best forward tonight, it was John Mitchell, who has become more visible in Kreider's absence.
The Rangers owe it to themselves to play a good 60 minute game we haven't seen them play since Game 1 of this series. If it doesn't show up, I'm going to be talking draft and July 1st soon. The Rangers do play their best with there backs against the wall and I'm going to expect nothing different Saturday night.
Stralman in particular was abused tonight by Chimera, who had no answer for his speed along the boards, Del Zotto failing to keep the puck in the offensive zone on numerous occasions, Torts' lineup decisions outside of his top line were just brutal and I was critical of them even before Game 5. Kreider's bad Game 4 has cost him a boat-load of ice time in these past 2 games and the Rangers could've used him, especially 2 goals down and attempt to generate some kind of offense outside of the top line. Kreider TOI tonight: 6 mins and 6 seconds. If the Rangers had a best forward tonight, it was John Mitchell, who has become more visible in Kreider's absence.
The Rangers owe it to themselves to play a good 60 minute game we haven't seen them play since Game 1 of this series. If it doesn't show up, I'm going to be talking draft and July 1st soon. The Rangers do play their best with there backs against the wall and I'm going to expect nothing different Saturday night.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Thoughts from Game 4 and why the sky isn't falling
I just want to go over a few things from Game 4 since I was extremely busy this weekend and never had the chance to write a review for the game. First, I thought that the Caps played their all around best game of the series on Saturday. The Caps consistently beat the Rangers to pucks, bullied the Rangers along the boards, had a ton of puck possession especially in the first period which set the tone for the game, blocked nearly 30 Ranger shots and lastly made less mistakes than the Rangers did that allowed them to send the series back to New York for Game 5.
Lets be honest, the first two goals against the Rangers were on Kreider. No explanation needed for Ovechkin's blast that made it 1-0, but Kreider was responsible for picking up Backstrom, who passed the puck around the net, not before what was basically a stiff arm to a charging Anisimov, which planted Artie firmly on his rear. Backstrom made a simple move from the corner to the low slot where he was wide open to shoot the puck past Hank which he did. To be noted as well that Kreider did not have his stick in the passing lane either to break up the centering feed.
It was a shame after the game to see so much Kreider hate on twitter and various message boards. He's a big reason why the Rangers advanced past Ottawa to begin with so lets not kill the kid. Plus I think Kreider is entitled to a little learning curve. If you want to bash the kid, do it next season after he's had a offseason with the team plus training camp. If he still is making the same defensive mistakes, then he is open to criticism. Kreider is going to be a fantastic hockey player for this team for the next several years, so lets quell the 'trade him and half of the Rangers to Columbus for Rick Nash' chatter.
Moving forward, I hope the fans aren't naive enough to think that the series is now over because they looked terrible in Game 4. The Rangers have always responded well to bad games this season and I would be surprised if tonight was any different. The Rangers know that they have to win tonights' game to avoid what they went through against Ottawa. They also have to start to learn to be a little more selfish with the puck. The Rangers made far too many passes in transition that allowed the Caps to get set up defensively and led to their heavily inflated shot blocking totals in Game 4. I expect the Rangers to come out flying at the start tonight in front of their home fans and come away with a win.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)