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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Rangers finally get their man, acquire Rick Nash

Rick Nash trade to New York Rangers in process now. Details to follow.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 23, 2012

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.

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.
— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) July 23, 2012

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 19, 2012

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I wish management wanted me back as much as the fans.. Thanks for the love everyone
— Brandon Prust (@BrandonPrust8) June 23, 2012

John 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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)

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.