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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
