After a horrendous bout of what might be either rabies or food poisoning, I was going through a list of players who might potentially be traded at the March 4 NHL Trade Deadline. Traditionally, unrestricted free agents (UFAs) are moved if a team knows they won't re-sign them (as in Marian Hossa and Ryan Smythe).
Yes, sometimes players still under contract are dealt, much like the Aaron Ward for Paul Mara deal the Rangers did in 2007. Ward, a loud-mouth who won 2 Stanley Cups not on ability but by simply being on the right teams at the right time (Detroit in '02, Carolina in '06), was a locker room cancer worse than Sean Avery, and it was high time he headed for other pastures. Both he and Mara had time left on their deals. Those are harder to predict, obviously, and therefore I won't mention them.
I think it's obvious what the Rangers need: a solid defenseman and possibly a top-6 forward capable of potting a clutch goal. Let's also say that Florida might make the playoffs and won't move Jay Bouwmeester (if he is an option, he clearly becomes the number one target of many, many teams, including the Blueshirts).
However, here is a list of 3 defensemen that interest me as a Ranger fan...
3) Ville Koistinen, Nashville Predators - a solid player who had a real good year last year (17 points, 48 games, but was better than the numbers say) and is having a decent year this year. He will be 27 come July 1, therefore a UFA, and the Predators, solid on the blueline even without him, might be looking to sell him cheap. His one drawback is that he was a healthy scratch most of December, but he seems to have found a spot back in the lineup.
2) Filip Kuba, Ottawa Senators - A good defenseman although he doesn't get a lot of power play time (25 points, 1 on the power play). His 24 assists are misleading, as he had 11 in the first 8 games of the season, then slowed down. However, he has only played 36 games. He's a good player, and the Rangers might take the bait on him. He can't hurt the team, as he is much better than Dmitri Kalinin (and on most nights, Wade Redden), but he won't help them exponentially.
1) Cory Murphy, Tampa Bay Lightning - Recently waived by the Panthers and snatched up by their statemates (I'm going to go ahead and coin that word), Murphy is the power play specialist the Rangers need. He will be 31 at the deadline, and is in his second year in the NHL. Similar to Tim Thomas, he entered the NHL late after playing in Finland for 5 years (and the Swiss League for one). He was grossly misused in Florida, where Bouwmeester and Bryan McCabe get huge PP minutes, but Murphy is better than both of them when used correctly. Last year, he was an Even rating on a team that was outscored by 10 goals. In comparison, Olli Jokinen was a -19 on the same team, and Bouwmeester was a -5.
Yes, Bouwmeester is a more complete player than Murphy (better defensively; better first-pass), but Bouwmeester might not be available, and Murphy would definitely be cheaper. The Lightning have him probably to just fill holes created by injuries and poor play so they can finish out the season, and I would definitely look for him to be available come March 4.
I won't dwell on forwards, but Mike Comrie, Steve Sullivan, Vernon Fiddler, Kyle Calder, Nik Antropov (highly unlikely that Toronto would trade him and that the Rangers would get another center), Keith Tkachuk, and Andy McDonald (same as Antropov) might be available.
I will dwell on this though. Of upcoming UFAs from non-playoff-bound teams, I assume these names ring a bell: Jay Ward (currently in the AHL via Tampa Bay), Marek Malik, Dominic Moore, Jed Ortmeyer (Orty is injured, however). They are all Rangers from the year after the lockout. Think Glen Sather would be interested in another dream season like 2005-06? Is Steve Rucchin available?
