Trade Recap via Zach...

Now we know why Petr Prucha has been in the lineup for the past few games. A showcase. But does Don Maloney really need to know what Prucha brings? He was a big proponent of him in NY. Did Tom Renney pull the strings on this deal?

The Rangers effectively sold the heart and soul of their team (along with sporadically-gifted Nigel Dawes and always-horrendous Dmitri Kalinin) for Derek Morris.

They tell me Morris is going to QB the PP. For those who actually watch hockey, Morris has 12 points in 57 games this year. Not one of those is on the power play. He has 35 career power play points. Petr Prucha had 16 power play goals in 2005-06 alone, as a rookie.

The one bright spot is that now atleast Prucha will get ice time.

* * *

My computer were haywire before. I was typing letters and they would end up in random spots on the screen. Not fun. So I closed the laptop, shut it down like Vesa Toskala this season, and so I couldn't post.

I do indeed like the Nik Antropov deal. I think he is going to be good in NY. Maybe he can play with Zherdev. He is a UFA next year as well and if he re-signs (I realize we are talking about this before he even plays a game in NY) he will come around $3M.

Best deal of the day? I don't know. Seems like Boston stole Mark Recchi along with a 2nd round pick. Then again, Buffalo got a 2nd round pick for former Ranger Dom Moore? Uh... 12 goals (a career high), 41 points (same), and a shutdown center for a 2nd round pick in a deep draft? Get real. I'd rather have Antropov, for sure. (Granted, Buffalo basically sent the 2nd round pick they received for Ales Kotalik.)

Worst deal? Why would LA trade Patty O'Sullivan? Boston receiving Steve Montador for someone who couldn't stick on the Islanders roster? A win for the Bruins. In fact, Anaheim made a lot of bad trades today, trading Travis Moen, Montador, Sam Pahlsson, and others for a bunch of nobodies. The only one that might stick is Nick Bonino, a late-round pick from 2007. They did also receive Erik Christensen.

This Toronto/Tampa Bay deal sending Jamie Heward, Olie Kolzig, and others for some guy seems ridiculous, and I have to check on this one.

Favorite trade? Antoine Vermette for Pascal LeClaire. Helps everyone, and I am rooting for Columbus whole-heartedly.

Someone should re-name the Hurricanes to the Carolina Rentals. (Bad joke, I know.) In 2006, they traded for Doug Weight and Mark Recchi. Both players won the Cup with them, then re-signed in their respective cities (St. Louis; Pittsburgh). Then, Matt Cullen signs in NY. He later gets traded back. Over the summer, Erik Cole went to Edmonton. Today, he came back to Carolina. What, was Aaron Ward not available today?

Calgary and Phoenix definitely won today, though. Calgary got Jordan Leopold, Olli Jokinen, and a 3rd round pick, automatically strengthening them this year. Phoenix nailed Prucha, Dawes, Scott Upshall, Matthew Lombardi, and a slew of picks including a 1st round pick, helping them now and in the future.

Teams that stood still in the past few weeks: Vancouver (although they did get Glen Metropolit off waivers; they considered Mats Sundin their trade deadline deal); Nashville (no improvment and no fire-sale means they will probably miss the playoffs and not get a good draft pick); Washington (I guess that they wanted Bill Guerin but couldn't trade Michael Nylander's $5M contract). Am I missing anyone? A few teams, like the Devils and Canadiens, made moves in the past 2 weeks so I didn't count them.

* * *

I know it's wishful dreaming, but how sweet would a Wade Redden for upcoming UFA Jay Bouwmeester be?

Reported Trades & Quick Reactions...

We're going to use this space to mention trades and quickly react on them. Everything will be on this post. I also highly doubt that there will be as many trades as in the past 2 seasons (I think each one had 25 trades). Teams seem to be re-signing their players quickly (Filip Kuba also re-upped in Ottawa). The only "blockbuster" deal out there might be Jay Bouwmeester, if Florida - in the middle of a playoff race - decides to trade their best player.


3:17 :: BUF gets Dominic Moore. TOR gets a 2nd round pick.
- Bryan :: Must be nice to play for a Canadian team and be overvalued as a result. Moore was awesome for the Rangers in 2005-06 and had a resurgence this year, but a 2nd round pick? Come on. Guerin only fetched a fifth-rounder for the Islanders. And if you don't think this trade wasn't at all influenced by the pompous Toronto media, I don't know what to tell you.


2:45 :: PHX gets Scottie Upshall and 2nd round pick. PHI gets Dan Carcillo
- Zach :: A steal for Phoenix? I loved Carcillo... last year. This year he has no edge and isn't contributing offensively.

1:59 :: PIT gets Bill Guerin. NYI gets Conditional Draft Pick.

- Bryan :: It doesn't matter what kind of pick the Islanders get back. It beats the alternative of not getting anything back for Guerin, a supposedly unhappy player who will probably walk at season's end anyway. Good pick-up for Pittsburgh, who needs something resembling all the role players who helped them get to the Cup Final last year.

- Bryan :: Scratch all that. The pick is a fifth-round pick that becomes a fourth-rounder if the Penguins make the playoffs and a third-rounder if they reach the second round. A far cry from the second-round pick we were all expecting. Great to get Guerin off the books and get something back, but this is a severe let-down.

- Zach :: I think they should've gotten a prospect instead, but what do I know.

1:33 :: BOS gets Mark Recchi, 2nd round pick. TBL gets D Matt Lashoff and F Martins Karsums.

- Zach :: Not just a rental for Recchi because of the 2010 pick they received. Lashoff definitely has potential and was probably the sticking point here for Tampa Bay.

- Bryan :: This is a tremendous trade for both teams. Boston gets better over the short term, but gets a second-rounder. Tampa Bay gets Lashoff, a great defensive prospect. This the kind of trade the Islanders should be making today, but for some reason, they aren't.

12:42 :: BOS gets D Steve Montador. ANA gets F Petteri Nokelainen.

12:40 :: CGY gets C Olli Jokinen, 3rd round pick. PHX gets C Matthew Lombardi, F Brandon Prust, 1st round pick

- Zach :: Jokinen was rumored for years to be traded from FLA and never was, now he's been traded twice in 9 months. Lombardi is good but no Jokinen, but Phoenix had to get what they could on this upcoming UFA. Good for both teams.

12: 13 :: Eric Reitz claimed off waivers by TOR.

12: 10 :: DAL claims C Brendan Morrison. TOR claims G Martin Gerber.

- Zach :: Dallas re-fills their Brendan M. quota. This helps them a lot.

12:07 :: BUF gets G Mikael Tellqvist. PHX gets 4th round pick.

- Bryan :: Pretty obvious one. Phoenix gets to rebuild yet again, while Buffalo gets a nice option until Ryan Miller returns, not to mention insurance should Miller get injured again.

11:49 :: CGY gets D Jordan Leopold. COL get 2nd round pick, D Lawrence Nycholat, and D Ryan Wilson.

- Zach :: Originally traded to Colorado for Alex Tanguay (2nd round picks also exchanged hands), Calgary gets him back. Leopold is an improvment on Nycholat, who they plucked off waivers yesterday. Very interesting, it's like they picked up a dollar off the ground and then bought something with it (as in they took someone they didn't used to have and then got a player for it, even after the Avs could've taken Nycholat).

- Bryan :: Nycholat was actually sent to Colorado as part of this trade, along with defensive prospect Ryan Wilson. Calgary still wins this trade, though, as Leopold was a huge part of their Cup Finals run in 2003-04.

10:57 :: BUF resigns F Tim Connolly to a 2-year, $9M deal.

- Bryan :: Tim Connolly has played 79 games since the start of the 2006-07 season and has 67 points in those games. Not a bad point-per-game ratio. But $4.5M per year for a player who doesn't even play half your games is a lot. This is a deal only Buffalo would sign. Sabres fans are tired of seeing their players walk away via free agency, so this is a bone thrown to them... but I'm sure they'd rather have Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, or Brian Campbell.

10:12 :: CBJ gets F Antoine Vermette. OTT gets G Pascal LeClaire and 2nd rounder

- Zach :: Good for both teams. LeClaire has been hurt and is irrelevant now that Steve Mason is the future in Columbus. Vermette hates playing in Ottawa and was almost traded this year, so he should help the Jackets immediately.

Defensive Help...

Once again, as for the past 2 years, rumors of Phoenix Coyotes D Ed Jovanovski going to the Rangers will not die.

First off, the Rangers don't have cap space for his $6.5M contract. Second off, don't the Rangers already have a crappy D taking up $6.5M this year (and for the next 5)?

Yes, he has a cool nickname, but I railed against trading for Jovo last year - and the year before, when we didn't even have this URL. His stats last year were atrocious, and this year they are even worse!

As fans, we are saddled with Wade Redden's contract until the year after Barack Obama's term is up. Jovo has two more years after this one on his contract, undoubtedly with a No-Trade Clause. Can you imagine Redden, Jovanovski, and Michal Rozsival (total of $18M cap hit, about 1/3 of the salary cap) stinking up the backline until 2011?

Get real.

* * *

So who is available? I'm going to paraphrase this post (and expand on it, as well) I wrote on January 23rd of this year.

3) Ville Koistinen, Nashville - Young (26), going to be a UFA on July 1, and a good player who doesn't fit into the Predators future plans (they already have a real young, very good blueline). He isn't the ideal player, but he is definitely good as a 4th, 5th, or 6th D and is better than Dmitri Kalinin (who is also a UFA after this season). He could be picked up cheaply like Christian Backman was last year (he cost a 4th round pick).

2) Filip Kuba, Ottawa - Definitely on the trading block in Ottawa, especially now that former Islander Chris Campoli is getting a ton of power play time. Kuba is probably not going to be back in Ottawa next year, and they will be looking to get something for him before he walks, if only to justify trading Andrej Meszaros. He shouldn't be a part of the Rangers future plans, but if he is traded for a late pick and/or Kalinin, they will be improved for the playoff run.

1) Cory Murphy, Tampa Bay - This is the guy. Like Mark Streit, he came here in his mid-to-late 20s from Europe and can man a power play with the best of them. However, in Florida, he competed with Bryan McCabe and Jay Bouwmeester for time, so he didn't play much. In 2007-08, he was an even +/- rating, while Olli Jokinen was a -19 and Bouwmeester was a -5, all on the same team.

Murphy is the guy they should be targeting, and unlike Kuba, he could be a Ranger for a couple more years, and cheaply as well. He is making under $1M this year, and signing him for $1.25 for the next 2 would be a great move for an unexpected gem.

Don't Buy!...

As we all know, the NHL Deadline will be here Wednesday at 3, formerly Tuesday at 3 p.m. but since there was a big slate of games on Tuesday, they pushed it back to a more open day.

The Rangers, by and large, always buy, with the rare exception of 2004, when they had to get rid of contracts because of the upcoming salary cap. That year, they dumped Petr Nedved, Greg de Vries, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Leetch, Chris Simon, Jussi Markkanen, Matthew Barnaby, and Martin Rucinsky for prospects, picks, Blair Betts, and Steve Valiquette. (I will have a post on this later in the week).

In 2006, they traded Ville Nieminen for a draft pick, then used that pick to get Sandis Ozolinsh, who, during the first round against New Jersey, did more damage to the Rangers than Jaromir Jagr's shoulder or Henrik Lundqvist's teeth-grinding-induced headaches did.

In 2007, Aaron Ward got shipped off for Paul Mara. They also traded Pascal Dupuis (formerlly Adam Hall) to Atlanta for Alex Bourret (since traded away). A pick also exchanged hands in the Atlanta trade, but I don't know who received it. I think it was a 3rd rounder.

Last year, Christian Backman came to the club for a 4th-round pick. No, he wasn't good, but he did add depth and it was cheap.

This year, the team needs more than a mediocre defenseman. They already have Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Eric Reitz, and Dmitri Kalinin playing that role.

Yet, what they do need will be expensive, and to be honest, won't work. 

With the exception of Carolina picking up Doug Weight and Mark Recchi in the months leading up to the 2006 playoffs, trade deadline deals don't always equal a sip from the Cup. (Carolina also never should've won the Cup. They got lucky against Buffalo, who was tired from a grueling series against Ottawa, and if Dwayne Roloson didn't go down in Game 1 vs. Edmonton, the Oilers would have won easily.)

What the Rangers SHOULD do is more like what they did in 2007. Trade money-for-money, as in ditching Aaron Voros for someone cheaper (maybe even an expiring contract), or trading a big name player like Redden for someone young and cheap. Of course, Redden won't be going anywhere. Other GMs aren't going to fall for him like Glen Sather unfortunately did. 

I like Nigel Dawes, but he is going to be a RFA, so maybe he can be moved to a team looking for forward depth for a pick or a young prospect, like Dupuis was. 

The Rangers probably will try to make a big splash, maybe moving pieces around to try to get Jay Bouwmeester. Bad move. Don't trade the future to have him for a month. Trade the present to try to get him in the summer for nothing but money.

I hope the Rangers don't deplete themselves like they did in the late-90s until 2003 at the deadline. Reason says they will not win the Cup this year. They might make the playoffs (probably will), may even eek out a win in the first round and be competitive in the 2nd, but their collection of 2nd line centers and 2nd pairing defensemen won't win them any silver in June.

Glen Sather doesn't read this blog, that's for sure. If he did, we wouldn't be suffering with Wade "I scored a goal!" Redden for the next 5 years. But let's hope he uses common sense, realizes the reasonable expectations for this team he assembled, and looks towards the future.

Possible UFAs...

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?

2008-09 New York Rangers: Defense...

The last in a three-part series of how the 08-09 Rangers will shape up.

DEFENSE

The Rangers have enough forwards, as I wrote about in my Offensive Preview. Regardless of the returns of Marty Straka (probably not), Jaromir Jagr (probably), Sean Avery (hopefully), and Brendan Shanahan (undecided), they have enough young talent and established players that they will probably only need to grab one player from the free agent pool to add depth on wing. 

That leaves a lot of money for defense, considering the cap has been raised to $56.7M. 

So who is signed for next year? Christian Backman, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, and Fedor Tyutin. Last season the Rangers carried 7 or 8 defensemen at all times, so for argument's sake, I will come up with 8 of them.

From last year, Marek Malik, Paul Mara, Michal Rozsival, and Jason Strudwick are unrestricted free agents. 

I think most Ranger fans are hoping Backman gets traded, although I don't see a trade or a buyout happening. Simply put, GM Glen Sather doesn't admit to mistakes often, but fans know Backman is the second coming of Sandis Ozolish (the comparisons to Malik are inevitable, but to Malik's defense, he did have a great 2005-06 before becoming slow like molasses in January the past 2 years). 

So let's assume that the 4 under contract stay under contract.

I'm certain Malik has played his last game on Broadway, if not in the whole NHL. I could be wrong, as he is only 33, and some team might find him as a serviceable 7th defenseman. However, not our problem, as he dug his own grave in New York. (While he did the digging, fans certainly pushed him into it.)

Rozsival - The big question is if Rozsival returns. Pre-lockout, he was hurt, and the Rangers took a chance on him. It paid off for both of them. However, I haven't ever been a big fan of his. He passes too much considering he has a decent shot. He does have offensive upside, but defensively he can hurt the team. Much of that might stem from playing with Malik or rookie-Staal and having to make up for their deficiencies, 

Still, the Rangers have too many defensive liabilities, considering how much he might get paid come July 1. Besides Brian Campbell, there aren't many puck-moving Ds out there, and Rozy is nothing if not puck-moving (as in, he moves it to Jagr; he moves it to Shanahan; he moves it back to Jagr).

Let some other team overpay him. He tied for 7th in defensemen scoring last season (his 13 goals were 5 more than Campbell's), including 6 on the power play. He was the only D to have 2 short-handed goals, as well (yes, they were in back-to-back games). He made $2.2M the past 2 years if memory serves me correct, a steal for his production. This year, he will want atleast $3.8M, and teams might throw him close to $4.5M/season. I've said this since we started this blog, let some other team overpay for him.

Mara - Mara wants to be a Ranger. He has made that clear. He was useful in his role, if not overpaid (Boston's fault, not Sather's). He is a more disciplined version of Mara with a booming shot from the point that could be useful if he sees power play time in 2008-09. 

That said, he will test the free agent market because he has not been tendered an offer by the Rangers. Quite simply, the Rangers are seeing how everything shapes up for them. With restricted free agents, Rozsival, Campbell, and others in the mix, they have a wait-and-see-if-we-still-need-him attitude with Mara. Expect Mara not to pick a team to play on until July 5th or 6th.

Strudwick - Struds has very little NHL ability anymore. Yes, he is a great guy and a solid locker room player, but in a practical sense, he brings little to the ice. One day he will probably be coaching in the NHL, and he should start by retiring. I loved having him on the team last year, but it makes no sense to bring him back, especially when Andrew Hutchinson is waiting in the wings to play the same role on the Rangers that Strudwick played last year.

RFAs

The restricted free agent pool for D-men is weak. The Rangers aren't normally the ones to tender offer-sheets to players, and only a few names make sense. Dennis Widemann (Boston) is a young, cheap defender. Edmonton isn't losing Joni Pitkanen (and he has more defensive flaws than Malik does). 

Ville Koistinen is a real solid player and Nashville has enough defensemen that they might let him walk on July 1, or they might let a team offer him a deal and take the draft picks as compensation. Of course, the Rangers have a young blueline already, and he doesn't add more than 50 games experience. 

That leaves Andrej Meszaros, Jay Bouwmeester, and Mike Green. Bouwmeester is the sexy name there, and for good reason. With the most experience of the group, he is the best player there as well. On top of that, Florida is a horrible organization who he might not want to play for anymore. It's not beyond the Panther's management to trade his negotiation rights for Colton Orr and a 6th round pick in the 2010 draft. 

Green would be a good addition, but he is still, well, green, especially on the blueline. Meszaros is a good player, scoring over 30 points in every season, and he shoots the puck as well. Not a power play pivot, but a solid player.

UFAs

Campbell heads the UFA list, but at $8M, he will be extremely overpaid. I took issue with Eric Lindros being paid $8M for 19 goals once ($421,000 per goal). Imagine paying Campbell a million per goal. Is it really that hard to find a PP QB that he gets paid the equivalent of 40 years at a respectable university everytime he puts the puck past a goalie?

Wade Redden (don't be duped by him), Rob Blake (wants stay in LA, and at 37 is extremely risky consdering his injuries lately), Adam Foote (no) and Mattias Nortstrom (hey, wasnt' he a Ranger once?) are the veterans. I don't see the Rangers signing anyone here, partly because it's not 2002 anymore and most of these players are has-beens. 

I do see them taking a shot at maybe Mike Commodore (respectable, cheap), John-Michael Liles (would be a good fit at 26), or Ron Hainsey, although both of those last 2 are inexperienced. Rumors have them talking to Brooks Orpik, who I openly dispise because of his neck-breaking dirty shot on Erik Cole in 2006.

Mark Streit is the best name on the list and would probably ask around 3 or 3.5M a year, but I think the Canadiens would want to re-sign him as soon as they could. If the Rangers got him, Rozy would be a goner and Campbell wouldn't even be on the radar anymore. 

Kurt Sauer, Dmitri Kalinin, Andreas Lilja, and David Hale also wouldn't surprise me. It's not a tremendously strong crop, but there are some good names out there. Trouble is, since it isn't a good crop, they would come with pricetags like a Ferrari (or, like 50 Ferraris).

From Within

Ivan Baranka is overseas, Corey Potter isn't ready, Bobby Sanguenetti has atleast one year of minor league hockey in him, and Andrew Hutchinson has NHL experience... wait for it... as a power play point man. Hmmmm.

Hutch will definitely be in training camp, and hopefully he can crack the roster. In Hartford, he had 64 points in 67 games, 13 power play goals, and was a +28. He's 28, and had 8 power play points in 41 games in 06-07 in Carolina, leading the team while playing in half the games. 

Overall

Should be interesting come July 1. Once again, let's hope the concentrate on defense. Last season, the Rangers played team defense to make up for what they lacked individually. While it worked, it limited their offense severely, especially Jagr.