Meh. I wasn’t really thrilled that the Rangers even made their pick. I still think they are going to need 1 more impact forward beyond Brad Richards to turn this team to legitimate Stanley Cup Contenders, and this draft pick was a great chip to use. Now it’s been used, and unless one of the teams we could hypothetically deal with are interested in JT Miller, we’ve just made it harder to make a deal.
On Miller…He’s a Ranger type player. Big, strong, plays with heart, never gives up, plays in all situations. He’s a perfect fit for this club. But, we have players like him. We don’t need the next Ryan Callahan, we already have him! We need the next Rick Nash…or…you know….Rick Nash himself, for example. What we don’t need is another redundant part. But that’s just what we got.
I’ve got nothing against this kid, I think he’s a solid pick for where we were picking. I think he’s a sure fire bet to make the NHL in some capacity. I just don’t think drafting him, or anyone, was what is best for this organization going forward. I think this team needs to start winning. They need to start developing a culture of players used to going deep into the playoffs, and until a significant amount of upper end talent is infused into this roster, I just don’t see it happening.
If you’ve been one of those folks who has been reading this site for a while, you know I tend to make radical suggestions every offseason to try to get this team where it needs to go. Last season it was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk. This season, I think we need to go into The Joker territory of insane and try to get this team into the conversation of legitimate cup contenders. Especially after the Flyers finally got themselves a goalie, and the more than likely return of Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh (I don’t believe he’s going to Detroit). We know the Devils will be much better with a healthy Zach Parise, and we know the Islanders will continue to improve as their young core group of players come together. The Isles are really the only team you can say going into the offseason that the Rangers will be better than. That’s not good.
So, what do we need to do? Personally, I think it’s time to start using some of our assets to get better now. I think the Rangers should sign Brad Richards AND trade for another true blue elite forward. I think the Rangers defense is fine the way it is, and you can infuse even more youth into it as our kids are clearly ready and able. I have 5 targets the Rangers should go after, any of these 5 would be just fine with me.
Jarome Iginla: Power Forward, can score, plays John Tortorella physical style hockey, and a natural leader. Calgary has a horrendous prospect core and need to infuse more youth into their lineup. They are already on the verge of trading Regehr so you know a house cleaning may be in order. Iginla would only be productive for another ~3 years, but during that time can help change the culture of this team.
Rick Nash: Nash is an incredibly talented forward with a unique combination of size and skill. He’s also the face of the Columbus franchise and has an incredibly high cap hit of 7.8 mil for another 7 years. Acquiring him will be difficult and cost a fortune, but if it can be done, I would look into it.
Paul Stastny: Incredibly talented center. Would help us down the middle. Is young still (25), and a big time point producer (321 points in 348 games played). His father angered the Avalanche by making some ill advised comments, and let’s face it, the Avalanche have been known to make some bizarre trades.
Evander Kane: Evander Kane would be my #1 target out of these 4 players listed here. Plays a mean game, is incredibly talented, and has the most room to grow. At only 19 years of age he’s already a 40+ point scorer while delivering a knockout blow to Matt Cooke in a fight which is never a bad thing. Evander perfectly fits where the club needs to go. I would be willing to offer Artem Anisimov, Michael Del Zotto, Our First Rounder, and Dylan McIlrath (and more if need be) to make Evander a Ranger. That’s how highly I think of him.
Jason Spezza: My least favorite choice, but still a good one. Spezza is incredibly talented, there’s no doubt about that. However his game isn’t really suited for Tortorella hockey, though you’d love to see the magic he could make playing on a power play with Brad Richards, and Marian Gaborik. I question Spezzas mental toughness though.
Here’s an example using one of the players above on what we should do this offseason…
The Rangers should offer Richards one of those long deals that drops the average annual contract hit down to about 6 million bucks. They should buyout Sean Avery for a cap hit of 1.333 mil. They should trade Wojtek Wolski, Michael Del Zotto, Tomas Kundratek, our 1st this year, and our 2nd next year for Jarome Iginla. They should place Chris Drury on Long Term Injured Reserve, and they should go to war with this lineup:
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Jarome Iginla ($7.000m) / Brad Richards ($6.000m) / Marian Gaborik ($7.500m)
Brandon Dubinsky ($4.000m) / Artem Anisimov ($1.850m) / Ryan Callahan ($4.000m)
Evgeny Grachev ($0.816m) / Derek Stepan ($0.875m) / Mats Zuccarello-Aasen ($1.750m)
Carl Hagelin ($0.662m) / Brian Boyle ($1.500m) / Brandon Prust ($0.800m)
/ Erik Christensen ($0.925m)
DEFENSEMEN
Marc Staal ($3.975m) / Daniel Girardi ($3.325m)
Ryan McDonagh ($1.300m) / Mike Sauer ($1.500m)
Pavel Valentenko ($0.850m) / Tim Erixon ($1.750m)
Steve Eminger ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Henrik Lundqvist ($6.875m) / Martin Biron ($0.875m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $59,004,166; BONUSES: $2,287,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $4,995,834
Subtract $1.3 mil for Sean Averys buyout and you are at $3,662,501 in cap space. The real problem here is the summer cap number of $70,400,000. I’m not sure which of the players above count for that number so I cant do the exact calculation. For example I know Erixon doesn’t, but Mats Zuccarello-Aasen may or may not, I’m not sure. To get this to work the Rangers may have to wait until training camp to announce the signing of one of their kids, like Dubinsky for example.
The lineup above satisfies a few things we all want. It incorporates more youth into the lineup with 4 rookies in the lineup, and another 4 players with only 1 season under their belt. It solves our power play woes with a Quarterback (Richards), a shooter (Valentenko who, by all accounts, has a canon for a shot), and 2 strong wingers (Gaborik & Iginla). It solves our lack of offense by adding in at least 130 points into the equation while only subtracting a nonexistant Drury, enigmatic wingers in Wolski and Avery, and productive yet redundant parts in Prospal and Fedotenko. Our defense will be green and tested early and often, but I think they are up to the challenge, especially with Henrik between the pipes.
To me this is a team that could compete for the Stanley Cup. It has toughness, like the Bruins. It has skill, like the Canucks. It has goaltending, it has speed, it has it all. As long as it can stay healthy (*crosses fingers*) these guys can be the first true stanley cup capable team we’ve had since Wayne Gretzky retired.
OK, we have talked about the forwards, now it’s time for the defenseman and goalies. Let’s start with the easy one first…the goalies:
Henrik Lundqvist:
King Henrik this year posted his best Save Percentage, his most shutouts, and his second best Goals Against Average as a member of the Rangers. He was nominated for Vezinas twice before this, never posting numbers this good. Somehow, he doesn’t get a Vezina nod, that is a travesty, plain and simple. The Rangers, while dedicating themselves to be better defensively, still relied on their superstar goaltender to be the straw that stirred their drink. He was nothing short of spectacular this season. The problem is, Henrik is already 29 years old. He has what, 6…7 years left of being at his absolute peak? He’s a goaltender that relies on his athleticism and reaction time to make his saves, this isn’t a goalie who goes berserk and lunges out at players like Tim Thomas. He needs to be at his absolute physical peak to be at his best. So unlike Thomas, you have to expect Henrik to age a lot worse. Henrik needs to start getting this team deep into the playoffs, and for that, the Rangers better get their act together and get this man some help.
Martin Biron:
Stephen Valliquette, Kevin Weekes, and other pretenders have been put out for years now to spell Henrik Lundqvist. None of those goalies ever gave you a sense of being able to win you a game while giving Henrik a spell. Remember, the goalies that tend to go the deepest into the playoffs tend to play 50-60 games instead of 70+ like Henrik always seems to play. This past year Sather did something right and signed Martin Biron. At first I was a little hesitant, I mean, Biron has been a journeyman his entire career pretty much, never able to hold down a steady starters job. Instead he comes in and plays pretty much lights out every start outside of 2 or 3 starts tops. His injury, while it didn’t hurt the Rangers chances down the stretch certainly didn’t help. Henrik had to play hurt because the Rangers weren’t capable of putting an adequate backup between the pipes. Luckily we have Biron for another season here, a season where I hope he gets about 20-25 starts depending on how well he plays.
Ok, now time for the defenseman.
Marc Staal:
An All-Star berth, a step forward in all facets of the game. Staal became a true blue #1 pairing defenseman this year. Is he going to blow you away with his offensive ability? No, probably never, but there aren’t many defenseman in the league who can shut down a player the way Staal can, and that is why he’s the Rangers # 1 defenseman.
Dan Girardi:
Dan Girardi is a strange kinda player. When he plays with Marc Staal, he plays like a legitimate top pairing defenseman. He blocks shots, he hits the opposition, and he brings a decent amount of offense to his game. But take Staal away from him, and all of a sudden Girardi starts running around, is out of position and looks like a 3rd pairing defenseman. Luckily we have Staal to pair him with and that let’s us get away with having a top defensive pair that only costs us a combined 7.3 million dollars (800k more than what Wade Redden makes by the way).
Wade Redden:
Enjoy Hartford.
Bryan McCabe:
I was pretty disappointed in what McCabe brought to the table. Then again I wasn’t really all that enamored with him to begin with. I mean, he didn’t cost us much, and definitely was an improvement and brought something to our powerplay we didn’t have, a shot from the point. But, McCabe sucks in his own zone, and isn’t a good passer. Torts was forced to make McCabe both passer, and shooter on the point, and that didn’t work out well for us. McCabe wouldn’t be the worst option to bring in as a 7th defenseman, but he won’t play those kinds of minutes, and he won’t play for the kind of money we should offer him. Thanks for trying, but we’ll have to walk away.
Matt Gilroy:
I don’t get what anyone sees in this guy. You will never convince me he is even adequate in his own zone. He’s extremely soft, has no upper body strength whatsoever and doesn’t have an ounce of physicality in his game. So with all that said, you have to think the guy brings some offense to the table right? Uhh, no. 11 points in 58 games last season, a combined 26 points in 127 games played as a Ranger. Michael Sauer, a defensive defenseman through and through put up more points than Gilroy in his rookie season. Awful. Get rid of this guy. I’m not even interested in him as a 7th defenseman.
Ryan McDonagh:
McDonagh was a revelation for us this season. In 40 games he put up an outstanding +16 (2nd best on the team), with 9 points, and 56 hits. He quite frankly looked like he was a 10 year vet rather than the rookie almost straight out of college that he was. The Rangers absolutely robbed him from the Canadiens, and you have to think they are pretty pissed at that trade right about now. I’d be shocked if McDonagh isn’t a staple on our 2nd pair for the next 15 years.
Michael Sauer:
Michael Sauer kind of got hosed. He was really ready for the NHL 2 seasons before last year. He looked really good during that training camp and everyone except for Tom Renney thought he deserved to be on the team out of camp. Luckily this past season John Tortorella decided to give spots based on merit rather than age. (last season Sauer didn’t deserve a spot, period.) Sauer is an RFA this year, and he’s going to get a nice raise. You have to be happy with the chemistry he showed with McDonagh. While I’m not positive he’s a staple on this team for the next decade plus based on his health prior to this year, I am extremely happy to have him on this club for the foreseeable future so long as he remains healthy and steady in his own zone as he was this past season.
Steve Eminger:
Eminger was brought here with a steal of a trade for Aaron Voros last summer. He served extremely well as a 6/7 defenseman who brought some snarl, and some good play to the Rangers. He’s not the best in his own zone, he’s not the best in the other teams zone, but he’s not a guy who hurts you when you give him minutes. However the Rangers have far better options coming, it’s time to cut bait.
Michael Del Zotto
MDZ had an awful season this year, plain and simple. His demotion was definitely deserved. However the kid is unquestionably talented. If he can get his skating up to par he could easily become a 2nd pairing defenseman who quarterbacks the power play. With all that said, the Rangers have so many other defenseman coming up that Del Zotto may have the highest value that other teams covet, and may be a player to move if the Rangers plan on making a big bang of a trade.
Tim Erixon:
I really don’t know all that much about Erixon to be totally honest. I know this much, Gordie Clark thinks he’s NHL ready right now. If Gordie thinks so, I think so. The Rangers see Erixon as a top 10 pick this year, and made their move to get him. My guess is, Erixon takes over Matt Gilroys spot right out of camp. I did remember seeing Erixon at the World Junior Championships, and was quite impressed with him. He’s more like Ryan McDonagh than Matt Gilroy though. He’s not going to blow you away in any 1 facet the way Gilroy could with his speed, but he’s going to be much stronger in his own zone, and frankly, that’s enough for me right now. Pencil him in to the opening night roster as part of the 3rd pair.
Pavel Valentenko:
Valentenko is a very intriguing kid. During camp last season I really liked what I saw from him. He’s what you would call a “toolsy” player. He’s got a monster of a shot, he’s physical, and he’s an outstanding shot blocker. Those are all things the Rangers can and do need. I see “Tank” battling the next player I list for the final roster spot on the Rangers.
Tomas Kundratek:
Kundratek is more of a safer player than Valentenko. He’s probably the one who is “readier” of the 2 players, but he’s definitely not the one with the higher upside in my personal opinion. Valentenko could turn into a Volchenkov type player with a canon of a shot, or he could bust out easily, however you have to think Kundratek could make the NHL sooner, but won’t be much of an impact type player. Personally, I think Kundratek doesn’t make the Rangers this season, I think Valentenko does, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it happened the other way around.
Ok, that’s all for now. Part 3 in the next few days.
Ok, so with the end of the Stanley Cup Finals approaching I think it is time to start talking about what the Rangers should do, in my personal opinion, to go from being pretenders, to contenders. Personally speaking, I don’t think the Rangers are far off, and I really do believe they can do it in 1 season.
First off, today, let’s just talk about our own players. So, I’m going to talk about each and every player, one by one.
Marian Gaborik:
Gabby had a down season by his standards. Hell if it wasn’t for Chris Drury being so frikkin awful for the past few years, Gabbys production would be the single biggest problem with this team. However, Gaborik is 1 season removed from his best statistical season of his career and has always shown the ability to bounce back from bad years. What Gaborik really needs though, is help. Last year his help came in the form of a rookie center straight out of college, a 4th line center who almost failed to make the roster this season, and an enigmatic Russian who suffered a season ending injury halfway through the season. Gabby will be back next year, of that I have no doubts, but the question is, can the Rangers harness his greatness by giving the opposition other looks. Making them have to defend more than 1 player. Remember, as great as Jagr was during his record setting season, he still had Nylander and Straka who all had outstanding seasons to give the opposition someone else to think about.
Chris Drury:
Drury’s tenure as a Ranger has been nothing short of pitiful. A once great offensive star in Colorado and Buffalo reduced to a 3rd and 4th line player, sometimes on the wing, sometimes at center. He has become a penalty killer and a trophy old guy for everyone to praise. I know the guys in the lockerroom always say what a great guy Drury is, how much they respect him and owe him and blah blah blah. But seriously, does anyone expect them to say “Drury is our 2nd highest paid forward and produces jack shit out there, if it wasn’t for his 7 million dollar black hole salary on this roster, we could be a legit contender”. No, they aren’t, nor should they, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Chris Drury had exactly 1 goal last season. That was tied with recently departed superstar offensive machine Derek Boogaard. His 5 points in 24 games looks pathetic compared to Vinny Prospal, who was also injured, who managed to score 23 points in 29 games. Drury is done. The only question is, will he do the right thing and allow the Rangers to trade his rights away so we can save ourselves his cap hit. There are a few possible trades the Rangers could do where they trade Captain Cardboard for another teams garbage, and the other team buys out Drury, and we simply send their garbage to the minors. This saves the other team real money, and saves us cap money. If Drury is the great guy everyone says he is, he will waive his NMC and let the Rangers finally get out from under his 4 year attempt at suffocating this club.
Alexander Frolov:
Frolovs time as a Ranger was a series of failed wraparounds intermixed with some good board play. Following his injury we all knew he was gone, and it looks like he’s headed to Russia 1 year later than expected. Good luck Frolov. While I don’t despise you as a player, it was clear you didn’t have the offensive touch you were supposed to have had when signing here.
Ryan Callahan:
Give this man the captaincy. Give this man a long term contract. Don’t screw around. This guy is going to be the face of this franchise for the next 15 years. Want to know how the Rangers need to play to win? Watch him. Now give him the C and let this organization move into the future the right way.
Vinny Prospal:
Prospal surprised everyone, including myself, but rehabbing his way to a late season appearance. Prospal was extremely effective, once again showing that passion for the game other players seem to lack, and using that, and sheer force of will to get points. However, Prospal is older, slower, and not a part of this teams future. Personally speaking, I’m ready to move on. I like what Prospal brings, but this team has a tremendous amount of youth on the way up, I’m not going to let Prospal be the one to hold them back. Christian Thomas, Evgeny Grachev, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, these guys are going to need their time to play.
Sean Avery:
There are few people who loved Sean Avery as much as I did 3 years ago. Sean brought fire, energy, antics, and plain old life to what seemed like a dead organization. However Avery of today is a far cry from what we saw those many years ago. Sean seems to think he’s a skilled guy who can out deke the opposition. No Sean, you aren’t. You are a fast skater, but the skill level isn’t there to play that kind of a game. Sean Avery is ripe in line for a buyout, and frankly, that’s exactly what I would do. Time to move on. See you later Sean, thanks for everything.
Wojtek Wolski:
Wolski was brought in here to give the Rangers some offensive punch once Frolov went down. He didn’t really do that only registering 6 goals, 13 assists for 19 points during his 37 games here. Basically a 1/2 a point per game player. Sorry Wolski, but a guy who makes 4 million bucks needs to produce more than that, or at least bring more to his game than you do. Wolski floats, and doesn’t bring any physicality to the team. He’s not a heart player, he’s a skilled guy who hasn’t produced near enough. Another perfect buyout waiting to happen, I personally would buy him out. The skill is there, but I’m ready to cut bait. Bye Bye.
Brandon Dubinsky:
Dubi played most of last year with the consistency we were all looking for. He, along with Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan made an exceptionally strong 2nd line, that really played like a first line when they were all together, unfortunately Dubi missed 5 games, and Cally missed 22. That’s a lot of time they missed together. Dubi is an RFA and you can expect him to get paid. Lock him up Glen, get him in the fold long term.
Derek Boogaard:
While it’s sad that Derek passed away, I stand by what I’ve said forever. Heavyweights are not necessary in todays hockey. Pay your respects from Boogaard, and move on. Realize what failures Boogaard and Brashear have been to this club. How they provide nothing on the ice whatsoever, and just keep going. The Rangers didn’t play any more or less physical with or without Boogaard in our out of the lineup. They didn’t receive any more or less physical contact with or without him in the lineup. In short, his presence, at least to me, seemed completely useless out there. The Rangers were a far more effective team with someone who can actually play in the offensive zone and who could either kill penalties or play a shut down game.
Ruslan Fedotenko:
The Rangers picked up Fedotenko off the scrap heap when no team out there would take a flier on him. The Rangers however got some excellent minutes from Fedotenko including a very useful 10 goals and 15 assists in 66 games along with a rock solid 2-way game. However, much like Prospal, Fedotenko is unlikely to be a part of this team future, and frankly, I think there are better options internally that would cost less (Carl Hagelin for example). Time to walk away from a feel good story and improve the team elsewhere.
Erik Christensen:
Christensen is such a maddening player. He has all the skill in the world, but a head that just can’t make it all work. And it’s not like it’s his hockey sense either, its his intensity. He just doesn’t have it. The guy can look like the best player in the world on one shift, and be completely invisible the next. I would keep Christensen because he is valuable as a shootout specialist and because the upside is there and his cap hit is low, but I wouldn’t be opposed to trading or waiving him either.
Derek Stepan:
Stepan had an outstanding rookie season posting 21 goals and 24 assists, good enough for third on the Rangers in points, and 5th amongst all rookies in points. Stepan however does seem like a prime candidate for a sophomore slump. Many of his goals came off of very lucky bounces and crazy angles. You can’t count on them, and with such a successful season in the books you know teams are going to be gunning for him. Stepan really needs to improve his footspeed. Really if he can do that, he can up his ceiling tremendously because personally speaking, that is his biggest flaw.
Artem Anisimov: Outside of Laurie from Beyond the Blueshirts, there is probably nobody out there who is a bigger fan of Artem Anisimov. The kid is tall, has world class hands, excellent hockey IQ, is extremely responsible defensively, and the perfect attitude to boot. With that said, all those things are positives that allows him to be moved if the right deal comes along. Personally speaking, I think it may be time for the Rangers to make a big time move with one of their bigger assets. This may be the one piece we are forced to move in order to get a big time player via trade.
Brandon Prust:
Heart, soul, guts. It’s just pain. What more is there to say about Prust? The guy is a core piece. I love him as a Ranger. I want him here for a long time. Lock his ass up Glen.
Brian Boyle:
I’m a statistical nut. You should know that by now. So to me, seeing a guy who puts up 21 goals, 14 assists for 35 points when his previous career high was 4 goals and 2 assists, it screams outlier. Especially when said player only put up 1 goal, 2 assists for 3 points in his final 23 games played (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points over 82 games played). Don’t count on another big season from Boyle. In fact, if we can find some team willing to take Boyle in a big package instead of one of our big time prospects, I would do it. Boyle is a nice story, but I don’t buy his ability to maintain it long term. Let’s move along if we can get something good, or expect less if he’s back. Nice player, but don’t believe the hype.
Mats Zuccarello-Aasen:
I kind of waffle on Mats. My problem here is that he doesn’t play the small space game very well. He’s not a good forechecker, and he’s not a fast skater. However MZA is certainly a very smart player, with exceptional hands and vision. The skill is unquestionably there. And 23 points in 42 games as a rookie who averaged only 14 minutes per game of ice time is nothing to scoff at. I’ll give him 1 more season to see what he’s got. Who knows, maybe he can put it all together.
Evgeny Grachev:
He’s big. He’s fast. He’s got a heavy shot. And now he’s learned to play the other side of the puck. This guy is ready for the NHL. I still believe he’s going to be a big time player for us in the future, his prime is still not for another 3-4 years. But when he hits it, watch out. Get him in the lineup.
Carl Hagelin:
He’s not going to wow you with his talent, but Hagelin seems like the picture perfect 4th line player. An outstanding penalty killer, a speed demon, and a world class defensive forward. He’s ready too, let him cut his teeth on the 4th line getting 5-7 minutes a night.
Christian Thomas:
The wild card. Thomas is small, but boy oh boy is he skilled. Putting up 54 goals, and 45 assists in the OHL is no small feat. Thomas has world class hands, and an elite, hard, rocket of a shot. You need a shooter on your power play? He’s your guy. I think the Rangers need to make a move towards getting more skilled, and getting younger. I think they need to make a trade for an elite forward, and I think they are going to need to have their kids play big minutes this year. I think Thomas will make this club.
Part 2 will be the Defenseman and Goalies, probably in the next day or 2. Part 3 will be the overview of what I think we should do, in detail.