Kalinin hurt

Dmitri Kalinin left today’s game after a knee-to-knee collision behind the net the Bruins’ Dennis Wideman. He skated off favoring his right leg, and is out for at the least the remainder of the game. No word on the severity of the injury, but it looks like we might get a look at Erik Reitz before we expected.

The Bruins lead 1-0 after two.

Game 51: Rangers at Bruins

Our Blueshirts are looking to right the ship after that disastrous third period against the Penguins on Wednesday. They are really going to have to work for it, as they are facing probably the best team in the East this afternoon. They still only have single digit losses (35-8-6) and just got Phil Kessel back from his bout with the kissing disease mono.

The last time the Rangers faced the Bruins, we were treated to a very exciting 3-2 shootout win where two All Star goalies stole the show. You have the two possible Vezina finalists squaring off again today, and there’s no reason to think that this won’t be another exciting game.

IF, and I repeat, IF the Rangers can find a way to keep the fast paced Bruins from controlling the puck and the game, then this could end up as another win for the Rangers. That’s a big IF though, and Hank will need to be stellar tonight.

More later.

Update 1:00pm:Tuuka Rask in net for Boston tonight. He’s supposed to be the future in net for the Bruins.

Finding comparable contracts for Zherdev

One of the biggest issues facing GM Glen Sather this coming offseason is the contract status of stud winger Nikolai Zherdev. The 24 year old is in the final year of the three year, $7.5M deal he signed while with Columbus and will be a restricted free agent after the season, and we already know that the team is trying to lock him up long-term. There is some concern that he could bolt for the KHL, since teams in the Russian league can offer ginormous amounts of money in an effort to steal away players from the NHL (see Malkin, Evgeni).

We’ve seen some of the flakiness that reported plagued Zherdev with the Blue Jackets, as he was visibly pressing and frustrated at times this season. Even though he shows outstanding hands, the goal scoring hasn’t been there as hoped this year (he just snapped a 14 game goal drought). He has done a better job in his own zone, tying for the team lead with a +6. Even though he can enigmatic, he leads the team in scoring and his talent is clearly worth keeping around.

What I want to do is try to get a feel for what kind of contract offer Zherdev can expect from the Rangers after the season. I did this by finding similar aged players who signed long term deals after posting statistically similar seasons to Zherdev. I considered the three seasons before each player signed their deal, roughly approximating an entry-level deal. Granted, this isn’t the most scientific method in the world, but if nothing else it at least gives us a ballpark figure.

The table below is a quick summary of three similar players and how they performed prior to hitting the jackpot. The table reads chronologically left-to-right, so Year 3 is the season right before the player signed long-term, Year 2 is the season before that, and Year 1 the season before that. The age listed is the player’s age when they signed their fat contract.

And now, Zherdev:

* stats for Year 3 are his projected totals for this season, which I got off his ESPN Player Page.

First thought: holy cow did the Kings get a helluva deal on Dustin Brown. Second though, Zherdev fits right in with these players. He lags a little bit in the goal scoring department in his “contract year,” but the point totals are right there. Of course there’s a chance that Zherdev gets hot over the season’s final two months and eclipses that projection, but there’s always a chance he underperforms it too.

So does six years and $24M sound fair? Yeah, it does. Maybe five years, $20M sounds a little more reasonable, but that sixth year might be what it takes to keep him from heading back to the Motherland. I’ll leave contract details like annual payout (a backloaded deal would ease the cap burden) and no-movement protection (no, please) to the professionals. The framework of a five or six year deal with an average annual value around $4M does seem to make sense for both parties, however.

What do you think, too much, too little?

Remember Him?

We all remember the center on the popular HMO line, Dominic Moore. He was traded to Pittsburgh in the deal that brought Adam Hall to NY.

Ever wonder what he’s been up to recently? Well, he has found himself a home as the first line center in Toronto, centering Jason Blake and Ian White (ironically enough, Ryan Hollweg has found himself on this Maple Leaf team too). He is also having a breakout season, with 11 goals, 18 assists for 29 points in 49 games this year. This also includes a stretch of 6 points in the previous 3 games. He has impressed new GM Brian Burke enough that he is not being included in all the Maple Leaf trade rumors.

Moore was used primarily as a defensive and penalty killing specialist while in NY. He showed some offensive flair while in NY, netting 9 goals and 18 points while playing in a limited role. It’s good to see him getting more playing time and succeeded on both sides of the puck.

So Long Sam

As you have probably heard by now, Sam Weinman is leaving his Ranger blogging ways for the greens of GolfDigest.com. I, like pretty much everyone else, have been reading Sam’s blog for a long while, and his blog is what inspired me (that and being incredibly bored at work) to start blogging in the first place. The ever-capable Rick Carpiniello will be taking Sam’s place at LoHud.

Good luck Sam, thanks for everything.

Fritsche Traded for Erik Reitz

In an unexpected move, Dan Fritsche has been traded to the Minnesota Wild for Erik Reitz. Reitz, a 26 year old defensemen, will probably serve as the 7th defensemen for the Rangers, as this is clearly a depth move. Reitz plays a very physical game, compensating for his lack of speed. This partially addresses the Rangers needs at the deadline, as they got a physical, bruising defensemen (he has racked up 100 PIMS in 4 of 6 AHL seasons, and at least 90 in the other two) in exchange for a spare part. Let’s hope he gets some playing time to see what he can do.

I say this move is unexpected because the Wild traded for Fritsche just one day after he cleared waivers. Why not pick him up on the waiver wire? They certainly have the cap room.

Reitz, like Fritsche, is in the last year of his current deal and will become an RFA at the end of the season.

Good luck to Fritsche in his new home, and I wish him all the best.

Update 4:30pm: The Depth Chart has been updated to reflect this trade.

Profile: Evgeny Grachev

Grachev, currently with the Brampton Battalion of the OHL, was the Rangers 3rd round pick, #75 overall, in the 2008 NHL draft. His stock is quickly growing, due to his outstanding play with the Battalion (39 GP, 27 G, 26 A, 53 Pts, OHL rookie of the month in November), and he currently sits in the top 5 Rangers prospects (as per HockeysFuture). Grachev, just 18 years old, and is listed at 6′2, 202 lbs (though probably more like 6′4 and 215), so he, unlike Artem Anisimov, has already filled out his big frame.

Grachev uses his size to his advantage, and this is where he differs from Anisimov. While Anisimov has not yet filled out his frame to be a dominating physical force, Grachev has, and he has demonstrated this during his time on the Russian U18 team last year. He excels at driving to the net and banging home rebounds, something that this current Rangers team could learn a lot from. For a big guy, Grachev is still a strong skater with an above average shot and decent puck handling skills.

The biggest concern around Grachev is his quickness. Last year, while playing for the Russian U18 team, his slower feet and decision making skills were exploited by the Canadian team. The young Russian will need to work on getting faster and quicker if he wants to have a long and successful career in the NHL. He is also developing a presence in the face-off circle, but has a long way to go.

The potential for Grachev is right up there with Anisimov, as the two are being talked about as one in the same. If he develops his foot speed and his face off prowess, then you could be looking at a #1 center in the best case scenario, and a top-six forward for those who are going with the conservative take.

The center position looks very strong down the road for the Rangers, and they may soon have the tough decision of who to shift to wing. Currently they have Gomez, Drury, Dubinsky and Betts lining up at center, with Anisimov knocking on the door and Grachev right behind him. Things are looking good down the middle.

What happened?

Believe it or not, the turning point of last night’s game was not in the 3rd period when the Rangers looked more like a high school team. It was actually the end of the 2nd period, when Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 18 shots that he faced in that period. That must have deflated the Rangers, and maybe got their tempers boiling that they couldn’t solve him. Talking about that abysmal 3rd period is beating the proverbial dead horse, but this goes back to a post earlier, stating that the Rangers must play 60 minutes of consistent hockey to do well in the second half of the year. They clearly didn’t do that last night.

It looks as if Marc-Andre Fleury has found his game after numerous injuries and inconsistent play. That’s horrible news for the Rangers, and great news for the Pens, who expect Sergei Gonchar back in late February. They will be a very scary team down the stretch, luckily the Rangers don’t see them until March 28 (my birthday, buy me something nice). You can expect half of the playoff teams to again come from the Atlantic division.

And speaking of inconsistent goaltending, what happened to Hank? There seem to be a lot more of these lopsided losses this year. Maybe he’s burned out a little bit? He, like Scott Gomez, is a second half player, so let’s hope this is just another blip on the radar.

Game 50: Rangers at Penguins

This is slowly becoming a bigger rivalry than Rangers/Islanders, mostly because these games matter, and the Islanders are god-awful.

We all know what happened the last time these teams met. The Rangers forgot to show up, and they were embarrassingly awful in a 3-0 loss. You can bet your life that the Rangers will want to put that sorry game behind them.

The Penguins are surprising a lot of people by sitting outside the playoffs right now, and are treading water by playing .500 hockey. Their inconsistent goaltending has been a major issue for them. The Penguins go as Fleury goes.

As for the Rangers, who are 5-1-1 in their past 7, they seem to find ways to hide their flaws. Anyone who watched the game last night noticed that they were giving up way too many chances in the high slot to a team that isn’t exactly known for its offense. You can’t really complain when they are winning though, so kudos to them. Keep it up.

Crosby says he is 80%, so he’s playing tonight. I don’t think there will be any lineup changes tonight (except for Hank in net tonight), Voros played well last night and there’s no reason to take him out of the lineup.

It’s a 7:30pm start tonight on MSG+.

Odds and Ends

• The Islanders just can’t get lucky.  Mike Sillinger is now out for the year. They lost another tradeable asset to help rebuild. It’s unknown what Sillinger could have gone for, considering he played an entire 7 games all year, but something is better than nothing. This just creates more time for us to laugh at the Islanders for their ridiculous team right now. They remind me of the Kansas City Royals.

• Henrik Zetterberg re-upped with the Wings, which shouldn’t really shock anyone. His deal is 12 years, $72 million, which is just a $6 million cap hit (still less than Wade Redden). That deal is great for the Wings. With Michael Cammalleri poised to make Jarome Iginla money ($7 million/year), Zetterberg would surely have received more money from any other team. This does pose an issue for the Wings though, bringing their cap number to roughly $48 million for next year, with Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen set to become UFAs. My guess is that Hossa goes for greener pastures and Franzen stays in Detroit. If Franzen winds up as a free agent, how much will Sather be kicking himself for signing Markus Naslund to two years (or Redden to 6, but I digress)?

• The Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors have all but died for this season. That’s pretty good news for all Ranger fans. The Blueshirts can’t even beat the Habs now, without Lecavalier, can you imagine what it would be like with Vinny in Montreal?

• As for Dan Fritsche, he has cleared waivers. I’m guessing he will go to Hartford, and Potter will be called up for the game in Boston on Saturday.