ESPN reports that Mark Messier has taken a position in the Rangers front office as a special assistant to general manager Glen Sather. The report mentions that this may be the first stage in Messier assuming the post of general manager when Slats finally hangs it up.
Nice to see Messier taking a more active role in the front office as the years have gone on. He’s has always hung around the Rangers organization after his retirement, and this move shows me that they acknowledge and recognize him in such a way they want him to stay around longer (because honestly, who wouldn’t?). Speaks volumes as to how the Rangers treat their esteemed alumni, with Rod Gilbert seemingly everywhere you look and Adam Graves also having a role in the front office.
Via Larry Brooks, the Rangers have signed winger Vinny Prospal to a one year deal worth $1.1M. Prospal played under John Tortorella for a few seasons in Tampa, but managed to miss out on the club’s 2004 Stanley Cup Championship while playing in Anaheim. It’s worth noting that Vinny’s best seasons have come under Torts, so maybe there’s hope for him in this system.
Me? I don’t love the move, but it’s not terrible. Prospal’s pretty much a lock for 20 goals in the run-and-gun system, and his deal is pretty cheap and easy to back out of. Plus he can fill in at center if needed. He’s essentially taking the spot vacated by Nik Zherdev, which is funny because they’re both the same kind of players: lots of talent but they disappear at times.
I’m still here in LA, going to San Diego tomorrow for the weekend, then back to LA next week for work. Ranger news has been slow, but that’s expected for August. Just a quick round-up:
- These Brad Richards rumors are ludicrous. The Rangers simply do not have the cap room without dealing Redden or Drury (even Rozsival won’t cut it). It is highly unlikely that a roster-defenseman will be involved in a deal for a forward because the Rangers will not be starting three rookie defensemen.
- Brandon Dubinsky will get signed, so relax. Easier said than done, I know, even I’m getting nervous, it’s August and he still doesn’t have a contract. But it will get done.
- Patrice Brisebois is not a Ranger yet. He did not sign a contract.
- I am getting really tired of all the “expert” writers picking the Rangers to finish in the bottom-five of the East. Ok, you don’t like the risk of Marian Gaborik, we get it. Trust me, we understand. But bottom-five? You can’t think of five teams in the East that are worse than the Rangers? Want me to do it? Ok. Islanders. Lightning. Panthers. Sabres. Thrashers. Leafs. Oops, that’s six.
- Those retarded Subway ads will be back. Apparently they only got “a handful of complaints” and “most of the feedback was positive.” Sure.
- The US Juniors crushed Russia again, 6-1. Ranger prospects Derek Stepan (3 A) and Ryan Bourque (1 G) were key contributors to the win.
- It is ridiculous that the NHL is freezing out Jim Balsille like this. He clearly wants to own an NHL team, and Hamilton will be a great hockey environment. Essentially banning him from the league because you don’t like him is immature and asinine.
- On the topic of the Coyotes, it is even more ridiculous that Gary Bettman tried to compare the Coyotes to the Penguins. Sure, they were both bankrupt at one point, but that’s where the similarity ends. The Pens tanked five seasons in a row and wound up with four top-two picks (Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, Staal). The other first high first rounder was Ryan Whitney. The Coyotes don’t have that luxury of drafting top-two every year.
- Did you know that Marian Gaborik had an injury problem while with Minnesota?
I’m still in LA, and still with limited access to the internet. Luckily, there hasn’t been much going on in Ranger land other than the Zherdev to the KHL rumors.
In promising news, all three Ranger prospects made the cut for the US National Team (Chris Kreider, Ryan Bourque, Derek Stepan). Both Bourque and Stepan contributed points (1 G and 1 A respectively) in the US’ dominating win over Russia, 8-1.
It is good to see the prospects contributing on their level, and we should hope their development continues.
Stepan is going to be gold.
In some unsurprising news, Carp passes along a report that former Blueshirt Nik Zherdev is indeed heading home to Mother Russia to play in the KHL next year. The translated article doesn’t say much, but there’s enough there to get the point across that Nik will join Yulaev Salavat Ufa, a team that also features former Rangers Vlad Vorobiev (remember him?) and Dmitri Kalinen.
Update: Turns out he isn’t heading to the KHL, yet anyway. Via Beyond the Blueshirts, Zherdev’s agent basically denied the report.
I’m aware this is old news, but I’m in LA, with roughly zero internet access. So you’re going to have to bear with me while I’m late on this stuff.
The investigation over the Cherepanov tragedy is continuing, as prosecutors have reopened the case for investigation. The fact that this situation has been going on for so long, and has been so public, is just disturbing. If someone is to blame, then they deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However, just because it was a tragedy, doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is to blame. I don’t believe he was blood doping, but I don’t believe the KHL is covering this up either.
In more bashing of the Rangers moves this offseason, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News mentions the Rangers twice thrice in his Worst UFA Signings of 2009. Sure, Sather shelled out a ton of money this summer on Marian Gaborik (#2 on this list), who’s injuries are well documented and really seem to be the only argument everyone has against him. He gave questionable terms to Ales Kotalik (#4 on the list), but with Zherdev essentially gone, they needed to fill the void. Though, I do agree with Proteau on this one, and I have made it well known. He also gave two years to the 37 year old Donald Brashear (gets a dishonorable mention), ensuring that his $1.4 million cap hit will be there next year as well.
Just some notes about the contracts of Gaborik and Kotalik: They both signed at market value. I cannot stress market value enough. If you look at the contracts for comparable players, they all make that kind of money. And I’m talking about annual salary, not cap hit (or average annual salary). So omit the financial terms from your arguments for these two deals please. If you look at these two signings, each filled a void in the Rangers lineup. Gaborik filled the go-to game changer, and Kotalik is an attempt to fill the 2nd/3rd line RW spot that was vacated in the Nikolai Zherdev show.
Personally, I would swap Brashear and Kotalik on this list. If you look at the Brashear deal, he is making well above market value, is 37, and is signed for two years. Is the “Brashear-fear” worth the guaranteed $1.4 million cap hit? Maybe. But as of right now, I think he could have signed for less annually, and for one year.
Sather has done a fairly good job this year in managing the cap (so far) this offseason. Assuming Dubinsky signs for $1.75 million annually (high estimate), the Rangers will still have $1.2 million in cap room available, and that’s with a 13th forward (Voros in my scenario, could be Arnason though, which saves more cap room), and a 7th D (Potter/Sauer). Remember last year when the Rangers had no cap room and just one spare player?
Some optimism please?
I’m one of the lucky ones, where my job takes me to LA in August, when some of my friends get to travel to Milwaukee in the dead of winter. I just laugh at them when they complain.
The downside to this LA trip is that I will actually be working a lot, and it’s in a secure facility, I don’t think we will be granted an internet connection. So for the next two weeks, my posts will be few and far between. If any big news happens, expect Mike or Stas to update here.
When I return, we are that much closer to hockey season.
Posted by: Dave, on 08-09-2009 at 8:00 am in Not Hockey | Comments Off
For the first post in this series, please click here.
Tom Awad at Puck Prospectus continues his outstanding explanation of GVT in Part Two, which covers how ice time affects the overall GVT, and Part Three, which goes into great detail of how the stat is calculated, of his analysis of the metric. It is incredibly difficult to quantify a player’s contribution to his team by stats alone. There are so many different factors that contribute to the overall success, that it may actually be impossible to find one stat that quantifies everything. Tom does a great job at beginning the process of developing metrics to help analyze these factors. These are all fantastic reads, and really dive into a deeper analysis of hockey stats that aren’t simple counting stats.
Just like all new stats, there are flaws, as Tom points out himself:
- GVT works best for regular season statistics.
- GVT does not measure a player’s talent.
- GVT does not measure intangibles (leadership).
That aside, if you are looking for a better way to measure the contribution of a player, like Marc Staal, who does not put up flashy numbers, then GVT is for you. Definitely head over there and take a read.
Posted by: Dave, on 08-08-2009 at 11:00 am in Analysis | Comments Off
Old news, but when news is slow, may as well post old news.
Jeremy Roenick retired, and I fear that his notorious loud mouth will blind people into thinking that he is not a Hall of Famer. In his career, he is 513-703-1216. That’s Hall of Fame stats. The only thing missing is a Cup, and it is truly unfortunate that he didn’t get one. Presumably, that’s why he signed on with the Sharks, because they were a Cup contending team.
Him and Sakic will lead their class to the Hall.
