Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy chinese food and movie day. Enjoy time with your family and friends.

Three Prospects On Team USA

The Rangers will be heavily represented on Team USA for the IIHF World Junior Championships in December / January. Three prospects will be joining Team USA: Chris Kreider (1st, 2009), Ryan Bourque (3rd, 2009) and Derek Stepan (2nd, 2008).

Although Kreider is struggling a little bit in college, it is a great sign that he was selected to be on this team. The pick of Kreider last June wasn’t meant to pay dividends until at least 3-4 years down the road, and this is one of those steps in a positive direction.

As for Bourque and Stepan, well they are both putting up great numbers in their respective leagues (Bourque – QMJHL, Stepan – NCAA). Personally, I’m very high on Stepan, and can’t wait until he (and teammate Ryan McDonagh) comes to play for the Rangers.

The Captain Is Back

It’s safe to say that Chris Drury is back. Scoring-wise, he’s on Dave’s fantasy radar. He’s been awesome on the penalty kill. But, more important than that, he knows how to lead:

Hopefully I don’t have an ego in that sense. I never come to the rink thinking I’m better than anyone else,” Drury told The Post. “What kind of a teammate would I be if I had reacted with, ‘Oh [expletive deleted], what am I doing on the fourth line?’ What would that say to Brash [Donald Brashear] and Brian Boyle, who are usually on the fourth line?”For me to react negatively to being given that assignment would be disrespectful to the team, to my teammates, and specifically to the guys who play that role every night. It would show up guys like Brash and Brian.

A Common Misconception

As a fan of the business of hockey, in particular when it comes to trades, I find myself perusing the HFBoards fairly regularly. I love reading trade offers thought up by people not in the “know”. Some are well thought out, but most are completely asinine. Regardless, it’s still fun for me to read through them.

One thing I have noticed is that everyone is under the impression that in order to dump a bad contract, you have to give up prospects and picks in return. I believe this notion was made popular by Brian Burke, who has stated that he will take on salary dumps if top picks/prospects are included. Last time I checked, Burke hasn’t made any salary dump acquisitions. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember any trades made that were clear salary dumps in which high draft picks were sent as well.

The one acquisition, that was a clear salary dump, that sticks out in my mind is the Scott Gomez trade. For those who need a refresher, the Rangers sent Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto to Montreal for Christopher Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, and Doug Janik. The Rangers didn’t send one of their top 30 prospects over to Montreal, but yet acquired a 1st round pick and blue chip prospect in McDonagh. The Rangers held on to all of their draft picks for 2010 as well.

So if you think the Rangers will have to part with a top prospect to rid themselves of the Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival contracts, you are sadly mistaken. The same goes for Chris Drury. Of course, teams are going to have to actually want these players before a trade can be made.

Game 37: Rangers vs. Panthers

The Rangers are kicking off a stretch of six home games out of seven. This is a time when they can really make up for that awful stretch after the seven game win streak. They can make it four in a row tonight against Florida. Brian Boyle returns tonight from his back injury, taking Erik Christensen’s place. This, and the lines tonight, are courtesy of Andrew Gross.

OPPONENT: Panthers

RECORD: 16-15-7

LEADING SCORER: Nathan Horton, 13-24-37

GOALIE: Tomas Vokoun, with a 2.57 GAA and a .920 save percentage

RANGERS LINES:

Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Sean Avery-Chris Drury-Enver Lisin
Donald Brashear-Brian Boyle-Ales Kotalik
Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival
Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi
Wade Redden-Matt Gilroy
Henrik Lundqvist

STATE OF THE RANGERS: Not bad, not bad at all. They had a nicely played win over Carolina on Monday, but will need to be better against a Panthers team that is actually in the playoff hunt. Out of these six games at home, the Rangers will need to take at least 9 of a possible 12 points.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Gordie Howe hat trick for Avery.

ON THE iPOD: My iPod died on the train ride home from work.

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Panther 3

I’ll be at the game tonight, section 415, sporting my Prucha jersey. If you’re going to the game, drop by and say hi. Otherwise, let’s discuss the game here. It should be an exciting one.

Prospect Profile: Ethan Werek

In the second round of the 2009 draft, #47 overall, the Rangers selected Ethan Werek, playing with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. Werek, while not on the first round radar, was a fairly highly regarded pick when the Rangers selected him. Some were surprised he was still available so late in the draft. The 18-year old Werek was coming off a great year in juniors, putting up a line of 32-32-64 in 66 games, with 83 PIMS to match. Hockeysfuture currently has him ranked as the #14 prospect in the system, but that doesn’t include this year he is having at the junior level (17-20-37, +10 in 31 games).

Werek is the definition of a power forward. The 6’0 191-pound center uses his size and reach to go into the dirty areas and get some garbage goals while roughing it up a little bit in front of the net. This work ethic and edge parlays very nicely into strong forechecking skills as well. Werek also showcases a fantastic passing ability, comparable to that of Michael Del Zotto. His ability to win face-offs is average,

Werek’s main weakness is his skating ability. Once he gets going, he has decent speed, but it takes a while for that to happen. He more than makes up for this short coming with the aforementioned play in front of the net, and being unafraid to collect garbage goals. Unfortunately, this grit and edge that he plays with tends to lead to some undisciplined penalties, noted by the 83 PIMS in his draft year.

Werek’s greatest asset is his drive to play in high traffic areas. He’s not an agitator like Sean Avery, but he will finish his checks and look to knock people off the puck. If he’s comparable to anyone on the current Rangers roster, it would be Ryan Callahan.

Expect Werek to show up on many people’s radar after he finishes up this season with Kingston. Next year, he will get an invite to camp, and will be in the same position that Michael Del Zotto found himself in this past preseason. Play well, earn a spot on the roster, or else be returned to the OHL for an over-age year.

Image Credit: ranger.nhl.com

Dubinsky, Boyle Exchange Fists

The fire in the Rangers eyes seems to have boiled over to practice, as Brandon Dubinsky was seen exchanging fists with Brian Boyle. It must have been tough for Dubinsky, who had to jump to even land a punch on Boyle. Ever jump while on skates? Landing is tough. The fight was over very quickly, and both players were joking about it after the optional skate.

Rozsival Saves the Game

The Rangers withstood the storm, literally, from the Hurricanes last night. Up 2-1 in the third period, Carolina put up 13 shots, forcing Henrik Lundqvist to be at his best, making some incredibly difficult saves look easy. This it was Michal Rozsival’s turn to have the spotlight. Rozsival, who has been playing a lot better as of late (maybe he felt the fire under his ass), played just under 25 minutes of ice time, and blocked four shots. One of those shots just happened to be a sure-fire, game-tying goal late in the third. But Rozsival got in the way, and literally saved the game.

The Rangers did a lot of little things right last night. They won face offs (31-25), they put shots on goal (30), and they didn’t take that many penalties (only 3, which is pretty good for this team). Sure, they allowed 33 shots, but when you have Lundqvist in net at the top of his game, just clearing rebounds will suffice.

And how about that goal by Brandon Dubinsky? Was that pretty or what? Beautiful passing, great shot to capitalize.

The Rangers weren’t perfect, no team is. The key to winning is dealing with a part of your game that isn’t clicking and stepping up the other areas. The Rangers did that last night.

Game 36: Rangers at Hurricanes

The Rangers look to continue their hot plat as they travel down south. Redden, Kotalik and Gilroy are back in. We’ll see what that does.

OPPONENT: Hurricanes

RECORD: 9-20-6

LEADING SCORER: Ray Whitney, 24 points

GOALIE: Cam Ward, with a 3.12 GAA and a .900 save percentage

RANGERS LINES:

Prospal-Dubinsky-Gaborik

Higgins-Anisimov-Callahan

Avery-Drury-Lisin

Brashear-Christensen-Kotalik

Marc Staal-Michal Rozsival

Michael Del Zotto-Dan Girardi

Matt Gilroy- Wade Redden

Hank in net. Brian Boyle is out with a back injury

STATE OF THE RANGERS: Looking up, once again. A nice win over Philly. Now, the Rangers are back with their main lineup. Redden is back. Gilroy is back. Kotalik is back. Personally, I don’t like those guys back in the lineup. The benchings worked! Sangs and Heikkenen played well. I think that we’re seeing secondary scoring (Drury, Anisimov, Callahan). That has to be kept up. This game against a woeful Carolina team is actually pretty big. Can the Rangers sustain their current good play? We’ll find out.

CRAZY THOUGHT: Gilroy scores

ON THE iPOD: Nothing (shocker, I know)

FINAL PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Hurricanes 1

So, watch, discuss, and have fun. LET’S GO RANGERS!!!!

Where Sather Went Wrong: Both Drury and Gomez

This is now the second part of a multi-post discussion about the decisions of General Manager Glen Sather. Sather has come under some real heat lately, as the Rangers are in what appears to be a free fall, and have no cap room to make any adjustments. The highest paid players on the Rangers have been, to be delicate, disappointing. Sather’s strength during his tenure with the Rangers has been his ability to make trades, but this does not overshadow his weakness of evaluating the market and making the best decision for the team. In this series, I will analyze where Sather went wrong, and where he lost the fans.

It was the summer of 2007, and the Rangers were facing a dilemma. Michael Nylander, coming off a good Ranger career, was going to be let go. The Rangers had a gaping hole at center that season, and this departure was going to create an even larger hole. There were many prime centers hitting free agency, including Danny Briere, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Ranger fans were assuming that Glen Sather was going to land one of these centers.

Late in the afternoon on July 1, Ranger fans were stunned by the news they received. In a matter of minutes, the Rangers had signed both Drury and Gomez to monster contracts. Many were thrilled, as the problem down the middle had supposedly been solved. The Rangers committed over $14.5 million in salary cap space to the two centers. The problem was that both were second line centers who parlayed one good year into mega bucks.

To say that Gomez and Drury were/have been disappointments in the Big Apple wouldn’t be stretching the truth much. Both centers struggled in their first year on Broadway, and neither put up the numbers that fans were hoping for. Drury (+4.2 GVT in 2008-2009) has struggled mightily in his two-plus seasons on Broadway, and hasn’t been able to match the performance he put up in Buffalo that earned him his $7 million a year salary.

Gomez, slated to be the top center, never found chemistry with Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka, and while many attributed this to a difference in playing style, those opinions were quickly silenced by how quickly rookie center Brandon Dubinsky clicked with the Czechs. Gomez improved the following year, but underperformed considerably, especially considering his $7.5 million cap hit (a -14.3 GVS, good for 10th worst in the league).

Hindsight is always 20/20. But this one is too glaring to miss. The Rangers would have been better off signing just one of the centers, letting Dubinsky develop as a 2nd/3rd line center, and using Matt Cullen, as a significantly cheaper option, as the other center, and to play the point on the powerplay. Cullen was the type of player the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Rangers were lacking, a cheap, quick 2nd/3rd line center that can play the point on the powerplay. Would it have solved all the problems? Of course not, but I’d rather have a cheap option fail to an extent than an expensive option fail miserably.

Don’t misunderstand, the Rangers needed to sign one of those players, not both. Say all you want about the size of the Drury deal (the only relevant one now), but that contract value was set when Daniel Briere signed with Philly for more money. The problem was signing both to these overvalued contracts, and eating up significant cap room that hurt them at both the trade deadline and in subsequent offseasons.

Luckily for Sather, he was able to rectify this mistake by dealing Gomez in the 2009 offseason, making room for Marian Gaborik, and acquiring Ryan McDonagh in the process. This is a very rare occurrence in the NHL, and Sather is lucky that he was able to not only dump Gomez, but get a great return in the deal.