No Worlds for Lundqvist

It looks like Henrik Lundqvist will not be participating in this year’s World Championships. According to 5-hole blog, Lundqvist’s knees are bothering him so much to the point that he will not be able to participate.

Take a second to panic.

Now that you’re done panicking, there’s no real reason to panic here. When goalies play 70+ games for three years in a row, their knees bother them. Hell, when I play one game in net my knees bother me for three days. Unless this turns into an issue that lingers into August and September, then there really is nothing to worry about. The hockey season is one of, if not the most, grueling seasons in professional sports. It really takes its toll on your body. Let’s not panic, and consider this to be a good decision made by the face of the franchise to get some much needed rest.

Norris Finalists

The Norris Trophy finalists, for best defenseman, have been announced. There really shouldn’t be any surprises with this group of Drew Doughty (LA), Mike Green (WAS), and Duncan Keith (CHI). Simply put, Doughty and Keith are two of the best defensemen in the league, and will continue to be amongst the league’s best for many, many years. As for Green, just look at his numbers. Seriously, just look at them. Then remember that the Rangers traded up to get Lauri Korpikoski in the draft, 13 spots ahead of Green.

Rangers With Five in Top 80 Prospects

Yesterday, Puck Prospectus released it’s Top 100 prospects, and it is nice to see four Rangers on this list, all within the Top 80. The five Rangers within the top 80 shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as these are generally the top five prospects that we all want to see wearing Rangers blue in the very, very near future. What is very nice to see is that three of these prospects sit in the top 35, something that Rangers fans are not used to.

The highest rated prospect starts at #23, where Evgeny Grachev sits comfortably. Despite his off year in Hartford, the 19 year old LW has some of the highest potential in the Rangers farm system. What many Ranger fans forget is that Artem Anisimov had a rough start to his AHL career, but he came back and averaged a point per game the year after. AA is now one of our favorite rookies with some great potential. It isn’t far fetched to see Grachev follow that same route, assuming he figures out how to play without the puck.

Just two spots below Grachev, Wisconsin center Derek Stepan sits at #25. Stepan was one of the highly touted prospects in the system before the World Juniors. After captaining the US team to Gold while leading the tournament in scoring, his value skyrocketed. Stepan has all the tools to be a top six forward. The 20 year old center will be spending at least one more year at Wisconsin, where his Badgers were the Frozen Four runners-up in this year’s tournament. Stepan will also serve as an assistant captain next season for the Badgers.

Read more after the jump

Stepan, McDonagh Will Return to Wisconsin

It looks like Rangers prospects Derek Stepan (C) and Ryan McDonagh (D) will return to the Wisconsin Badgers for next season. Stepan, 20, is not a surprise to be returning to Wisconsin, as he would have been too young to play in the AHL next year (the minimum age to play in the AHL is 21). McDonagh, on the other hand, is 21 years old and would have been eligible to play in the AHL. The defenseman will serve as the sole captain of the Badgers team, with Stepan serving as an assistant captain.

It is good to see that both Stepan and McDonagh will be playing in leadership roles next season. Both are two of the higher rated prospects in the system, and having them grow in leadership roles together can only be a good thing. There is no need to rush these guys. It would have been nice to see McDonagh play in Hartford though. Both of these guys should be ready to move to the professional ranks at the end of next season.

Calder Finalists Announced

As more finalists for the major NHL awards get announced, we meet with no surprises for today’s finalists for the Calder trophy, awarded to the top rookie. The three finalists are Colorado’s Matt Duchene, Detroit’s Jimmy Howard, and Buffalo’s Tyler Myers. In my opinion, I think this should go to Jimmy Howard, as he single-handedly got got Detroit into the playoffs after taking over for the struggling Chris Osgood. Of course, us Ranger fans know a lot about Tyler Myers, as he seems to be Joe Micheletti’s favorite player.

Poll: Should MDZ Have Stayed in Juniors?

This topic came up during last night’s Blueshirt Banter Radio Show, and I want to get Ranger Nation’s opinion on the matter. It is worth breaking down Del Zotto’s season into three segments: the first month, the second month through the Olympic break, and post Olympic break. You will notice three distinct trends with his game.

• First Month (14 games): 4-8-12, +3, .857 P/GM, +.21/GM
• Second Month-Olympic Break (47 games): 2-12-14, -20, .298 P/GM, -.447/GM
• Post Olympics (19 games): 3-8-11, -3, .579 P/GM, -.158/GM
• Season Totals (80 games): 9-28-37, -20, .463 P/GM, -.25/GM

Without using any advanced metrics like GVT, GAON/60, or QUALCOMP, you can clearly see that the middle stretch took it’s toll on MDZ. Prior to this season, he had never played more than 64 games in a season. While 80 and 64 may not seem like a big difference, this was an Olympics season, and the games were much more condensed, with many back-to-backs and three-in-four nights. It appears that MDZ simply tired from the condensed schedule very early on, and did not recover until after the Olympic break, when he had two weeks off.

His offensive numbers aside, it was very clear that MDZ had great difficulty adjusting to the defensive responsibilities at the NHL level. He was consistently out of position, was caught pinching often, and after the first month, stopped shooting the puck. These are things you expect from a 19 year old, but the question remains, do you think he should have stayed in the OHL to make adjustments on the defensive side of the puck?

Lady Byng Finalists

Next up in the NHL Awards finalists, the Lady Byng, awarded to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” This year’s finalists are Brad Richards (Dallas), Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay), and the perennial pick for this award, Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit). Datsyuk has won this award the previous four years in a row, while St. Louis has finished second the previous three years, losing to Datsyuk of course.

The three of these players combined for a total of 22 minor penalties for the entire season. Let that one sink in for a minute or two.

More on Zuccarello-Aasen

Mats Zuccarello-Aasen led the Swedish Elite league in scoring this year. He had a fantastic Olympics with Norway. We know this. We know he has fantastic hands, plays a two way game, and that he doesn’t mind heavy traffic. We also know that he is incredibly undersized at 5’7, and unless he is the next Martin St. Louis, he is going to have a lot of trouble finding open space with more skilled players and on a smaller rink in the NHL. This is what we know.

What many people are misunderstanding is that this just costs money. It doesn’t just cost money. The Rangers organization is allowed a maximum of 50 contracts, and this counts towards that number. The Rangers currently have 29 contracts, and this doesn’t include any of the RFA’s that the Rangers will need to re-sign this offseason. That number becomes 30 with MZA. Then the Rangers have 15 RFAs, including the AHL, that they will need to make decisions on. There are also 8 UFAs (both AHL and NHL) that the Rangers will need to evaluate. That all of a sudden becomes 53 contracts, plus the possibility of signing players like Ryan McDonagh, another player we all want to see make the transition to the professional level, to NHL deals.

What it also costs if MZA doesn’t make the Rangers is a spot in Hartford for developing kids. I am going to slightly agree with Jess Rubenstein at Prospect Park here, that dumping him in Hartford if he isn’t NHL material, a la Ilkka Heikkinen, could cost the Rangers more than you think. Remember, the Rangers already have dumped Donald Brashear in Hartford. He will still be there next year. Remember, we all want Wade Redden to be dumped in Hartford too. Then there is the curious case of P.A. Parenteau, who some people want to be re-signed, for some inexplicable reason. If all three happen, and MZA doesn’t make the Rangers, that becomes four roster spots out of eighteen that are going to used for these guys.

Sure, there are “still 14 skater spots available in Hartford”, but the Rangers are going to need these spots for some of the kids that have out grown Juniors, such as Tomas Kundratek and Sam Klassen. You also have to include the possibility of McDonagh coming to Hartford. All of a sudden, there are only 11 skater spots available. It may seem like a lot of spots, but keep in mind that there are also those RFAs and UFAs that the Rangers may look to retain. That number is going to get a lot smaller, very quickly.

The reason why I only partially agree with Jess here is that I do believe that it is a low risk move on a high potential forward. Considering MZA’s skill set and size, it is safe to assume that P.A. Parenteau and/or Corey Locke will not be back next year. Clearly, none of us are in the front office with Glen Sather, Jim Schoenfeld, and Gordie Clark, so we don’t know what their plans are for these pending free agents (both restricted and unrestricted). In terms of a hockey move, it’s low risk, high reward. In a business sense, it is another contract that the Rangers organization will have count towards the maximum of fifty. What the Rangers plans are, no one except a chosen few know, but the offseason plan is slowly getting revealed to us.

Contract information via Capgeek

Rookies Rated

TSN recently looked at the top 100 rookies in the NHL this season that included both Michael Del Zotto and Artem Anisimov. Using a measuring system they explain here this is what TSN had to say about our kids. Make sure you read the methodology/scoring first….

 16. Michael Del Zotto, D, N.Y. Rangers
Age: 19
Stats: 9-28-37, minus-20, 32 PIM in 80 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 69.16
Comment: Has to tighten up defensively, but there aren’t many teen defensemen who have put up more than 35 points as a rookie. Aside from Myers, the last one to do so was Bryan Berard with 48 in 1996-1997.

MDZ came in at 16th in their ‘scoring’ but their analysis reveals something that speaks volumes for MDZ.  He had the 2nd best (teenage) scoring season for defenceman since 1996-97. That’s an impressive performance though TSN are right in saying that his defence will need to be improved upon. Hopefully that comes with age and experience. A very good first year, personally, for the Rangers’ future star PP QB.

 Next was AA:

 35. Artem Anisimov, C, N.Y. Rangers
Age: 21
Stats: 12-16-28, minus-2, 32 PIM in 82 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 65.38
Comment: Not a huge offensive year, but solid enough for lanky pivot who can still get faster and stronger.

The further down the list the less analysis TSN do so not much to read here. However looking deeper ourselves consider this: on a non playoff team, a low scoring team and anchoring the 4th line at 12mins/game, 28 points may not sound a lot but factoring all that in, it was an excellent year for AA. Defensively sound and with room to grow this was also a great start to an NHL career.

 Almost an afterthought at the end of the season was Matt Gilroy. He made TSN’s list at 39:

 39. Matt Gilroy, D, N.Y. Rangers
Age: 25
Stats: 4-11-15, even, 23 PIM in 69 GP
TSN.ca Rating: 63.72
Comment: Hobey Baker winner saw ice time decrease as season progressed and didn’t play at all in April.

No analysis here that we don’t know already but allow me to add a little: Defensively still developing, I was most disappointed by the offensive numbers. I was hoping for around 20-25 points off Gilroy who at 25 should have come in less phazed by it all (the rookie year). He did, at times, show enough to indicate he could have a bright future but the way his season ended indicates he has an uncertain immediate future and may have lost the coach’s trust. Can he get it back? Long term for the Rangers it would be good if he could.

Rick Carpiniello in particular often talks about how the Rangers lack top end talent compared to most teams but going forward do most teams have Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik? Do most teams have two future D studs like Staal and MDZ? I know I harp on about it but (Gilroy’s struggles aside) its hard to be too negative when we have such a young core growing together featuring AA, MDZ, Staal, Dubinsky, Callahan, Lundqvist and Gaborik. The Magnificent 7? Could be…

Selke/Vezina Nominations

Each day this week, the NHL will be announcing the three finalists for the offseason awards. Yesterday, the three Vezina finalists for best goalie were announced: Ryan Miller (Sabres), Ilya Bryzgalov (Coyotes), and Martin Brodeur (Devils). All three deserved to be nominated, yes Brodeur too, as they each had statistically superior years than the rest of the NHL goalie clan. The award should go to Miller, with Bryzgalov finishing second and Brodeur finishing third. Miller had an absolutely outstanding year, and deserves the award. Bryzgalov also had an outstanding year and carried the defensively-challenged Coyotes to a 100+ point year. Bryzgalov’s numbers are a bit below Miller’s numbers though, so Miller should still win the award.

Today, the Selke finalists for best defensive forward were announced: Jordan Staal (Penguins), Ryan Kesler (Canucks), and Pavel Datsyuk (Red Wings). Datsyuk has won the award the previous two years, but all three are superb two way players and defensive specialists. I personally like Kesler to win, but that’s because I’m biased from the Olympics.