This is a historic musings, as it marks the first time that I have written the musings for two weeks in a row. Chris is still gallivanting around Europe, or wherever he is, so I get to continue writing the musings. Let’s get right into it:

There has been a lot of complaining about the Rangers signings this offseason, but let’s look into this a bit deeper:

  • The Rangers lost three bottom-six forwards (Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko, John Mitchell), so they signed three bottom six forwards (Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, Jeff Halpern). It’s a simple matter of replacing the replaceable bodies.
  • The same concept applies for Michael Haley, Sean Collins, Brendan Segal, and Logan Pyett. The Connecticut Whale is likely losing five forwards (Sean Avery, Andre Deveaux, Andreas Thuresson, Chris Chappell, Francois Bouchard) and four defensemen (Brendan Bell, Pavel Valentenko, Sam Klassen, Lee Baldwin). These guys need to be replaced.

There’s also a lot of complaining being done about how Glen Sather has not addressed the Rangers primary concern, which is a scoring winger. Ignoring the fact that centers are more important than wingers, these complaints make it seem like people are under the impression that Slats has no idea that the Rangers need more scoring. Let’s break this one down a bit:

  • Stating that Slats has no idea that the Rangers need scoring essentially states that Slats has no idea how to do his job. The current state of the Rangers would like to argue to the contrary. Plus, Slats would not have lasted in this league for 30 years if he didn’t know what he was doing.
  • Rick Nash is available, and it appears Bobby Ryan is so as well. But Slats doesn’t just make a trade at a whim, he will wait it out and make sure he gets a deal that suits him the best. Right now the asking price is too high. Period.
  • Just a side note on the point above: Nothing ever leaks from the Rangers side in these deals. It’s safe to hear that 90% of what you’ve heard is wrong, even if you trust the source. Remember, just because someone says something, doesn’t mean it’s accurate.
  • Shane Doan is available via free agency, but he’s working on his own time frame.
  • It’s only July, and three of the biggest names are still out there. While the market for these three continues to develop, the Rangers addressed other holes. Slats isn’t going to wait on a scorer, then address other needs. If one route is taking too long, he’s going to fill other holes while the primary option makes up his mind. That’s his job.

To sum everything up above, we preach patience. That and if you’re balking at the price of Nash, just wait til you see the price of Shea Weber.

Not much has been said about Michael Sauer, but can you imagine the boost the Rangers blue line would get if he returns next season? Instead of Stu Bickel being forced to play the bottom pair, he gets the seventh defenseman treatment, while the bottom pair would like consist of Del Zotto/Stralman. That’s quality defensive depth.

The Jeff Halpern signing is a great move. He’s everything you would expect from a fourth line center: He’s cheap, he wins face offs, and he kills penalties. What more could you possibly want from him?

Question time:

  • Are you getting impatient about the Rangers trying to fill the scoring void?
  • Does Brad Richards’ 9/$60 million deal look cheap after seeing Zach Parise’s and Ryan Suter’s 13/$98 million contracts?
  • Are you willing to pay the price (Chris Kreider, Carl Hagelin, Tim Erixon, 1st) for Shea Weber?
  • Do you think the new bottom six forwards (Asham/Pyatt/Halpern) are better than the old bottom six forwards (Prust/Fedotenko/Mitchell)?
  • Does anyone actually miss Dominic Moore, Ryan Hollweg, Blair Betts, Jed Ortmeyer, or any of the other bottom six forwards that this club has let go?

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