Via Bob McKenzie, the Rangers have signed right-handed defenseman Anton Stralman to a one-year contract worth $900,000. The team has not yet confirmed the signing according to Steve Zipay. The Rangers’ interest in Stralman has been rumored for what feels like weeks now, and the move just adds some blue line depth given Marc Staal’s continued absence due to concussion-like symptoms.
Via Larry Brooks, the Rangers are holding Marc Staal out of scrimmages because of lingering post-concussion symptoms from that hit he took from his brother Eric back in late February. Doctors have cleared Staal for contact, but the team is being cautious after the symptoms resurfaced over the summer. John Tortorella will address the situation later today, but Brooks says the club’s top defenseman is expected to be held out of all three North American exhibition games.
I’ll update the post if any more info becomes available, but obviously this is pretty serious. Brain injuries are no joke, regardless of how important the player is to the team.
Update: Torts confirmed that Staal will not play in any of the first three exhibition games, but doctors have indeed cleared him for contact. Staal was diagnosed with a concussion after the hit, then returned to the lineup after passing a baseline test. He started experiencing headaches over the summer, and then passed another recent baseline test. Tortorella says Staal is progressing “very nicely,” they’re just being very cautious.
In other news, Brandon Prust will also be held out of the team’s first three exhibition games after having offseason shoulder surgery. No contact for him for another two weeks.
Via Bob McKenzie, the Rangers have re-signed Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year deal worth $1.4M. I wasn’t sure if he would be coming back after the Mike Rupp signing, but I like it. Contract seems very fair, if not a little light for Fedotenko given some of the nonsense contracts that were given out today.
Via Michael Russo of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Derek Boogaard was found dead at his Minneapolis home today by family members. The Rangers have confirmed the death according to Jesse Spector. He was just 28. No further word on the cause of death or anything, but obviously this is just awful. Condolences to Boogaard’s friends and family.
More to come, eventually.
Via Bob McKenzie, the Rangers have acquired Bryan McCabe from the Panthers for the low, low price of Tim Kennedy and a third round pick. Larry Brooks confirmed it. In 48 games with Florida, he’s got a 5-17-22 line and is a +3 for a team with a -11 goal differential overall.
McCabe, 35, missed a month with a broken jaw a little earlier this year, but he’s been back for just over a week now. We heard the two sides had a deal in place prior to the injury, so it’s not a surprise that they consummated a trade before Monday’s deadline. McCabe will be a free agent after the season, and his cap hit for the rest of the year is a little over $1.3M according to CapGeek. I believe the Rangers still have about $3.8M in wiggle room remaining (apologies for the uncertainty).
It’s hard not to absolutely love this deal. McCabe gives the Rangers exactly what they need, and that’s a veteran, left-handed defenseman with experience running the power play, and they did so without giving up a core piece a) off the NHL roster, or b) for the future. New York still has a first and two second round picks at their disposal. It’s unclear if he’ll be uniform in time for tomorrow’s game, but they really could use him with Marc Staal out. Either way, bravo. Great trade for the good guys.
Update: Michael Del Zotto’s been sent back to Connecticut to make room for McCabe. (h/t Bleeding All Blue)
Via Joe Yerdon, the Rangers have announced that Brandon Dubinsky will be out 3-4 weeks with a stress fracture in his fibula. This is bad. Yes, very very bad.
Dubinsky has been the team’s best forward by a considerable margin this season, leading the club in goals (17), assists (21), and points (38). He also averages more than 20 minutes per game, almost a full minute more than any other forward on the team, and that’s because he plays in every situation. The Rangers are already without Ryan Callahan, Derek Boogaard, Erik Christensen, Alex Frolov, and Vinny Prospal, so the last thing they needed was to lose their best player for an extended period of time.
Two things need to happen now. One, Marian Gaborik really needs to step up his game and replace some of the lost production. Two, some of that depth in Connecticut needs to come through and provide some quality minutes for the time being. The Rangers aren’t going to be able to straight up replace Dubinsky’s production, it’s going to take a team effort.
By the way, the fibula is the narrow little bone next to the tibia, which is your shin/calf bone.
Via my pal Jesse Spector, defenseman Garnet Exelby is in camp with the Rangers on a tryout, and was skating with the team this morning. Exelby was included in Jeremy’s offseason Scouting The Market series, where his abilities as a fearless hitter and punishing crease-clearer were noted. The Blueshirts, of course, completely lack a defenseman with that skill set.
Dave previewed the defense corps earlier this week, and there appears to be too many bodies for too few spots. However, it’s entirely possible that Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, and some of the other youngsters start the season in Hartford, and we can’t turn a blind eye to the doomsday scenario that has Marc Staal unsigned when the season begins. Exelby’s a decent piece of insurance, and if nothing else, he provides a little competition in camp. That’s never a bad thing.
Update by Dave: Allan Walsh is tweeting that the Rangers have also invited Alexei Semenov to camp on a tryout basis. Semenov made the team last year, where he was also invited to camp on a tryout, before declining a contract for the season. There is going to be some very healthy competition for defense this preseason, with both Exelby and Semenov in camp.
Via Larry Brooks, the Rangers have claimed backup goalie Alex Auld off re-entry waivers from the Stars. The team will assume a $500,000 cap hit with the move, which saves them about $350,000 compared to carrying Chad Johnson.
Auld, 29, will be a free agent after the season, and is 9-6 with a 3.00 GAA and a 0.894 SV% in 21 games this year. Dallas had no place for him following their pickup of Kari Lehtonen. It’s hard not to like the move, the Rangers freed up some cap space, got a veteran backup, and can let Johnson and Matt Zaba continue to play regularly in Hartford.
Via Andrew Gross, the Rangers have acquired tough guy Jody Shelley from the Sharks. Bob McKenzie says they gave up a 6th round pick in 2011 to get him, but if they re-sign him after the season, it becomes a 5th rounder.
The 34-year-old Shelley’s not going to cure any scoring woes, but he essentially replaces the waived Donald Brashear. Unlike Brashear though, Shelley should actually be able to win a fight every once in a while. In 36 games this year, he has 78 PIM and 10 fighting majors.
Update (12:14pm): Bob McKenzie tweets that Brashear has in fact been waived. Oh happy day.
10:01am: Via Andrew Gross, Donald Brashear apparently requested a trade a few weeks ago, and thinks that’s why he’s hasn’t dressed for 11 of the team’s last 12 games. “It just shows me they don’t believe in me,” said Brashear. “I ask for a trade, that’s more likely why I’m not playing any games. Usually, when you ask for a trade, they don’t play you.”
Brashear, who is under contract next season with a $1.4M cap hit, has played in just 36 of the team’s 60 games this season. Even when he has played, he’s barely noticeable. The addition of Brandon Prust made Brashear even more expendable, so even if they aren’t able to finding a trading partner, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was waived. Talk about a dud free agent signing.
