Heikkinen Signs With KHL

The questions about whether Ilkka Heikkinen will be back next year have been answered, and that answer is no. Heikkinen has signed with Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL. The Finnish defenseman played seven games with the Rangers, finishing with a +2 rating. In 72 games with Hartford, Heikkinen put together a line of 8-30-38, which was tied for tops amongst Wolfpack defensemen. This signing should come as no surprise, as Heikkinen has expressed displeasure with the Rangers. The Rangers also refused to give Heikkinen a one-way contract, which would have guaranteed his NHL salary, even if playing in the AHL.

Heikkinen also granted an interview with Maria Levinskaya, and a full translation of the interview can be found at Beyond the Blueshirts.

Rangers Talking to Zherdev

In what may come to many as a surprise, the Rangers are currently in talks with Nik Zherdev regarding a return to the NHL. Genadi Boguslavski of the Sovetsky Sport broke this via Twitter, and states that the Rangers have begun talks with the enigmatic winger to return to the NHL. Let’s chalk this one up as a rumor for now.

Zherdev, who led the Rangers in scoring with a line of 23-35-58 in the 2008-2009 season, fell out of favor with fans after his disappearing act in the last month of the season and the playoffs against Washington. The Rangers, who are currently extremely thin on RW, offered Zherdev $3.25 million in the offseason, with Zherdev wanting closer to $4.5 million. An arbitrator awarded Zherdev the medium, at $3.9 million, to which the Rangers walked away, making him an unrestricted free agent. With no market for him, Zherdev reportedly attempted to return to the Rangers for the original $3.25 million, but the Rangers turned him away. Zherdev then bolted for the KHL.

Zherdev would provide some nice complimentary scoring for Marian Gaborik, and would give the Rangers a very nice 1-2 punch on the RW. It would also take some of the pressure off of Gaborik, who seemed to be the only consistent scorer on the Rangers this past season. At the right length and price, the Rangers, and their fans, should welcome back Zherdev. It is highly unlikely, considering how the negotiations went in 2009, that Zherdev gets a multi-year deal. Market value puts him right around the $3 million -$3.5 million range, but with little negotiating power on his side, it is highly possible that Zherdev signs for under that amount.

Update 2:55pm: Steve Zipay is tweeting that the Rangers have denied this rumor.

Jokinen to Sign with Dynamo Minsk (Probably)

Have no fear, Ranger fans, Olli Jokinen will not be returning to the Rangers for next season. According to Alexander Zaitsev, citing Sportsdaily.ru, the now ex-Ranger center will be signing with the Dynamo Minsk of the KHL. Jokinen, who was acquired at the Olympic deadline with Brandon Prust for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins, was brought in to help add some scoring to the Rangers. In 26 games with the Blueshirts, Jokinen scored 4 goals and added 11 assists. He will, however, be remembered mainly for being the third shooter in the season finale against Philadelphia. As you know, Jokinen tried deking and putting the puck through Brian Boucher, but the goalie got his pad there, and the Rangers missed the playoffs for the first time in the post-lockout era.

Update 1:05pm: I should probably note that the deal isn’t finalized, but it is very likely he will sign there.

Update 6:40pm: Darren Dreger has refuted this rumor. That didn’t take long.

Valiquette Signs with CSKA Moscow

Steve Valiquette’s run with the Rangers organization has come to an end. The 32 year old goalie has signed with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, according to Dmitry Chesnokov. Valliquette served as the Rangers backup goaltender for the past two years, but has been with the organization since before the lockout. Best of luck to Vally in the KHL.

Tarasenko Stock Slipping, May Slide to Rangers at #10

The Rangers may again find themselves in a unique position at this year’s draft. Much like in 2007, when Alexei Cherepanov slid to the Rangers at #17 due to sign-ability problems, the #2 international skater Vladimir Tarasenko may slide to the Rangers at #10 this year. Much like Cherepanov, Tarasenko does not have a transfer with Russia. Tarasenko, the closest skater to a sure thing outside of the Hall/Seguin in the draft, may find that this transfer agreement causes his draft stock to slip, as teams don’t want to gamble on him.

In terms of skill and production, Tarasenko deserves the #2 international skater ranking. The 18 year old RW, who plays the off-wing (he is a left handed shot), is putting up great numbers in the KHL with the Novosibirsk Siber, with a line of 13-11-24 in 42 games. That may not seem like much, but considering the seniority style of play in the KHL, thus severely limiting the young Tarasenko’s ice time, those are solid numbers.

The HockeysFuture blurb about Tarasenko’s skating ability is hard to ignore:

A dynamic and unbelievably skilled offensive player, Tarasenko is as dangerous as they come around the puck…and away from it for that matter.

Tarasenko is decently sized at 5’11 200 lbs, and according to Goran Stubb, NHL Director of European Scouting, “very effective around the net with his excellent overall skill level and vision. He is a strong, mobile skater with a quick shot. He is not only a sniper, but also a good passer and playmaker. There are no real weaknesses in his overall game and he will be one of the most interesting prospects at the draft.”

The Rangers will luck out if Tarasenko does indeed drop in the draft due to transfer agreement issues. He is truly an elite talent in the draft. He is incredibly gifted offensively, but plays a two-way game and can find the open ice with relative ease. The Rangers organization, in addition to lacking any elite talent, is incredibly weak at the RW position. The Rangers have shown in the past that they are not worried about a lack of transfer agreement, so if he is available at #10, you can expect the Rangers to sprint to the podium to call him name.

S/t to Adam Rotter at SNYRangersBlog.

Jaromir Jagr?

Right then guys, slightly off the Olympic topic….

If you’re like me, thanks to his time in NY you’ll have a soft spot for Jaromir Jagr, the big Czech.

Im sure many of you have read the THN column discussing the notion of Jagr coming back to the NHL. If he does, where do you think he’ll go? If he comes back should The Rangers be interested and can he still help them?

Right now, he’s playing at around a point per game pace in the KHL. He’s also apparently in supreme condition (according to ex Omsk coach Wayne Fleming…) For the record I think (at a reasonable price) he could be huge for the Rangers. He doesnt need to be the go-to-guy anymore thanks to Gaborik. He seems willing to take a small(er) salary to play so the Rangers should be interested.

I really like the idea of a second line featuring Avery and Jagr flanking perhaps Dubinsky. Finally some genuine secondary scoring?

I had a look in more depth at the idea at nasports.co.uk. Let me know what you think.

Zherdev heading to the KHL (UPDATE: No he’s not)

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.

Cherepanov Case Reopened

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.

MSG Unit Spins Off, Zherdev Hearing Today

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday, I was running around all day and didn’t have a change to put up a post.

In what should have been an expected move, Cablevision spun off the MSG Unit into its own entity. James Dolan will still be in charge of this unit, so no “reprieve” there. I put reprieve in quotes, because you really have to be careful what you wish for (see post below for details). This doesn’t mean much for the Rangers, it’s just a re-arrangement of the businesses themselves. I don’t know if there’s going to be a stock offering on the MSG Unit, I doubt it though.

Wow I ran off topic.

Anyway, the moral of the story here is that it doesn’t affect the Rangers at all.

Today is the long-awaited Nikolai Zherdev arbitration hearing. By the end of the day we should know what the Rangers will do with Zherdev. My guess, he gets awarded $3.85 million, the Rangers accept. As for the next step, I believe Zherdev will accept too, and Zherdev will at least be given a shot to prove his worth. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zherdev involved in a deadline deal somewhere.

Oh, and for all of you wanting the 39 year old Sergei Zubov back in blue, sorry, but he signed with the KHL.

Korpikoski to the KHL? Maybe (UPDATE: Koive to Ducks)

As per Blueshirt Banter, RFA Lauri Korpikoski, who was allegedly lowballed by Glen Sather, is considering a move to the KHL:

Timra is looking to replace Mika Pyorala, and may do so with Lauri Korpikoski. The article says the Rangers want to keep Korpikoski, but made him a lowball offer, and that he has allegedly received an offer from the KHL.

If I understand it right, the offer is $1.5M a year.

The article also says Korpi is good friends with former Ranger Jarkko Immonen

That’s the best I can do guys, but it doesn’t take a perfect translation to see this may not be good news.

The original article, located here, is in Swedish, so you have to take what the translator Jim at Blueshirt Banter used with a grain of salt.

That said, this is where Sather’s horrible trend of low balling RFAs really comes to bite us in the ass. But when you think about it, The Korpedo made $984,000 last season, and the qualifying offer is a 5% raise, which is roughly $1.03 million. Just give him the $1.1 or $1.2 million and keep him in Blue Slats.

Update 2:15pm: We can all sleep a little easier tonight knowing that Glen Sather did not sign Saku Koivu, as the pivot signed a deal with Anaheim for one-year, $3.25 million. That’s $3.25 million well-not-spent.

There is an awful lot going on today. Wow.