The Rangers have signed ex Sabres forward Tim Kennedy.
The 24 year old, 5’10 forward became a UFA after the Buffalo Sabres bought his deal out after accepting an arbitration award in the region of $1m earlier this summer. Kennedy had a solid rookie year for the Sabres scoring 10 goals and 26 points and can play both left wing and center. Terms of the signing have yet to be disclosed but the deal has been reported on twitter by beat writers Andrew Gross and Steve Zipay.
The signing is by no means a bad one but an odd one. You have to assume that Kennedy would be a bottom 6 player for the Rangers, an area where the Rangers have an abundance both in New York and Hartford. Kennedy does have upside however, prior to his solid NHL rookie year he had an excellent year in the AHL where he put up 67 points for Portland.
Hockeys future had this to say about Kennedy:
His defensive zone play and willingness to take the body have remained strengths, and he showed good leadership ability with his college team. Though not a pure scorer, he is an opportunistic and smart offensive player, with good fundamentals.
His signing is surely the final nail in the Brian Boyle coffin and Kennedy does seem to have offensive upside even if he doesn’t have natural goal scoring ability. Kennedy in NY also makes the future of players like Dane Byers murkier. After all, where can they all fit? While an odd signing at worst this is another low risk high reward signing by Sather as Kennedy costs nothing but dollars and could surprise with his talent. Training camp competition just got a little more fierce.
Update (Dave): James Mirtle is reporting that the deal is a one year, one way deal at $550k. The Rangers now have 11 C/LW on the roster.
Glen Sather woke up earlier this off season, after a stormy fishing trip with his pal Brian Burke up North, and felt a little light headed. He set off to his office in New York and proceeded to go about his business. Glen was struck by lightning on his trip. Something had changed. He had acquired the voice of reason. No doubts, Glen Sather has had an (unexpectedly?) excellent off season. The Rangers have improved and haven’t sacrificed any part of the future going forward. Include Todd White in the new Rangers, short term.
Sather seems to specialise in low risk high reward trades. Todd White cost the Rangers absolutely nothing and potentially gives the Rangers genuine depth amongst the top 9 forwards. Before getting excited however it’s worth noting there’s a chance White cannot regain his 08/09 form where he had 22 goals and 73 points. Remember also, that he had a certain Russian line mate who went by the name of Ilya so White’s numbers were likely skewed. However if White is physically fit (after his various operations) he has the ability to contribute 40-50 points so potentially he’ll make a nice addition…
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Glen Sather was burning the midnight oil last night, as he acquired center Todd White from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for disgruntled enforcer Donald Brashear and perennial AHLer Patrick Rissmiller. Rissmiller, at a $1 million cap hit, was headed to Hartford for a third straight year, while Brashear’s $1.4 million cap hit was going to stay on the books for the Rangers, regardless of where Brashear played 35+ contract). White has one year remaining at a $2.375 cap hit.
To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what the Rangers gain from this trade, unless there is another one coming. Yes, the Rangers got something decent for absolutely nothing. But, the Rangers take on a larger cap hit from this trade, an extra $900,000 (Rissmiller is not included in this math since he was always destined for Hartford), for another forward. I understand that White had a few good seasons when playing with Ilya Kovalchuk, and maybe the Rangers are hoping White can regain that form playing with Marian Gaborik. What this does do though, is take a roster spot away from a youngster, possibly Dale Weise, or maybe even Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. I’m on the fence about it, it’s not a bad trade, but it’s puzzling. After some thought, the team is definitely better now than it was before the trade. White means that Brian Boyle might be Hartford bound, with Dale Weise and Derek Boogaard rotating as the 13th forward. The Rangers also lose two huge cancers in the Hartford locker room. The deal is another solid trade. It’s amazing how Sather pulls these off.
The Thrashers, meanwhile, have placed Brashear on waivers with the intention of buying him out, which will save them money, but not cap space, which they have plenty of anyway.
As per everyone on Twitter, the Rangers have officially signed UFA Alex Frolov to a one year, $3 million deal. Frolov chose this deal over a four year, $20 million deal to play in the KHL. The 28 year old LW adds legitimate scoring from the left side, something the Rangers didn’t have prior. It also gives the Rangers much more depth in the top-six forwards, and provides some help for Marian Gaborik.
This is a very solid deal for the Rangers. No long term commitment was needed, the contract itself is cheap, and it adds some secondary scoring and flexibility in the roster. If coach John Tortorella decides to keep the Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik line in tact, then Frolov slides to the second line with either Erik Christensen or Artem Anisimov, and most likely Ryan Callahan. With Frolov on the roster, Sean Avery slides to his best role, as a third line winger.
Some will say that the move “blocks the youth”. To that, I say bull. It’s a one year deal, and it’s not like any of the top-six prospects are ready. The likes of Derek Stepan and Evgeny Grachev will need a full season in Hartford. If they impress, then it’s a situation any fan would want to see the Rangers in. A situation with too many skilled players is better than a situation without enough.
Update: With Frolov signed, the Rangers have $1.4 million remaining under the $59.4 salary cap. They also have about $6.8 million remaining on the summer cap. There is more than enough room to sign Marc Staal this summer. However, to fit the team under the cap, some salary needs to go.
The Depth Chart has been updated.
As per Laurie Carr, who does a great job breaking news via Russian sources, the Rangers will sign Alex Frolov to a one year deal. Frolov, who had a lucrative four year deal on the table from the KHL, has chosen the Rangers in lieu of bolting to Russia.
The Rangers made a quiet move today, acquiring 22 year old defenseman Matt McCue from Anaheim for young forward Tomas Zaborsky. McCue, an undrafted free agent, is 6’5 and 220 lbs, and was signed by the Ducks in 2008. Zaborsky was the Rangers 5th round pick in 2006, and will be playing in Finland after a year in Charlotte/Hartford. This is a very minor deal, aimed to address the relatively thin Hartford blue line.
Rangers RFA defenseman Michael Sauer has accepted his qualifying offer. Sauer made $800,000 last season, and his QO would be somewhere in the $900,000 range. Sauer will probably be in Hartford next year, considering the depth of NHLers and top end prospects on the blue line already. The 6’3 220 lb defenseman missed most of last season in Hartford with injuries.
The Rangers have re-signed Brodie Dupont.
The big physical wing/center plays a style of hockey that gives him a chance at making the Rangers in camp. Listed at 6’2 and 210lbs Dupont has the size to go with his style of hockey which is physical play and a willingness to take the body. Dupont has been relatively slow to adapt to professional hockey but has shown a solid level of consistency in Hartford despite playing on a struggling club last year. With good hands for a big man and credited with being a good character player Dupont could give the Rangers a nice blend of size and skill in the bottom 6.
In 09/10 Dupont scored 17 goals and 22 assist while playing in 80 games for the Wolfpack. The season before Dupont scored 18 goals and 42 points. His size and skill package is intriguing and he shouldnt be ruled out for a Rangers spot along with the likes of Weise, Byers and Prust. Power forwards are notoriously slow to develop and Dupont may be starting to put it all together. With a new contract the Rangers are showing they still have confidence in the big Canadian. At worst Dupont provides Hartford with a strong player at the AHL level. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mitch Beck of Howlings had this encouraging analysis of Dupont’s season:
Dupont was exceptional in the middle last season in Hartford. He has the ability to get to the paint and score and was VERY strong in his own end defensively and was almost unbeatable in the circle on face-offs.
If Dupont plays like that at camp he has a legitimate chance…
The Rangers have come to terms with forward Jeremy Williams, of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Williams, 26, spent last year in the AHL, and has bounced around between the NHL and the AHL throughout his career. In his 31 NHL games, Williams has a line of 9-2-11 with 6 PIMS. The 5’11 188 lb winger, who was selected in the 7th round (#220 overall) of the 2003 draft by the Leafs, is probably going to serve as a depth winger in Hartford.
Take this post with a pinch of salt because obviously a lot can (and probably will) happen in Camp however more props need to go to Glen Sather.
Aside from the length of Derek Boogaard’s deal Sather has had a very solid off season. To summarise; Physical defenceman? Mcilrath – check. Avoid over priced UFA’s? (Kovy pending) check. Add a depth defencemen? (Eminger) check. Sign restricted free agents? Almost a complete check (hurry up Staal). Get rid of dead wood? (Voros et al) check. Ryan McDonagh? Check…
Looking back at the weekend I have mainly positive thoughts. I dont feel Girardi earnt $3.325m a year based on his performance last season but anytime you can lock up a guy whose a solid component about to enter this prime years its not a bad deal. Girardi does have some untapped potential and even if he’s already topped out, 3.325/year isnt bad. It’s certainly not as bad as alot of deals out there.
Steve Eminger. I have always been enticed by Eminger. He seems to bounce around the league alot which is a concern but whenever you can turn a piece worth zero (Voros) into a player with upside who comes with a manageable cap figure its a good move. Eminger has averaged a shade under 16 points per season over the past 5 years so has some offensive upside and comes with size, relative youth and as a high first round pick some pedigree. This could a be low risk (rock bottom – given the cost) high reward scenario – so kudos Sather. At worst Eminger can be the depth defenceman everyone acknowledged the Rangers needed. Eminger also appears to play the two way game Tortorella wants in his rear guards. If the Rangers enter the season with a top 7 of Staal – Girardi; Roszival – Del Zotto; Gilroy – McDonagh and Eminger I think most Rangers fans will be very satisfied. With Redden removed, many will join me and rejoice.
What happens next this summer could be very interesting. Kovalchuck to the Rangers wont go away until he signs somewhere whether it be in LA Russia (or here) and Sathers comments of “We’re still moving forward, we’re not finished,” to Andrew Gross sound like he’s intent on adding more to the roster. Under the right conditions thats not a bad thing either. Moving forward there could be alot of potential and youth on the roster come October and that has alot of Rangers supporters psyched. Finally, this Sather comment to Gross must have all Rangers fans thrilled:
“Well, certainly, our philosophy is if any young guy comes in and makes the team, we’ll move the older guys out if necessary,”
Has Sather finally read the memo?! So far (this off season), so good…….
Signings | jurgenno88, 30 Aug 10 | 
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