Minor Addition that Could Have Major Effect

Normally the Rangers don’t need any more bottom 6 help, especially when considering they have talented players like Dale Weise riding the bench and prospects like Evgeny Grachev in the minors but the Rangers could make a minor move to make a big change approaching the deadline.

While the Rangers have cap space to make a significant move a lot would argue this isn’t the year to make major changes giving up a lot of assets. John Madden however could help the Rangers and could be had for relatively little given his age, limited production and position in Minnesota. The Rangers simply cannot make any noise at the end of the year or in the playoffs if they cannot win face-offs (this is obvious to one and all) and this is where Madden could come in. Excellent in his own end (former Selke winner) and a proven playoff performer -3 cups with the Devils – Madden would help Chris Drury in the face off area, perhaps the Rangers biggest single weakness. Whether he would be a popular addition is open to debate. However don’t discount another positive aspect to the potential move.

While Mark Messier has been helping the centers with draws, Madden would be with the team every day and could serve as a mentor to the young centers given his talent in the circle. Having an extra veteran presence to teach the youngsters could be huge while there would be no long term effect as Madden is UFA in the summer; he would be a pure rental. On the flip side, despite being a long time Devil, should the Rangers make the playoffs Madden may be interested in looking for one final deep playoff run at age 37.

The Rangers are in a transitional year and there are indeed many positives to note already this year but they should not make major changes unless they can come at minimal cost (unlikely). Adding a proven veteran – like Madden – for a short time frame wouldn’t impede any prospect long term and could be a nice aid to the Rangers main woe this season. Worthing thinking about.

Trade Deadline: Scouting Toronto

With the NHL trade deadline a little over a month away, the trade rumor mill is going to begin to boil. There have already been numerous rumors linking the Rangers to Calgary, others linking the Rangers to Florida, and other stating that the Rangers are looking to trade Marian Gaborik (note: listening to offers and actively looking to trade are completely different). The Rangers have a few holes they need to address if they plan on making a run in the playoffs, most notably they need another scorer and a veteran presence on the blue line. There are a few teams that are already out of the playoff picture, with the Toronto Maple Leafs being one of them, that are worth scouting for fixes to the holes.

The Rangers aren’t going to sacrifice the future for a quick fix. So there’s no need to worry about the Rangers trading Derek Stepan for Tomas Kaberle. It just doesn’t make sense. However, the Rangers will deal from spare parts and depth in the system (such as having two 2nd round picks) to make an attempt to win a few rounds in the playoffs. The Rangers are also going to want players on deals that expire at the end of the season, which will limit some of their options. That said, let’s look at the Toronto Maple Leafs players who have deals expiring after this season:

Full list after the jump

Trade Deadline Open Thread

Well, today’s the day. What will Glen Sather do? We all know he will buy, but what is his plan? We will find out today.

Unfortunately for me, I again will not have internet all day. So a combination of all of us here at BSB will be updating this post as trades occur (Rangers trades will be bolded).

So, this is your thread to discuss all trades and rumors. The deadline is at 3pm. It should be a fun day.

Update 11:30am Some trades:

• As confirmed yesterday, Pittsburgh acquired Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto for Martin Skoula and prospect Luca Caputi.
• Matrin Skoula was flipped to NJ for a 5th round pick in 2010.
• Derek Morris is headed from Boston to Phoenix for a 4th round pick in 2011.
• Matt D’Agostini was traded from Montreal to St. Louis for prospect Aaron Palushaj.

Update 11:33am Boston acquired Denis Seidenberg and Matt Bartkowski from Florida for Craig Weller, Byron Bitz, and a 2nd round pick (TB).

Update 11:45am Aaron Ward is heading to Anaheim for Justin Pogge and a 4th round pick.

Update 12:00pm Edmonton claims Ryan Jones on waivers. Enver Lisin and Aaron Voros clear waivers.

Update 12:50pm: Three trades:

• Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter from Phoenix to Colorado for Wojtek Wolski.
• Yan Stastny from St. Louis to Vancouver for Cedric Labrie.
• Scott Walker from Carolina to Washington for a 7th round pick.

Update 1:00pm: Rangers trade Jordan Owens to Detroit for Kris Newbury.

Update 1:35pm: Mathieu Schneider has been traded from Vancouver to Phoenix. Jeff Halpern traded from TB to LA. When the return for each is tweeted, I’ll post it here.

Update 1:45pm: For the Halpern trade, Tampa gets Teddy Purcell and a 3rd rounder.

Update 1:46pm: Eric Belanger has been traded from Minnesota to Washington, for a second round pick

Update 2:09pm:Calgary gets Vesa Toskala from the Ducks in exchange for Curtis McElhinney

Update 2:09pm:For the Schneider trade, Vancouver gets Sean Zimmerman and a 6th round pick.

Update 2:27pm:Raffi Torres goes from Columbus to Buffalo for Nathan Paetsch and a 2nd rounder

Update 2:38pm: Sabres send Clarke McArthur to Thrashers for a third and fourth rounder

Update 2:50pm: Columbus sends Milan Jurcina back to Washington

Update 3:08pm: Lee Stempniak to Phoenix for a 4th and 7th rounder…Steal of the day

Update 3:09pm: Carolinia trades Joe Corvo to Caps for Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala and a 2nd rounder

Update 3:16pm: Fredrik Modin heads to LA for a conditional pick

Update 3:17pm: Leafs trade Joey MacDonald to Anaheim for 2011 7th rounder

Update 3:18pm: Andrew Alberts to Vancouver for a 3rd rounder

Update 3:19pm: As per Brooks, no NHL trades for the Rangers. Owens-Newbury only trade.

Update 3:35pm: Lubomir Vishnovsky traded to Ducks for Ryan Whitney

Update 3:37pm: Penguins get 2010 6th round pick from Toronto for D Chris Peluso (currently at Bemidji State)

Update 3:37pm: Blue Jackets trade Mathieu Roy to Panthers

Update 3:38pm: Flames trade Dustin Boyd to Nashville

Update 4:06pm: Edmonton moves Steve Staios to Calgary for Aaron Johnson and a 3rd round pick in 2010

Update 4:08pm: Per Zipay, Rangers have a minor league deal coming up.

Update 4:09pm: Stephane Yelle traded to Colorado with Harrison Reed for sixth-round pick and Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll

Update 4:10pm: Blue Jackets trade Alex Picard to the Coyotes for Chad Kolarik

Update 4:46pm: Rangers have acquired veteran defenseman Anders Eriksson from Phoenix in exchange for goalie Miika Wiikman and 7th rounder in 2011

Update 4:47pm: Rangers will assign Eriksson to Hartford

Update 4:48pm: Anaheim trades Petteri Nokelainen to Phoenix for a 6th round pick

Trade Season

It’s trade season. Of course, Dave and I will be all over all trades Rangers–and all other trades. We know the Rangers will be active. They always are. And we know they need a scorer and a hard hitting defenseman. Maybe two scorers.

Last year, we saw Nik Antropov and Derek Morris come to New York. I don’t know who we will see this year in blue. That said, who do you want the Rangers to acquire at the deadline?

Nashville Deals for Grebeshkov

The Nashville Predators are buyers at this deadline. The Predators have acquired Edmonton defenseman Denis Grebeshkov in exchange for a second round draft pick. Grebeshkov ($3.15 million cap hit), a RFA at the end of the year, has a line of 6-13-19 in 47 games with a 3.2 GVT. He is also a -16, but the entire Edmonton team is a minus, so sticking with GVT is your best bet.

This is a very interesting move for Nashville. The Predators have an owner-induced cap that is well below the $56.8 million NHL cap. Acquiring Grebeshkov, while being unable to retain Dan Hamhuis, is curious to say the least. Maybe they think Grebeshkov can be resigned for less.

Curious deal.

Update 5:35pm: Expect the Oilers roster to be completely dismantled by Wednesday’s deadline.

Florida Will Sell

Add another team to the sellers list. With the Jordan Leopold deal, Florida General Manager Randy Sexton has unofficially named the Panthers as sellers this year. The only other UFA on the Florida roster is defenseman Denis Seidenberg, who will most certainly be traded before the deadline. Other players have popped up in pipe-dream scenarios (Nathan Horton), but I don’t see the Panthers moving someone like Horton, or David Booth.

Seidenberg would have been nice at the beginning of the year, but he doesn’t fill a hole on the current Rangers roster. I don’t see the Panthers as a good trading partner for the Rangers.

And So It Begins…

The post-Olympic trades have begun, with Pittsburgh acquiring Jordan Leopold from Florida in exchange for a second round pick. The Pens now have eight defensemen, so expect a minor deal to move one, probably Martin Skoula, to be announced before the deadline.

A trade deadline counter has been added to the side bar. The trade deadline is March 3, 2010 at 3pm.

Souray Rumors Heating Up

Update: Ok, this post title is extremely misleading. Sorry.

There is nothing official going around the blog/twitter-sphere about the Rangers pursuit of Sheldon Souray, post-injury. There is some talk going around about the continued pursuit of the defenseman, because he is signed through next year at a relatively reasonable* price.

*-Reasonable when compared to the Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival contracts.

That said, I propose this trade. Bear in mind that this has nothing to do with any rumors, or anything I have heard. It is just me speculating what could work.

To EDM:
Michal Rozsival
Dan Girardi
NYR 2010 4th round pick

To NYR:
Sheldon Souray
Andrew Cogliano
EDM 2010 5th round pick

Replace Girardi in the lineup with one of Corey Potter/Ilkka Heikkinen (Bobby Sanguinetti is injured). I think it’s feasible. What do you guys think?

Prospal Wants to Stay

As per Arthur Staple of Newsday, Rangers forward Vinny Prospal has made it public that he does not want to be traded by Wednesday’s trade deadline:

“I’m very happy with the way things are going here,” he said, noting that his agent and Sather have had no discussions on a contract extension. “The most important thing is I have family here, the kids are in school and I don’t like the thought of being away from them for who knows how long.

The way this quote is phrased, it sounds like Prospal wants to stay a Ranger in the future as well. If he wants to play for under $2 million, then I’m all for it. After all, he is getting $1.16 million a year from TB through 2014-2015.

Are You Willing to Part With Dan Girardi?

The end of the Olympics is coming. The trade deadline is shortly thereafter. It seems clear that GM Glen Sather is going to be a buyer at the deadline, but to what extent remains a mystery. He surprised us all by swapping spare parts for a legitimate upgrade in Olli Jokinen before the Olympic roster freeze. This type of move seems to be Slats’ MO, swapping spare parts and players that have are not going to be a part of the future for upgrades for the current season.

That said, who do you think Slats is going to part with at the deadline? Other than the usual suspects on the wish list (Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival), who simply cannot be moved, the most notable name that I think the Rangers are willing to part with at the deadline is Dan Girardi, and I am perfectly OK with this. Now, before you jump down my throat for joining the trade Girardi bandwagon, you should know that I thought he was expendable in June of 2009, long before this “Trade Girardi” movement.

Girardi is in the third season of his young career, and although his GVT stands at 4.9, good for a top-10 place on this current Rangers squad, it is tough to overlook some glaring holes in his game. For example, he is big, but not physical. He is also slow on his feet, and constantly gets beat like he stole something. Yes, he is good with his positioning, but at his current price ($1.55 million cap hit), and a probable raise on the way, Girardi may price himself into a deadline or draft-day deal. With the defensive depth in the system, and the likes of Bobby Sanguinetti and Ilkka Heikkinen both NHL ready (and both combined make what Girardi makes), it appears that Girardi has run his course on Broadway.

Girardi will draw a good amount of interest around the league. He is young (25), and as mentioned before, has good positioning. Am I saying that the Rangers should dump Girardi for a 5th round pick? No. Hell no. I think a Girardi package has the potential to draw a top-six LW from teams. The loss will sting a little bit, but the trade return and the cheaper replacements on defense who have the potential to produce better results will make it more palatable.