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.
The Rangers have made another (minor league) signing. This evening the team announced that they have signed AHL tough guy Andre Deveaux who played with the Chicago Wolves last season. At 6’4 and 232 lbs Deveaux is a large body who also showed some scoring touch last season grabbing 23 goals and 23 assists as well as a mighty 194 penalty minutes. Deveaux has twice broke the 200 penalty minute mark in the AHL in seasons past.
Deveaux is a center and should also be able to contribute offensively as well as with his fists. Including last year the Bahamas native (yes, Bahamas – hockey is truly global…) has had three seasons where he has scored 10 or more goals. The last two years has also seen the 27 year old break 40 points.
It’s highly probable that it’s a signing strictly for the AHL however at 27 he does have some long term potential. With the Whale potentially icing a very young roster next season Deveaux is a good addition and should make other teams think before they try and take advantage of all the young prospects down on the farm.
Here’s a link to Deveaux’s player page on AHL.com http://theahl.com/stats/player.php?id=284
The Rangers have signed former Ottawa Senators defenseman Brendan Bell to a deal today. The 6’1″ 205 lb defenseman played last season in the Swiss leagues, putting together a line of 2-9-11 with 14 PIMs in 29 games. The last time Bell saw NHL action was in the 2008-2009 season with the Senators, where he played in 53 games and ginished with a line of 6-15-21 with 24 PIMs. Bell spent all of the 2009-2010 season in the AHL with the Peoria Rivermen and the Syracuse Crunch.
Although contract details have not been released, it is safe to assume Bell has been signed to a one year, two way deal that would presumably pay him the league minimum at the NHL level. Bell will likely serve as some competition for Steve Eminger, Michael Del Zotto, Tim Erixon, and any of the other Ranger prospects vying for one of the last two spots on the blue line this year.
Per CapGeek, the Rangers have re-signed RFA goalie Chad Johnson to a one year, two way deal. Johnson will make the league minimum of $525,000 at the NHL, and $85,000 at the AHL level. Last season was an off year for Johnson after bouncing between the Rangers and the Wolfpack the year before and posting relatively solid numbers. Last season Johnson split time in net, posting a 2.72 GAA and a .901 SV% in 40 games. Johnson had a very slow start in net, but finished relatively strong to get his numbers back to respectability.
Many, including myself, did not expect Johnson to be back this year. The Rangers have a lot of goalies signed in the system, with Johnson, Scott Stajcer, Jason Missiaen, and Cameron Talbot all inked for this upcoming season. One thing is sure, there is going to be a lot of competition amongst these four for the AHL spots. The “losers” of that competition will wind up in the ECHL.
As per Andrew Gross, the Rangers have agreed to terms with J.T. Miller, this year’s first round pick. Miller was selected 15th overall this year, and was a bit of a surprise pick by Gordie Clark and company. This month, Miller decided to renege on his verbal commitment to the University of North Dakota and play for the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL this season. Players in the OHL, WHL, or QMJHL are considered to be “professional” and lose their NCAA eligibility.
If you followed my discussions with Kevein DeLury (NYRangersBlog) and Mike Gleich (Bleeding All Blue) on Twitter a few weeks ago, then you noticed that Miller –who was not a Canadian Juniors draft pick– is eligible to play int he AHL and the CT Whale this season (for those keeping track, I was wrong in that discussion). That is highly unlikely, as Miller playing in the AHL means the Rangers lose a year on his entry level deal. If Miller goes to the OHL, his contract will slide, and his entry level clock won’t start.
The deal is a standard entry level deal, thus it is a three year, two way contract. Dollar amount has not been disclosed.
The Rangers have avoided arbitration with Ryan Callahan, inking their final RFA to a three year deal worth $13 $12.875 million ($4 million, $4 million, $4.875 million). The contract is a $4.3 $4.28 million cap hit, which is $100k more than Brandon Dubinsky, despite being shorter in term. The deal is cheaper than most expected, but also shorter. Most of us had Cally pegged at 5-6 years at a $4.5 million cap hit, with the extra cash stemming from a longer term. With the deal being shorter than Dubinsky’s, thus buying out less UFA years, I would have thought the deal would come in under Dubi’s AAV. That doesn’t really matter though, as the deal is still within the range that he was supposed to be at anyway.
Cally was the last player the Rangers needed to lock up in what is likely Glen Sather’s best offseason with the Rangers to date. This deal buys out one RFA year and two UFA years for the future captain of the Rangers (likely). Arbitration wouldn’t have killed the Cally/NYR relationship –as many have reported it would, but it would have strained it a little.
The RFAs are signed. The roster is set. Is it October yet?
The Rangers have re-signed RFA defenseman Stu Bickel to a one year, two-way contract. The deal will have Bickel earn $75,000 while in the AHL, and $600,000 if he makes the NHL club. Bickel, acquired in exchange for Nigel Williams last November, netted two goals and seven assists with the Whale last season in 54 games. He also had 135 PIMs. In the playoffs, Bickel had an assist and six PIMs in six games. Bickel will likely be with the Whale all year this year, barring significant injuries on the Rangers roster.
According to the internet (sources are overrated), the Rangers have resigned Steve Eminger to a one year deal worth $800K (this figure has yet to be confirmed). Last season Eminger played in 65 games registering 2 goals and 4 assists. More importantly, the 6-2 203-pounder brought some much needed physicality to the Rangers crease.
This season Eminger will most likely play the right side on the bottom pairing with either Michael Del Zotto or Tim Erixon. Should both young defensemen be ready for full-time duty, Eminger will be in the press box. For only $800K, it’s hard to see any negatives with this deal.
Should this cap figure prove accurate, the Rangers have about $4 million left under the cap to sign Ryan Callahan – this scenario includes both MDZ and MZA (cap geek.com). Since the Rangers are going to want some wiggle room, you gotta figure the Rangers will trade a forward, buyout Wolski, or demote Erik Christensen.
Stay tuned…
Sorry for the delay on this, was in a meeting when the news broke. The Rangers have re-signed RFA center Brandon Dubinsky to a four year deal worth $4.2 million per season (cap hit). This news comes right after the conclusion of the arbitration hearing scheduled for 9am this morning. The breakdown of the deal is that Dubi will earn $3.75 million this year and next, and $4.65 million the following two years. With the news always varying about what Dubi was looking for, it’s good to see that he settled for what I think is a very fair price at $4.2 million.
The Rangers have one more RFA to sign in Ryan Callahan, but with Dubi’s contract done, expect Cally to be re-signed to a very similar deal soon. I said that they would both get a total of $8.5 million in cap space combined, so looks like I’m going to be right on the money there. I’ll take a bow as soon as Cally is signed.
In all seriousness, this is turning out to be a tremendous offseason for the Rangers. Glen Sather has done a fantastic job of filling holes and getting the core players signed to reasonsble contracts. Maybe not everything we hear in the media should be blown out of proportion next time?
Per Steve Zipay, the Rangers have signed RFA Andreas Thuresson to a one year deal (two-way contract). Thuresson was acquired a few weeks ago in exchange for Brodie Dupont. Per Capgeek, the contract would have an NHL cap hit of $632,500. His AHL salary will be $105,000.
