It has become abundantly clear that defenseman Alexei Semenov has played well enough to make the team as a seventh defenseman, but the Rangers appear to be waiting it out before they fully commit to him. GM Glen Sather is simply doing his due diligence as GM and waiting to see which players pop up on waivers. Brad Lukowich ($1.56 million) and Randy Jones ($2.75 million) have both popped up on waivers, but are too expensive. They will both be interesting options on re-entry waivers though. Rob Schremp hit waivers, and was immediately picked up by the Islanders.
Manny Legace and Dan Fritsche were waived by Atlanta. Brian Bochenski, Ryan Craig, and former Ranger Adam Hall were waived by Tampa Bay.
Alexei Semenov is just going to have to wait and see as well. If the Rangers like a name that pops up, expect Semenov to be cut from his tryout.
In a very good move for the Islanders, they have put in a waiver claim for Edmonton forward Rob Schremp. As the last place finisher last year, the Islanders had first dibs on any player placed on waivers. This is a very low risk, high reward move for the Islanders, as Schremp didn’t cost them anything.
Schremp, a first round pick from the 2004 draft, has fallen far. So far, in fact, that he couldn’t even crack the Oilers roster, and was set for yet another season in Springfield. The Islanders should be able to give the kid top line minutes while he tries to find his game again. If he ever does, the combination of him and John Tavares can become lethal.
In rather unsurprising news, winger P.A. Parenteau was reassigned to Hartford this afternoon. Parenteau played will in his time with the Rangers, but unfortunately for him, there just isn’t a spot on this roster for him at the moment. This was not a financial decision either, as Parenteau is on a one-way contract, and will earn $500,000 regardless of where he plays.
Assuming he goes unclaimed through waivers, he will play top line minutes in Hartford, probably with Evgeny Grachev once the preseason ends, and await a call up in the event of an injury or someone’s game goes to hell. This is a bit of a risky decision, because if Parenteau puts up the same numbers in Hartford, he may be claimed on re-entry waivers should he be needed. He is a cheap player and could fulfill third line duties admirably on most teams. As for his status with the Rangers, he is just too far down on the depth chart to really be considered.
This cuts the roster to 24, 8 defensemen and 14 forwards. It’s safe to assume that two more players will be cut before the season begins. My guess is that Grachev and Michael Del Zotto will be what I’m going to call contract casualties. Del Zotto still has a year of eligibility left in the OHL, and Grachev will benefit from a year in the AHL. But you can guarantee that they will be on the roster for the last two preseason games to get as much experience as possible.
Hockey season is just nine days away, and it can’t come soon enough.
According to TSN, the Rangers have placed forwards Patrick Rissmiller and Tyler Arnason on waivers today. If they go unclaimed, they will be sent to Hartford. This was expected, as they were a part of the initial roster cut, but were sticking around due to waiver issues.
Both have one-way contracts, so they will make their respective salaries ($1 million for Rissmiller and $700k for Arnason) while playing for the Wolfpack this year. Remember, one-way and two-way contracts have no bearing on waiver eligibility. Because both Rissmiller and Arnason would have to pass through waivers to get back to the Rangers, it is unlikely that they will see the Rangers this year. That’s just my two cents though.
As expected, the Rangers claimed Sean Avery from Dallas on re-entry waivers. The Rangers will be on the hook for $2 million a year for the next three years, which is pretty much what the Rangers wanted to sign him for this past offseason. This also leaves the Rangers with roughly $4.99 in cap room for the remainder of the season.
I don’t understand this move, I really don’t. I like Avery, I really do, but the team needed a change and a catalyst, and they got it in Tortorella. Throwing Avery into the mix just doesn’t sound like a good idea right now, especially because Torts doesn’t want him there. You really have to question if there is a proper line of communication between Torts and Sather.
This also puts the Rangers against a wall next offseason, with the cap going down, and the Rangers with a lot of RFAs to sign. Let’s hope Sather has a trade of a medium to long term contract (Voros?) to clear some room for the offseason.
But for now, welcome back to NY Sean. I’m sure Stas is doing back flips.
Update 12:30pm: Looks like Niklas Backstrom won’t be leaving Minnesota this trade deadline. He re-upped with the Wild today for 4 years, $24 millioni.
Update 12:50pm Aaron Voros and Eric Reitz have been placed on waivers. That clears some room.
Also placed on waivers: Miro Satan, Gary Roberts, Brenden Morrison, Brenden Bell, Jon Sim, Lawerence Nycholat, Martin Gerber, Craig Adams, and Eric Perrin.
As per Zipay, the Stars have placed Sean Avery on re-entry waivers, where Glen Sather is expected to pick him up. Mark Bell has been sent to Hartford to clear up space for Avery. I don’t see why you pick up Bell if you aren’t going to use him in lieu of Avery, or just use him at all.
Eric Reitz has a broken foot, which may explain his sluggish play in Torts debut.
It’s a really slow day, apparently GM’s don’t get a lot done when it snows.
The Rangers made another waiver wire move today, claiming Mark Bell on re-entry waivers from Toronto. Bell has had a troubled past with substance abuse, and could have just needed a change of scenery from Toronto. Granted, I don’t know how well playing in NY goes to getting over substance abuse.
Bell, 28, was the #8 pick by Chicago in the 1998 draft, and it’s safe to say he hasn’t lived up to the potential. At 6’4, 220lbs, he’s the big forward that can show a scoring touch (averaged 30 goals in 3 seasons with Ottawa in the OHL). This move probably isn’t going to amount to anything, but it’s worth noting.
As for the contract, the Rangers are on the hook for half of Bell’s $2.5 million salary this year. Pro-rated, this amounts to roughly a $320,000 cap hit, leaving the Rangers with roughly $700,000 in cap space to work with for the deadline.
With this move, Avery returning this season seems less likely. I ran the numbers. As of now, Avery’s cap hit would be roughly $512,000, and it decreases by roughly $24,000 with each game the Rangers play. The minimum Avery cap hit would be roughly $439,000, which is met if the Rangers claim him on re-entry waivers after the Saturday game with Colorado.
Update: It could also mean the departure of one Aaron Voros, who’s purpose on a Tortorella team is up in the air, especially with the arrival of Bell, who has more offensive upside than Voros. We know how much Torts likes his offense. If the Rangers can get anything for him, I would be impressed.
Image Credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images
Sean Avery has officially been assigned to the Hartford Wolfpack. Avery issued a statement on his assignment, basically saying he was appreciative of the Rangers.
I was initially going to write about how much I don’t want him for the next three years (I still don’t, but this year is a must), that the team doesn’t want him. But you know what, it doesn’t matter what any of the players want. They put themselves in this situation, and because of their lack of effort the past month, their say means nothing to me, or to anyone. Avery should light a fire under this team’s ass, considering they scored 5 goals in 5 games during this losing streak. They need something, and they need it yesterday. Hopefully Avery provides that something. Get him up to the big club for the game in Washington.
Sean Avery has cleared waivers and will likely be sent to Hartford. He will then, as per Rick Carpiniello, be placed on re-entry waivers and claimed by the Rangers (assuming none of the teams below them claim him). The interesting bit here is that the Stars appear to be receiving no compensation for Avery. Personally, I was hoping the Rangers would send a higher priced player to them in exchange for taking Avery off their hands.
Just to clarify things, I am not against Avery for the remainder of this year. His situation here has worked out in the past, and the locker room clearly needs something to shake things up. He isn’t the scoring winger that they so desperately need, but he would definitely add a certain toughness that Aaron Voros has failed to bring.
What I am against is Avery for the next THREE years. Avery is but a bandaid on the bullet wound that is the problem with this team. As much as I respect Mr. Renney for taking this team from laughing stock to the playoffs for what will be the 4th year in a row, his time has run out. And considering how much a lot of us want this change, do you really want to handcuff a new coach with Avery for three more years?
Update 1:30pm: Corey Potter has been sent back to Hartford. Not unexpected.
- The Islanders just can’t get lucky. Mike Sillinger is now out for the year. They lost another tradeable asset to help rebuild. It’s unknown what Sillinger could have gone for, considering he played an entire 7 games all year, but something is better than nothing. This just creates more time for us to laugh at the Islanders for their ridiculous team right now. They remind me of the Kansas City Royals.
- Henrik Zetterberg re-upped with the Wings, which shouldn’t really shock anyone. His deal is 12 years, $72 million, which is just a $6 million cap hit (still less than Wade Redden). That deal is great for the Wings. With Michael Cammalleri poised to make Jarome Iginla money ($7 million/year), Zetterberg would surely have received more money from any other team. This does pose an issue for the Wings though, bringing their cap number to roughly $48 million for next year, with Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen set to become UFAs. My guess is that Hossa goes for greener pastures and Franzen stays in Detroit. If Franzen winds up as a free agent, how much will Sather be kicking himself for signing Markus Naslund to two years (or Redden to 6, but I digress)?
- The Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors have all but died for this season. That’s pretty good news for all Ranger fans. The Blueshirts can’t even beat the Habs now, without Lecavalier, can you imagine what it would be like with Vinny in Montreal?
Posted by: Dave, on 01-28-2009 at 12:56 pm in Around the League, Irresponsible Rumormongering, Signings, Waiver Wire | Comments Off
Tags: Corey Potter, Dan Fritsche, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Marian Hossa, Markus Naslund, Michael Cammalleri, Mike Sillinger, Vincent Lecavalier, Wade Redden
