Halfway There Report Card: The Defense

With the halfway point of the season upon us (for the most part), and the Rangers in first place, it’s as good of a time as any to begin with the mid-point report cards. We are going to do these in a series of posts, with Chris covering the top six forwards, Suit covering the bottom six forwards, Justin covering the goalies, and myself covering the defense.

The Rangers have used a whopping 11 defensemen since the season started. This is mostly due to the Marc Staal injury, but other injuries along the way have forced the Rangers’ hand. Despite the obvious disadvantage, the Rangers have allowed just 82 goals against, good for second in the league. The Bruins top this, but let’s be honest: The Bruins are in a class above everyone else right now.  Let’s get to those grades:

Marc Staal: He’s played just a handful of games. Everyone knows he’s the rock on defense, and the Rangers just upgraded tremendously with him coming back. Grade: INC.

Dan Girardi: With Staal out indefinitely, the blue line was put in Girardi’s hands…and boy did he deliver. Girardi has been flawless in his own end. He plays the most minutes in the entire league, he plays against top competition, he consistently shuts down that top opposition, he has been contributing offensively, and he has been a leader for this young Rangers team. Grade: A+.

Ryan McDonagh: Staal’s injury opened up a spot for McDonagh on the top pairing, and he has been sensational in that role. He and Girardi have clicked, and aside from a few poor games, McDonagh has been a monster. Rick Carpiniello of LoHud calls him McMonster, and that’s exactly what he is. Throw in his growing offensive skills, and this sophomore defenseman has been a tremendous pickup. Thank you Mr. Gomez. Grade: A.

Michael Del Zotto: Another player that was forced to play up a pairing due to injury, Del Zotto has also been phenomenal. He leads the defensemen in scoring, and is fifth on the team in that same category with 23 points (5-18-23). He leads the team in assists, plus/minus, fan girls, and haters. Seriously, what else does this kid need to do? Sure, he makes a bad pass every now and then, but he’s 22 years old. I’ll take this from a 22 year old any day. Grade: A.

Mike Sauer: Currently out with a concussion, Sauer was the rock on the blue line that most thought was the reason for Del Zotto’s re-emergence.  Although Del Zotto has succeeded without Sauer in the lineup, Sauer is still an integral part of the Rangers blue line. He doesn’t put up the fancy numbers that Del Zotto does, he doesn’t garner the All Star consideration that Girardi does, but he just does his job. The best thing you can say about a defensive defenseman is that you don’t notice him, and rarely does Sauer go noticed. Grade: A.

Steve Eminger: Eminger had an atrocious start to the year. He just couldn’t do anything right, and was a bit of a whipping boy ’round these parts. However, when Sauer went down with his concussion, Emmy stepped up. Much like last year with the Michal Rozsival injury, Eminger assumed top four minutes and played like a champ. His start hurts his grade, but he gets significant bonus points for his ability to play up to his role, no matter what. His injury was supposed to be the one that crippled the Rangers, who were already without Staal and Sauer, but it didn’t. Grade: B.

Jeff Woywitka:Serviceable, reliable, tough, and surprisingly reliable. Much like Eminger, Woywitka was a whipping boy here after his poor start to the season. However, unlike Eminger, he played better as he got used to the John Tortorella way of life, and has been a great bottom pairing guy since. Maybe he has received too much ice time because of injuries, but the Rangers sure haven’t noticed. Kudos to Woywitka for persevering, and earning his continued stay with the Blueshirts. Grade: B.

Anton Stralman: Signed as a free agent a few weeks into the season, no one knew what to expect from Stalman. After a few weeks with the team, it was clear that Tortorella wasn’t a big fan, a point confirmed on HBO’s 24/7 last week. However as he has played, he has grown into a player that is not only reliable, but someone that Tortorella can play top-four minutes without hesitation. Stralman has been paired with Del Zotto, and both have flourished. Martin Biron might be the best offseason acquisition in a while, but the signing of Stralman might be the most underappreciated. Grade: A-.

Stu Bickel: The last man cut from the blue line in the preseason, Bickel earned a call up following Eminger’s separated shoulder and Woywitka’s bruised foot forced the Rangers’ hand. Bickel has been a physical presence on the blue line that has rarely made a mistake. He’s still a rookie, and yes his mistakes have and will come, but the Rangers couldn’t have asked for more from him. With Sauer out, Bickel has replaced that physicality that was sorely missing. Grade: B+.

Tim Erixon: He played in the beginning of the year when Sauer was out, and most recently while Woywitka was out. It’s clear he’s still not ready for the big show, but he’s a promising young defenseman that has done many things right. He’s only played 13 games, but it’s apparent the Rangers have a serious NHL player on their hands. Grade: INC.

Brendan Bell: Played one game. Grade: INC.

*Here is Justin’s mid-season report for the goalies & Suit’s report for our bottom six forwards. Stay tuned for reports on our top 6 forwards and our coaches.

Eminger Has Separated Shoulder, Defense In State Of Flux

What more can happen to the Rangers blue line? Marc Staal hasn’t played all year because of a concussion. Mike Sauer is out definitely because of a concussion. There was a makeshift bottom pairing that consisted of any combination of Steve Eminger, Jeff Woywitka, and Anton Stralman before the Sauer injury. Since the Sauer injury, Eminger was forced into top four duties, and played well. Now he is out, and the future of Woywitka is unknown since he is banged up.

Let’s assume Woywitka can go on Tuesday. After all, he is a hockey player. That leaves the Rangers in need of another defenseman. The smart money would be on Tim Erixon being called up, but he comes with a $1.75 million cap hit. With Mike Rupp activated, the Rangers don’t have room to carry that cap hit without making another roster move to clear some cap space. Since Sean Avery carries the biggest cap hit among those not playing regularly, it’s safe to assume that if Erixon is called up, then Avery will indeed be waived.

Another option is to call up Brendan Bell, who has NHL experience, but he would need to clear re-entry waivers prior to joining the club. It is unlikely someone would claim him, but the Rangers might not want to take that chance. If it is Bell that is called up, then placing Eminger on LTIR should clear enough cap space to make room for Bell.

The Rangers thin blue line just got a lot thinner. With the Christmas roster freeze a day away, the Rangers need to make their moves quickly.

Brendan Bell Returned To CT

The Rangers have sent defenseman Brendan Bell back to the CT Whale after a brief call up for the Western Canada run. Bell played in one game, and made one egregious mistake where he pinched too early, which led to an Edmonton goal. In his one game, he finished with no points and a -1 rating, coming from that error in judgement. The move, although unsurprising, might signal that Mike Sauer, out for about a month (including preseason) with a shoulder injury, might be ready to return to the lineup.

The press release is after the jump:

Read more »

Rangers Recall Brendan Bell

The roster moves continue for the New York Rangers, as they have recalled defenseman Brendan Bell from the Connecticut Whale. This is likely due to the Mike Sauer shoulder injury, as he did not practice last week and did not play in last night’s loss to the New York Islanders. Bell was the last player assigned to the Whale after the trip to Europe, as the Rangers needed him around because of the injury bug that has plagued the blue line. In two games with the Whale, Bell has an assist and 12 PIMs.

It is likely that Bell will get a look on defense in place of Jeff Woywitka, who finished with a -1 rating and under 13 minutes of ice time in last night’s loss. He wasn’t noticeable in the game, which is not necessarily a negative. It looks like the coaching staff is going to go with a make shift defense until Sauer and Marc Staal get healthy.

Bell does not need to clear re-entry waivers, as he did not spend 40 games with an NHL club last season.

Brendan Bell Sent To Connecticut; Scott Stajcer Returned To OHL

The New York Rangers made a few roster moves upon returning from Europe, one of which was a necessity, and the other was expected. The necessary move was returning Scott Stajcer to the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL. The Rangers were allowed to carry a third emergency goalie while they were in Europe, but are no longer allowed to do so since returning to North America.  Stajcer will play his overage season with Owen Sound before joining the Rangers organization.

The other move was the easily predicted move, as the Rangers also sent Brendan Bell to the Connecticut Whale.  Bell was kept on the roster as an emergency defenseman because of the Marc Staal injury, and because the Rangers didn’t want to send him home prematurely, like they had to do with Stu Bickel. The acquisition of Jeff Woywitka made Bell’s demotion to the AHL a certainty. Woywitka will still serve as the healthy scratch for now, until someone plays their way out of the lineup.

Quick Roster Notes

There has been a flurry of activity the past 24 hours, so let’s quickly summarize everything in one post:

• Sean Avery was placed on waivers yesterday and cleared. He has been assigned to the CT Whale. There is no known timetable for him to report or for him to seek other options.
• Stu Bickel and Brendan Bell were placed on waivers yesterday as well.  Both cleared, but will remain with the roster until further notice. This is similar to what the Rangers did with Todd White last season.
• Tim Erixon has been recalled. He will be at practice tomorrow and will play this weekend.
• To make room for Erixon, Marc Staal has been placed on IR. This is also a move to save a little bit of cap space while he deals with his post concussion symptoms. There is no timetable for his return.

Also, the forward lines for Friday appear to be set:

Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Wojtek Wolski-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Mike Rupp-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust

The defense pairings are still relatively unknown, as Erixon has not arrived in Sweden yet.

Brendan Bell And Stu Bickel Waived; Roster Appears Set

This sure has been a busy day for the New York Rangers organization.  First, we heard that Sean Avery is going to be waived, having lost out in the battle for the 13th forward position to Erik Christensen.  Shortly after, we heard that Dale Weise will indeed get a shot at the NHL, as he was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks.  Now, Brendan Bell and Stu Bickel have been waived, which means that the Rangers roster is set for the start of the year.

The fact that Bell and Bickel have been waived means that the coaching staff expects Mike Sauer to play in the regular season openers in Sweden.  Sauer had been out with a sprained right shoulder, and didn’t play a single game in Europe.  Although Sauer is back, the Rangers will need to dress at least one of Bickel or Bell in the first two regular season games, as they currently have just five healthy defensemen.  This is not an uncommon scenario, the Rangers did this with Todd White a bunch of times last season.

The Rangers roster appears to be set:

Goal (3): Martin Biron, Henrik Lundqvist, Scott Stajcer*
Defense (6): Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer, Marc Staal
Forward (13): Artem Anisimov, Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen, Brandon Dubinsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Marian Gaborik, Brandon Prust, Brad Richards, Mike Rupp, Derek Stepan, Wojtek Wolski, Mats Zuccarello

Just a note regarding Stajcer, any team opening the season in Europe is allowed to carry an extra goaltender for the duration of the trip.  When the Rangers return, expect Stajcer to be returned to a CHL team for an overage season.

Rangers Ink Brendan Bell

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.