Does Dolan Appearance Hint At Rangers Intentions?

James Dolan has been a rare visitor to the Rangers, at least publicly. After the Nashville victory he spoke to the Rangers media for the first time in almost seven years. The owner of the team spoke openly and enthusiastically about Glen Sather (who has done a tremendous job since the lockout on the whole) and the fact that he saw the Rangers close to a Stanley Cup.

Glen and I made a pact, I actually gave him something which I won’t reveal what it is. I said you can’t give it back to me until we win the Stanley Cup. And I think I’m pretty close to getting that thing back.

Dolan appeared to speak quite openly about the emphasis on development, youth and the turnaround in the organisational approach over the past seven years. It may have surprised many how much Dolan may seem to know about his team.

Dolan’s comment about the Cup will likely spark rumours of how aggressive the Rangers will be in positioning themselves for a cup run so assume any significant player coming on the market will be linked with the Rangers. Don’t forget, for all his shortfalls Dolan has always been willing to spend money on the team when Sather identified a need. Obviously that hasn’t always been a good thing as, for all the Gaborik’s and Biron’s there has been the Redden’s and Brashear’s.

Dolan is very much a Knicks fan first and foremost. Anyone watching the Knicks over the years has seen Dolan get actively involved, too much so in fact. Rangers fans haven’t had that aspect of his ownership to deal with. Truth is, his daily involvement probably won’t change but for the first time in well over a decade Dolan sees a possible championship team in New York and that may mean he puts pressure on Sather and co. to go out and acquire pieces for a run.

Coach Tortorella was (as usual) disapproving of championship talk straight after Dolan’s surprise flirt with the media. However it will be interesting to see if there is any change in how the Rangers go about their business over the next few weeks leading up to the deadline. Could the Dolan conference appearance be a watershed moment in the season?

Half Way There Report Card: The General Manager

For several years now I have been a pro Sather, Rangers fan. He has caused a lot of damage in his tenure, failed to bring the club back to relevance for far too long and doesn’t help his own appeal with his almost recluse like behaviour. That said, Sather has turned around this franchise since the lock-out with savvy signings, good appointments, excellent organisational drafting and along with the coaching staff, going with the youth. Let’s get to his grade for the year…

Let’s begin Sather’s grade back in the summer. He brought in Brad Richards on an excellent cap hit taking advantage of a loop hole in the CBA that other GM’s have used. That the length of the contract therefore was excessive was an unfortunate necessity. Still, Richards was the right addition to this team at the right time.

Mike Rupp however received too much dollar and term in my opinion, even though he appears to be a solid addition to the close knit team and will go down in Rangers folk lore for the Winter Classic. Sather also brought back Steve Eminger which was also a solid move, especially given the injuries and the lack of a truly ready replacement in the minors.

Then there is the next potential robbery in Sather’s recent history. Tim Erixon was acquired from Calgary for some picks and Roman Horak. While Horak has had some initial impact with the Flames, Sather managed to prize Calgary’s best prospect off them for a kid that had little chance in NY (because of depth) and effectively got two first round talents this summer at the draft. Erixon has seen Rangers ice already and has made a solid start in Connecticut.

During the season Sather has made minor moves that have paid off handsomely. While his hand was forced somewhat, the additions of Jeff Woywitka and Anton Stralman have been fine depth moves and helped the team cope with a huge amount of man power lost on the blue line. In terms of Stralman Sather got a good deal at 900k pro rated.

If I was to nitpick at Sather I would ask him why Erik Christensen still remains with the club, however I suspect this has more to do with the coach wanting him here than Sather’s failure to deal with the deadweight.

Contract negotiations over the summer saw guys like Callahan and Anisimov get paid and Dubinsky get paid too much, but Sather still made sure the young core is intact. Also, Sather and Tortorella clearly are on the same page with this team’s direction and such inter-organisational harmony isn’t something this club has always had. Look at the results.

Sather’s overall grade will be decided by the deadline. If this team looks like it will be in contention down the stretch it will be interesting to see whether Sather is aggressive in adding pieces for a run and what he has to give up to do so. So far, Sather has had a good year (again) and his grade gets a hike because of his Winter Classic guarantee. Keep up the good work Glen. No more Wade Redden’s please. A-

Was All The Redden Heartache Worth It?

Given all the criticism, cap difficulties and roster management issues that were among the fallout from that horrible Redden deal; were they all worth it if Glen Sather and the Rangers finally learned their lessons?

We’ve discussed many times over the past couple of years how Sather has actually performed admirably since the summer of Wade. Since that summer, Redden has provided the organisation with a highly praised mentor down on the farm – an unexpected bonus and certainly not the desired effect of his signing.

However what is most obvious since the day the Rangers signed an even then fading Redden is the absence of any further crazy deals. Yes, Boogaard’s deal was a little generous but at the time he was an organisational need. Yes, Mike Rupp’s may be a year too long (wait to see how that plays out first) and yes, Brad Richards’ deal is one of crazy length but the Rangers got the best free agent for a great cap hit, took advantage of CBA loop holes and paid less than other teams offered because the player wanted to come to New York.

The point here is that after all the (justified) media and fan mocking of the Rangers for the Redden deal the club has focussed on integrating youth into the line-up and kept on adding prospect depth to the franchise. The club has resisted any obscene acquisitions and has cut away veterans if their play didn’t deserve retention. Maybe Wade Redden’s deal gave the Rangers two things; a great mentor in the minors and a financial conscience? Who’d have thought it?

Musings: Busy Rangers Week Edition

It’s Thursday and that mean’s Musings. Following up on a pretty busy week in Ranger land, let’s get things going.

Ryan Callahan: New York Rangers captain. Sounds good doesn’t it? In another example of the organisation simply doing the right thing (they’ve been doing it for a while now) the Rangers have a home grown leader and one that is immensely easy to root for.

The most annoying part of Traverse City? I haven’t watched a single second of any game. I can’t get MSG coverage in the UK and for some odd reason highlight packages appear impossible to find. Anyone have any access to some?

Having said all that I have obviously followed the scores, the coverage on the blogs and have been impressed with what I have read. I love the fact this franchise of ours is blessed with serious talent and it’s now being seen in Rangers red, white and blue.

Christian Thomas – as good as advertised?

Tim Erixon I: is a great pick-up and is another example of the great work (in recent seasons) of Glen Sather. Yes, Mr Sather has a long way to go before being loved and it might take a Cup win in NY for him to get some fan-love but there’s no denying Sather has done well recently. Erixon Jr is further testament to the great foundation being set in New York.

Tim Erixon II: You just read the name of the Rangers rookie of the year 2011-2012.

Let’s play guess: How many players from the Traverse City roster do you all think will represent the Rangers this season? I think 3 will make their Rangers’ debuts this season with a possible fourth, dependant on how he starts his season with the Whale. The fourth? Blake Parlett. The three I’m confident of? Bourque, Hagelin and obviously Erixon.

Hate to say I told you so: I talked up Ryan Bourque a few weeks ago as a prospect that could sneak on to the Rangers roster despite not garnering the same attention as others. Well, he’s done nothing but impress thus far, going on reports. Another middle of the draft steal for NYR?

The Rangers kick off their regular season in 3 weeks and 1 day. Stockholm here we come!

2nd place is not bad. You have to learn how to lose as well as how to win. That may sound like I am rolling off clichés but it is a fact. The Rangers lost 5-2 in last night’s final game against Buffalo but it’s still a productive tournament for the Rangers who now know a lot more about many of their prospects. Bear in mind that the Sabres also had a lot of players dressed in the game that will be pro’s this season, including a few players that already played AHL last year. Indeed, one of their scorers had a 40 point AHL season last season.

Many, many positives to take but it’s tough to hear Andrew Yogan has injured his arm again. He was starting to cement his status as a solid prospect after recovering from his injury last season. Fingers crossed it won’t keep him out nearly as long this year.

Just a point on the Callahan captaincy: am I being cynical but do you think the Rangers held off stating the obvious because awarding Cally the captaincy before his new deal would have given him much more financial negotiating power? A bargaining chip like a captaincy is worth a lot if you ask me. Timing of the announcement was thought about a lot, clearly.

I have to say I agree with Jess Rubenstein over JT Miller. I think Miller will benefit from a bigger schedule in the OHL than playing half the amount of games in college. While North Dakota is well known for it’s hockey program Miller clearly will benefit from game after game after game.

I am unbelievably excited to see the Rangers in Stockholm next month. Not just because I’ll be there at the games (an obvious reason for the excitement) but because of the way this franchise approaches games whether it be the kids or the big boys stepping on to the ice. The work rate and the effort the team gives game in-game out is intoxicating. It’s hard not to love the way this team plays hockey.

I’m going to finish today’s Musings with a prediction. The Rangers play two games in Stockholm and I’m saying now, they come back to New York 2-0. They play two good teams but I really fancy the Rangers to win both games. Thoughts?

2011 Offseason: Sather’s Best?

There were many question marks for the Rangers that were pushed to the front of fans’ minds when they were eliminated from the playoffs in April.  Would the Rangers sign all of their key RFAs? Would the Rangers address the gaping hole at top-six center? Would that gaping hole be fixed by Brad Richards? Would they be able to fill holes on the bottom defense pairing? Would any of these contracts be a hindrance to the cap?  Well, three months later, we have answers to all these questions.  And you know what, the general feeling is that the Rangers passed this year’s offseason exam with flying colors.

Starting with the RFAs –assuming Ryan Callahan is signed to a deal, the Rangers signed every key RFA they had to sign.  But to be honest, signing them was pretty much expected, although some of us were waiting on bated breath for official word.  The difficult part was managing to get all RFAs signed to deals that fit under the salary cap.  When all is said and done, the Rangers will have spent approximately $12.5 million on their five RFAs (assuming Callahan comes in at $4.5 million).  That comes to an average of $2.5 million for those five players.  Not too shabby.

Next was Brad Richards. Everyone knew he was Broadway bound.  But what surprised us all was the cap hit of the finalized deal.  The Rangers got their man, their top line center, for a cap hit of $6.667 million, the 25th highest cap hit in the league.  Richards scored 77 points last season, good for 10th in the league, while missing 10 games with an injury.  If you put those numbers into a full 82 game season, that calculates out to 87 points and just outside the top five in scoring.

To make room for Richards, the Rangers made a very difficult decision to buy out captain Chris Drury.  The decision gave the organization an extra $3.3 million in cap space to work with, which was essential in getting Richards under contract.  All in all, the Rangers essentially replaced Chris Drury with Brad Richards.  Also, not too shabby.

Mike Rupp was a questionable signing at the time, but he gives the Rangers much needed grit on the bottom six forwards.  More importantly, he will take some of the enforcing duties away from Brandon Prust.  Rupp may have received a little more money than most would have liked, but he’s not a cap killer.   In addition to Rupp, the Rangers added (re-added) Ruslan Fedotenko and Steve Eminger to round out the roster.

Perhaps the biggest thing that separates this year from all the other years Glen Sather has been at the helm is that there really wasn’t a signing that made you say “what the…?”.  The signing that resulted in a big facepalm never materialized; although we were really close when rumors of the Rangers pursuing Andrew Brunnette surfaced on July 1.

Haters will always hate, and will point to Brad Richards as another “Sather payday”.  However, the difference between this signing and the signings of past is that this filled a hole in the Rangers roster.  The signings of past were attempts to build the roster, which is completely different from filling holes.  The roster has been built, holes have been filled.  The Rangers are still in great salary cap standing, and will end up with a little more than $1 million in wiggle room at the start of the season.

A core of young players, veterans filling holes, cap space, balanced roster.  When was the last time you were able to say that about the Rangers?

Rangers and Their Unique Opportunity

The best teams in the NHL, or any sport for that matter, are the teams that live for the now but also constantly have one eye on the future. In the NHL this usually means scouting, drafting and player development. There is however, another way for the Rangers to continue to build a perennial contender. They may have an opportunity that not many clubs will have.

The Rangers have an opportunity but it depends what you think of the current roster. In my opinion the Rangers are in great shape heading into next season. They have acquired top end skill (Mr Richards), solidified their top 6 defense (with Erixon) and have a great tandem in net – an understatement. The Rangers have cap space, a ton of depth up front (mostly young) and entering camp there are plenty of prospects ready to compete for NHL roster spots that, thanks to the aforementioned depth, may start their seasons developing in the AHL. So, what is this unique opportunity now that we’ve identified that the Rangers are in a good state entering next year?

The example is the San Jose Sharks. The Rangers should, barring an unexpected opportunity, resist making additional moves and take advantage of rare cap space. A few seasons ago the hard pressed New Jersey Devils had a roster problem by the name of Vladimir Malahkov (remember him?). The only way the Devils could solve this was by giving away a quality draft pick to the Sharks to ‘persuade’ them to take on the contract of Malahkov. He never played for the Sharks and eventually that draft pick became David Perron, a very good young NHL’er who has already had a 50 point season in his young career.

With potentially 3-4m in cap space entering the season, the Rangers should look to make the same kind of move. Indeed, with the Parise situation the Devils may once again be a team eventually looking to shed a bad contract but there could be several teams in this situation. With some patience and the cap space allowing for bigger (prorated) contracts in-season, the Rangers could offer to help a desperate team during next season. All they would want back is a quality draft pick. The Rangers are fortunate that with their deep pockets and big market presence they can bury a bad contract in the minors if it isn’t the same scenario like the Sharks had with the retiring Malahkov.

We recently saw wily operator Brian Burke make a lopsided trade with Nashville as the Predators needed to clear space in preparation for a new Shea Weber deal. Toronto took advantage of their own cap space by taking on Matt Lombardi’s deal. Glen Sather is also a wily, veteran general manager. Hopefully Sather and Tortorella think the team is ready based on what is already in the organisation and can then use this cap space to grab some picks/assets to help in the future. The Rangers have drafted very well in recent years so using their (at present) good situation to their advantage should be a serious consideration.

Cap Increasing; Increases Rangers Likelihood of Spending Spree?

Any Rangers fans that thought the Rangers would be relatively inactive during the free agent frenzy starting July 1^st, well you were probably going to be wrong and if you weren’t wrong before the news broke about an increasing cap limit then you certainly are now.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, speaking at a Lawyers’ conference in D.C. recently discussed the increase in league revenues and he also made mention of likely cap increases. The revenue for the league expects to rise, close to $3 billion, up from $2.7 billion.

“It appears our salary cap will be going up.” Projects new cap will be $60.5M to $63.5M, up from $59.4M this yr.

So, looking at the middle ground as a safe bet the cap could be close to $62m, up considerably from the current limit of £59.4 million. What does this mean for the Rangers? Well simply put, potentially a great deal. The Rangers do have important roster players to re-sign in Callahan, Dubinsky, Anisimov and Boyle (among others) yet looking specifically at Callahan and Dubinsky – even if they more than double their salaries there will be a lot of money left. This cap increase of course has a knock on effect throughout the line up. Chris Drury’s potential buy out becomes easier to absorb (making it more likely?), Wojtek Wolski and players such as Erik Christensen’s future may also be under threat. So much, so many players are affected by the final cap figure.

The Rangers have a big decision to make. If Sather and his team think the core is set and it ‘merely’ needs some top level talent added to it to become a serious contender in the East you may indeed see the likes of Drury jettisoned. With the extra cap space Drury’s departure creates, in addition to the cap space created by the truly awful circumstances around Derek Boogaard the Rangers may become very aggressive in free agency. Given Sather’s free agent dealings in the past however, that makes many fans nervous and for good reason when you think of Redden, Wade and Gomez, Scott to name a few. Of course the Rangers may not be active in free agency……. (Tumbleweed)

The Rangers are almost certainly going to go after Brad Richards. The extra cap space the aforementioned cap fall out creates could see Sather also go after a defenseman such as Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Tomas Kaberle, James Wisniewski or Joni Pitkanen to name a few. Of course all this speculation about cap space then spirals out of control. Would the Rangers consider going after restricted free agents? Cap space, depth in the organisation and picks may allow Sather to deal for a star such as Shea Weber or an underperforming elite talent such as Zach Bogosian. The mind wanders with all this talk of spending money. All that is left is for the cap figure to be finalised and to watch what Sather does next. Nervous?

Richards Now? What it Should Cost.

Some people actually believe the Rangers don’t need Brad Richards – well, that’s almost as absurd as those few (and oh so rare) Rangers fans that believe the Rangers should trade Lundqvist, anyway I digress…Larry Brooks did indeed provide a good point this weekend; noting that the Rangers should proactively deal with the Stars for Mr Richards ahead of July 1^st. The Rangers can avoid an auction/bidding war by getting Richards under lock and key before the free agent frenzy.

Richards is the perfect free agent for the Rangers. Ideally you don’t remedy your biggest needs in free agency because free agents are usually one of those three things; aging, not wanted (for whatever reason) by their most recent club or overly expensive – supply and demand. Richards ticks perhaps one of these boxes as he’s not the youngest. However this time it IS different. As Brooks points out; Richards’ relationship with Tortorella is a big reason for recruiting the skilled pivot. This isn’t recruiting your usual star with an ego it’s recruiting a player that is totally onboard with the coach and has a history with the coach – a successful one. Richards remedies so many of the Rangers current flaws in one signing. He’s a solid face off guy, he’s a playmaking elite center, adds a huge injection of skill, he improves the powerplay wherever you put him, he knows how to win and he should be able to get Gaborik back on track. It’s simply his age that may be an issue and depending on the length of deal he wants that also may not be an issue (another reason to get him in early and scope his demands out).

So now we’ve rehashed the point that Brad Richards is an elite player that the Rangers sorely need, what should the Rangers give up to get him early? First of all assume Glen Sather is working the phones. He knows what the Rangers need and we’ve already seen this off season already that he is in pro active mode (see: prospect signings a plenty). The Rangers boss is also a master at the art of the trade. Personally I don’t think Sather will want to move a draft pick in the top 2 rounds. Given the depth the Rangers have in their prospect pool Sather would be better off dealing from this depth and giving Dallas something more tangible for their biggest star. Sather (and the coaching staff) will know what prospects have a legitimate future with the Rangers but those that don’t, don’t necessarily have bleak NHL futures.

(Still) Ownerless Dallas surely must know they are losing Richards in July. Getting a package of a middle round pick and a prospect or two like Dale Weise and Chad Kolarik offers Dallas plenty to work with. With decent ice time Kolarik could become another Teddy Purcell type that is simply a late bloomer; Dale Weise could very well be a bottom six forward in the right NHL situation and a 5^th round pick (for example) can just as well become an NHL producer as a higher rounded pick – as Dallas can attest to with Jamie Benn. Getting players back from the Rangers gives something more concrete for Joe Nieuwendyk to justify moving Richards. It also means it wasn’t all for nothing, holding onto him at the deadline. A move like this could be win-win for both teams, as much as is reasonably possible. While Philly gave Nashville a high pick for Hartnell and Timonen a few years back, it was not as blatant that the two were leaving Music City as it is Richards is leaving Dallas – the situations cannot really be compared. Brooks is right, Sather should make his move and we know what he should be willing to give up.

One Year Later: Less Company For Sather-Haters

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the infamous Fire Sather Rally. It was a rally that got mainstream media attention, and major attention from the blog-o-sphere. I did not attend this rally, as I did not believe that Glen Sather should have been fired then, now, or at any time following the lockout. The organizer of the rally, Mike Zippo, spoke with New York Magazine, and has had a slight reversal of opinion of Slats:

You’d mentioned to Puck Daddy in January of 2010 that you thought Sather would make a “stupid trade” and deal away prospects. But as you said, he’s avoided making that kind of trade. So I guess my question is this: How much confidence do you have in Sather now? How has that confidence level changed over the past fourteen months or so, since that interview?

As long as he doesn’t have his checkbook open on July 1, I think he’ll be okay. He has made some great trades, but a signing like the [Derek] Boogaard one makes you scratch your head.

This seems to be the general consensus amongst Ranger fans. For a period of time between 2005-2008, there have been a few good signings, a lot of questionable signings, and one horrific signing. Everyone has different opinions about the specific signings themselves. However, the point that is often overlooked is that the Rangers were inexplicably making the playoffs and competing when to be blunt, they shouldn’t have been. Thus, Slats made the decision (in my opinion) to go for gold with free agents while not dealing away the core youth in the rebuild. It was a bold decision to make that had some blow-back, but did not cripple the franchise long term.

When you look at the trades the Rangers made, Slats never gave up anyone that has amounted into anything significant. Fedor Tyutin could be the exception here, but the Rangers have so much depth on defense, that he really isn’t missed by this team. Other than Tyutin, the only outrage was when Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes were dealt in a package for Derek Morris. Prucha isn’t in the NHL anymore, and Dawes has been on the waiver wire as often as the Rangers backup goalies in 2009-2010. This of course, brings me to this quote by Zippo:

A year later, do you still think Glen Sather should be fired? Has anything changed over the past twelve months that made you reconsider your position?

Well, he’s certainly been doing a better job as of late. He’s cleared some cap space, he hasn’t given away prospects or picks, and the team is young, competitive, and fun to watch.

The answer given by Zippo here is slightly misleading. As alluded to above, Sather never dealt away any prospect or roster player that the coaching staff recognized as being a core piece to the puzzle. Guys like Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi have remained with the club throughout the years. Players like Artem Anisimov and Michael Del Zotto are being retained despite their struggles. Prospects like Chris Kreider and Christian Thomas are being held on to, despite the fact that the Rangers have been in the playoff hunt every single season.

Although Slats’ free agent signings have been questionable, he has managed to turn those players into core youth. That does not absolve Slats of all blame for the cap situation of previous seasons, but sometimes the end justifies the means. The Rangers are on an upward trend, and are doing it by following the five year plan (post-lockout plan). The only difference between one year ago and today is that fans are beginning to recognize that the Rangers have had a plan, and they are beginning to see it come to fruition on the ice.

Sather Won’t Mortgage Future

In a continuing trend of interviews, Andrew Gross spoke with Glen Sather, who was again candid about his plans at the trade deadline. There was a plethora of moves yesterday, which saw defensemen Tomas Kaberle, Eric Brewer, Ian White, and Erik Johnson all being shipped to new teams. The Rangers have been silent, and Sather will continue to be silent if the asking prices for veteran defensemen remains the status quo:

“Lots of [players out there],” said Sather, adding he’s been making phone calls to gauge the trade market for four months. “I’m listening, watching. It doesn’t matter what the asking price is. It’s what we want to pay.”

This statement remains consistent with what the Rangers General Manager has been saying all year. The Rangers will not forfeit the core youth for a rental in this year’s playoffs. It also appears that the Rangers will not forfeit their first round pick this season in a trade. Trading is an art, that Slats seems to have mastered. It’s about recognizing core players, recognizing when the time is right for a move, and recognizing the right price for that move.

Currently, the Rangers have a few too many holes to fill to make a legitimate run in the playoffs this year. They lack a top line center, a veteran defenseman, and a powerplay quarterback. To fill all those holes, the Rangers would have to gut the roster and the farm system. It’s simply not worth it. Of course, any of the core guys are trade-able in the right move:

“We’ve got a good nucleus of guys who are learning the game and we’re comfortable,” Sather said. “That doesn’t mean things can’t happen.”

Some people might worry about that quote, but it’s a quote that means two things. The first being that just because the Rangers are comfortable with the kids playing, it doesn’t mean they won’t make moves at the deadline. The second meaning is that no one is untouchable, but it would have to take a great deal for the Rangers to part with one of their core guys. There have been so many rumors about who the Rangers will trade, but I think it’s becoming clear that the fears of the fans (ie: trading the core for rentals) won’t be realized.