So Long, Keith Tkachuk

Last night, while his St. Louis Blues were playing the Chicago Blackhawks, Keith Tkachuk, scratched due to a lower body injury, announced his retirement from the NHL. The 18 year veteran was drafted in the first round (19th overall) in the 1990 NHL entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets. He played ten seasons with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise, before being dealt to the St. Louis Blues in 2001. Tkachuk finished his career in St. Louis, with a brief stint in Atlanta for the 2007 playoffs, another eight seasons.

In his 18 year career with Winnipeg/Phoenix and St. Louis, Tkachuk was the premier power forward. He skated, he scored, he passed, he hit, he fought, he played defense, he led. He did it all. In 1,200 career games played, he has amassed Hall of Fame numbers: 538 goals, 525 assists, 1,063 points, and a whopping 2,219 PIMs. Tkachuk had a stellar four year run from 1993-1997, where he put together the ridiculous line of 165-151-316 with PIMS in 289 games, including two 50-goal seasons. But it was more than his career stats for Tkachuk. He played the game the way it was always meant to be played. He played hard every night, driving to the net, getting rebounds, getting dirty goals. He put forth an effort that made every blue collar American smile.

Tkachuk represented the United States on six separate occasions; the 1992, 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics, and the 1996 and 2004 World Cup. The five time All Star, 1996 World Cup Gold Medal winner, and Olympics Silver Medal winner in 2002 has never won a Stanley Cup. That is one truly unfortunate thing in his great career, and it really illustrates how incredibly difficult it is to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. He also does not have any “major” individual awards, but that should not matter. A great majority of those awards are for single season greatness, not career consistency and longevity. In the end, his numbers and leadership speak on their own.

Tkachuk will play his final game tomorrow, Friday, against the Anaheim Ducks. He will retire in front of a St. Louis crowd that has loved him for years. The first and only time I saw him play was this year at MSG. He only played for 9:13, but he made each one of those seconds count. That was the game that teammate Paul Kariya scored his 400th goal. Kariya, another skater who may wind up in the Hall, is 135 goals behind Tkachuk. That really puts things in perspective. One thing is for sure, Tkachuk will be enshrined when the Hall comes calling in five years.

The Return of Potter?

With Dan Fritsche officially waived and probably on his way to Hartford in a few hours, you have to wonder what Sather and company have planned for the extra cap room. Are they going to use it to potentially make a trade for a missing piece? Possibly. I would certainly hope that Sather is at least kicking the tires on Keith Tkachuk, Nik Antropov, Denis Gauthier, and others mentioned here in previous posts. Sather’s most recent trade history has been pretty decent (Zherdev, Avery, Sykora), so let’s hope he can pull a rabbit out of his hat again.

We could also, finally, see a seventh defenseman called up. That defenseman would in all likelihood be Corey Potter. We have long wanted a seventh defenseman here, it will at least light a fire under the under achieving defense. But if Potter gets called up, who sits? There’s the obvious person, Dmitri Kalinin, who forgot how to take the body. The seventh defensemen creates some competition. And competition breeds improvement.

Or maybe both? Would that be too much to ask?

Looking for that power forward

Scott Burnside of ESPN ran a piece yesterday discussing what he terms “this year’s most tradable players,” a fan friendly list of a players likely to be moved in the weeks leading up to the deadline. There’s sexy names up and down the list, but for the most part the players either don’t fit any of the Blueshirts’ needs (Manny Fernandez, Vesa Toskala, The Bulinwall) or are just flat out unattainable because of talent/cap reasons (Jay Bouwmeester, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vinny Lecavalier, Marian Gaborik, Jason Spezza), except for one guy: Keith Tkachuk.

It seems like there’s a Tkachuk-to-the-Rangers rumor every year, and just like every other year the soon to be 37 year old would fill two needs: a top six forward and a guy that’ll park himself in front of the net with a man advantage. Tkachuk’s not Nik Antropov huge, but he does offer some size (listed at 6’2″, 231 lbs) and there’s a darn good chance he’ll be re-energized by joining a playoff team after making the postseason just once in the past four seasons (’06-’07 with Atlanta). He’s still got a nose for the net, potting fifteen goals this year (including the first goal in Sunday’s All Star Game) despite minimal help from his Blues teammates, and his ten power play goals (sixth most in the league) would far and away lead the club.

Now, how does the money work? Tkachuk’s making $4.5M this year and has a $4M cap number according to NHL Numbers, and is due to hit the free agent market following the season. That $4M cap hit is a bit of an eyesore but it’s certainly doable. Perhaps the deal could be expanded to included a physical (and cap friendly) defensman like Jeff Woywitka or Roman Polak, both of whom will be restricted free agents after the season. Adding that extra player would make giving up multiple young players/picks for Tkachuk much easier to swallow.

Bill Guerin’s name has been connected to the Rangers in the past few weeks, but Tkachuk is almost the exact same player production wise (15 G, 16 A vs 14 G, 18 A) except sixteen months younger and with a more favorable contract. Hopefully we hear some more about this in the coming weeks.

The Trade Deadline

It’s that time of the season where everyone not tied to a ridiculous salary (Drury, Gomez, Redden, Rozsival, Lundqvist) is mentioned in some sort of trade rumor. This is also the time of the season where we know who the definite sellers are (Islanders, Senators, Panthers, Thrashers, Blues) and who, barring a huge winning streak, the sellers will be (Lightning, Leafs, Predators, Kings).

If you’re dreaming of Kovalchuk or Bouwmeester in Ranger blue, then keep dreaming. The price tag on those two will be enormous. For Kovalchuk, think Staal, Anisimov, Del Zotto and a 1st rounder as a start. For Bouwmeester, think Staal, Anisimov and a 1st rounder to start. Kovalchuk is more expensive right now because he’s under contract for next year too. You also have to think about whatever throw-ins are needed to get the cap situation to work (Kalinin, Mara, Prucha, any one of Dawes / Callahan / Korpikoski). Big trades rarely happen in the NHL anymore, and a trade for either of these guys leaves the future in doubt. Once you get past those prospects, it’s a bunch of 3rd liners (minus Grachev) or 3rd pairing defensemen.

The Rangers have two glaring needs: a top six wing, and a bruiser defenseman (or a PP QB). The most obvious person to fill the first void would be Bill Guerin, but I highly doubt the Islanders would trade in-division, and I doubt Sather wants to give a draft pick + young player to a division rival.

One name that jumps out at me is Filip Kuba. He would be a rental player, as he’s a UFA after the season. The problem is that he would cost Dawes and a 4th rounder, plus whatever has to be thrown in to make the cap situation work. I don’t trust Sather with free agents, but he has been able to pull off some sparkling trades (Tyutin for Zherdev? Really?).

Another name that jumps out at me is Keith Tkachuk. He’s 2nd in scoring on a Blues team sans Kariya, and he’s a big physical body that they will need. He will crash the net and get the rebound goals that most of this current roster is scared, or too small, to do. His cost will be similar to Guerin’s cost (think Dawes + 3rd rounder, and then various salary cap players thrown in). JD will not be giving us a discount, so don’t even bother thinking it.

As for bruiser defensemen, how about Denis Gauthier? He’s 6’2 220, and is currently 13th in the league in hits with 120. he doesn’t take that many penalties (39 PIMS, with 1 fighting major, so 17 minor penalties all year). His one drawback is that he’s a -9 (this would actually tie him with Rozsival and Kalinin for worst +/- amongst defensemen), but he’s -9 on a team that called Jason Labarbera its starter for half the season. So he may actually be an upgrade there.

I think a move like Gauthier, who won’t cost more than a draft pick and whoever is thrown in to make the salary cap work (Gauthier made $2.1 million this year), is more likely than a move for Kuba/Tkachuk.

I love this time of year. I’ll post valid rumors (ie: comes from a legitimate source, not just someone behind a screen making trades in NHL 09) as I hear them.

Update 10:30am: I forgot to mention the Chris Pronger rumors. He would fill two holes, PP QB and bruiser defensemen (even if he does get schooled every now and then). He would cost the same as Bouwmeester, and is under contract for one more year ($6.25 million cap hit). A trade for Pronger isn’t happening unless Redden or Rozsival get thrown in. So basically, it’s extremely unlikely.