Dreger: Rangers in Top Three for Heatley

As per Blueshirt Banter, Darren Dreger has reported that the Rangers are one of three teams (Sharks and Oilers) in the final running for Heatley. This is the second rumor we have heard about the Rangers closing in on Heatley. Again, the players rumored to be involved:

The players involved are Heatley(contract plus $4 mil bonus) to the Rangers for possibly Dubinsky, Stepan(on top line at Univ. of Wisconsin as a freshman),Voros(they like the “Neil Type”),and Rozsival.

There has to be a draft pick or two going each way to make this work. The salaries going each way work (Voros – $1 million, Rozsi – $5 million, Dubi – roughly $2 million after he resigns). Personally, I would prefer Zherdev goes to Ottawa in lieu of Dubinsky, I have grown rather attached to Dubinsky, but to get that go-to sniper, I wouldn’t exactly say no to this deal. It’s a bitter-sweet deal, but a good one nonetheless.

Rangers NTCs

As draft day nears, there are always “ideas” of trades, especially of the large contracts. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at who the Rangers have given no-trade clauses (NTC) and no-movement clauses (NMC). Information courtesy of NHLSCAP.com:

• Chris Drury: Full NMC
• Scott Gomez: NTC – has 3 teams he will not accept a trade to.
• Wade Redden: NTC – has 8 teams he will not acept a trade to.
• Michael Rozsival: NTC – has 8 teams that he will not accept a trade to.

Essentially, everyone other than Drury is moveable. Is it likely that these guys will be moved? No. The player with the biggest chance of being moved is Rozsival, but that is also highly unlikely.

This is just food for thought while everyone comes up with their wild trade scenarios.

Finals Thoughts and a Recap on a Season on the Brink

I allowed myself to decompress for 24-48 hours after the Rangers season officially ended to talk about what happened.  Much like a legendary player being asked to retire when he’s ousted from the playoffs, you have to sift through your emotions before you give an honest assessment of things.  100% agree with Dave that the better team won this series, but ironically, I thought the Rangers were the better team for the most part in Game 7.  The game itself was a microcosm of the the Blueshirts season and series:  strong to start, treading water in the middle, and plagued by an inability to score and create chances in the end.  This team truly gave their all in the final game though, and that makes the sting a bit more bearable.  Now that the smoke has cleared, it has become obvious to me (and hopefully all of you) that John Tortorella got the most out of a team that has seemingly zero offensive firepower, and the fact that he got them to claw all the way into the playoffs says a lot about the type of coach he can be for this franchise.

So now that the sting is starting to subside, lets take a look back on the highs and lows of this season, and what’s to come from the 89 games:

HIGHS

-The Blueshirts got off to a fantastic start, going 10-2-1 in the month of October and staking themselves to a huge early lead in the Eastern Conference

-Three players had their numbers retired: Harry Howell (3), Andy Bathgate (9), and Adam Graves (9)

-Tom Renney and his stale style of hockey were finally replaced by John Tortorella’s aggressive attack, making for a much more efficient and relatively exciting Rangers team to watch.

-The Rangers re-acquired Sean Avery off waivers from the Dallas Stars, adding the edge that the team needed down the stretch.

-Henrik Lundqvist gave no doubt to the fact that he is easily one of the top 3 goalies in the world today

-After falling out of the playoff picture in late February/early March, the Rangers made a remarkable turn around, headlined by John Tortorella’s coaching, to finish 7th in the Eastern Conference standings.  The team had several key wins down the stretch to jump into the playoffs.

-Nik Antropov and Derek Morris were acquired via trade at the deadline, and provided some size and stability to their respective positions.

-The combination of Blair Betts and Frederik Sjostrom (throw Hank in there if you’d like) emerged as the best penalty killing unit in the NHL.

-While maybe not necessarily a high, Markus Naslund provided exactly what was expected of him: a 20-25 goal season and consistency up front.

LOWS

-The start of 2009 brough no joy to the Rangers, as they started to collapse under the Tom Renney regime.  The low-point was highlighted by a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Stars, and ultimately would signify the end of the Renney era.

-The tragic death of top-tier prospect Alexei Cherapanov cast a shadow over the Rangers future.

-Nikolai Zherdev’s did not provide the 30+ goal output that many believed it would, and the youngster crumbled in his first post-season

-The offseason acquistion of Wade Redden was nothing but a complete disaster.

- Michael Roszival’s absurd contract extension (mainly its length) is beginning to rear its ugly head, and the combination of Redden and Roszival’s salaries and contract length will plague this franchise for years to come.

-The power-play never amounted to anything, under both coaches, and has been the most pressing issue since the lockout ended.

-An inability to provide consistent offense or any offensive threat whatsoever doomed this team as the season progressed

-Leading 3-1 in their opening round playoff series, the Blueshirts fell apart when it mattered most, a series headlined by the suspension of John Tortorella for Game 6

-Versus continues to cover the NHL

WHATS TO COME

-Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Lauri Korpikoski, Sean Avery, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi will be the core of this team under the John Tortorella regime.  The new coach must also find the right players for his style of play, as it became obvious that the current group cannot provide the type of play Tortorella would like to play.

-Blair Betts, Frederik Sjostrom, Colton Orr, and Nik Antropov MUST be re-signed.  Betts and Sjostrom combine to be the best PK tandem and 4th line in the league.  Orr is the best fighter in the NHL, and you still need at least one of them on your team.  Antropov provides much needed size and scoring touch going forward.

-Markus Naslund, with only one-year remaining, should be dealt somewhere.  The aging forward, once considered the best two-way player in the NHL, did not thrive in Tortorella’s system.

-Time for Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to finally step up and take the reigns as the elder statesmen on this team.  The honeymoon is over boys.

-Say goodbye to Paul Mara (regretably), Nik Zherdev, and Derek Morris.  In addition, Sather must find a way to part ways with either Redden or Roszival, either through a buy-out or trade.

-Its time for the Rangers projects and farm system to step-up and become elite players in the league.  This includes players currently on the team (who have now played in enough tight playoff series) and players in their farm system (who up until this point have done nothing but be talked about).  History shows that free-agent/trade acquisitions don’t do it for this team, and the home-grown talent must finally rise to the top.

-If they are going to keep him for the next 3 seasons, the organization must get on the league’s case about the officiating bias towards Sean Avery.  While he is no saint, the abuse this guy takes on a nightly basis is absolutely absurd.  Game 7 was just an example.  Generally speaking, the officiating around the league in general must change, as these ticky-tack calls are making even the most die-hard hockey fan’s head spin.

-While no fault falls on him, Henrik Lundqvist must find a way to be better than spectacular come playoff time.  I’m talking god-like, all the time.  If you want to know what I’m looking for, see Giguere for the Ducks and Khabibulin for the Lightning.

-The power-play can no longer be the Achilles heel of this team.  Either through someone currently on the team stepping up or by acquiring someone via free agency or trade that can FINALLY do it themselves, the Rangers must learn to capitalize on the opportunities provided.

-Whatever the makeup of this team comes to be, they have to find a way to be consistently good all season long.  The continuous ebb and flow of the Rangers the past few seasons has come back to haunt them in the playoffs, as the lack of home-ice advantage has made things very difficult.

Whew.  I’m sure there are plenty of things here that plenty of you agree/disagree with.  I’m pretty sure there are plenty of things that I missed and will think about later.  It was a crazy season for so many reasons, and to try to cover it all would take weeks and months.  I’d like to hear about what you all have to say about the Rangers season, and what you think should/shouldn’t happen as the organization moves forward.  Either way, this has been a very enjoyable experience, and I’m looking forward to adding thoughts and insight to a team I love so much.

Game 79: Rangers at Boston

I’m real late with this, sorry. I have a work function I have to go to and I was prepping for that.

Harry Corey Potter is back down in Hartford, Michael Rozsival is back. Florida lost last night, so the Rangers remained in 8th place.

1-0 Boston, Wheeler gets the goal off a deflection.

Rozsival Out 7-10 Days

As per Andrew Gross, Michael Rozsival will be out 7-10 days with a lower body injury. The results of the MRI on his left knee were not made public, but based on what we know (left knee, 7-10 days) you have to assume it’s just a strain, maybe a mild sprain. Anything more serious and he would be out much longer.

The Rangers have been very lucky on the injury front so far this year, there have been no real serious injuries, with Mara and Rozsival being the most serious of the injuries to date. Knock on wood.

Michael Sauer has been called up as his replacement for the time being. According to Torts, Sauer beat out Corey Potter, Brian Fahey, and Bobby Sanguinetti (Potter and Sangs have been called up previously, Fahey would have to clear waivers) for the spot with his recent solid play at Hartford.

Alex Auld Owns the Rangers

Simply put, he does.  He is 3-0-2 with a slightly about 1.00 GAA against our Blueshirts. He put up a solid performance in net, perhaps helped by the Rangers failures on the PP, which is just under 19% now under John Tortorella. That’s a 5% increase in effectiveness from the Tom Renney era. The current 19% would put them in the middle of the pack in PP efficiency, whereas the 14% puts them in 29th. So regardless of the failed opportunities in last night’s game, the PP is still successful.

There weren’t many glaring holes in the Rangers game last night, just the ineffective powerplay. A few positives from last night’s game:

• Wade Redden has been outstanding lately. Sure, every now and then he will make the wrong decision to pinch, but he has been joining the rush and creating offensively. Argue all you want about the contract, but that isn’t his fault.
• I like Tort’s aggressiveness with pulling Hank with over a minute to go. It shows he will pull out all the stops to win a game.
• Marc Staal, if not already, will be one of the top defensemen in the league. At such a young age, he has shown a mastery of the defensive game in his own end, and is now starting to show up on the offensive end. I am looking forward to seeing how he matures as he enters his prime.

With the Rangers and Penguins losses, there are no changes in the standings. The Rangers will need 5 more wins to make that 94 point cutoff that is believed to be the playoff cutoff. With Buffalo seemingly out of the race, Florida would have to go 7-3 in their final 10 games to match the 94 points. So, we should all be rooting for any team playing the Panthers, regardless of who it is.

The Rangers still hold a game in hand on the Habs and the Pens. The Habs have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rangers, and the Rangers have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Penguins. In the current standings, if the Rangers win their game in hand, they will slide up to the 5 spot, destined for a first round matchup with the Flyers and the hot Marty Biron.

It looks like Michael Rozsival will not be ready to go for tomorrow’s game, and Michael Sauer has been called up as a replacement. The oft-injured 21 year old is enjoying a nice season, putting up 6-16-22 in 59 games for Hartford this year.

Rozsival hurt, Sauer recalled

Michal Rozsival was seen limping around with a knee brace after the game yesterday thanks to a Sean Donovan check, and chances our he’ll be out of action for at least a little while. He’ll be getting an MRI sometime today, and will almost assuredly miss Tuesday’s game against the Wild.

No one in Hartford will be able to replace Rozy’s 22:00-plus quality minutes per game, but Michael Sauer will get the first shot at it. The 21-year old from Minnesota has played in 59 games for the Pack this year, notching 6 goals and 16 assists to go with a impressive +19 rating. At 6′-3″, 215 lbs, he also offers a nice amount of size.

His First Day

So what does Tortorella get today when he comes to practice? Tortorella gets a team that is in free fall, a team that is 2-7-3 in their last 12. He gets a team that is currently 6th in the East with 69 points, but just 2 points out of 9th, and 4 points out of 10th.

He gets a team that is 29th in the league in scoring, at 2.33 G/G (Nashville is last). He gets a powerplay that has been god awful at 13.8%, good for 28th in the league. In short, Tortorella gets a team that relies on holding their opponent to 1 goal a game.

Tortorella is the exact opposite of Tom Renney. He is an in your face guy, and most importantly, will hold the high priced guys accountable for terrible play. It looks like the high priced guys knew this was coming, because Gomez and Drury have been playing well lately, and Rozsival and Redden have been better. Yes, Redden has been better. He still cracks a little bit under a rush, but his first passes have been solid.

Torts is a “safe is death” guy. So expect a lot more scoring chances, at the expense of defense. I say chances because we never know if this team can actually finish. Hank will have a little bit more of a workload as a result, but that shouldn’t really worry or surprise anyone.

The powerplay should also look a lot better. Torts will get in Rozsival’s and Redden’s faces about shooting more. We may actually see Marc Staal on the powerplay, which will make all of us very happy.

Basically, expect to see the Rangers evolve into a different type of team. They will attempt to play an up tempo game. Torts was the best hire that Sather could have made.

A few side notes from the Torts hiring:

• Torts does not like Avery. Do not expect him back with the Rangers any time soon.
• Torts is not the savior of this team. It is still a very flawed team built by a flawed GM. Sather should be praised for this move, and the Zherdev move. But his signings have been ridiculous.
• Don’t underestimate the value of having Schoenfeld behind the bench as an assistant. He knows this current team better than anyone within the organization, and will help Torts get acquainted.
• Expect a transition period. The Rangers will be going from a defensive system to an offensive system, and there will be some collateral damage. Expect them to make some glaring mistakes while they adjust.

Who knows what Torts will do. Maybe he reads this blog and knows that we want Prucha in the lineup in lieu of Voros. I can only hope.

Rangers Showing Interest In Derek Morris?

This has been a very busy day, with Renney and Pearn out, and Tortorella in. But, according to TheFourthPeriod, the Rangers are showing some interest in Derek Morris. I love rumormongoring, but this one insults my intelligence. The last thing the Rangers need is another high priced, 30 year old defensemen who doesn’t play well in his own end (-11).

Granted, if they take on Morris and dump one of Redden or Rozsival (who have been playing much better so far, but not up to those absurd contracts), I’m all for it.

SEAN SEAN….GET IN THERE SEAN!!!!

So today is the day Sean Avery presumably clears waivers and will be assigned to an AHL affiliate of some sort.  As you all know, the Wolfpack seem to be the front (and only) runners to pick-up the agitator, which will begin the chain of events that may ultimately end in #16 returning to the Big Club.  While my colleague David is mainly opposed to this, I could not be more in favor of this move.  My man-crush for Sean Avery and his legend aside, it is a necessary move for THIS team THIS season.  Here’s how it could work, and here’s why it has to work:

1. There have been few cold-hard undeniable facts for these Rangers in the post-lockout era.  These include (but are not limited to): a) Henrik Lundqvist being a top-5 goaltender in the league b) Tom Renney sacrificing offense for defense 99% of the time c) the Rangers are a better team with Sean Avery in their lineup.  The statistics do not lie: with Avery in the lineup, the Rangers are 51-23-16.  Without him, they are 8-10-3, not to mention the Rangers missing that extra “something.”  Just watch a game this season and you will know what I’m talking about.

2.  The Rangers do not have to resign all those players previously mentioned.  If this season has proved anything, its that the majority of Rangers are expendable (Scott Gomez and Chris Drury trade rumors anyone).  The only members of the group previously mentioned that must be re-signed are Big Z, Dubie, Staal, and Girardi.  While I like Dawes, Korpo, and Cally, you can find another other young player in the farm-system to come in and play their role.

3.  The Rangers would only be on the take for half of Avery’s salary, roughly $2 million per year.  When you consider this is only a minor raise from what he was initially getting with the Rangers and a cut from what they wanted to give him in the offseason, its an acceptable number.  If the Rangers choose to re-negotiate his contract, either for less years or less money, they have a distinct negotiating advantage.  Not many teams will take Avery at this point, and he probably realizes that and history shows this can be a productive marriage.  Put whatever clauses and incentives you want into the contract.  They will have the upper-hand in any contract talk they engage in.  So saving money against the cap won’t necessarily be that difficult.  They can also unload either Redden or Roszival in this deal.  While their contracts are long and fat, that’s the price you must pay for giving top-tier money for 2 players that are obviously not top-tier and bring very little to the team.  Those contracts are going to haunt the Rangers one way or another; better haunt them in an effort to make the team genuinely better.  Also, the salary cap will predictably go up, so the value of Avery’s cap hit will be decreased.

4.  The Rangers are vanilla.  As evidenced on Friday night, nobody respects this team.  You can do whatever you wish to them, and will pay virtually no consequences.  Say what you want about Avery in the locker room, but he always came to his teammate’s defense on the ice, and as an opponent, you probably always thought twice about engaging in something with one of the Rangers for plain-old fear of what Avery might say or do to you.  And if he has made the progress in his rehab everybody says he’s making, he will learn to channel his tactics in a productive manner.  He has also hopefully learn from the past mistakes he made in NY.

5.  Avery has skills.  He has better than average speed, a quick release, is tough and gritty, and can throw off a opposing team’s star player on any given night (see Brodeur, Martin; Kovalchuk, Ilya).  Enough of this Aaron Voros “poor-man’s Sean Avery” garbage and just go get the real thing.  He also puts it on the line every single night, evidenced by playing the majority of a playoff game with a lacerated spleen.  I work in medicine, and that is something that can kill you.

6. Fans (myself immensely included) love this guy.  Since the lockout, you can count on one hand the number of players that get their name chanted during a game at the Garden: Henrik, Shanny, whoever is getting their jersey retired that year, and Avery.  Maybe I’m missing a name here or there, but you get my drift.