Musings: The Rangers shouldn’t draft a goalie in the first round

Fuss about Fogarty?

2011 third-round pick Steven Fogarty didn’t get a whole lot of attention this year because of the rise of Chris Kreider and stunning point total of Michael St. Croix, but the Penticton Vee had a monster season in his own right.  Fogarty will attend the University of Notre Dame next year where he’ll be more in the spotlight. I’ll bet he’s the surprise prospect we’re all discussing this time next year and there will be brief discussion of his chances of making the team in 2013.  He still needs a couple more seasons of development, but Fogarty may put himself on the fast track sooner than we were led to believe.

Lightning acquire Lindback

I don’t think Tampa Bay’s acquisition of goalie Anders Lindback got enough attention last week.  Remember, the Lightning were one win away from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals before falling apart this season, in large part due to lackluster goaltending.  Lindback is relatively unproven, but in a small sample size he has shown the potential to be a solid starter.  He could be the difference between a lottery pick and a playoff berth for Tampa.

Nashville will undoubtedly unearth a couple of All-Stars with the draft picks they received from Tampa, but the Lightning did well to hold on to their two first-rounders (#10 and #19 overall).  I think the trade also marks the end of Dwayne Roloson’s NHL career and it opens the door for Toronto to get Roberto Luongo.

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Don’t get caught looking ahead to the 2013 free agent crop

Now that Zach Parise is essentially off the table, you might be tempted to look ahead to the 2013 free agent class for potential offensive infusions for the Rangers’ lineup.  If you began to peruse the pages of CapGeek, your jaw might have dropped when you saw a potential group of unrestricted free agent forwards that could include a guy named Sidney Crosby.

Corey Perry is on the list, as are Ryan Getzlaf, Jarome Iginla, Jordan Staal, Scott Hartnell, Ryan Clowe, Joffrey Lupul, Valtteri Filppula, Patrik Elias, Nathan Horton, Travis Zajac, Mike Ribiero, David Clarkson, Stephen Weiss, Derek Roy, Teddy Purcell, and Viktor Stalberg.

You might be tempted to start wondering which of these guys could be worth pursuing, thinking that this year’s free agent crop feels like slim pickings and that Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan will be too costly on the trade market.

Of course, you should realize that most of these guys will ink new deals this year with their current teams.  You have a better chance of getting invited to one of Glen Sather’s golf outings than you do of seeing Crosby actually discussing a contract with another team.

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