Other free agent defensemen of interest

We’ve already covered some of the more intriguing players that will be available via free agency, but it doesn’t appear likely that the big-ticket guys like Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will end up in New York.  The 2012 free agent class is extremely thin, but at the draft last weekend GM Glen Sather confidently stated the team would still be “fairly aggressive” in free agency.  So who else could the organization pursue on July 1st?

Yesterday we looked at the forwards; today we’ll examine the defensemen.

The Offensive Defensemen

Jason Garrison – Earned himself a huge payday with a surprise season.  Rocket of a shot could appeal to the Rangers.  Is this what Sather means when he says he’ll be “aggressive” in free agency?

Read more »

Dilemma Facing the Rangers?

With injuries still lingering on the Rangers blue line (including Sauer’s recent setback on his road to recovery), the Rangers have an interesting choice to make. Larry Brooks recently discussed the notion of the Rangers acquiring a defenseman in the coming weeks. It makes sense that they would consider it, but exactly what type of defenseman they go after is another issue altogether – and here is where the dilemma lies.

According to Brooks, the Rangers have supposedly long held Tim Gleason in high regard, but he should only be an option if Sauer is out for the season. The Rangers need to decide sooner rather than later, whether they want help for the powerplay or depth (and size?) on the blue line.

The Rangers have had a great season so far and the way the defense has collectively played over their talent level because of the injuries on the back end suggest they can do so for a while longer. However, this team cannot go deep in the playoffs with the way the powerplay is performing this season. So often in the post season it’s a good, tight defense and great special teams that win you games and playoff series.

The Rangers have the stingy defense, they have an excellent penalty kill, but they have failed to win a few games this season because of their inadequate power play; which brings us back to the dilemma facing the Rangers. Brooks is absolutely right that the team should acquire a blueliner. However, what kind of blueliner they go and acquire could be critical. It could have a massive impact on just how successful this season could be.

If the decision goes in favour of an offensive defenseman then there are a few options available, however, all come with an element of risk. The likely available players include Marek Zidlicky (former Ranger draft pick) who has been a consistent 40 point defenseman in his career but has been in the Minnesota Wild doghouse this year. So far he has failed to repeat his usual power play production and carries a $4m contract for next year.

The Avalanche, who have been very inconsistent this season, could make Kyle Quincey available.  He is another player capable of putting up points and the Av’s already have Erik Johnson. Quincey likely holds more appeal than Zidlicky, as he is a restricted free agent after this season.

Then there are the kind of players the Rangers are routinely linked to such as Sheldon Souray. Big shot, short term contract, but he didn’t impress the Rangers enough to pick him up on waivers during his time with Edmonton, so has half a season in Dallas changed their opinion? Unlikely.

The Rangers decision on the type of defenseman they (may) go after would likely be influenced by the quality available. This is where the problem lies as most players available come with significant question marks. So while the Rangers may indeed go after a blueliner the choice is far from an obvious one at this stage of the season.

No Re-Entry For Souray Unless Claim Is “Guaranteed”; Rangers Will Pass

As per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, Sheldon Souray is available to anyone who will claim him off re-entry waivers. Right now, the only team linked to Souray is the Rangers, and the Oilers will not put him on re-entry waivers unless he is guaranteed to be picked up b y another team. Apparently, Edmonton General Manager Steve Tambellini does not want the veteran defenseman around his young Oilers team at all, and will not consider a recall unless he is going to be claimed.

Although the Rangers were rumored to be interested in Souray, Mark Spector of Sportsnet writes that scouts left unimpressed with Souray. According to Spector, Souray was being routinely beat by the opposition in the AHL, and his speed was becoming a huge negative for the big defenseman:

“You want to like him,” said a source familiar with the Rangers activities over the weekend. “But you can’t deny what your eyes are seeing.”

I spoke with Greg Manning of Hershey Bears Hockey, who had some nice things to say about Souray. It looks like Souray is Hershey’s version of Wade Redden. He comes to play, he has not been a locker room cancer, and the team has not been negatively affected by his presence. According to Greg, Souray still has his big shot and physical presence, but probably couldn’t slide into a top-four defenseman role. He also comes with an injury concern, as he has only played 22 games this season.

Souray might have been an answer a few years ago, but he is clearly not the answer anymore. It’s sad too, because all Souray had to do was impress, and he was bound for New York as a second chance. So it looks like the Rangers dodged a bullet here, as Souray’s $2.7 million cap hit (from re-entry waivers) would have been an issue heading into an off-season with several key players hitting restricted free agency. The Rangers are going to have to look elsewhere for a solution to the powerplay woes. I’m still holding out for Bryan McCabe, depending on asking price of course.

Interest In Souray? Hopefully Not

Yesterday, news broke that the Rangers were very interested in Edmonton Oilers Hershey Bears defenseman Sheldon Souray. Prior to this season, Souray was told to “stay away” from the Oilers training camp and was loaned to the Bears, who are the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate. In his prime, Souray was the prototypical offensive defenseman, capable of scoring 20 goals, while also capable of finishing with a-25 rating.

One of the Rangers biggest needs right now is for a powerplay quarterback, and Souray would be just that. The problem lies with his inability to play defense. However, with the Rangers ability to play defense, some might think that this is a risk worth taking. Nothing against Souray, who is a tremendous teammate and would definitely add grit and size to the blue line, he is not what the Rangers need right now. The main reason for that is his salary.

Souray is a $5.4 million cap hit, which for this season wouldn’t necessarily be an issue. The fact that he is also due $5.4 million next season is the biggest area of contention for me when it comes to this rumor. GM Glen Sather has shown that he is not willing to absorb salary for next season without dumping some salary that is due for next season. Now, if these rumors are true, then Slats obviously knows something we don’t when it comes to the Rangers cap situation next year (perhaps regarding Drury, but that’s pure speculation on my part).

Souray’s $5.4 million cap hit, with Redden hitting the summer cap hit, really hampers the Rangers ability to target key free agents, particularly those of the restricted variety that have been so crucial to the success of the team this season. Hopefully, this is just Slats doing his homework, and just seeing if Souray, who finished with 13 points and an epic -19 rating in 37 games last season, can still compete at the NHL level. This is one of those rumors that you hope is false, but is probably true, and you hope there is an ace in the hole for the Rangers. The trade deadline is a month away, let’s hope the Rangers don’t get crippled for next year while making moves for this year.

Souray Unlikely and Stajcer ‘Goalie of the Week’

The Rangers were somewhat fortunate today as Tim Kennedy (and his bargain contract) and Todd White both cleared waivers. The Rangers now have the luxury of assigning either player to Hartford within the next 30 days at no risk of losing them. Both players will stay with the club for the time being and each player’s future with the Rangers is possibly closely linked to Vinny Prospal’s health. How long will Prospal be out? That is a very difficult question right now.

Only two players around the league were placed on waivers today which was somewhat surprising. Nathan Paetsch in Florida and epic disappointment, Toronto’s Matt Lashoff (once a top prospect) were the two put on waivers. A name missing from today (and yesterdays) list? Sheldon Souray. Souray hasn’t been placed on re-entry waivers so anyone who may get him in a trade (by 3pm eastern, today) will be on the hook for his full contract. Unless he comes up on re-entry waivers later in the season, for the time being you have to assume this rules the Rangers out of any Souray stakes. The Rangers simply can’t afford to be on the hook for 5.4m for the next 2 years. 2.7m would have been manageable (yet still not ideal) although in my humble opinion there’s nothing wrong with keeping cap space. If it has to be spent there are better places to spend it. Also, it may be better to let the team play a few games and see where the team is heading before spending the cap space. With the benefit of a few regular season games it may be that the defense is solid and more rugged than last year’s, while the team may need more offense.

Following on from today’s Prospect Watch post… Congratulations to Scott Stajcer who was today named the CHL’s ‘goalie of the week’. It’s good to see Scott Stajcer start the season so well in Owen Sound.  The young goalie needs a good season – to remain relevant and to kick on – and a 1.00 GAA and a 3-0-0 record to kick off his season is a great reaction to a so-so camp. The Rangers are high on Stajcer and given the disappointment in their goalie development in recent years (Antoine Lafleur, Al Montoya anyone?) it would be good to see the Rangers bring along another goalie. If Stajcer can develop well he’ll have a good chance to get serious playing time in Hartford in two years time and get the opportunity to showcase his talent there, for the big league. With Marty Biron’s deal up in two years and Chad Johnson likely in NY or another organisation by then, Stajcer does indeed have an opportunity to progress within the organisation – it’s up to him to take it.

Rangers Interested In Souray? Doubtful.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal is reporting that Rangers scout Doug Risebrough has been scouting the Oilers for the past four games. Naturally, Jim has speculated that the Rangers are interested in Sheldon Souray, who does not have a place in Edmonton any more:

The New York Rangers are likely interested in Souray after dumping Wade Redden’s $6.5-million salary, and not just because Doug Risebrough, their pro scout, has seen the Oilers play four straight games.

The part that doesn’t make sense is that if the Rangers are watching the Oilers for four straight preseason games, games in which Souray has not played, where is the connection between Souray and the Rangers? The Rangers can’t be scouting Souray, he’s not on the ice. Plus, unless the Rangers trade some salary to the Oilers (Todd White comes to mind), then the Rangers can’t fit Souray under the cap at the current moment. It is tough to believe that the Rangers are interested in an oft-injured and past his prime defenseman who simply can’t play defense anymore. What is easier to believe is that the Rangers are interested in someone else on the Oilers roster, someone who has played in preseason games.

The logic here is also very flawed. The Rangers waived Redden, so clearly they need another veteran defenseman, right? If anything, the Rangers have proved to us this preseason that they don’t need another defenseman. They have three kids ready to play in the NHL in Ryan McDonagh, Mike Sauer, Pavel Valentenko to a lesser extent. Why bring on an aging, over priced defenseman? If the Rangers want to keep someone who clears bodies in the crease and has a booming shot, they would keep Valentenko, who is almost $5 million cheaper. They waived Redden because they needed cap space, but yet they are going to take on another $5.4 million contract? It just doesn’t add up.

Naturally, there is going to be the discussion of trading Michal Rozsival straight up for Souray. Souray and his 0.5 GVT, straight up for Rozsival and his 5.6 GVT. Souray and his inability to play defense, straight up for Rozsival and his pretty good defensive play (4.2 DGVT). In fact, Souray’s offensive value is the single most overrated stat in hockey. His OGVT is 0.9, which is less than Rozival’s at 1.4. Not to mention that Souray’s cap hit is $400,000 more than Rozsival’s, and the annual salary is $2 million more over the remaining two years. Again, the logic just doesn’t make sense. The only logical explanation is that the Rangers are simply interested in someone else, and not Souray.