Zach Parise will not be signing with the Rangers. Parise went on record today to openly express the fact he will not be signing with the Rangers nor will he consider it. ‘Don’t make a headline out of it’ was his final response to beat reporters when pressed on the matter.
Parise removing himself from the Rangers’ future plans narrows the obvious options the Rangers are linked to in order to upgrade their offense. Perhaps Parise ruling himself out of the Rangers future saves the Rangers from themselves. Should the current Devil have been up for grabs on July 1st there’s no guessing how much and how long Sather may have been tempted to offer Parise.
Can the Rangers afford to have another massive contract on the books and still get deeper? With Lundqvist eventually due an extension and Brad Richards’ long term deal, not to mention all the young players’ expiring deals, perhaps giving Parise a long term, mega-money contract wasn’t the most efficient way – among other things – of spending the cap space the Rangers seem to have in the short/mid term.
The Parise announcement may also help Columbus. GM Scott Howson will have noted that the Rangers now have one less alternative in their quest to add more skill and may hold strong to their (unrealistic) demands for Rick Nash. With a weakening free agent pool and uncertainty around players such as Alex Radulov, the Rangers may be forced to go after Nash and pay more than they want to. The next few weeks promise to be very interesting following the Parise news.
The Eastern Conference Finals only provided further evidence that Zach Parise is a terrific player and would be an ideal fit for the New York Rangers.
There’s little doubt that GM Glen Sather is going to make Parise a massive multi-year offer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, but despite New York’s desire to convert the Devils’ captain into a true blue soldier, there’s a very small chance of that actually happening (despite my repeated attempts to convince myself otherwise).
The primary reason – Parise isn’t like past Devils’ versions of Benedict Arnold; he cares deeply about the organization that drafted him nine years ago and takes great pride in leading the Rangers’ bitter rivals. All the proof you need was etched onto Parise’s face as he was interviewed by the MSG Network immediately following New Jersey’s ousting of the Blueshirts on May 25th when Parise expressed immense satisfaction about erasing the memory of 1994 (1:25 mark).
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Despite showing an unexpected offensive upside at the NHL level in his rookie year the Rangers will be better placed for a long term, successful era when Carl Hagelin is flying down the left wing on the third line. He won’t be a casualty of depth but could be the difference maker because of it.
Make no mistake Hagelin exceeded expectations this year (despite a generally subpar playoffs ), showed his flexibility in terms of ability to slide up and down the line-up, while also surprising many with his ability to play on the top line and not look out of depth alongside marquee NHL talent such as Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. However, there are a few reasons why Hagelin’s future may lie further down the line-up – something that is no insult by any stretch.
As discussed extensively, there is a good chance that the Rangers will pursue a high end, skilled forward this summer to help remedy the main causes of their playoff series loss to the Devils in particular. The main reasons the Rangers lost were inconsistent – to be polite – goal scoring and a (still) subpar powerplay. Bringing in someone like the oft mentioned Zach Parise should help remedy both areas of need. Needless to say, bringing in a big ticket like Parise means ice time and an integral role for the new recruit. It likely means top line duty and will bump other players further down the roster – including Hagelin.
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After taking most of the day to digest the bombshell of Marian Gaborik’s torn labrum, I’ve come to the glass half-full conclusion that there’s good and bad to be drawn from the news.
The Good
Timing – Obviously Gaborik was hampered by his injury during the playoffs, but if you’re choosing to look towards the future, it’s a good thing this happened now and not in October. Gaborik now has four full months to recover before the start of the season and even if he were out for the full six months suggested by doctors, he’d still be able to play a considerable chunk of the season. Better yet, the extent of the injury was discovered prior to any offseason player movement, giving the front office time to rethink and revise its plan of attack for the summer. Offense was the team’s primary need before the injury and that hasn’t changed, but at least GM Glen Sather and company know just where they stand. If this injury happened in training camp, the team would be able to do little in reaction and could be looking at severely weakened chances of winning the Atlantic Division crown.
Potential lockout – Of course none of us want a lockout, but there exists the very real possibility that the 2012-2013 season will be shortened. If it takes the owners and players a month or two to hash out their differences, Gaborik could actually be ready to go from the outset. Don’t do anything foolish and start praying for a work stoppage, but if your primary concern is finishing as high as possible in the Eastern Conference again, then having a healthy Gaborik on board for a shortened season may be the best thing to hope for.
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The future of Brandon Dubinsky has been talked about to death. It’s testament to the talent and dedication displayed as a Ranger by Dubinsky that his future is as talked about as it is. However, what should the Rangers do? Should they keep him? How does Dubinsky impact the Rangers immediate future?
Revisiting a Rick Nash acquisition this summer is likely but acquiring the Blue Jacket should only be a serious consideration if the package is reasonable and cap space goes back to Columbus. That would make Dubinsky (once again) a leading contender for a move. At the very least, should Zach Parise decide he wants to explore free agency in July you can bet your house that Glen Sather will be inquiring about and enticing Parise to join the Blueshirts.
If either premier talent becomes a Ranger over the summer there will need to be casualties in either (or both) assets or financial space. This keeps bringing us back to Dubinsky and whether his use to the franchise going forward would best be served as a player or as a trade chip.
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If you’ve ever followed a twitter feed during a Rangers telecast, then you’re probably aware of the attempts at “color analysis” that often take place. Now I’m not one to call out the preponderance of errors from the Joe Micheletti’s to be, but I do cringe at some of the faulty finger pointing.
To alleviate some of this we figured it’s about time we get back to basics and open up our hockey systems playbook. Today we will focus on executing 2-on-1s, since they often produce plenty of tweets that will read, “OMG! Dubi should have shot the puck!” or “Why the **** did Richards pass?”
In today’s NHL, an odd man situation is often a team’s best chance to score, thanks to an ever increasing sophistication to team defense & penalty killing. That’s why it is crucial these rushes be executed to perfection.
The most important aspect to getting a good quality shot on net in these situations is reading the defender. First you have to read the defender’s body position. Is he cheating toward you or his playing the pass? Defenders are taught to take away your “time and space.” This means if he’s cheating towards you, then his goal is to force you wide and eliminate your shooting angle. You also have to be cognizant of the defender’s handedness. Is his forehand facing you or is his backhand? His stick angle will tell you if he’s playing the shot or the pass.
For example, in this image below Cally and Dubi are on a 2-on-1 rush that ends with Cally putting a soft wrister right into the keeper’s belly. Looking at the photo and his options. Do you think he made the right decision?
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