2003 Off-Season Report Card
Tuesday - September 09, 2003
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Transaction
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Date
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Grade
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Comments
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| Jussi Markkanen acquired via trade for rights to Brian Leetch |
6/30/03
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A | This, along with the de Vries signing, is Sather's
best move of the summer. Markkanen, a 28 year old goalie, spent most of
his career in his native Finland until coming over to the Oilers two
seasons ago and has since put up VERY respectable backup numbers - 6-4-2
with a 1.84 and .929 in '01-'02, and 7-8-3 with a 2.59 and .904 last
season. Someone who appears to be a very capable backup and allows the
very necessary process of Dan Blackburn working on his game in the AHL,
all for the rights to Brian Leetch, who the Rangers re-signed anyway?
It's gold, Jerry. Gold. |
| Dan Lacouture re-signed for 1 year at $612,000 |
6/30/03
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B | I would've liked to see Lacouture locked up for more than 1 season, honestly, especially at this bargain salary that will no doubt enable him to be an unrestricted free agent next season barring significant changes to the CBA. Turned only 26 this past April and a legitimate 4th line NHL'er that can play both center and left wing - what's not to like? |
| Ronald
Petrovicky
re-signed for 1 year at $467,500 |
6/30/03 | B | Nice to see "Petro" back, although there's a reasonable chance he's squeezed out of the roster many nights this season, if not outright lost in the waiver draft. |
| Greg deVries signed 4 years at $13 million |
7/14/03 | A- | I have a strong feeling
this will be Sather's best UFA signing in his three years here, if not
the Rangers smartest UFA signing in a decade. Everything I've read about
de Vries, both from the national and the Colorado media, has been
somewhere between positive and glowing. A smart, level-headed, hard
working defenseman who isn't spectacular in one area but strong in all
of them. A good skater and puck-mover but also a tough, defense-first
defenseman who can and will both hit and fight. In Colorado's upset at
the hands of the Wild, the Avs beat writer listed de Vries as one of two
or three players exempt from blame. And just to correct what I see has
been a pretty common misconception among Ranger fans - de Vries was NOT
a third pair defenseman in Colorado, playing against most teams weaker
lines. In fact, most of his even strength time was spent with Rob Blake
on the first pair! I also think that's what Sather has in mind - Leetch
and de Vries on the first even strength pairing. He probably won't bowl
anyone over, but he's the type of solid, all-around defenseman - still
in his prime at 30-years old - who should only make a team better. |
| Named Tom Renney assistant coach. Assigned Jim Schoenfeld to GM of Hartford. |
7/22/03 | D | I listed these two transactions together since
they're related. Jim Schoenfeld gets moved out of his assistant coaching
position to take over for the recently departed Al Coates as GM in
Hartford, while Tom Renney, Sather's left hand man, gets moved into
Schoenfeld's old spot and also picks
up the duty of practice coach. Here are my problems with it: 1. Stories have come out that there was some friction between Schoenfeld and certain players because, the poor babies, Schoenfeld dared to yell at them on several occasions. On the surface (admittedly I hardly have "inside details" here) it looks like yet another thorn in our players' sensitive, molly coddled sides has been removed. Just like mean 'ol Ken Hitchcock might've been too harsh for our little angels, Schoenfeld stays within the organization, but is moved directly away from the players. Now, who knows, perhaps this is what Schoenfeld wanted, but it also seems to suspiciously line up with previous "don't upset the players" actions . 2. It's not that I have a problem with Renney being moved into a coaching slot other than the possibility that Schoenfeld was bumped for it to happen, but I'm certainly not so crazy about the idea of Renney being the day-to-day practice coach. Sure, Sather is going to be one busy little Cohiba smoking beaver this season, and the format of a practice coach different from the game coach has worked before (see: Detroit), but on a team notorious for tuning coaches out, exactly how much are they going to listen to Tom Renney?? I guess we'll find out. |
| Chris Simon signed for 1 year at $1.5 million | 7/25/03 | B- | I've read a lot of
negative reaction to this signing and I really don't know why. Simon is
signed for only one season, and the point I've been repeating since July
25th: The worst case scenario is Simon scores about 10 goals and is an
okay 3rd or 4th liner, while his potential upside is he regains his
scoring touch and puts in 20+ goals while providing a huge, mean
presense among the forward ranks. Exactly
what is the problem here?! Even at his worst case scenario his
signing is easily justifiable. That's what tenured fighter/grinders like
Simon make, and his salary is probably even on the lower end of their
pay scale. If he does ANY better than the aformentioned worst case
scenario, the Rangers got themselves a very nice bargain. Also, I think
he's a clear upgrade over Sandy McCarthy, our previous enforcer who
would only enforce every so often, and someone who could also go weeks
at a time without being noticable. |
| Paul Healey signed for 1 year at $500,000 | 7/28/03 | C | Paul Healey, huh? Uh, okay. Supposedly a decent, hard
working 4th liner, he's also only played in a paltry 71 NHL games in a
combined 8 seasons between the Flyers and Maple Leafs. But for half a
million, NHL pocket change, what the hell. |
| Brian Leetch signed for 2 years at $13 million | 7/30/03 | B- | Sure, they had to
re-sign Leetch - arguably the greatest and soon to be the most tenured
Ranger ever - but at six and a half million per season? While it's a
noticable pay cut from his previous nine and a half or so million dollar
salary, it's still ahead of the pack for a defenseman of Leetch's age
and current stature. Derian Hatcher, a four-years-younger-than-Leetch
Norris Trophy finalist is getting $6 million per. Eric Desjardins, a
year younger than Leetch,captain of his team, a better defensive
defenseman and of similar offensive numbers in the last 5 seasons, is
getting $4 million per. Does the fact that Leetch is currently entering
his 17th season with the Rangers entitle him to the extra million or so
more than he's worth? I guess so. And, realize, I don't think Leetch's
contract is terribly out of whack or anything (unlike, ahem,
Messier's), but Leetch's play down the stretch last season was probably
his best two consecutive months in a long
time. The last time Leetch looked that good in March was the last time
they made the playoffs several light-years ago. And as seen by his
mysterious and frustrating ankle injury last season, one that just
recurred on him in an informal practice from a 4-feet-away Holik
wrister and will likely put him on the shelf until opening night if not
later, Leetch can viably be considered an "injury risk" at this point.
But, hell, it is Brian Leetch,
after all, and the team is still better with him than without him. |
| Alexei Kovalev re-signed for 1 year at $6,600,000 | 8/13/03 | B | High marks because, one, they avoided arbitration,
something that can always strain a relationship between a player and
management; and, two, they only signed him to a one year contract.
Kovalev may have become an offensive dynamo in Pittsburgh, but this is
the Rangers, the team he was previously snake bitten with, and the team
he looked again snake bitten with on many nights during his return last
season. To Kovalev's credit it was rather difficult to put up many
points on a Ranger team last season that, while still winning at over a
.500 pace in the final two months, offensively had the vitality of a
dead fish on many nights. Sure, he's one of the most talented offensive
players in the league, but why lock him up long term when no one still
knows how he'll do as a Ranger again, and with a new, more fiscally
restraining CBA on the horizion? 1 year was a smart idea. |
| Tom Poti re-signed for 2 years at $5,900,000 | 8/14/03 | n/a | This was an arbitrator's decision so there's nothing to really comment on from a "good/bad" standpoint, but I like that the Rangers asked the arbitrator for a 2-year settlement rather than the usual year. Poti's offensive numbers are unklikely to fall off dramatically, so why go through arbitration again with him next season in what would've been his third arbitration in three seasons with the Rangers? |
| Anson Carter re-signed for 1 year at
$2,800,000 |
8/17/03 | B | Just like in Kovalev's case, points are awarded here
for avoiding arbitration. Also, that's a pretty nice price for a player
who's coming off 28 and 26 goal seasons. Sure, he was pretty awful in
his 11 games on the team last season, but that's nothing to hold against
him.... yet. |
| Jan Hlavac signed for 1 year at $1,000,000 | 8/28/03 | C | People have been
clamoring for the return of Hlavac since his departure and I have never
been one of them. Sure, he has his moments, but even back when the
"Czechmates" were putting up a goal a game, I've always considered Jan a
shaky player. Will not go into the corners (except to pick at the puck
from a distance), barely even mediocre defensively, and there's really
nothing that jumps out about his offensive game. Not a particularly
fast or sly skater, pretty good wrist shot if I remember, but not
someone who's going to fight to get himself open. Who knows, he landed
a nice assignment last time and put up 19 and 28 goal seasons, so if he
manage to do that again (probably with Nedved and Kovalev on his
line) it'll be easier to overlook his other deficiencies,
obviously. |
| Martin Rucinsky signed for 1 year at $1,650,000 | 8/28/03 | B- | At least Rucinsky is a more rounded player than
Hlavac. Sometimes an excellent passer, pretty good along the boards and
a reasonably smart two-way player. Martin is also more versitile than
Jan. I can see him fitting in on the left with with any of our centers,
while Hlavac seems destined for the Nedved line or bust. The Rangers
needed left wings, this one ain't bad and has a (albeit very brief)
history with the team... I'll take it. |
| Boris Mironov re-signed for 1 year at $1,925,000 | 9/4/03 | B+ | Love this signing! First of all, it's about a million less than "Bobo" was making last season, and reportedly about two million less than he was originally asking for. Either Boris was getting desperate to latch on somewhere, or he truly wanted to play for the Rangers again and took a sizable (over 1/3rd) pay cut to do it. Let's not forget, either, the guy is a pretty good defenseman who slots in nicely on the second pair without being forced to play above his head. He's also a true pain in the ass to play against most of the time, and how could anyone not like that? Hooray for Bobo! |
| Mark Messier signed for 1 year (plus mutual 2nd year option) for $3,904,585 | 9/5/03 | F | A very good off-season... well, I'm not going to be
overly dramatic and say "ruined", but a very solid and positive
off-season was seriously tainted by the ham fisted re-signing of The
Albatross. Only the boldest Messier apologist can find anything positive
about this. Let's put this in perspective. When Messier began his NHL career (not even his pro career, which began a season earlier), Jimmy Carter was in the White House, hostages were in Iran and disco still wasn't dead. When Messier began his NHL career, current 16 year veteran Brian Leetch was 11-years old! And it's not just his age or diminished skills that are a problem, it's his presence. Supposedly he has little connection to anyone in the locker room other than Leetch and he frequently watches practices in street clothes. This is our captain. As a 4th line and occassional power play center getting 10 minutes a night, Messier could even be an asset, but his presence almost certainly guarantees him more than that. And if anything, this astoundingly out-of-whack contract for a soon to be 43-year old let's you know exactly what Glen Sather still thinks of him. Maybe the excessively inflated contract is a tribute and farewell present more than anything and Sather will put the clamps on Messier's role on this team, but I can only believe that when I see it, and see it often. No, friends, this is not good. |
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| Off-Season Overall: | B | For the record, I
would've gone with a "A-" if not an "A" were it not for the Messier
signing. This team is more complete and well-rounded going into a
season than it has been in any number of years. The Rangers desperately
needed left wings, they got three
of them. They needed defensemen, they signed a very solid new one and
re-signed three from last season. They needed a legitmate backup
goalie, they got what seems like a good one for the cost of nothing.
And unlike Neil Smith's seemingly drunken free-agent spree of '99,
these signings were more low-key and more sensible. Unlike a Fleury or
Tim Taylor of that off-season, no one is being coerced to come here
just for the money. No one is being overpaid (except Messier, of
course). There are no major departures from last season, and many of
the players being brought in have a history with this team. It seems
like everyone who signed this year wanted to be a Ranger, and many took
less than their market value to do so. Honestly, this is one of the
best off-seasons of recent memory except for one thing... Messier. Yeah, one player, even one of Messier's clout, should not be able to bring a good team down if this is a good team. But, brother, he sure can hurt it! I'm not going to dwell on it for now as there will be plenty of forthcoming report cards to give him his whatfor's when he deserves it. The recent Leetch injury also takes some wind out of the sails, but, still, even though September is usually the month for optimism, this was a very good off-season that's yielded a deep, fairly well-rounded team that currently has absolutely no excuses for a playoff miss. |
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| created by: | Pete Rocha, © 2003. procha@optonline.net | ||
| Discuss the card here | |||
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Comments
Hey Rocha, fabolous job! I really like the color scheme. As an optometric technician I can tell you that the card is easier to read and therefore better for the 'ol peepers. Keep up the good work!
Thanks,
MDK
Hey man, I agree with everything you said, and I couldn't say anything else about Messier except about him being an asset at 10 minutes a night. This man is just all ego right now, and nobody has the "balls" to say anything except maybe Holik. He splits up the lockerroom and takes away a spot from a guy like Lundmark, Petro or Ortmeyer coming into camp. Sather has made a terrible mistake, he should know not to mix what he knows is right instead of keeping a relationship happy. Yes this offseason is still great overall and for once people around the NHL can't blame us for everything....keep up the good work bro.
Posted by: Brian Gooch on September 10, 2003 07:39 PMPost a comment
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