This has surely been one of the busiest and most intriguing weeks in the history of the NHL. There were more free agents available than ever before, and for the first time every team in the league had pretty much an equal opportunity to land big name players. Also for the first time ever, the Rangers were not one of those teams.
As the Rodent argued earlier in the week, the Rangers would have some trouble convincing players to come here, given their recent history, their current personnel, and their lack of a top-tier goaltender. Unlike past years, the Rangers couldn't just throw an extra few million at a player to shift the scales in their favor. Players like Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, and Scott Niedermayer were not going to come to the Rangers knowing there was little opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup. This turned out to be the case, as Alan Hahn of NY Newsday pointed out:
"Adrian Aucoin chose Chicago over the Rangers for the same money. Forsberg said no thanks. Niedermayer, too. Even Dave Scatchard thought it would be better to go to Boston, where the Bruins have added a host of talent, than to cross the East River from Long Island."
What might be the most interesting part of this past week for the Rangers was not the moves they made, but the ones they didn't. While they had some offers out there, they seemed to remain true to the goal of building from within for the future. They brought in some young role players, and they signed a couple of veterans to short term deals. Let's take a look at those players:
Kevin Weekes - This move was expected. Weekes can be a solid backstop for the team while youngsters Henrik Lundqvist and Al Montoya develop. Those guys are the future of this team.
Martin Straka - A veteran forward with a lot of potential offensive upside with the new rules. He is friendly with Jaromir Jagr, and the two should work well together. He only signed for one year, which frees up his $3 million next year.
Marek Malik - Could potentially turn out to be a great signing. Malik is a solid, stay-at-home blueliner. He was +58 in his last two seasons with Vancouver, and at 6'5 he can cover a lot of space in the new, larger defensive zone. At only 30 years-of-age he could end up here for a while if he plays well.
Martin Rucinsky - Any Ranger fan cannot complain about this signing. Rucinsky has been solid during each of his two prior tours with the Rangers. Another one-year deal that will free up some room for next year's free agent crop.
Jason Ward - A hard working young forward who adds some depth to the Rangers' roster. He has been injury prone in the past, but played 77 games in the AHL in 2004-05, and scored 54 points. The contract is for 2 years at just over $600,000 a year, and he signed a one-way deal.
Ville Nieminen - Another hard working young winger. Has been compared to Esa Tikkanen for his irritating style of play. Does not have the same ability as Esa, but could be a solid two-way player.
John Dellapina of the NY Daily News writes that the Rangers have "reeled in their free-agent fishing line" now that they have surrounded Jagr with guys who "speak his language". But the important part of that article, (in which he reports that the Chicago Blackhawks signed reigning Stanley Cup champion goalie Nikolai Khabibulin), was what he wrote about the free agent market NEXT year.
Right now, Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier is a restricted free agent. If Tampa Bay cannot sign him to a long term contract, he will become unrestricted next year. The same goes for the Boston Bruins' captain Joe Thorton. Lecavalier is 25 years-old, and Thorton is 26. These are the guys that Glen Sather needs to be looking towards, as Alan Hahn pointed out:
" . . . Sather gave a hint about the Rangers' long-term plan when he explained the decision behind Bobby Holik's buyout. "We wanted room not so much for this year," he said, "but next year." Next year could include younger, more star-quality players such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Joe Thornton and Zdeno Chara."
What needs to happen in New York this year can be summed up in one word: development. There needs to be significant development from the youth of this team, and from the guys who end up in Hartford. While a playoff run would be fun (and is not out of the realm of possibility), the important outcome of this upcoming season will not be the Rangers place in the standings, but the strides players like Lundqvist, Montoya, Hugh Jessiman, Fedor Tyutin, Josef Balej, Maxim Kondratiev, and Marc Staal make. These are some of the guys that will make or break the Rangers in the future, not just because of their play on the ice, but because with them New York could become an exciting place to play again.
And maybe players like Thorton and Lecavalier would WANT to come here with a vision of winning a Stanley Cup, not just feel they HAVE to come here because the Rangers could offer them the most money.
As for the rest of the league, you can find all of the free agent moves here. The most notable moves yesterday were the Blackhawks signing Khabibulin, the Maple leafs signing center Jason Allison to a one-year deal, Paul Kariya joining the Nashville Predators with a two-year, $9 million dollar deal, and prospect Alexander Ovechkin agreeing to a three-year deal with the Washington Capitals.
The Rodent tells a story about 'enforcer' Martin Rucinsky.
Bird is ready to drop the puck, and wants you to get pumped up for the start of hockey in today's Birdcage.
Have a great weekend.
HDH
Posted by Jim at August 06, 2005 10:34 AMeMail this entry!
|
Recent Articles
|
|
|