The Prospect Park

Really Better Be In Shape

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:35:00 +0000

So now one is going to wonder which is going to kill the New York Ranger players first; the John Tortorella system, his training camp or the just released 2009-2010 regular season schedule.

For the Rangers it might be easier if they just get killed off in training camp because the NHL 2009-2010 regular season schedule is just plain out nuts.

Yes it is a season with the 2010 Winter Olympics but the only thing that the NHL schedule makers forgot to do is set the Rangers up to play double headers. It is a schedule that is not going to do the Rangers any favors (and yes NHL we know it is as screwed up for the rest of the league as well) but in our eyes designed to run the players into the ground before the season is said and done.

If the NHL tries to tell us that a computer designed this schedule then please allow us about an hour to laugh cause this is a schedule designed by a mad man. Other than the break for the Olympics; the Rangers will be playing and playing and playing some more.

11 times we will see the Rangers playing 3 games in 4 nights, 13 times the Rangers will play back to back games and our favorite is from January 16th to the 27th when the Rangers play 7 games in 12 days. At a glance we see that the Rangers will be playing hockey for the most part every other day with a few times when they will have 3 days off and once there will be a 4 day break.

This schedule has some kind of 3 game home stand limit as the Rangers only have those with no home stretch being longer than that. This next season even has the Rangers finishing the season with 8 of their last 11 games on the road.

The only saving grace there is that those final road games for the most part will be against what is expected to be the bottom of the NHL. Still it does explain rightfully why John Tortorella is warning players to show up in shape for his training camp.

Give Tortorella some serious credit here as he has been though Olympic seasons before so he is preparing the Rangers for it. It is going to put some major emphasis on the players not only to be in not good but great physical shape but also to be mentally strong as well.

From those who have witnessed a John Tortorella training camp then the best description would be that Tortorella is Gunny Hartman from the movie "Full Metal Jacket" and any Ranger who does not work his rear off will be Private Pyle. For the sake of the Rangers Gunny Tortorella just may be why they are able to survive the season.

The better shape the Rangers are in then the better chance they will be able to fight off fatigue. Last season's team would have just totally collapsed under the physical and mental strain of this schedule.

Otherwise anyone who has seen "Full Metal Jacket" will recall Private Pyle's memorable line about the world he is in (this is a family blog which is why we are not repeating it). That just might happen to the Rangers if they are not ready for training camp.

Maybe the Biggest of Factors

This schedule also makes Stephen Valiquette perhaps the biggest key to the entire Ranger season more than any goal scorer or defenseman on the roster. Valiquette is going to have play a lot more than the 15 games he appeared in last season.

In the Tortorella "Safe or Death" system the goalies have to be strong mentally as well as physically because when the offense breaks down the goalies face a lot of shots and odd man rushes. Now toss in this really bad schedule and you see why Valiquette has to play well.

Expecting Henrik Lundqvist to appear in 70 games while also playing for Sweden in the Olympics is begging to either get Lundqvist hurt or into one very long slump. For the Rangers to have any real chance at having anything close to a good season means that Valiquette has to be able to give Henrik as much rest as possible.

Valiquette has to be able to give the Rangers at least 20-25 strong appearances during this season or the Rangers need to bring in someone who can. This is not a knock on Valiquette but a stark reality that the Rangers need Lundqvist to be as fresh as he can be towards the end of the season.

Lundqvist has complained about being worn down at the end of the last two seasons so it is up to Valiquette to show early on he can handle the load so Tortorella will have the confidence to use him early and often. Of course the Ranger players also have to buy Lundqvist some days off by getting off to a good start.

Last season we felt it was a combination of the Ranger's inability to play consistently well and Tom Renney's own lack of confidence in Valiquette that forced Lundqvist to be overworked. It is up to Valiquette to earn that confidence at training camp or hopefully someone else needs to.

Where's Dubi?

It is now July 16th and the player who supposedly could be the Ranger's first line center Brandon Dubinsky still does not have a contract. Now our numbers are nowhere perfect but our best estimate shows that the Rangers still have about 8 million left to spend.

We also disagree that Nikolai Zherdev is an automatic win for the player in arbitration as we know Sather well enough that he is going to be able to keep Zherdev under 4 million in salary. For argument sake we will though use 4 million for Zherdev in salary.

In our eyes Dubinsky as the supposed leading choice to become the Ranger's first line center deserves a contract along the lines of 1.25 to 1.5 million. Despite our fondness for Clan Dubinsky he still has not shown he deserves the money that Ryan Callahan just got so our number is fair to us.

The thing that bothers us the most is Sather's history with his own free agents as the longer this drags out then the chances of this turning ugly will increase almost daily. If Dubinsky is going to be your number one then fine offer him a 2 year deal which offers the young center a chance to earn more money down the road.

There is no question that Glen Sather still has to make at least one more trade before the season starts but the question will be for which position? The Rangers at the moment need a first line center, an experienced stay-at-home defenseman and possibly a top line winger.

Signing Dubinsky that takes one possible problem out of the equation and also allows the young center to concentrate NOW on his off-season workouts. Skip the nonsense that both sides will tell you but contract issues do very much affect a player and his state of mind.

A signed Dubinsky leads to a happy Dubinsky who just might come back east early so he can work out with his new and current teammates instead being elsewhere. Signing Dubinsky also has a symbolic significance as he is supposed to be part of that young core Sather claims is the foundation of the Rangers.

Get him a deal Sather or risk someone coming in and offering him an offer sheet that you will be forced to match or risk losing Dubinsky for just a draft pick. Those options are not worth the risk because then you will have to spend even more to replace Dubinsky.

Make the deal Slats as everyone wins there.

(R. Lee Emery courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Valiquette and Dubinsky courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Still More Headscratching Moves

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:13:00 +0000

The most frustrating part of this off-season is that the Rangers are showing the same kind of maddening inconsistency that they did during the 2008-09 season. The Rangers can not make back to back good moves it seems to save themselves from themselves.

Monday it was great news to see Ryan Callahan be rewarded for his hard work with a new 2 year deal that kept the Rangers and Callahan from arbitration. It is a fair deal where Callahan gets a nice raise for his efforts but does not hurt the Rangers with a bad cap number.

Then a couple of hours after the Rangers sent out the press release announcing the Callahan signing that they sent out another which announced that 2004 first round pick Lauri Korpikoski was sent to the Phoenix Coyotes for forward Enver Lisin.

In trading away Korpikoski, the Rangers gave up on the 19th pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and in return got back a player who has bounced up and down during his time with the Coyotes. The best line in describing this trade has to come from Laurie from Beyond the Blueshirts who called the trade "trade of flight risks."

Laurie is right because here is a deal where "old friends" exchanged problems in order to save face. Korpikoski just might sign with the Coyotes now that he is going to be in a very good position but Lisin still might sign with the KHL because he was reportedly only qualified by the Coyotes at 850,000.

Yes Lisin has a ton of speed which nobody is going to question but that just might be the only area where people totally agree. People do agree up to a point on another area but at various degrees and that is how bad Lisin is on defense.

Lisin in 78 career NHL games is a -36 while scoring 18-10-28 which may be more points than Korpikoski scored in his one season but Korpy does not have a labels that Lisin will be bringing with him. Lisin is one of the few players to actually find himself in a Wayne Gretzky doghouse while with the Coyotes.

It is hard to imagine someone who ticks off Wayne Gretzky especially given Lisin's reported offensive skills but that alone should be a warning sign. The Coyotes needed all the offense they could get, they needed a player who cost as little as possible but yet Lisin only played 48 games despite being on the Coyote roster for most of the season.

We did not see any injury reports so one has to wonder why Lisin was only dressed in 7 of the last 24 Coyote games last season. There is also a major misconception about John Tortorella and his system that also needs to be addressed.

Tortorella may have his "safe is death" offense but it requires players willing to work hard at both ends of the ice, to be able to cover for pinching defenders and to be able to get the puck back up the ice. In other words you still have to be able to play defense in the Tortorella system.

Of course if Laurie's report is true then odds are that we won't have to worry about Lisin as he is heading to the KHL for a 2 year deal that the Coyotes refused to give Lisin. So the Rangers may have given Korpikoski away for nothing other than some minor salary cap relief.

Still the bigger issue has to be that the Rangers can not simply make one good move and then follow it up with a second good move. The second good move might have been signing Dubinsky or addressing the defense that still has no improvement to it.

The Rangers are adding a lot of offense but one really has to seriously just how much input John Tortorella is having here. Adding players who's work habits go totally against what Tortorella demands makes you really wonder.

Whether it is Zherdev, Kotalik or the newly traded for Lisin one seriously has to wonder here because all 3 have suspect work habits, all three are not known for their showing up every night so why add them? Unless Tortorella is a miracle worker or

Drool all you want about all the offensive possibilities but this just might be the biggest gamble of the Sather era. If any of the Sather moves fail to work as they hope to then the Rangers could be fighting the Islanders for the first pick in the 2010 Entry Draft.

(Callahan and Lisen courtesy of the NHL)

Where's The D?

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:42:00 +0000

So many people are taking the signing of Ales Kotalik in so many different ways that the poor guy has not even put on a Ranger jersey but the betting has already begun as to when the Garden faithful will start calling him Alice.

Some are viewing the signing of Kotalik as the sign from the heavens that Nikolai Zherdev is DOA as a Ranger but boy is that really a stretch. When did Kotalik become a first line talent?

Yes he has scored 20 goals or more 4 times in his career but look at his career numbers. His career high is 62 points in the 2005-06 season and the rest of his numbers (43 points twice and then less) ought to make you feel a bit nervous.

Before people think that Kotalik is the ideal replacement for Zherdev then go look at some of the scouting report on him. Kotalik has been viewed as a top level talent who does not always show up to play.

Here is what Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News told David Staples of the Edmonton Journal about Kotalik:

I've been suggesting, writing, saying for two years that he needed a change in scenery. This season, however, he made things more interesting because he's deadly in shootout.

My biggest beef with him was that he's a big, strong guy who plays small. He's a perimeter player and plays virtually no defense. Perhaps it will change when the message comes from a different coach.

The "Run Zherdev out of Town" parade might want to stop for a second and take a closer look at what they are trading here. Now Zherdev is not one of our pals right now for the dumb move he made but the knee jerk reaction thinking Kotalik is a better option might be off the mark.

In 445 career games Kotalik has put up 121-130-251 over 7 seasons, in 365 games (or 5 seasons) Zherdev is 99-140-239 so for those who think they are getting similar production it is not the case as 12 points over 80 games is not a fair trade off for a player who is older and is just as much a coaching nightmare.

Like Zherdev or not at least he has broken the 25 goal mark twice something Kotalik still has not done. Which we have to ask is worse the devil you know or the one you do not?

But here is one big thing that still is being overlooked is that the Rangers still have not done a thing to improve their defense. Wade Redden is still on the roster as is Michal Rozsival but now you also have 2 maybe 3 openings on the blueline.

The Rangers have made all these additions to the offense but it is very hard to believe or accept that they will go into next season with as many as 3 rookies on the blueline. As much as we want to see the kids to get a chance to earn roster spots the Tortorella system requires a strong defense because of the chances the offense take.

What is more frustrating is that this is a road the Ranger keep traveling when it comes to failing to improve the blueline. Yes Staal and Girardi are good starting points but the Rangers still need that stay at home defender who will be the stopper like Beukeboom used to be.

Another area that the Rangers still have a hole at is the first line center as they have at best two second line centers in Drury and (if he ever gets signed) Dubinsky. The Rangers keep trying to forcefeed players who are not first line centers at that position and it does not work.

Basically what we have here is the same old story of the Sather era, the Rangers spend money and pray that it works. The fans get excited because the Rangers bring in name players that they like but eventually that excitement turns to frustration and then anger and disappointment when the players just do not fit in as a team.

And next year we will be right back here talking about the next "fixes" that Glen Sather will try to pass off on Ranger fans.

Why does the movie "Groundhog Day" fit in so very well here?

(Kotalik courtesy of the NHL)

How About a Kick in the Rear?

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:53:00 +0000

Maybe it is in part because I went to bat for him last season while others called him out; maybe it is because I dislike greedy athletes in general but whatever the reason someone needs to give Nikolai Zherdev a kick in the rear for filing for arbitration.

Yes Nikolai Zherdev was the Ranger second leading scorer last season but the frustrating part about watching him play last season was that you knew he was not always playing up to his potential. The numbers he put up were nowhere near what he could have and should have put up for the offensively straved Rangers.

23-35-58 when you look at his previous career numbers were not progress as Zherdev put up fewer power play points, took fewer shots on goal and really the only area where he showed improvement was in plus/minus but even then you have to wonder about it. Tom Renney tried to get more production out of Zherdev as did John Tortorella but neither really could.

What Zherdev deserves is a swift kick in the rear for the effort he put in last season not a raise in pay. If he thinks that he is worth the rumored 4.5 that he reportedly is asking for then sorry Nikolai but take your game over to the KHL and stay there.

One has to wonder what the heck Zherdev is even thinking here as he is not exactly bargaining from a position of strength. Even more so is that if Zherdev's agent has any kind of clue then he may have cost his client some serious money.

The one thing I have learned over the years is that when you tick off Glen Sather he can get down right dirty as Sean Avery was not the first person Sather went off on in an arbitration hearing. Remember this as the scary thing is that Avery was actually coming off a very productive season where he did more for the Rangers than Zherdev did.

Imagine what Sather is going to do to Zherdev when they hold that hearing; it is going to be the mother of ugly as Sather is going to be able to point out all that Zherdev did not do; like his playoff performance where he did not score a point, his being benched by both Tom Renney and John Tortorella at one point or another in the season or the countless times when Zherdev simply did not put forth a solid effort.

Give Sather some credit as when it comes to contract disputes he is very good at being very harsh which is what these arbitration hearings are all about. Zherdev as it is we are told is a very sensitive person so boy is he going to be in for a really harsh experience.

What really is the headscratcher is what in the world does Zherdev and his camp expect to happen from this hearing. Zherdev was 73rd overall in points, 78th in goals as well as 75th in assists so if Zherdev is expecting a raise then he is in for a big surprise.

If he thinks the Rangers badly need him to play with Marian Gaborik then think again Nikolai. Gaborik from what we have seen actually plays better with North American players than he does with the Eastern Europeans.

Gaborik in my book would actually be better off with Dubinsky and Callahan as his linemates considering how the Wild used Gaborik with Andrew Brunette and James Sheppard. Callahan is coming off his own breakout season while Dubinsky is poised for one of his own (if he remains with the Rangers).

Zherdev we can think of many different ways that Tortorella could adjust without his services and still ice a decent team so Zherdev could find himself seriously looking from the outside. It is a dangerous gamble thinking that Sather would not walk away from a salary award that Sather deems unreasonable.

If Zherdev wants out of playing for the Rangers then he could have just made the request from the get go. Glen Sather is not going to keep a player who does not want to play for the Rangers and at 3.25 mil for a season would have found more takers than he will if the price tag is higher.

We are not talking about a player who has a sterling reputation as a hard worker in the NHL here and that is the point that Zherdev might be missing. He is not going to find many teams willing to gamble several million on someone who has driven every NHL coach he has played for to frustration with his effort.

The smarter move would have been to accept the one year deal at the same salary and then take advantage of getting to play with Marian Gaborik. Go out there and put up 35-40 goals that just about everyone who scouted you projected from you and then collect the fat paycheck.

One has to wonder if the real goal is to gain unrestricted free agency for Zherdev but even if it is then by the time that happens most of the teams will have spent most of their money. Zherdev might find himself accepting less money than what the Rangers were offering and playing in a place where the pressure level will be even higher on him.

Or Zherdev will simply wind up playing in the KHL where he can give the less than 100% efforts all he wants but he will wind up being known as an NHL underachiever for not living up to his potential.

Still no matter what we hope someone give him a swift kick in the rear for simply not thinking here.

(Zherdev courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Some Food for Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Nothing is more fun than to read the Ranger beat reporters falling all over themselves with words of praise for the New York Ranger prospects. Maybe if they took the time to come here and read what we have been saying about the kids then they would not be so surprised.

Start with Evgeny Grachev who everyone keeps harping on his 40 goal, 80 point season with Brampton last season but what is being overlooked is a couple of other numbers that beg to be shown. The first is Grachev's +48 which was the 4th best in the OHL but people are also forgeting that this was his first year playing the North American style.

We bring it up because people are forgetting that while offense wins games, it is defense that will win you a championship and Grachev is not a one way player. Grachev played on all special teams for the Brampton Battalion as Brampton coach Stan Butler did a great job in preparing Grachev for pros.

Still we have to wonder if Grachev's game is that close to being NHL ready given his just being 19 (Grachev will not turn 20 until next February). We really do like Grachev's future but Grachev's talent is one that badly needs to be fully developed at both ends of the ice.

Michael Del Zotto may not have been invited to the Canadian World Junior camp but after his own performance at the Ranger prospect camp does Larry Brooks still think his selection was a mistake?

Del Zotto also opened eyes at the camp but unless Del Zotto totally outplays every Ranger defender at the main training camp at both ends of the ice the safe bet will be Del Zotto returning to London of the OHL. It as we have been preaching the fastest way to ensure Del Zotto's NHL development.

Del Zotto still needs work on his defense and despite his being one very talented offensive weapon under the Tortorella system defenders need to be able to handle odd man rushes. Del Zotto's defense is not ready for the NHL level attack so let him return for one more year of the OHL.

Doing that same tactic with Marc Staal greatly sped up his development and if it works why change?

Brandon Dubinsky is a favorite of ours; it is something that we have never tried to hide and never will because we owe a lot to Brandon but also his family over the years. However friendship, personal bias or anything else aside we wonder if the Rangers are serious about keeping Dubinsky.

When we heard whispers that Dubinsky was only qualified at the required 10% then we realized that the Rangers were going fishing using Dubinsky as the bait. The prize is a first line center and even we would have to acknowledge that it would be a very smart move.

Dubinsky is sought after by other teams who do see a future for him; the "Dubinsky could be a number 1 center" remark by Sather was a nice touch to try to raise Dubinsky's trade value. Toss in the ability to play in a pressure cooker like New York as well as showing that he can play with any combination of players and you get a nice dealmaker.

Once the NHL teams see how much they have spent during free agency then the trade markets will heat up. Dangling a Dubinsky as the centerpiece of any trade offer will help the Ranger keep the total cost down.

The other reason why a Dubinsky is serious tradebait is because one has no idea which Nikolai Zherdev is going show up next season. Nobody is even sure that Zherdev is going to resign with the Rangers so that puts Dubinsky on the trading block.

Even if Zherdev does resign can anyone say that they feel confident that Zherdev will give the Rangers what he didn't give last season? The Rangers are going to want to start next season with a real first line not one that worries if Dubinsky can handle the role or if Zherdev will give 100% all the time.

That in our eyes is what puts Dubinsky on the trading block and boy do we hope we are wrong.

Nobody asked us but while people are trashing Blair Betts for not signing with the Edmonton Oilers can we stop with it already? It was Glen Sather who suggested that Betts might sign with the Oilers not anyone else.

Just because Betts has not been signed should not be viewed as nobody wants his services. Betts is a solid penalty killer who also brought a good work ethic and no Ranger fan can say that Betts did not give them his best every night.

Once the smoke clears we see Betts getting signed and here is an idea that might not fit well with Ranger fans. How about Blair Betts as a New Jersey Devil?

The Devils have been hit hard by free agents leaving but still play a solid system game. However like the Rangers of last season what they will lack in offense they will need to make up by a strong defense and better penalty kill.

That is where a Betts will come in and we can see him as a Devil filling that role. It might also be a role that comes back to haunt the Rangers.

(Grachev/Aaron Bell, Dubinsky, Del Zotto and Betts/New York Rangers)

Tick Tick Tick

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Got to give Glen Sather some credit for pulling the double steal of a trade with the Canadians. To see the Rangers find someone willing to take the Scott Gomez contract off their hands is great but to get back a quality return is even better.

Chris Higgins is the well known name in this deal as the Long Island native is an established hard working player who is going to be a better option on than penalty kill than Fredrik Sjostrom. Higgins has scored scored 20 goals in 3 different seasons and his 2008-09 was not typical of his career.

The better part of the deal was Bob Gainey parting with Ryan McDonagh their 2007 first round pick. It is nice to use the phrase "what a bad deal this is" and not be talking about a Sather move.

McDonagh plays for Mike Eaves at Wisconsin (along with Derek Stepan 2008 2nd) and we liked what we saw from him. For starters the soon to be junior is a hard worker who is also a team leader as an assistant captain.

McDonagh played 36 games last season going 5-11-16, he was used on both the power play as well as the penalty kill. It is interesting to note that 2 of his goals were on the penalty kill which is different for a defender to have.

Even better about what we liked about McDonagh is that he is not afraid of contact whether it is giving or having to take a hit to make a play. The Rangers have a nice supply of defenders but McDonagh now opens options in case someone gets hurt or the Rangers want to make a deal to fill a hole elsewhere.

The 3rd part of this deal is defenseman Pavel Valentenko but we are not going to hold our breath expecting to see him in a Ranger uniform. Valentenko was a 2006 5th round pick of the Canadians who walked out on the Canadians last season to join the KHL.

It is hard for us to think highly of someone who dishonors a contract which is what Valentenko did. He is entering the 2nd year of a 3 year deal with the Moscow Dynamo in the KHL.

Valentenko was a promising prospect for the Canadians winning their top prospect award during his one season in the AHL in 2007-08. It is hard to expect that the Rangers will see him returning to North America under the current climate in the hockey world.

Still one has to praise Sather for taking full advantage of the best explanation is a panic by Canadian GM Bob Gainey. Gainey is expected to lose his captain Saku Koviu, one of his better defenders in Mike Komisarek, Alex Tanguay and even Alex Kovalev.

Now the hope is that the salary cap space generated by the trade of Scott Gomez is not spent on just one free agent or in one trade. Sather needs to manage this money wisely as he has a golden oppportuntity to improve the team as a whole.

All it will take to wipe out what is a great move would be to repeat the mistakes that got the Rangers in cap trouble to begin with. Yes there is no true top level first line center out there for the Rangers BUT patience needs to preached here.

There is no need to run right out and try to address every issue in one day; recent Ranger history has shown the error of that folly. No Sather needs to see what is actually out there because the first move by someone could open the door for a better move later on.

Learn from this move and the panic from the Canadians, it could help build a good Ranger team.

In other news, the CHL held the first round of their annual Import Draft on Tuesday. 2009 5th round pick Roman Horak was selected by the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL. The Bruins are the team that Glen Sather owns a small part of so odds are very good that Ranger scouting information played a part in their selection.

Word has it that Horak does want to come to North America and Chilliwack would be a good place for him. The Bruins are rebuilding so playing time would not be a problem for Horak.

The Bruins are coached and run by Marc Habscheid who just took over the positions with the Bruins. Habscheid is a winner who has played in the NHL but has also won a Memorial Cup as a WHL coach.

The Rangers have Horak in the right place for his adjustment to North America.

(McDonagh courtesy of the Wisconsin Badgers, Valentenko courtesy of the Montreal Canadians)

Happy Campers

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:05:00 +0000

So Monday is the opening of the Ranger's prospect development camp which serves several purposes all of which are good ones. It is a great opportunity for the prospects to meet with the Ranger staff, for the Ranger staff to get good looks at the prospects but the best thing that comes from this camp is that each prospect is given a journal to help them improve their development over the next season.

Each prospect is given a battery of tests from physical to mental, a chance to meet one on one with the Ranger coaching staff and chances to learn new ways to work on their game/weight room. It is a program that since the Rangers have started has greatly helped prospects get a head start on learning the Ranger system.

There is a side benefit that most Ranger fans do not know about but in our eyes is perhaps the best benefit of them all; the prospects become friends with each other. It is an area that can not be overlooked as prospects becoming friends on and off the ice is a dividend that creates a loyalty to the team but more importantly to each other.

We know from past experience that the prospects becoming friends does wonders for their development. It gives them someone who they can talk to during the season about the future and offer encouragement or support when needed.

Having a peer who you can text, pick up the phone or hang out with does wonders when it comes to building a chemistry. You can find a workout buddy during the off-season and as time goes on that one Ranger friend can grow to an entire team.

As for the development camp itself, the first thing that needs to be pointed out is that Max Campbell (2007 5th) for the 2nd year in a row is paying his own way to attend. It deserves being pointed out because it says a lot about Campbell's desire to become a Ranger.

The NCAA bans the Rangers from paying the way of prospects to attend camps like these and while most still do not view Campbell as a legit NHL prospect we do because of how badly he is willing to work on becoming a Ranger. Campbell is a natural goal scorer who we have watched despite his smallish frame park his body in the crease and fight his way to score.

We saw Derek Stepan's name on the list and if he attends then it would be very interesting to see him paired up with Chris Kreider as Stepan until this past weekend was perhap the fastest skating prospect in the system. We would put Ethan Werek on the same line as Stepan and Kreider just to give them someone who will be the sheriff on the line.

As for those attending, beside the draft picks and already signed prospects will be a few free agents hoping to earn a chance at being brought back for Traverse City. We know 6 of these free agents so here is what we do know.

Travis Yonkman played goal for Swift Current in the WHL as an overager. He is not a flashy guy but you will like how he never quits on a play. A short 6'1 he is a solid pressure game goalie that you want in the net for the big games.

Spent his entire career with Swift Current and was a teammate of 2008 4th round pick Dale Weise. His best strength is his speed as just when you think he is out of position he finds a way to make the save.

May not have gotten the notice he deserved for his efforts because of more higher profile goalies in the WHL but would make a good depth signing for Charlotte.

Sam Klassen is a character role player who played for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL. A 6'1 defenseman who as a pro we would have to say is more than likely to be a 5th-6th defenseman than a star.

Good skater, a stay at home defender who can chip in the occasional assist, very willing to fight to protect his teammates, does not miss games, has a good hockey sense but his hands are not fast enough to make that breakout pass from the zone at the higher level.

Given the glut of defensemen in front of him it is going to be very hard for Klassen to earn a second invite back for Traverse City.

Craig Cunningham is an interesting invite as the Vancouver Giant LW is coming off a pretty solid season and we got to see a lot of him. Not the best of anything but his work ethic makes up for his lack of size, skill and speed.

Just 5'9 but built a bit like a fire hyrant, Cunningham had a great start to the 2009 playoffs but tailed off like his Giant team against Kelowna. What gets our attention is his ability to score game winning goals as 7 of his 28 were game winners.

Struggled down the stretch as it looked as if he ran out of gas which is always a concern for a shorter player but is a good system player. We think his work ethic might earn him a second invite to TC.

On the other hand Chris Chappell is 6'4 215 and coming off an overage year where he put up 38-38-76 for Saginaw in the OHL. We remember him as being one of Tomas Zaborsky's body guards a couple of years ago.

The numbers are nice but Chappell is a project player, he needs help with his skate, his general hockey sense and his defense. He might be more enforcer than scorer as a pro.

However his size makes him worth taking a look at because he takes up a lot of space on the ice and is willing to take a beating to make a play. A lot of "IFs" with his game but might be worth it to bring to Charlotte and see what happens.

Luke Pither is one that we think is more of those one season wonders as he had a total of 35 goals between Guelph and Belleville in the OHL last season as an overager. In previous seasons he did not do much for Guelph or Kingston so we are not expecting a whole lot from him.

Against Evgeny Grachev and Brampton during the OHL playoffs we have to be honest other than a goal in game 2 of that series (we recall it because he was a -3) that we really did not notice much of Pither.

At 6' 190 we just do not see him as a serious prospect for a second invite but as with all prospects we will hope he proves us to be wrong.

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We at Prospect Park want to extend to former Ranger prospect Hugh Jessiman our deepest sympathies on the passing of his mother Laura Woodbury Jessiman.

Mrs Jessiman was seriously injured in a fall in Scotland and passed away after being airlifted to a local hospital.

Say whatever you want about Jessiman not making it as a Ranger prospect but one thing we have always respected about Jessiman is that he took a ton of abuse from Ranger fans and never once complained about it. One week after losing his mother; Hugh is going to be on the ice trying to raise money for the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation which makes financial assistance grants to Connecticut residents living with spinal cord injuries and disease.

Come on Wednesday and if you want to support a worthy cause then help support Hugh during a rough time by attending the "Big Assist" at the Darien Ice Rink. For more information check out the Darien Ice Rink.

(Yonkman, Klassen, Cunningham courtesy of the WHL, Pither and Chappell courtesy of the OHL, Laura Jessiman courtesy of the Darien Times)

Scratching the Head

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:34:00 +0000

History is going to eventually judge how good or bad the New York Rangers did with their selections at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft turned out to be. For now when looking at the selections there are some that do leave us scratching our heads and wondering why.

Day 2 in our eyes got off to a promising start when the Rangers selected Ethan Werek of the Kingston Frontenacs. Werek is a player we do like because he is what we wanted out of the first round; a rugged hard working player willing to get his hands dirty to make plays.

Werek is coming off a good rookie season with Kingston but we think he is going to have an even better 2009-10 season now that he is understanding what he needs to do as a top level player.

Even better was how Werek ended his rookie season with the Frontenacs as despite not making the playoffs, Werek played his best hockey in February (6-7-13 -1, 6 PIM). Werek is coached by Doug Gilmour who took over as the coach of Frontenacs last November and from that point forward Werek became a player (26 goals).

Werek needs work on his defense as well as his hockey sense but the presence of Gilmour is going to help mature Werek.

Werek is listed as a center but we do see his future out on the wing as his willingness to play a physical game will open up the ice for his linemates. Look for him at Hartford in 2 years.

Ryan Bourque is an interesting pick as the son of Ray Bourque is going to have to listen to how great a player his father was. Stop those thoughts right there because other than the last name and the drive to work hard there is nothing in common.

Bourque nobody is going to question his offensive skill but if people were worried about Prucha or Dawe's size then Bourque is even smaller. In a division where physical play is on the upswing then Bourque who is 5'9 170 is going to need to a bodyguard.

Bourque is going to be a playmaker at the NHL level if he gets there but there are concerns about his ability to play defense as there have been with anyone who is Bourque's size.

Bourque is going to play for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL rather than attend the University of New Hampshire. It is a move we like because Bourque will get a chance to show he can play against the goons and be forced out of a comfort zone.

Roman Horak was taken by Rangers with the 127th pick (5th rd) and we will be honest we do not know anything about him. Nobody has a solid scouting report so we are going to wait to see who picks him in the CHL Import Draft as the team (league) that selects him will give us more of a clue about him.

The Rangers say that Scott Stajcer will get to spend the next couple of years playing at Owen Sound growing and developing but if the Rangers really wanted a goalie at this spot then Brandon Maxwell is who we would have taken.

We are just not sure that Stajcer is as promising as the Rangers do. Yes Stajcer was the 5th rated goalie in North America on the final ranking from Central Scouting.

What the Rangers are not saying is that Stajcer dropped from being the 2nd ranked goalie at the midterm ranking. We also disagree that Stajcer was the Attack starter because it looked more like Stajcer split time with Tyler Beskorowany (2008 2nd Dallas).

Stajcer has a lot to prove but the advantage he does have is that in the OHL goalies are always at a premium so if he does not start for Owen Sound then odds are good that he will be traded and given other chances to earn a starting role. We will be impressed if Stajcer actually gets to stay with Owen Sound for the next 2 years.

In the 6th round the Rangers selected a project defenseman from the Sudbury Wolves in Daniel Maggio. This in our eyes is a project player worth gambling on for a number of reasons.

We will start with his size (6'2 200), Maggio is a stay at home defender who will play the body and he plays for Mike Foligno who has a proven track record of producing NHL talent. There is also one other detail which encourages us; our experience with teams that have former Ranger defensemen as assistant coaches.

The Wolves just hired Jeff Beukeboom from the Barrie Colts to become an assistant coach. We have no doubt that if Maggio's knee is sound and he works as hard as his new coach used to then the Rangers might have themselves a steal here.

For the Ranger's 7th round pick we will direct you over to Lauri at Beyondtheblueshirts as her take on Pashnin is the best and most objective out there. We know little about him other than what we read at Lauri's site.

In checking our notes from the previous World Junior Championships Pashnin's name did not come up very often but this is a no lose pick for the Rangers. Without a transfer agreement the Rangers will hold on to Pashnin's rights forever as it stands now.

If the KHL falls apart and Pashnin decides to try the NHL then the Rangers will have first crack at him. If not then considering where the Rangers were selecting at that point (200th) then they really did not lose anything here.

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Post Draft Thoughts

Maybe it was because the Rangers did so well with the 2008 that our overall grade here after looking at everything is B-. Sather talked about how important the draft is but yet some of these picks were suspect when you see what the other options were.

Time as we said at the start will tell whether these picks will pan out.

The trade for Chad Johnson is a sign to us that the Rangers are not so sold on the future of Miika Wiikman who lost his starter's job to Matt Zaba. Johnson we saw play against Michigan is a good trade as he brings size and some skill to the position.

The other deal for Brian Boyle smacks of Sather doing an old friend a favor (this case Dean Lombardi) and trying to fix the career of a first round pick that has gone nowhere. Think Sather is 0 for all of them as a Ranger GM.

The Islanders had a chance to walk away from this draft a franchise to fear in the next couple of years. They started strong with Tavares, did not need to pay extra to get a solid defender in De Haan but then went goalie crazy.

The Rangers should send Garth Snow a huge thank you because the Islanders should have had 5 solid picks in the first 2 rounds and came away with just 2.

And the Winner is

In our eyes the Colorado Avalanche came out of this draft with the best prospects. Duchene at the top is a Sakic clone, Ryan O'Reilly of Erie gives them leadership, Stefan Elliott a strong defender, Tysen Barrie a power play QB, and a goalie who is going to help Windsor repeat as Memorial Cup Champs in Brandon Maxwell.

Be happy the Rangers only face the Avs twice a year.

(Pictures: Werek and Stajcer: Aaron Bell/OHL, Bourque: USA Hockey, Maggio: Sudbury Wolves and Pashnin: Day Life/Euro Sport)

At Any Other Point

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:36:00 +0000

It is not that Chris Kreider is a bad prospect; it is not that Chris Kreider is going to be a bust but biggest problem with the New York Rangers selecting the youngster out of Boxford Mass. is that the Rangers need him sooner not later.

If the Rangers were a team in the kind of position like the Detroit Red Wings where they are annually a cup contender then the Rangers could afford to sit back and wait to see Kreider develop.

But they are not the Red Wings.

If the Rangers were a team like the Chicago Blackhawks or St. Louis Blues who are still young but climbing up the ladder to the top of the NHL then a Kreider would be a good pick to compliment an already established youthful core.

But the Rangers do not have the young talented core that the Blackhawks or Penquins have.

This is not about disliking Kreider but more about wondering what the Rangers are thinking with this pick. For a team that swears it is committed to building a core from the draft you seriously have to question a pick like this one.

The Rangers needed to use this pick better than they did as while Kreider just might become a productive player; the issue is when will that happen. We disagree with Gordie Clark when he says the Rangers see him as being ready in 2-3 years.

Sorry it is very doubtful to expect someone to go from Kreider's high school level to the NHL in that length of time.

We will use Clark's own beliefs against him here. Clark believes players need to dominate at the level they are at before advancing to the next level. If Clark's 2-3 year prediction is to be true then Kreider will have about 100-120 games of experience under his belt.

If Kreider was coming from the USHL, any of the Canadian Junior "A" leagues or even out of the United States National Developmental Program then the tranistion to the NCAAs would be different. At least in those leagues prospects play close to the same number of games played at the NHL level.

It also is a concern that in the video interview Clark did here that when asked if Kreider was the best skater, Clark said no the fastest. Speed is a great thing but you need more than just speed when skating and Clark appeared unwilling to say more than just Kreider was fast.

The Rangers called Kreider an "elite athlete" but did not go into specifics such as how well he plays in traffic, how is Kreider playing the physical game or what is Kreider like on defense. With all the other prospects that were available at 19 there was something about them good or bad.

It is almost as if you wonder if the Rangers themselves really are all in agreement about this pick. Watch Sather's interview here and wonder if he really knows a whole lot about this pick.

Yes nobody really knows how a prospect is going to eventually develop but the Rangers are not in a position where they can wait 4-5 years for a prospect to finally develop. They need help yesterday because of the mess the Rangers have created for themselves.

Even worse is that while Kreider is still attending Boston College others like Jordan Caron will be making life miserable for the Rangers with the Bruins or Carter Ashton with Tampa Bay. Both of those players were better fits for what the Rangers needs are.

Both of those players will be in the NHL within 2 years and again that is not Kreider's fault but you really have to wonder how serious the Rangers really are about becoming a Stanley Cup contender before 2200. While Kreider is at Boston College does anyone doubt that the Rangers will once again try to spend their way out of the mess they are in?

And again while this is not the fault of Kreider but there is going to be a gap of talent because of the tragic loss of Cherepanov but also the failure of Antoine Lafleur to develop. Those were the top 2 picks out of the 2007 draft and right now the only hope is that both Max Campbell and Carl Hagelin develop otherwise an entire draft class will be lost.

2006 brought the Rangers Bobby Sanguinetti and Artem Anisimov but not much more so now while 2008 looks to be a rock solid draft the Rangers need top level talent and they need it sooner than 4-5 years from now.

Day 2 is going to hopefully bring the Rangers more than role players but day 1 right now is suspect.

(Kreider courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images/NHL)

Hartford needs more talent to keep the prospect pipeline flowing and

The First Round of the Draft

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:06:00 +0000

NHL draft

The Season Opener

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:45:00 +0000

The actual games are still months away but for New York Ranger fans the 2009-2010 season is going to start on Friday when the 2009 NHL Draft begins. The draft starts what should be the first real look at the direction that the Rangers will be taking over the next couple of seasons.

It is the real start of the John Tortorella era as the players selected will represent the transition to the Tortorella system. What remains to be seen is exactly how much of any input that Tortorella is going to have on the selections or on the eventual makeup of the roster.

If the Rangers use their first round pick on yet another puck moving defenseman it is pretty safe that the Ranger Universe is not going to react very kindly. Size, scoring as well as speed are going to be the top needs for the Rangers at the draft.

Forget the stuff you have been reading anywhere (even here) but watch rather the kinds of players the Rangers select. How well they are as skaters will help give an idea as to whether or not Tortorella had a lot to say about which prospects got selected.

The Rangers own picks at 19 (1st rd) 47 (2nd), 80 (3rd), 127, 140, 151 (5th), 170 (6th), and 200 (7th). The typical expectations are the picks in the first 3 rounds but the real work of the scouts are the ones they find in the later rounds (5th to 7th).

We expect the Rangers to make a couple of deals during the draft trying to get a pick into the 4th round as this draft is in our eyes a strong 3 rounds deep. If the Rangers can grab 3 forwards in the top half of the draft then they can concentrate on a goalie and then some depth in the later rounds.

With all due respect to Gordie Clark, we do not agree that the quality of goalies in this year's draft is weak but quite the opposite. If it was us at the draft table then we would seriously consider taking one goalie from the CHL and another playing in the NCAAs.

A strong goalie is a major must under the Tortorella system and we will repeat our belief that if anything happens to Henrik the Rangers will be in serious trouble. Just remember what happened when Mike Richter had his career ended for him.

Once the draft ends then on Monday we get to start the free agent season as that is the day that Restricted Free Agents must be tendered qualifying offers. Those who are not tendered offers will become unrestricted free agents.

The easy guesses are that Brandon Dubinsky, Dane Byers, Ryan Callahan and Lauri Korpikoski will get their qualifying offers. Those not expected to be tendered offers are Fredrik Sjostrom, Corey Potter and Greg Moore as there remains doubts as to whether the Rangers see them as viable options for the future.

The question mark becomes the decision on whether to tender Nikolai Zherdev at 3.25 million dollars or not. Despite being the Ranger's second leading scorer Zherdev did not always come across as a hard working player and that is not going to cut it with Tortorella.

The one factor that will play into whether Zherdev gets tendered an offer or not is whether the Rangers think they can resign Unrestricted Free Agent Nik Antropov. We think the Rangers will tender Zherdev at least until they know which direction they see Nik Antropov heading.

If they can make a deal with Antropov then expect the screws to tighten on Zherdev.

On the other hand, it is almost a given that neither Colton Orr or Blair Betts will be back next season. Both saw their playing time diminish during both the end of the regular season as well as the playoffs but losing them just might come back to haunt the Rangers.

Orr is the only real enforcer the Rangers have and Betts is one of the top penalty killers in the entire NHL. Dane Byers if he makes the Rangers will try to replace Orr but how the Rangers can replace Betts is a serious question.

Do the Rangers try to resign Nik Antropov, Paul Mara and Derek Morris? The Rangers may say they are interested but they simply do not have the money to afford them. Antropov needs to sign for the same amount as Zherdev not anything more.

Mara for reasons that escape us does not seem to mesh with Tortorella but if Orr leaves the Rangers are going to need as much team toughness as possible. We would sign Mara to buy time to insure that Sauer is ready for the NHL or play if he is not.l

Derek Morris simply loses out because the Rangers do not have the money to pay his salary and if the Rangers can not move either Rozsival or Redden then it makes no sense to re-sign him. We also believe that spots need to be opened for Matt Gilroy or Bobby Sanguinetti who will be more cost effective options.

In any case between the draft and free agency Ranger fans should get to see some early fireworks.

The only question is whether or not they will be happy fireworks or will the explosions be backlash from angry Ranger fans.

Buckle up folks and get ready for a ride.

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Draft Day Chats

Our Friday evening is going to busy but if you want to find places to chat about the draft here is where Prospect Park is going to be.

Our new friend thegoalieguild.com will be hosting a chat that we will be joining in on during the draft.

Another spot to check out will be the Program as we will be calling in to talk to them during the night.

And right here in case anyone is interested we will try to host a live chat here for anyone interested via the Cover It Live software.

Limited Options

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:51:00 +0000

It was interesting to have read the words of Gordie Clark the New York Rangers Director of Player Personnel last week as he talked about the Ranger's intentions regarding the draft among other issues. Actually it was very disappointing because you have to take what Clark said with less than a grain of salt.

Right off the bat one has to acknowledge that nobody is going to disclose their true plans for either the entry draft or free agency nor should you expect them to. The problem though is that few believe that the Rangers have the cap space to sign a high end free agent or to make any kind of serious impact trade unless they give up a few of the top prospects the Rangers have so few of.

In starting with the draft; the Rangers may want to try to move up but at what cost? It is very doubtful that the Rangers have the ability to make a serious jump into the top end of the draft so expect the Rangers to either stay at 19.

This will be a very deep draft so if the Rangers would actually do themselves some good if they went in the other direction and traded down to either the end of the first round or just out of it. We are projecting this to be a 3 round deep draft and the Rangers could find the help they need while being able to add still more talent to bolster the talent pool.

Do not laugh but the Rangers might want to talk to the Islanders about a trade as the Islanders want to get a higher second pick in the first round than 26th. The Islanders have picks at 31, 36, 57 and 62 (3rd rd) while the Rangers only have 19th, 47 and 80 (3rd rd).

It would be perhaps the safest as well as most cost effective way for the Rangers to make the transition to the John Tortorella era. The Rangers in brutal honesty do not have many players either on the Rangers, on Hartford or among the prospects who's game is suited for the Tortorella system.

There are other reasons why the Rangers need to seriously consider stockpiling draft picks rather than trying to move up. Talent gaps in first Hartford and as well as what appears a drop in draft quality upcoming years like 2011.

In the second to third round area the Rangers could get themselves prospects like a Alex Chiasson (6'4 190) who is a hidden gem who will grow into his body while he attends Boston University. Chiasson wants to be like Vincent LeCavalier needs work on his skating but his overall game for a big man is impressive.

Another is Chris Brown a 6'2 center who we think his future is at wing, Brown is a tough kid who plays a 2 way game and will be joining Carl Hagelin at Michigan next season. Jimmy Bubnick (6'2 195) gets mixed reviews from the scouts mainly because his skating needs a lot of work but he might be a sleeper pick worth a 3rd rounder on.

Gordie Clark may tell the beat media that this year's crop of goalies is weak but boy his voice is in the minority. We expect the Rangers to select at least 1 goalie out of what we see as one of the best goalie crops in years.

The Rangers can hold off until the 5th round and find themselves a rock solid goalie prospect. They need to because if anything happens to Henrik Lundqvist then the Rangers are in trouble as neither Matt Zaba or Miika Wiikman have shown any sign of developing into NHL starting goalies.

Still another reason to move down is that the Rangers if they plan on making any kind of trade to either shed salary or bring in more offense will more than likely have to offer up one of the better prospects as trade bait. Like it or not in order to get something of value the Rangers are going to need to give up something of value.

We do not like the idea of trading away any of the few really talented prospects but the Rangers have put themselves into a corner thanks to the bad moves of the past. Sorry if you think Rozsival, the rights to Zherdev and a draft pick is going to get you a Danny Heatley then you are mistaken.

The Rangers even if they buy out the contract of a Wade Redden will still take a hit on the salary cap so the only real option to remove his salary is to either talk him into going to the KHL (who will not pay him any kind of money like he is used to) or exile Redden to the AHL for each of the remaining years of his contract.

The Rangers we are sad to say are going to do a lot of talking but their best move is to not a lot of walking their talk. They have already done enough damage with their talk.

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Leetch in the Hall of Fame

Like every other Ranger fan we are happy to see Brian Leetch being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on his first attempt. It is an honor that is well deserved and for the Rangers it has been a long time since a home grown Ranger has earned this honor.

At the same time we are sad that Mike Richter is not joining Leetch in the same class as it would have been a major coup for Ranger fans. Mikey is well deserving of being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame so maybe Ranger fans need to start on a campaign of their own to ensure that Mikey is selected next year for the Hall of Fame.

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Draft Day Coverage

We are going to be all over the place on Friday including if people are interested right here with a live chat as the draft happens. It is last minute but if people are interested we can hold a chat right here or direct you to where we will be during the draft.

Fixing the Rangers From the Top

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Our friend The Dark Ranger wrote an interesting piece at his site called "Stopping the Clown Parade at Cablevision" in which he reports on a Wall Street Journal piece calling for James Dolan to step down as CEO of Cablevision. The bad news in that piece is that if Dolan did in fact do that then he would just run Madison Square Garden.

The thought of James Dolan as an active owner involved with the New York Rangers just might be the worst possible nightmare for Ranger fans. It is already bad enough that Dolan who claims to know nothing about hockey leaves Glen Sather to do as he pleases but given what Ranger fans have seen from what Dolan has done for the Knicks then thank you very much but please stay away James Dolan.

Still it did get me to thinking about how I would run the Rangers if I had the chance and it is a tad more complicated than just firing Glen Sather. When I look at the Rangers I see a headless monster because there is no oversight over Glen Sather that would realize there were problems unless it came with a sea of red ink.

By then the Dolans saw how much money they were losing then it would be too late, the team would be in the toilet. Fixing the Rangers is going to be a lot harder than eating contracts, firing people or any of the more common solutions.

To fix the Ranger franchise it will require a total overhaul of the structure that is Madison Square Garden. Really has anyone ever looked at the entire command structure at MSG? If not take a peek here and can any of you figure out who does what?

It has to start with a change of mindset at the very top of the MSG food chain. It starts by splitting the current duties of President and General Manager into 2 different positions. When you look around the NHL you will see that the better run franchises have someone with a hockey background overseeing the General Manager.

Is it any wonder that as soon as John Davidson took over the St. Louis Blues as President that the franchise is turning itself around? How Detroit has Jim Devallano looking over the shoulder of GM Ken Holland.

How about more to support this belief like Boston with Harry Sinden or Chicago who brought in Scotty Bowman as an adviser. In other words look at the teams that are finishing towards the top of the NHL or are on the upswing as franchises and see how they are run.

Of course you can also look at those teams that are continuing to struggle and take a peek to see how they are run. In essence the more hockey experience one has at the top of the food chain the better the odds of a being a winner.

Right now when you look at the very top of the MSG corporation you see nobody with any kind of hockey background who would say "Hey Glen this is not right" because none of them know how to run a hockey team.

I know the question you are thinking is "who would we bring in as the head of hockey operations for the Rangers then?" The answer is to look back at what worked for the Rangers in the past. It was an then unknown Assistant General Manager for the Detroit Red Wings who finally got the Rangers to the Cup win.

Look at the big names who the Rangers hired to run the franchise like Esposito, Ferguson, Shero and more but they all failed to get the job done. The bigger the name the worse they did it seemed but then along came Neil Smith and despite how he left the Rangers got the job done in 1994.

Neil Smith was running the Red Wing farm system but was hungry; wanting to build up a rep as a NHL GM. In other words hire someone like a Jim Nill (Vice President for the Red Wings) as Team President who is a major reason why the Red Wings can find prospects every year and develop them into productive players as the Ranger president.

Hire some like a Jim Nill who has a strong background as both a winner but as a planner. Let Nill decide who he wants as GM but for now we would still keep Schoenfeld at least to give Nill a chance to look over the hockey operations.

Schoenfeld as GM, I believe can run the Rangers and having the mistakes of Sather right in his eyes would be much smarter to learn from them rather than repeating them. Let Schoenfeld bring in his own assistant to run Hartford but he and Coach John Tortorella will have 3 years to show forward progress (read that as showing overall franchise improvement in all areas) or they get the pink slip.

We will not demand Cup Contenders in 3 years because it just might take longer to build the franchise into an annual Cup contender not just a "one and done." Then we streamline the Ranger's hockey operations because as we used to say in the Army "Too Many Chiefs and not enough Indians."

Mike Barnett is not needed as an adviser to the President and GM nor is he needed as the Director of US Scouting (Scouting belongs to Gordie Clark), thus this position is not needed. Cameron Hope is the resident cap expert and is still needed as is John Rosasco but we move Rosasco into the player side and out of publicity because he does more than people realize.

Gordie Clark runs all of the scouting departments as well as player development while Christer Rockstrom runs all of the European scouting including the professional side which eliminates the need for Anders Hedberg. Clark has an assistant to cover the professional scouting area but final decisions will come from Clark and Rockstrom.

Adam Graves moves into a new position which is roving scout and instructor for the prospects. Yes it is always nice to see Gravy at fan events but firsthand experience has shown me that Graves is more important to use as a teacher for the unsigned prospects.

Having watched how prospects talk about suggestions that Graves has made to them has shown me that he is the perfect teacher during the season for them. Sending Graves to work with the prospects will get a much better response because of who Graves is. Graves also would be freeing up the amateur scouts who have to check on current prospects to concentrate on finding new talent for the Rangers.

Another change to be made would be to add a second goalie coach to work with Benoit Allaire (provided he remains with the Rangers) who will work with Hartford, Charlotte and the prospect goalies. Allaire's main job has to be working with the Ranger goalies so getting him an assistant is a smart move.

We watched as Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) badly struggled with his form and confidence which makes someone who can go to the prospects and work with them a worthwhile investment.

Of course the one move that every Ranger fan dreams of is replacing James Dolan as the Chairman of Madison Square Garden. There is one man who we wonder what would have happened if he remained in charge and our first choice to run the Garden Bob Gutowski

It was Gutowski who sat Neil Smith and Mike Keenan down and told them to work together or get fired together. It was on Gutowski's watch that both the Knicks and Rangers played for their league championships in the same season.

It has been on Dolan's watch that both teams have missed the playoffs in the same season; do we need any more to say about why I would bring Gutowski back to run the Garden.

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Programming Note

The folks at the The Blueshirtbanter.com have invited me to take part in a chat next Tuesday at 8PM/5PM to talk about the upcoming draft as well as the rest of the Ranger prospect world.

Hope folks show up and ask away as I have gotten to know Jim of the Blueshirt Banter and he is a really nice guy. Others expected to attend are "The Mouth" of Ranger Crisis as I hope Ryan from The Manic Ranger .

But really I would really like the chance to be able to chat with those of you who make up Prospect Park which is you folks who read and send in information as well as pictures.

Living Off Someone Else's Past

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:35:00 +0000

So all over the New York Ranger Universe, Ranger fans got a chance to relive that happy moment of the Rangers finally putting an end to curse of 1940 by defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 2-1 and win the Stanley Cup. Not going to begrudge any Ranger fan who enjoyed their chance to revisit that moment in time.

But can I ask exactly how long are Ranger fans are going to be willing to let Cablevision live off a cup that they have exactly zero to with? After 15 years it is time to put 1994 away and not allow Cablevision to live off this cup win.

Really if you look at things then you see that what our "friends" at MSG have done is trade "1940" for "1994". 15 years is too long a time for a franchise to be living in the past.

Really think about the last 15 years for a second because there is another 15 year anniversary coming up that I really doubt any Ranger, Knick or New York sports fan period will want to celebrate. I am talking about the 15th anniversary of Cablevision partnering with ITT to purchase Madison Square Garden.

Just about 6 weeks after the Rangers had their celebration, Cablevision took over and the Ranger universe has been a huge mess ever since. Yet year after year we get to see reminders about the 1994 team whether it is retiring someone's number or the folks at MSG or Rangers.com bringing it up.

How about for a 15th year anniversary of Cablevision's ownership that MSG host a highlight show of all the Ranger accomplishments on their watch. They can show Dave Checketts telling us "How long do we have to pay (Messier) for that cup win?" from 1997.

Why they can show us 7 years of games where the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention. How about highlights from 7 different press conferences introducing new Ranger coaches?

Then there is that special on Neil Smith and how he emptied out the prospect pool trading them off for guys like Marty McSorley or THE Nathan Lafayette (cmon you remember his hitting the post in Game 7 don't you?).

How about a mini-marathon about free agent signings like Bruce Driver, Valeri Kamensky, Zdeno Ciger, and everyone's favorite Dmitri Kalinin. MSG can pull out great plays from Jozef Balej, Fedor Fedorov and Pavel Brendl.

And for fight fans who can forget Theo Fleury taking on the San Jose Shark's mascot in the most epic of battles. All this and more for the anniversary of Cablevision owning the Rangers.

No wonder why Cablevision and the Rangers trot out the 1994 Stanley Cup finals for when they want to show Ranger highlights. It is very sad to realize that 15 years after the Cup win that there really is no highlight of their own to show Ranger fans.

It is a lot easier than tryin to explain how since 1994 there have been 16 different teams that have gotten a shot at the Stanley Cup and none of them are the Rangers. The Rangers trot out excuse after excuse as to why they to this day are not annual cup contenders.

We get told every year that the Rangers are going to "retool" with the eventual goal of winning the Stanley Cup but at what point can we ask when they are going to stop retooling and just rebuild?

The 2009-10 season will be the tenth year of Glen Sather's leadership of the Rangers; we get to see other teams firing their General Managers after 3-4 seasons for failing to advance their team but not the Rangers. When in doubt just pull out the 1994 Cup finals, bring out Mikey, Mess, Graves and Leetch to remind fans of days long past.

Sorry but I do not want to see anymore 1994 reruns until after the Rangers win their next Stanley Cup.

I just hope it won't be in 2048.

(Messier courtesy of the New York Daily News)

Earn The Trust Back

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:53:00 +0000

It seems like we have to go though this every year now; the Ranger's ownership and management talks about the things they say they are going to do and Ranger fans go "where have we heard this before?"

Yet as we enter the 10th season under Glen Sather we find the Ranger franchise is still struggling to put together the right mix of players and even coaches to turn the team into a Cup Contender.

Yes there are some promising prospects now in the system but those who only follow the Rangers are not seeing all the positives that we might. They are only seeing bad contracts being given to players like Wade Redden (and now fans are including Scott Gomez too) as well as more disappointing finishes to the season.

Ranger fans see that the prices of their tickets (and odds are their cable/satellite bills, their merchandise and other Ranger related items) going up despite being in one of the worst recessions in decades.

So when the ticket price hikes were announced Ranger fans were treated to an open letter from Glen Sather that started off like this:

Five years ago, we made it our priority to build the New York Rangers team for long-term success by developing a core foundation of young players and adding key veterans as our youngsters matured. Our philosophy remains steadfast, and this past season, six young players whose NHL careers began here in New York played major roles in taking us to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

So why not start the off-season with a couple of kind of important positive moves? What we are talking about is signing Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan to contracts as soon as the Cup Finals are over.

Walk that talk and show Ranger fans that these young homegrown players are very important parts of the core foundation as you say.
There is no doubt in the minds of Ranger fans that Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan are important parts of that core foundation.

Both are Restricted Free Agents so why make them wait for their contracts? Signing 2 unknown (to Rangers fans) European players is not going to inspire confidence but resigning 2 fan favorites will show that commitment that Glen Sather talks about.

There is no need for the Rangers to make either wait as the current CBA is going to limit how much both can be paid. The most that either Dubinsky (635,000) and Callahan (600,000) can make on their next contract will be 1 million in salary according to the CBA.

Both want to remain Rangers, neither are interested in looking at other teams so why not do a positive thing and take care of them now instead of waiting. The Rangers have to make the offer sheet by no later than the 29th so what is the difference going to make if you do it now?

The answer is that Ranger fans will see a positive first step towards the promises made by the Ranger's management. It helps bring excitement to the fans who see good news instead of leading off with salary dumping of contracts which everyone is expecting to see happen.

See the reason why we are making a big deal out of this is that when it comes to taking care of Restricted Free Agents, the Rangers have tended to show their bad side more than their good side.

Remember the Sean Avery arbitration? That could have been avoided if handled better and that is what we would like to see the Rangers do. The Rangers traditionally have made their RFAs wait until everyone else is taken care of and that is wrong.

Reward Dubinsky and Callahan for their hard work while showing Ranger fans that those words from above are not hollow.

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Former Rangers in the News

Jeff Beukeboom who spent last season as an assistant coach with the Barrie Colts of the OHL has accepted the same position with the Sudbury Wolves of the same league.

Greg Gilbert who was let go as the coach of the AHL Toronto Marlies is one of the names being mentioned for the WHL Everett Silvertips. The Silvertips are run by another former Ranger Doug Soetart.

Colin Lidster 19, son of Doug Lidster was traded to the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL. Young Lidster (6'4 225) is expected to play for Quinnipac in the 2010-11 season as a forward. Doug Lidster is an assistant coach with the Canadian National Women's Hockey team.

Jay Wells is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL as they stayed alive in the AHL finals with a 3-2 win in game 5 to send the series back to Manitoba.

Former Hartford Coach Ryan McGill is expected to become an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the last as head coach of the AHL farm team of the Calgary Flames.

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Note to Devil fans; if you think that Brent Sutter left the job with the Devils just so he could return to Red Deer think again. Most out west think that more likely that Sutter will become the replacement for Mike Keenan at Calgary under his brother Darryl.

The only question is how much of a deal will Lou want from the Flames to release Sutter from the 1 year remaining on his contract? If you see a deal between the 2 teams in the next couple of weeks bet on Brent's release being a part of the deal on the quiet side.

(Dubinsky and Callahan pictures courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Eyeballing the Franchise- The Wings (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:52:00 +0000

The prospect side of the wingers is not much different from those on the Rangers as you have a mix of everything; some real promise, some can become players if things break right, some role players and then those who are taking themselves out of the picture. In this case we are going to go from the very promising to the not so promising.

We start with Dane Byers quite simply because if not for a major knee injury suffered early last season then he would already have been a Ranger. Byers has worked his rear end off making himself into a player as we see him as a high energy player who will kill penalties, will score some goals, will get in your face if you mess with a teammate but the best part is he can also be the shutdown winger on a checking line.

In our eyes Byers can replace both Voros and Sjostrom on the roster because he will do what both combined could not do; give the Rangers 100% effort with production every night. That he will also save the Rangers some money is a nice side benefit as well.

We gladly pat ourselves on the back for correctly predicting that Evgeny Grachev would have a monster season with Brampton. 40-40-80 in the regular season followed by 11-14-25 in the playoffs makes him the power forward prospect that Ranger fans want to see make the jump from the OHL to the NHL.

Except for us as we think that Grachev despite all his talent and size needs to be brought along slowly and not rushed. Grachev and his coach Stan Butler both pointed out he needed to learn to work hard every night in North America and he is learning that lesson.

We would like to see Grachev (who is just 19) spend time at Hartford adjusting to the travel, the grind and the speed of the professional game. Let him grow a little more into his body because thanks to all the hype (that we are just as guilty of) we fear Ranger fans are going to expect too much from Grachev too soon as will the Rangers.

Dale Weise became the first Ranger prospect in the Sather era to be drafted, signed and assigned to Hartford in the same year. Credit that to the folks in Swift Current who demanded Weise become something and that he did.

Weise started slowly as a pro and we wondered if perhaps it would have been better if Weise had been returned to Swift Current for another season. Towards the end of the season, Weise did improve as he played well down the stretch and during Hartford's brief playoff run.

Weise needs at least another year in Hartford fine tuning his game but it will be worth the wait.

Brodie Dupont had a rough first season with Hartdford then almost doubled his output last season so we expect him to improve those numbers even more next season with Hartford. Dupont will need to also need to step up as a leader like he was with Calgary and show the Rangers how badly he wants to make it to the NHL.

Dupont has the tools and the size but he might start running into a logjam as the Rangers bring in more players who fill the same role. The best way to force separation would be to put up huge numbers that we believe the Moose is capable of.

Jordan Owens is the perfect definition of a late bloomer, when the Rangers signed him as an undrafted free agent few thought of him as a legit prospect. Owens is the prime example of what you want to see out of a fringe prospect; someone who is not going to let anyone else out work him, not going to let anyone out hustle him and will play whatever role is ask of him.

Owens rightfully earned himself a Ranger contract because of his hard work and dedication and while we still are not ready to say he is Broadway bound, we are also not discounting him either. Owens like Dupont is going to need a monster season next year in Hartford to remain on the path towards Broadway but as we are learning very quickly not to count him out.

Justin Soryal we have to admit was someone we were rooting for last season as the very likable young man knows how to make believers out of you. Injuries hurt his progress as Soryal only got to play in 43 games but very quickly one thing became known throughout the AHL; this is a guy you do not want to fight.

Soryal we still believe can be more than a goon based upon his very soft hands but he has to stay in the lineup and out of the penalty box to show that. We believe in year 2 of his pro career that Soryal will do less fighting and more scoring but we project him more as a 3rd-4th liner so improving his defense is also going to be a must for him.

Andres Ambuhl was just recently signed by the Rangers coming over from HC Davos of the Swiss league. Since we have no firsthand knowledge it would be wrong of us to try to project whether or not he is Ranger or Hartford material.

We will be fair to him and not lump him into the same pile of last year's European signings other than to point out that Ambuhl was signed by the professional scouting side of the Rangers NOT the amateur side led in Europe by Christer Rockstrom.

Pierre-Alexandr Parenteau is someone that Ranger fans see his numbers and wonder why the Rangers do not call up. The answer is that as a smallish winger on a team that has plenty of smallish wingers Parenteau simply has no real chance to earn a roster spot.

Two 2006 draft picks find themselves in a must improve season or else they will be passed by in Tomas Zaborsky and Ryan Hillier. Each struggled to find their game for different reasons as Zaborsky who is a very smallish forward at least earned a promotion up to Hartford while Hillier got off to a bad start due to injuries and never really found his game.

Right now neither we are sad to say are pointed towards a career with the Rangers unless they show vast improvement next season

We are always asked if David Kveton is going to come over and if he does will he have an impact. Our answer is we simply do not know but based upon his track record we think he has a better chance of playing in the KHL than the NHL. Kveton has been more about instant results and that bothers us that he is unwilling to pay his dues to earn his Ranger uniform. Not acceptable when you see what other prospects are doing to make it to the Rangers.

Chris Doyle was the Rangers 5th round pick in the 2008 season. His is the tale of 3 seasons in 1 as Doyle was the only draft pick not to earn an invite to the Ranger training camp out of Traverse City.

To his credit Doyle responded with a monster of a start where he was actually at one point was the 2nd leading scorer in the QMJHL deep into December. However he injured a disc in his back and struggled for 2 months before heating up at the end of the season.

Doyle heads back to the QMJHL without a contract and as an overager but his power play skills is his door to a professional career so it is up to Doyle to come out as hot as he did last season and stay that way all season long.

Danny Hobbs was the Ranger's second 7th round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft and spent last season as a freshman at UMass/Amherst. It was a struggle for Hobbs who only registered 1-1-2 for his season and spent a lot of time as a healthy scratch for the Minutemen.

Hobbs has the advantage of having 3 more seasons to try to work his way back into the prospect picture but right now it is hard to say he is on the Ranger's radar given more promising prospects.

Greg Beller (2005 6th)is in his final year of being a draft pick of the New York Rangers and it is hard to see him earning a Ranger contract. If there ever was a prospect who had more bad luck to his career it was Beller.

2 broken collarbones in the same season, a coaching change after being recruited by Yale led to his departure midway of his sophomore season, back to the BCHL for half a season then missing yet another half season with the University of Manitoba as a transfer. In other words Beller over the last 4 years has only gotten to play a total of 61 games.

Beller is going to be one of those "if only" prospects as we wonder what would have happened if he have gotten to play and stay healthy. 6'3 220 with the skills of a smaller player was how he was once described to us as.

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So What Happens with the Rangers?

That is the biggest question as in our eyes the key days to watch remain June 26-29th as you have the 2009 Entry Draft but also the day that the Rangers must either tender offers to their restricted free agents or let them walk with no compensation in return.

If the Rangers are truly committed to a transition towards a team built for John Tortorella's attacking offense then we will see a shift in the kind of players drafted as well as which players are offered offer sheets.

What you will not see is a rebuild which remains the one and only true way to fix this franchise and return it back towards Stanley Cup contention.

(pictures Doyle courtesy of Prince Edward Island Rocket, Hobbs courtesy of UMass/Amherst and all others courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Eyeballing the Franchise- The Wings (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:53:00 +0000

Saving the biggest problem area for last, the Ranger wingers are a mixed bunch as you have some very hard workers, some highly frustrating performers and some who are going to have to step it up or be replaced by others.

You expect your goal scoring to come from your wingers and when the best your team can manage is a high of 24 goals then you have a serious offensive problem.
That is why the Rangers will need to make some very tough choices but one very easy one.

Ryan Callahan has come a very long way from people swearing that he was too small and too skinny to ever become an NHL regular. Off a breakout season where he put up 22-18-40, Callahan is a no brainer when it comes to the Rangers resigning.

One of the very few Rangers who there was never any worry about his work ethic, Callahan by rule can be offered no less than 660,000 and no more than 1 million. Given what the Rangers have paid to others then Callahan is a bargain even at 1 mil.

We can only hope that Sather does not follow his traditional pattern of making his own restricted agents go through hell by low balling them. Callahan has earned his raise so just give it and move on to the next player.

On the other hand there is Nikolai Zherdev also a restricted free agent who the Rangers really need to think hard about whether or not to resign him. Under the CBA the Rangers are required to offer Zherdev 100% of his 2008 salary which was at least 3.25 million depending on which salary site you believe.

Zherdev may have been the Ranger's 2nd leading scorer on the team but it was very clear that he did not always work hard or simply did not think out his game plan. There is no question that Zherdev is very talented and if the Rangers can find a way to harness his talent then Zherdev has the potential to be a 40-50 goal scorer.

The problem is that Zherdev has found himself in the doghouse of every NHL coach he was ever played for. How can the Rangers gamble on Zherdev finally deciding to work hard when they have so much already tied up on bad contracts?

Marcus Naslund's retirement had the bonus of freeing up salary cap money but it did have one drawback; let Zherdev walk and that means the Rangers lost their top 2 goal scorers from last season. It means that the Rangers just might be forced to resign Zherdev or gamble that they can find a replacement at his salary.

Then we have the other Russian with some serious question marks about should the Rangers keep or let go in Nik Antropov who is an Unrestricted Free Agent. If you look strictly at the overall numbers then you see Antropov was 28-31-59 which were career highs for him.

The problem in using those numbers is that what gets lost in the stats is that the goals for the most part came in bunches of 3 game spurts (5 total) and that Antropov found himself called out in public by Toronto's GM Brian Burke for his play.

Watch what Brian Burke says about the Anropov trade and it should also make you nervous about resigning someone who in 9 seasons has been a true underachiever. One year deal at 2 million only if that is your only option but no long term deal for Antropov.

Sean Avery left the Rangers for Dallas, said a dumb remark which led to an even dumber suspension by Gary Bettman which in turn led to Dallas exiling him and eventually back to the Rangers where Avery got the money he wanted and the Rangers only having to pay what they wanted. Oh and did we forget to mention how the Ranger spin cycle swore up an down how the Rangers were better off with out the cancer AKA Avery in the locker room?

The Sean Avery soap opera took away from how for reasons that nobody has ever figured out why the Rangers have a great record with Avery in the lineup. Avery has his demons still but IF he can decide to concentrate on playing hockey without the outside stuff then the Rangers have a player who can put up 20-25 goals for them.

Take away all the distractions and Avery is a pretty good hockey player, he is an effective penalty killer, a player willing to fight to set up in the crease and a player who can draw penalties for you. Avery though is best suited for a 2nd-3rd line role not 1st line responsibility; limit him to 15-18 minutes a game and he stays in control of himself, the more he plays the higher the risk for a meltdown.

Lauri Korpikoski had an uneventful rookie season with the Rangers for the most part. Korpikoski (also a Restricted Free Agent) was 6-8-14, -10 in 68 games with the Rangers but the biggest problem we felt was as in the case with most rookies a very undefined role on the team.

Korpikoski was used in a variety of ways by both Ranger coaches but never for more than a few games at a time which is a mistake in our eyes when it comes to player development. Define what you want out of Korpikoski and then allow him to become that kind of player (if you ask us we say us his speed on offense).

The Rangers have to offer Korpikoski 1 million to keep his rights and again because of the CBA the Rangers would only be entitled to a 3rd round pick should they not sign Korpikoski. A 3rd round pick for the player selected 19th in the 2004 draft would mean the Rangers took a bath on both first round picks from that draft.

Expect the Rangers to resign Korpikoski more for his low cap number than anything else.

Colton Orr has come a very long way since being a scrap heap pick up in 2005. Orr is considered one of the top enforcers in the NHL but the question is does he have a role in the John Tortorella system.

Orr, an unrestricted free agent saw his playing time disappear towards the end of the regular season but until the Rangers add some legit toughness to the lineup remains a must have. Lose Orr who is an Unrestricted Free Agent and all the Rangers have are middle weights or unproven youngsters.

We will be surprised if Orr is resigned and we very much hope to be wrong as in our eyes Orr is very much needed.

Aaron Voros is a player who basically leaves us scratching our heads as we wonder how he kept his spot on the roster. Voros like he did the year before while with the Wild got off to a fast start on the season and then disappeared.

Voros was a scratch in 18 straight games under John Tortorella and to be honest we wonder why bother carrying someone you are not going to use? Were the Rangers that afraid that someone would have claimed Voros and be on the hook for half his salary?

We see no reason to expect that 2009-10 will be any different so cut your losses now Rangers and open the roster spot for someone who just might bring more to the table like a Dane Byers or Greg Moore next season.

Fredrik Sjostrom is someone who we knew about before he became a Ranger as he once played for Calgary in the WHL. Sjostrom is someone who we really wonder what happened to his development as this was a solid player when we first saw him.

If you would have told us back in 2003 that Fredrik Sjostrom would wind up as a 4th liner for the Rangers only scoring 7 goals we would have laughed at you. Sjostrom was once full of promise as witnessed by his being the 11th pick in the 2001 Entry Draft.

In the WHL, Sjostrom played with an edge to his game, a flair for scoring (34 goals) and a willingness to mix it up (95 PIM) but in the season plus with the Rangers we have seen none of that. We see a player who skates fast but does not finish strong and that sadly is why we think the Rangers should not offer him a contract.

As a Restricted Free Agent, Sjostrom is entitled to an offer of 924,000 and we are sorry but the Rangers with their cap issues need to pass on it as again their are options in Hartford that come cheaper and offer more potential.

So if we are the Rangers then:

Keep: Callahan, Zherdev(only because he is younger than Antropov), Avery, Korpikoski, Orr

Do not bring back: Voros, Antropov, Sjostrom

Next is the Hartford/Prospect look at the options for wingers.

(All pictures courtesy of the Rangers/NHL)

Eyeballing the Franchise- Centers

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:21:00 +0000

On paper it is supposed to be the deepest position within the entire Ranger system but if you ask Ranger fans, many are not happy with what they have been seeing out of this position at the top of the depth chart.

It starts with the team captain Chris Drury as his signing as a free agent was sparked in part due to the killer playoff goal he scored against the Rangers while with the Sabres. Drury's goal scoring numbers have not matched what he did during the 2 years with the Sabres but have been very close to his career average.

Drury has the misfortune of being a Ranger captain in an age when Ranger fans remember Mark Messier and Drury is never going to come close to being that kind of leader like Messier was. Ranger fans rightfully have an issue with paying someone 8 million dollars next season when the production has been only 25 and 22 goals during the previous 2 seasons.

Lucky for Drury that Ranger fans are even more frustrated by the play of Scott Gomez to be screaming for his head as Gomez's will do just fine. Gomez is also due 8 million for next season and whether it is his lazy turnovers, lack of production or the failure to mesh with whoever the Rangers have tried with him; Gomez is going to become Ranger fan's number one target next season.

It is very clear that Gomez is not a first line center nor is he worthy of an 8 million dollar salary which puts him deeper in the fan's doghouse. Gomez may have been the leading scorer on the Rangers but his poor play and constant excuse making has turned off many a Ranger fan.

Then add in the rumors that Gomez "quit" on Tom Renney and you have yourself a player who the fans will want to chase out of town if he does not get off to a good start next season. We doubt that the Rangers will be able to move Gomez given that he is due 29 million over the next 4 seasons.

With 16 million tied up on Drury as well as Gomez then people are rightfully wondering if the Rangers will have the money to resign Brandon Dubinsky as he enters Restricted Free Agency. By rule the Rangers do need to offer him at least 690,000 just to keep his rights but that puts the Rangers on very dangerous ground.

Under the CBA, the most the Rangers can offer him is 1 million but given the cap issues facing the team as well as other players needing to be signed then Dubinsky becomes a viable target for another team. Under the same CBA, if another team offer Dubinsky a contract of 1 million then the Rangers will only get back a 3rd round pick as compensation (Dubinsky was a 2004 2nd round pick).

Dubinsky loves being a Ranger but one has to wonder if he would turn a blind eye to someone offering him a million dollar salary? Not to mention that while Dubinsky may have only had 13 goals last season, Dubinsky was always willing to do whatever was needed on the ice for the team even dropping the gloves against those bigger than him.

If John Tortorella was not just posturing when he raved about plans for Dubinsky next season then the Rangers will show us by no later than June 29th when offer sheets must be tendered by.

Still if the Rangers resign Dubinsky then moving him to wing might be a serious topic of consideration if it opens up space for the expected arrival of Artem Anisimov next season. We pick Dubinsky because he does not show any problems adapting his game to help the team as well as because ideally he is still young that he can switch back with little problem.

Say what you want about his being a 4th line center, about his lack of offensive production but do so at the risk of realizing that Blair Betts was the key to the Ranger's penalty kill. On a team with as little offense that the Rangers have then you have to wonder if they can afford to let Blair Betts walk as an Unrestricted Free Agent?

We do not believe they can given how handcuffed they will be with the contracts of Gomez, Redden and Drury. Unless the Rangers actually buyout contracts then Blair Betts is a must re-sign.

Betts as a penalty killer allows the Rangers to save Drury and/or Gomez from additional on ice minutes and that becomes key in an 82 game season. We do not see any other center with the Ranger system currently able to step in as a replacement so if Betts goes they will need to find someone from the outside.

If that is the case then why let Betts walk?

While most are expecting Evgeny Grachev to make the jump to the Rangers next training camp, the Russian prospect who is the better bet to do is Artem Anisimov who is coming off a 37 goal season with Hartford.

Anisimov is the reason why we see Dubinsky being pushed off to wing to make way for Anisimov as he is not going to be just a defensive minded center as now his offensive game appears to be catching up to his defensive game. Anisimov was needing to fill out his body in order to make the jump and we think while he is not fully there yet; he will be soon.

Anisimov eventually we project as a number 2 center not a number 1 but that is not a bad number 2 to have.

Among the prospects in Hartford, we do not see much else other than Anisimov as Ranger regulars. Greg Moore after being the Ranger yo-yo in the 2007-08 season saw his numbers drop from 26-40-66 to 23-13-39 this past season. Moore never got a sniff from the Rangers as a possible call up as Anisimov has passed him by.

Moore is also a RFA but depth issues as well as none of the younger prospects are ready to make the jump to the professional ranks might convince the Rangers to resign Moore. If brought back then Moore needs to treat this training camp as his last chance to make the Rangers because it just might be.

Paul Crowder is listed as a center but his best future is going to be on the wing. 6'3 202 with good control on the puck will keep him at center while he develops at Hartford.

The question is how fast can Crowder develop as with 3 drafted college prospects coming soon then his window of opportunity is not going to be open for very long. Being big and strong is Crowder's advantage but those coming have more offense which is what the Rangers need badly.

Tom Pyatt is someone we expected more out of when we first followed him. Pyatt was a pure a big game player as we have seen in a long time scoring 43 goals for Saginaw during the 200607 season.

Pyatt has been slow to adapt to the professional ranks and it is not helping that he is just 5'11. Pyatt is also going to need a breakthrough season or he too will fall off the prospect radar.

We hope for Pyatt that he does break though and regain the scoring touch that he had with Saginaw as the Wolfpack will be needing offense next season.

Which will you like the most from Derek Stepan? Will it be his speed that forces people to drag him down? Will it be his hockey smarts that show him making the right choices on the ice? Or will it be that when he gets on the ice his teammates all look that much better?

Stepan was the 2008 2nd round pick but in his own way he could just be the foundation of the Ranger's future if he continues on his current development path. He already is the fastest in the Ranger's system, unlike Gomez you can count on Stepan going north/south not east/west.

Stepan has a maturity not seen in most college sophomores as while he has not said so out loud it is very clear he plans on leaving school in less than 4 years. When he does then the Rangers will be getting a well rounded player.

Carl Hagelin may not be the biggest kid on the block but he is one of the most dangerous penalty killers and forecheckers among the Ranger prospects. Hagelin has been a huge reason why the Michigan Wolverines have had one of the best penalty kills in the NCAAs the last 2 seasons.

Hagelin's drawback has been that he has not spent the off-season in North America working on his body and overall game. We mention that because despite being a very slow starter, Hagelin still was Michigan's 3rd leading scorer and we know he can do a lot better than that.

His NHL future is at left wing but he does play center and does it well enough to merit consideration here.

Max Campbell is the Rodney Dangerfield of Ranger prospects as nobody outside of us will give him any respect. If Campbell was bigger, if Campbell played for someone else, if if if and more ifs but we believe that nobody is measuring one very important thing about Campbell; his warrior heart.

For a franchise that badly needs goal scorers, here is a prospect who plays against 3 of the very best college hockey programs in the NCAA on a regular basis and holds his own. Yes it would be wonderful if Campbell would grow more but even at his current size (6' 175), Campbell parks himself in the crease and outfights people for the puck.

Campbell's Western Michigan Broncos scored 38 power play goals last season; Campbell had 11 of them. Campbell also led the Broncos in goals scored (16), game winning goals (4) and was their 2nd leading scorer (16-15-31).

NCAA rules limit how much time a college player can spend with an NHL team which at times hurts a prospect's development. So what do you say about someone who pays his own way in order to attend a Ranger training camp like Campbell did last year?

We call that person the kind of prospect we want to see on the Rangers because we know he wants to be a Ranger badly.

All in all the Rangers will have enough depth coming out of the center position that a few might wind up shifting to wing but that is not a bad problem to have. For a change we do see a mixture of size, strength. finesse and power.

It is a start but now the problem area up front awaits us as the wingers is where the Rangers do need change as well as an infusion of fresh talent.

(Pictures: Drury, Gomez, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Moore, Pyatt, and Crowder courtesy of the Rangers, Stepan/Wisconsin Badgers, Hagelin/Michigan Wolverines, Campbell/Western Michigan Broncos)

Eyeballing the Franchise- The Defense

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:21:00 +0000

Trying to come up with some cute line to start our look at the Ranger defense though the entire system simply was not worth the effort. What should be one of the biggest strengths on the Rangers has become a major question mark of which direction the Rangers need to take.

On the surface the easy solution sounds very simple; buyout Wade Redden, move out Michael Rozsival and not resign Derek Morris and Paul Mara. Problem is that the Rangers want to "retool" not rebuild their defense which means another gamble or two or three on free agent defensemen which is not the way we believe the team should go.

If the Rangers were to do as the fans would like then it would mean that only Dan Girardi and Marc Staal would return on the blueline while adding at least 4-5 new faces which simply is not going to happen. As unpopular as this will sound at least 2 defensemen will be returning to earn the ire of the Ranger fans next season.

Dan Girardi and Marc Staal are the foundation of the Ranger blueline; both have played solid defense for the team with Girardi chipping in more offense than Staal. John Tortorella would like to see Staal offer up more offense but we think that is a bad idea because there are better offensive options coming up though the system and Staal helps the team best by being the defensive defender.

Staal remaining focused as a "2" means that under the Tortorella system, he will cover for the pinches of his partner. It makes no sense to pair Girardi and Staal up if the Rangers do not bring in a top cover defender.

The Rangers we also seriously doubt will have the money to pay for one anyway. Leave Staal as is and he can look to chip in an occasional goal here or there. Girardi is a great example as to how best to get the most out of Staal as Girardi is more defensive minded but did add some offense.

If it was up to us as to which defenders to keep then we would say Michal Rozsival over Redden for offense and Paul Mara over Derek Morris for everything else. Rozsival is the lesser of the two evils with Redden and it will not be so hard to get rid of him in a year or two once Michael Del Zotto makes it up the ranks.

At least with Rozsival, you are getting someone who's game is not in the steep decline as Redden's game is and with the right defensive partner can have his liabilities masked up to a point. Having a lower cap number than Redden helps Rozsival's case as well.

Paul Mara gets kept because unlike Morris, we felt the Rangers got their money's worth out of him whether it was standing up for his teammates, playing decent defense and being a true team player. Mara wants to be a Ranger and has already given them a salary cut to stay with them which deserves another 1 year contract for his loyalty.

Derek Morris never got going as a Ranger and there is no way to justify the kind of money that Morris thinks he is worth. Morris was paid 3.95 million to produce 5-7-12 for the Coyotes and then just 0-8-8 for the Rangers need we say anymore about his salary?

The problems with Wade Redden are so well documented that it is not worth the space to list why his signing was one major mistake. Just bite the bullet and buy his salary out because nobody not even the folks in the KHL will take on his contract.

For us that means there are 3 spots open on the blueline and we believe that the biggest of blunders made by the Rangers was the inability to carry a 7th defenseman even though it was crystal clear that there was the need for one.

The problem is who gets to fill those 3 spots for the Rangers and our belief that given the most pressing need will be a goal scoring forward that the Rangers might give at least 2 of the prospects a chance to earn a spot on the roster.

The favorite going into training camp to earn a rookie roster spot will be Matt Gilroy the 2009 Hobey Baker winner. Gilroy is on a one way contract as it is but offers the best hope of giving the Rangers an inexpensive option (1.4 million next season) for a 2 way defenseman.

Gilroy comes from the NCAA Champion Boston University and at 25 appears to offer more ready than any of the current prospects in the system. We think that Gilroy can step right in and play the 2nd pair offensive defender spot.

Good shot, nice smarts and does not panic when under pressure will all help with his fast transition to the NHL next year. The question though is do the Rangers believe that Gilroy make the direct jump from the NCAA to the NHL?

The answer might come in what moves the Rangers make during the off-season; if they go in the direction of minor addition that should signal that they expect 1-2 kids to step up and make the team out of training camp.

Michael Sauer is second on our list of those who could make the jump to the Rangers despite the (in our opinion) bungling of his development by John Tortorella last season (which we will skip for now but will file away for future prospect use).

Sauer will take the lessons learned from his very brief stint with the Rangers and learn from them. Sauer is going to be more Beukeboom than Leetch but he is what the Rangers will need as they transition to the Tortorella offensive system.

Sauer's defensive skills will allow his partner to be able to pinch more knowing that Sauer is strong enough defensively to cover for him. Sauer also will surprise people with the occasional goal but our experience with Sauer is that his goals tend to be clutch ones.

Bobby Sanguinetti we will say right off the bat is a favorite of ours so our judgment might be colored here. Sangs is never going to be the defensive stopper, yes his defense at times might have some gaffes to it but used with the right partner then his offense will more than make up for it.

We hear whispers that some with the Rangers do not believe Sanguinetti can improve his defense to play at the NHL level. Sanguinetti is going to prove people wrong as he has had to do since the Rangers drafted him in 2006.

What Sanguinetti is going to do is give the Rangers a much better option on offense than Wade Redden has been. Sanguinetti will not be afraid to shoot the puck from anywhere especially the point on the power play.

We also think that you can not discount his growing up a Ranger fan; Sanguinetti grew up attending Ranger games at the Garden so he knows exactly what he is getting into. Never discount the powerful influence of making your own dream come true (as Brandon Dubinsky did) so keep an eye on Sanguinetti.

We also would pair him with Sauer and you could have the makings of a very lethal partnership.

It seems that for the last 2 years the Rangers have had a prospect who earned a roster spot right out of training camp but did not get his just rewards. Corey Potter was that prospect last year as he clearly earned a spot but yet the Rangers only carried 6 defensemen.

It was a dumb move not to carry Potter and instead he was the annual yo-yo for the Rangers and typically that tends to hurt a prospect's future with a team. We have seen this before where a prospect goes up and down but with each frustrating demotion loses a bit of his game.

That is what we saw happening with Potter at Hartford last season and to put it in other words; callup then demotion is a mind game which does affect your confidence. It is not that Potter did anything wrong but even Superman would wonder what he did wrong if he keeps getting messed with.

Potter we believe got passed by Sauer in the depth chart but we are not ready to write him off just yet. If the Rangers do not resign Mara that might open a door for Potter IF he does resign with the Rangers given his status as a restricted free agent.

Among the prospects while the Rangers can say that 2008 1st round pick Michael Del Zotto will get a long look at training camp, the odds are he is headed back to London of the OHL. Del Zotto is a smaller version of Sanguinetti; a ton of offense but his defensive skill is always going to be questioned.

None of the others at Hartford showed anything that would suggest they are going to challenge for an NHL roster spot. If anything we expect a shakeup among Hartford defenders next season.

In: Ilkka Heikinen, Tomas Kundratek, Tysen Dowzak

Out: Brian Fahey, Vladimir Denisov, Michael Busto

Given all that Mitch Gaulton went though last season we expect he is going to return to the OHL for another season.

The Rangers do have the makings of a solid blueline corp over the next few years as well as having some depth behind it. The concern is going to be will the Rangers remain patient and give the youth a chance to finally develop.

(All pictures courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Brother Can You Spare a Price Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Got to hand it to the Rangers as if there was a way to divert attention from our system wide look at the Rangers, it was the announcement that they were once again raising ticket prices. Raising ticket prices during a recession when you have just had a piss poor year and wasted several millions on poor player decisions.

What was the letter writer thinking when they wrote this? It is mind boggling that someone would try to pass off this kind of letter and think that Ranger fans would buy off on it.

The letter of course:

Rangers Subscribers,

Five years ago, we made it our priority to build the New York Rangers team for long-term success by developing a core foundation of young players and adding key veterans as our youngsters matured. Our philosophy remains steadfast, and this past season, six young players whose NHL careers began here in New York played major roles in taking us to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Yes 5 years ago after wasting the previous 4 years that did nothing but alienate the Rangers from their fans. The problem though is your philosophy is actually the core is overpaid free agents brought in while the young players have to be world beaters who never make any mistakes before they get their chance.

Although we were not satisfied with this past season's results, we believe we are on the right track. We continue to focus on the development of players and are excited about several talented prospects in our system. At the same time, we still have work to do as we strive toward our ultimate goal — to compete for the Stanley Cup each and every season.

Whoever wrote this letter and there is no way we would believe that Glen Sather actually wrote these words must think Ranger fans are the biggest idiots in the world. If the goal is to compete for the Stanley Cup then they are in very serious trouble.

It has been 9 long years since Glen Sather was hired to fix the Rangers and they can not tell us they are getting any closer towards competing for the Cup. If anything wasn't it last season that the Rangers were singing how that with Jagr, Shanny and Avery all gone that Tom Renney finally had a team that would get past the second round.

We all know how well that worked out.

The real goal of the Rangers is just make the playoffs nothing more as one round or two keeps not the Ranger fans happy but the Dolans. Look all over the NHL and see GMs who have done more with their teams get fired when the team fails to show forward progress.

Under the Dolans, forward progress is making sure there is black ink on the ledgers not red. As long as Sather and people make money then they have no reason to fire Sather.

Under the direction of our new Head Coach, John Tortorella, you will see a retooled Rangers team in 2009-10 that will feature a system that emphasizes aggressive forechecking and puck possession. This up-tempo approach has made John an accomplished winner in the NHL, earning a Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year and delivering a Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay in 2004.

The Rangers have "retooled" every year under Sather, every couple of years Sather will say the franchise made some mistakes and they were committed to fixing them. So why should Year 10 of the Sather Era nothing suggests things will be different even under John Tortorella.

If the Rangers really truly want to retool then change the person who builds the roster, change the person who has the final say on who gets signed, traded and promoted. If you think that Glen Sather is going to change his stripes then you believed the contents of this letter.

The key objective for this off-season is to complement our strong defensive play and league-leading penalty-kill with more goal-scoring, stemming from this aggressive system. We are determined to add players who make significant contributions in 2009-10, enabling us to dictate the pace of the game on a regular basis.

How? The Rangers as we speak hardly have enough money to sign their own RFAs so where is all this money going to come from? Despite the increase in ticket prices, the salary cap is not going to increase so the Rangers are not going to be able afford the top level goal scorer this team needs as well as sign their own restricted free agents like Callahan and Dubinsky.

Will the Rangers actually buy out Wade Redden? Trade Scott Gomez? Where are they going to get the cap space to make these moves?

With an All-Star goaltender, and a mix of accomplished veterans and hungry youngsters, we expect to make our fans especially proud this season. Your loyalty and enthusiasm has always made The Garden a very intimidating place for visiting teams, and you will see a team whose style of play makes it even tougher.

A goalie who was worn out at the end of this season, those "accomplished" veterans did more harm than good but the Rangers want you to believe things will get better thanks to more of your money.

We remain humbled and thankful for your energetic support and look forward to seeing you at The Garden for a great season of Rangers hockey.

Sincerely,

Glen Sather, President and General Manager, New York Rangers

Humbled? Did the writer of this letter know that Glen Sather once described Ranger fans and media as "assassins"? Somehow it is very hard to believe that Sather said any of this given his relationship with Ranger fans

Truthfully it is hard to believe that the Rangers really care if the current season ticket holder renews because they got their savior.

That good old waiting list for tickets is back to where the Rangers know that supply and demand once again works in their favor. They know that Ranger fans who have worked their way to a good seat is not going to gamble on losing that seat so he will pay.

The percentage of season ticket holders who do not renew is small enough that the Rangers know selling out is not going to be a problem. As long as the Rangers know that people will keep coming to the Garden then change will not happen and they can keep raising ticket prices every year.

It took 7 straight years without playoffs and a bad boast from James Dolan to get a 10% price cut. It is going to take the fear of red ink to force the Rangers to change their ways and that is the saddest realization of them all. As long as the Rangers can manage that one playoff round with 3 home games then they will be content.

----------------------------------------------------------

June 1st was the deadline in which the Rangers needed to sign Antoine Lafleur to a contract or allow him to re-enter the draft. That there was no announcement by the Rangers of a signing then the 2007 2nd round draft pick can re-enter the draft but it is very unlikely that another team will use a pick on the overage prospect.

As critical of the Rangers as we have been in this case there can be no blame on the team for not signing Lafleur or even the choice of the selection. Lafleur was worth a 2nd round pick at the time but the blame here has to go on the player.

After being drafted Lafleur never was able to show forward progress, never able to show consistency and sadly never able to be the same prospect who was very solid in the 2006-07 season.

Every one loses here as the Rangers lost out on a very talented prospect and Lafleur in our eyes had the tools to become an NHL goalie. Now the Rangers must use a pick in the upcoming draft on another goalie in our eyes to establish depth at the goaltending position.

Eyeballing the Franchise- The Goalies

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:46:00 +0000

One of the most frustrating things about seeing so many mock drafts out there is that most tend to make it look like a beauty pageant and not a true reflection of a team's true needs. Making a pick is based on so many different factor made even worse by your draft position.

The only way to figure out what the Rangers needs are would be to look at what is already in the system whether it is the Rangers, the Wolfpack, the Charlotte Checkers or in the prospect ranks. Just looking at the Rangers and saying "well they need this" is just not enough because the help just might be on the way sooner than one thinks.

In our eyes given that the Rangers have "goalie guru" Benoit Allaire then they should be developing more NHL level goalies. NHL level starting goalies have high "resale" value; you can turn someone who you spent a 3rd or lower draft pick on into a valuable trading chip to help fill holes you may have elsewhere.

For the last 3 years, we have told anyone who would listen that the Rangers needed to add more goalies to their system as well as prospect pool. For the last 3 years we have been told that we are crazy since the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist.

Yes Henrik Lundqvist is one of the very best goalies not only in the NHL but in the entire hockey world, no question about it. Still we have a couple of concerns that actually start with words out of Lundqvist's own mouth.

Over the last 2 seasons, Henrik Lundqvist has made mention that he was feeling worn down either during the season or in the case of this past season after the playoffs. When you go back and look at how much he has played no wonder.

Not counting exhibitions, over the last 3 regular seasons Lundqvist has appeared in 212 regular season games last season and then another 27 more in the playoffs. That is a number that is begging to send Lundqvist to a season or career ending injury.

Should we mention who will be the starting goalie for Sweden at the 2010 Olympics? For us the smarter move would be to reduce the workload during the regular season to 55-60 games as we will leave you with this thought:

Close your eyes and imagine the Rangers losing Henrik as they did Mike Richter and Danny Blackburn. Then look at the 3 remaining goalies within the Ranger system and ask if you believe any of them could carry the Rangers like Henrik?

If you are like us then you agree a fresher Henrik can help reduce the chance of serious injury, a fresher Henrik also just might play better and longer during the playoffs. Having a second goalie who can step in should anything happen to Henrik is the worlds best insurance policy.

That being said then one has to ask why Stephen Valiquette has only appeared in 28 games over the last 2 regular seasons? When he has played it is not as if he has hurt the Rangers but most times played well.

Thus the question that has to be asked is "Do the Rangers lack confidence in Vally to handle an increased workload? Vally is popular with his teammates so we have seen them work hard in front of him but using him like the Rangers did makes you wonder.

Vally comes to the Rangers with a nice salary cap number but if the Rangers are not going to use him for more than 14 games a season then sorry they need someone else. Vally needs to play at least 25 games next season if this franchise is serious about getting better.

Matt Zaba has been one of the most pleasant of surprises for the Ranger system, as the former 2003 8th round pick of the Kings has moved his way up to the 3rd man on the Ranger goalie depth chart.

Zaba had an excellent season for Hartford going 25-10 with a 2.33 GAA and a .920 save percentage in just his second year with the Ranger franchise. Now the question is can Zaba continue to progress at age 26 or has he peaked?

For us the answer depends on the mindset that Zaba shows up with at training camp; if he shows up with the goal of just being the Ranger backup then send him to Hartford and get it over with.

The goal for Zaba has to be that he is there to become the Ranger starter Henrik or not. Yes one can say that is unrealistic but if something happens to Henrik then Zaba needs to show that he can "become the man". That is the biggest question facing Zaba as we see the tools, we see the smart positioning and we see the determination to be a winner but we want to see him showing up forcing the Rangers to keep him.

We want to see Zaba say "My goal is to be the Ranger starter come opening night and not go back to Hartford." Zaba has to believe that at any given moment he could become the Ranger starter and show it otherwise management will not have confidence in him in case Henrik does get hurt.

Remember Jason Labarbera? Glen Sather would not use him and in part we believe because he did not have confidence in his being able to play at the NHL level. That is why Zaba needs to show up with the "I am going to be your starting" goalie mindset.

Right now given his limited professional experience as well as his age then we project NHL backup unless Zaba makes the choice to not come to camp willing to be anyone's backup. If Henrik gets hurt then Zaba had best show Tortorella that he can play at the NHL level or they will trade for someone else.

Miika Wiikman started last season as the starter for Hartford last season but he struggled with his game and Zaba passed him by. Was Wiikman a one season wonder or will he return to the form that led the Rangers to trade Al Montoya?

Right now there is no way we would look upat Wiikman as anything but an AHL goalie under any circumstances. It was not that Zaba just outplayed Wiikman; it was Zaba blew right by and never looked back.

Being the 4th goalie on the depth charts is in many ways the worst spot to be in. You are closer to the ECHL than you are the NHL and if the Rangers decide to bring in another goalie then you are the one most likely to be traded or cut loose.

The only prospect among the Ranger goalies is 2007 2nd round pick Antoine Lafleur but with the clock ticking on Lafleur's draft rights nobody knows if the Rangers will sign him.

Lafleur as we have documented over the last couple of years is a frustrating prospect to watch. When his game is on you do potential for him; the problem is that Lafleur since being drafted has never put together a string of games to carry his team.

Nobody ever likes to say that a high draft pick does not deserve a Ranger contract but in this case Lafleur has to look at himself for blame. At best give him a one year Hartford contract and assigned him to Charlotte next season to either show the potential or cut him loose.

In any event regardless of the 4 current Ranger goalies, the bottom line is that the Rangers are lacking in depth at goaltender.
It is an area that the Rangers need to address with the next draft or continue this game of praying nothing happens to Henrik Lundqvist.

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft is going to offer up some very good goalies who the Rangers would be able to grab with a 3rd round or later draft pick. You will have to wait until the next issue of the Blueshirt Bulletin to see who we would want to see the Rangers grab we are sorry to say.

In any case adding a goalie is something we feel the Rangers must do at the next draft.

(Pictures Courtesy of Lundqvist and Valiquette/NHL Media, Zaba and Wiikman/New York Rangers, Lafleur/Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)

Hmmmmmm

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:30:00 +0000

There are times when you just can not win no matter how hard you try. Not even 24 hours after telling people that Micheal Del Zotto deserved a chance to play for a gold medal next season came word that Hockey Canada thinks otherwise.

Once again a Ranger prospect gets the snub from his hockey federation despite being more deserving than some of those who earned the invite. We watched this happen to Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan but Micheal Del Zotto did deserve a shot at making Team Canada.

Del Zotto had better numbers than most of those invited despite playing less due to injury. Only 3 of those invited were drafted higher than Del Zotto yet once again despite being a 2 time OHL All-Star, despite being the 3rd leading scoring among OHL defensemen Del Zotto gets bypassed.

In a way Ranger fans should thank Hockey Canada for this snub because we remember when Team USA snubbed Brandon Dubinsky and it motivated him to show that he was a player. Del Zotto is going to do the same.

One of the things about covering prospects is that you get to hear a lot of whispers about players a couple of years before their name gets mentioned to the rest of the hockey world. When you run into someone who grabs your attention you get mixed feelings about whether or not you want to talk about him.

Zac Budish is a great example as a couple of years ago, a friend told me about some kid who had already signed a letter of intent to play at Minnesota. "You got to check this kid out; he is a 2 sport HS athlete in HS and he is going to be a player" is what I was told.

My first response was "2 sports mean nothing" as I knew more prospects played baseball and golf during the spring to stay in shape.
The response back was "The 2nd sport is HS football and this guy is great at both"

My buddy also knew that I watched wrestling so he described the Budish hockey style as the Road Warriors on ice. "Budish is going to redefine the power forward position as he does make his teammates look that much better"

That was enough to get me to take a look at a kid who they were inscribing his name on Minnesota's "Mr. Hockey" months before hockey season was going to start. The more I saw of him the more I knew this was going to be a top 10 pick and thought what a shame it would be that the Rangers would never have a chance at him.

When the word got out that Budish had torn an ACL during football season, as bad as this sounds I got hope for the "maybe it could happen". The thought of a Budish/Grachev/insert name power line was the kind of dream you want to have.

So you bite your tongue and only talk to those who are like you wanting to keep quiet a prospect like Budish for their own reasons. Most of us were projecting because of the ACL that Budish would drop to the second round.

The NHL combine though put any hope of that to a quick death as Budish's name is getting more and more play. The best laid plans of hoping Budish sneaking to the Rangers in the 2nd round DOA before they ever got off the ground.

Maybe it is just my own mindset but if prospects from the USA are the ones who typically lead the combine in throwing up then maybe USA Hockey might want to do something about it with a better training program?

But it goes more than just losing cookies as US players traditionally do not do well in the various exercises held at the combine. Canada holds more evaluation camps, more programs designed to help their players get better on and off the ice.

Any wonder why Canada has owned the World Under-20 Championships as of late? Here is an excellent example of what Canada does that the US needs to copy called the "Program of Excellence"

Take the 14 of the best young Canadian goalies and bring them in for a camp; what a concept as of this group we already see no less than 7 future NHL starting goalies attending this camp. Scary thought when you think that Canada can pick almost any 3 out of this group and still win the 2010 World Under-20 Championship.

Someone might want to send USA Hockey a message about that.

(Pictures Courtesy of: Del Zotto/New York Rangers, Budish/NHL.media.com, Schroeder/NHL.media.com, Road Warriors/Sporting News)

You Did Not Ask BUT

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:07:00 +0000

Sometimes one has to stop taking what the Rangers say so seriously at this time of the year. They are going to make moves that will make sense and then they will make some that don't.

No matter what moves they do or do not make, the Rangers will put a positive spin on it. It would be dumb not to otherwise people will not get excited about what they are doing.

Take signing 2008 First Round Pick Michael Del Zotto as an example; the Rangers are not going to say "well we signed Michael now but he has no shot at earning a roster spot at the next training camp"

If they did then the first thing both fans and the media will ask is why sign him then? Very few with the Rangers will say a negative thing about a Ranger prospect knowing that it will find it's way to the eyes of Ranger fans.

The Rangers are many things but they are not dumb enough to give Ranger fans more ammo to trash a management team that has a track record of more bad prospects than good ones. As it is whichever decisions they make about players like Redden and Zherdev is going to provide fodder as it is.

The off-season is about selling Ranger fans hope for next year; it is about being positive so fans will keep spending their money (they will anyway but this way makes the pain easier to accept)

Take the signing of Michael Del Zotto as a great example; of course the Rangers are going to say right after signing him that they expect him to compete for a job at training camp. Del Zotto and the 700 others that get invited to training camp (thanks for the idea Ray C) are going to compete for jobs but not all will be with the Rangers.

Look signing Del Zotto was nothing more than a traditional move that the Rangers make at this time of the year nothing more. Under Sather the Rangers have waited until the year after selecting their first rounder to sign him.

There is nothing big about the signings because the CBA basically dictates how much and how long the first entry level contract is supposed to be for. It is a feel good move that helps both sides while giving the fans something to talk about.

If the Rangers would have signed Del Zotto say last July then that would have been big news since they just do not do that. Instead of trying to read deep into this just accept that this is standard business for the Rangers nothing more.

The signing allows Del Zotto to focus himself now on the next season, he does not have to worry if he is going to be signed or not. He can now go out play hockey, work on the areas that he needs improvement on in order to become a Ranger and most importantly enjoy what is expected to be his final season in the OHL.

To see those with the Rangers saying that Del Zotto has a shot at making the team out of next training camp is not fair to the Ranger fans because Del Zotto still needs a lot of work. Yes Del Zotto is a real special talent on offense but you have to also be able to play defense too.

Unless Del Zotto makes some very major improvements to his defensive side then he will be wearing the number 4 for the London Knights next season. It is not a failure on anyone's part but rather a sound decision with regards to Del Zotto's development.

DZ is just 19 so the Rangers are not going to want to start the clock on his free agency until they are 100% sure he would be able to handle the NHL. Before people start the "Staal made the direct jump to the Rangers" stuff we need to point out some key differences.

When Staal made the jump from the OHL to the Rangers it was because he was NHL ready in the first place. Staal had extensive international experience, experience at Hartford and more important of them all; 2 training camps with the Rangers.

Staal made the Rangers after carrying a 6th seeded Sudbury team on his back to an OHL final, he was both the physical and emotional leader of that team. Del Zotto has not done any of those things in the OHL.

Del Zotto only has the one camp as well this upcoming one under his belt. Sending him back to London where he can develop under Dale Hunter would pay major dividends. Again Del Zotto is only 19 so why rush him to the Rangers?

The answer from a Ranger point of view is to appease angry fans who watched Wade Redden be a walking disaster last season. As much as Redden needs to go it should not be at the expense of Del Zotto's development.

Let Del Zotto go back to London and give him a chance to fine tune his game; let him have a chance to make Team Canada and win a gold medal. Let him get as much experience playing in pressure games like the World Under-20 Championships as well as the OHL playoffs.

Sending him back to London where there will be a very good core of a team will allow Del Zotto to step out and away from the shadows of others. There is no question that Del Zotto is one of the best defenseman in the OHL but because he has been in the shadow of others; Del Zotto has played second fiddle.

Let Del Zotto spread his wings so to speak; let him become the leader for the younger London players as giving him more responsibility will help his maturing process. Yes Del Zotto is coming to the Rangers but it will not hurt if it does not happen until 2010.

There are also a couple more factors to take into account why to keep Del Zotto in the OHL for another season. The Rangers we expect will once again try to spend their way back into playoff contention by adding more free agents.

If they were rebuilding then sure let Del Zotto get his NHL experience in but rebuilding is just a fantasy that will not happen until the Rangers totally collaspe.

Second is Matt Gilroy as the Rangers are not looking to pay him 2 way money to play in Hartford when he is on a 2 year deal. Gilroy is older, more mature physically but also closer to being NHL ready.

Gilroy is going to be expected to compete for a job with the Rangers this training camp. The Rangers it is just about impossible to think that they would be willing to go with any more than 2 rookies on the blueline. With Michael Sauer, Corey Potter and 2006 First Round Pick Bobby Sanguinetti all competing for a roster spot then Del Zotto is just about a given to be sent back to the OHL.

Speaking of Sanguinetti it seems that the Rangers and their fans are writing him off before he has even gotten to wear a Ranger uniform. Friendly advice but just like those who said Dubinsky and Callahan would never be Rangers they were wrong then as they will be here.

Sanguinetti was born a Ranger fan, he wants nothing more than to earn that Ranger uniform and play in front of friends and family. We know Sanguinetti from his OHL days and when it is all said and done, Sanguinetti is going to prove the critics wrong.

Right now it is a good bet that Bobby Sanguinetti is working his butt off trying to make his dream come true and we have learned never to bet against him.

Del Zotto we will see wearing Broadway Blue soon enough but for now let him develop and become a better player.

(Del Zotto courtesy of Getty Images)

The Year of the Prospect

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:47:00 +0000

For fans of the New York Rangers, the 2008-09 season was a season that had more downs than up to it. We will let others recap all the bad news about this past season because this place just might be the only place where a Ranger fan can say that they had a great season.

Now it is doubtful that anyone will be surprised to see that the winner of the 2009 Prospect Park Prospect of the Year award is 2008 3rd round selection Evgeny Grachev.

The only prospect to win Prospect of the month for 4 straight months, the 6'3 (or up to 6'5 depending on who you believe) Grachev put on one of the most entertaining seasons we have gotten to witness from any Ranger prospect in the 5 seasons we have covered them.

The question is where to begin with the Evgeny Grachev highlight show as there were 40 regular season goals and 40 regular season assists for starters. There was also the 11-14-25 in 19 playoff games as Grachev's Brampton Battalion advanced to the OHL Championship finals for the first time in franchise history.

We could talk about Grachev winning the OHL Rookie of the Year award, the leading scorer among OHL rookies, breaking Jason Spezza's record for most points by a rookie at Brampton, being named to the OHL All-Star team, to Team Russia's World Under-20 team but that is not what impressed us the most.

What impressed us was that Grachev never went more than 3 games (and those were at the very beginning of his OHL season) without recording a point. What impressed us was 21 multi-point games out of 60 regular season games.

What impressed us was 2 streaks of 10 games with points, 5 different 5 game point streaks that were 5 or more games, being a +48 for the entire season (out of a 60 game regular season), 6 game winners, 6 insurance goals, 9 power play goals and 4 shorthanded ones.

What makes us greedy for Grachev's future as well as his potential is that both Grachev and Stan Butler his coach at Brampton said that he was just beginning to work hard every night. Grachev came over to North America to learn how to play the North American style of hockey and is still just learning how to play this brand of hockey.

Next season, we expect that Grachev will be in Hartford as he still must continue to learn his game as well as continue to grow into his body. His promising future is going to give Ranger fans a lot to cheer about in the future.

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But Wait There is More

Grachev may have been the best prospect but overall the 2008-09 season just might have been the best collective season for Ranger prospect since the early 1990's. Of the 12 prospects we got to follow this season we believe that there are 7 prospects who if they continue their development could wind up as Rangers.

Michael Del Zotto (2008 1st) has this problem of nobody thinking he is a legit future star except us and those who watch him in the OHL. 2009-10 is going to be his breakout season where he will be able to escape playing in the shadow of John Tavares and establish himself as a offensive weapon in his own right.

Del Zotto rightfully earned that contract he just signed after the performance he had in the OHL playoffs. Del Zotto was 3-16-19 but of those points, at least 7 were game tying or game winning ones.

Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) is the prospect most do not hear about because he plays for Wisconsin in the NCAA. We say watch him because he just might be the most important prospect the Rangers have.

Stepan is the best skater, he is the fastest skater but most of all he just might be the smartest prospect of them all. Stepan was the 2nd leading scorer for Wisconsin as a freshman but that is not why we tell you to key on him.

Stepan in our eyes is what Scott Gomez is supposed to be doing for the Rangers only Stepan will do it better. Stepan will be the key playmaker, the big goal scorer and the quiet locker room leader. Stepan already has his path planned to the Rangers and we have learned not to doubt this very confident prospect.

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) is the ideal defensive prospect built for the Tortorella system, excellent offensive skill set but he has some maturing to do. When he gets his head on straight, he will give the Rangers that first pass to go on the attack and the defensive skills to break up the odd man rushes.

Dale Weise (2008 4th) forgot he was supposed to spend a season in the WHL like the other prospects. All Weise did was force his way into first a contract and then a season with Hartford. We can argue whether it would have been better to gone back to the WHL or not but in the end Weise came on at the end of his rookie season to show he belonged.

Weise was the first to sign a professional contract but we can not remember the last time the Rangers signed 4 out of their top 5 picks to contracts. Stepan will make it 5 for 5 in the not so distant future.

We also have to include Tysen Dowzak (2008 UFA) here as the prospect we call a clone of 1994 Ranger Jay Wells could turn into the pure defensive stopper that the Rangers have lacked since the days of Wells, Beukeboom and Lowe.

Dowzak is a project who is being mentored by another former Ranger defender Jeff Finley but his play in the WHL playoffs and Memorial Cup gave us reason to have hope for his future.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) is the Ranger's defensive specialist of the future as the young Swede was a huge reason why the Michigan Wolverines were one of the very best penalty killers in the NCAAs.

His offense is catching up to his defense and when it does then we could be looking at a 3rd liner who has the offensive punch so badly lacking on the Rangers. Hagelin is about to enter his junior season with Michigan but he will now be counted on to become one of their top players next season.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) is our "next say die" prospect because no matter what happens to him he bounces back better than ever. If he can find a way to spend some time at the Ranger's training center this summer improving his strength then watch out for him.

Campbell who people worry is too skinny, is a pure sniper who scores from any place on the ice but despite his smallish stature does most of his damage from the crease. Campbell scored 16 goals this past season playing in a conference that sent 4 teams to the NCAAs.

And we will not leave out Chris Doyle (2008 5th) who if not for an injured disc in his back might have outscored Grachev. Doyle is the only prospect in recent years to record not one but 2 Gordie Howe Hat Tricks.

Doyle is not the biggest kid on the block but if he ever realizes that he has to step out of the shadows then he might become something like a power play specialist.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) gave us the great story of a kid who refused to quit when he made a comeback from Tommy John Surgery in just 6 months instead of the expected 18. However the story got spoiled when Gaulton wound up in Erie Otter's coach Robbie Ftorek's doghouse over Gaulton's conditioning.

Hopefully the 2 can resolve their issues and Gaulton can show us why the Rangers used a pick on this often injured defenseman.

Finally the bad part of this job is when we have to say that we do not think someone deserves a Ranger contract because he did not earn it. What bothers us is that we know that someone inside of Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) there is a very talented goalie.

We wanted to see Lafleur make it, we openly rooted for him to be traded away from Prince Edward Island and we thought that Lafleur could be a solid goalie. The problem was that no prospect drove us to the brink of frustration like Lafleur did.

There is some very serious talent inside that 6'5 frame of his, the problem is that Lafleur could never put together a string of games where he carried his team as one wants a goalie to do. Lafleur would give 2 great games then toss up a clunker where he wound up getting pulled.

It is a huge loss when a second round pick does not pan out but if it was up to us we would not offer Lafleur a Ranger's contract. At best just to continue to gamble on him then offer him a Hartford contract so we can hope that Benoit Allaire can figure out a way to get though to him.

Had Lafleur shown some consistency then we would not be advocating the need to draft another goalie in the 2009 Entry Draft.

Now the fun begins as we start to wonder who the Rangers will pick in the NHL Entry Draft just like the rest of you.

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No we have no idea about why the Rangers have gone Euro crazy and signed Andres Ambuhl or Ilkka Heikkinen to contracts. In all honesty nobody in North America can really claim that they have any idea about the possible potential for either player.

If anything we are waiting to talk to anyone who actually thinks either player is going to play anywhere but Hartford. If that is the case then we say to the Rangers: Time to make the real moves already

Just like the Ranger fans; we want to see something that indicates the Rangers are not once again blowing smoke about improving the franchise. There are some moves that need to be made here in North America not Europe.

We want to see Dubinsky and Callahan resigned; we want to see decisions made regarding the futures of Zherdev, Redden and Gomez.

Really who cares about signing 2 European players other than the jokes we can make about Heikkinen's name as we want to see real answers to real issues regarding the Rangers.

(Grachev courtesy of the Brampton Battalion)

A Hat Trick To History

noreply@blogger.com (Jess Rubenstein) — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:41:00 +0000

Anyone who has been a Ranger fan for more than 10 minutes would have seen this coming after the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Kelowna Rockets last Tuesday evening to force their way into the tiebreaker game.

The oldest cliche in hockey is when you have someone down then you must finish them off otherwise it may come back to haunt you. The Rockets did not get the job done when they had the chance and because of that the Windsor Spitfires are the 2009 Memorial Cup Champions.

3 goals on Windsor's first 3 shots of the game chased Kelowna goalie Mark Guggenberger but the game was over except for the shouting. Windsor did everything that a championship team is supposed to do as they from the opening faceoff dictated how and at what tempo this game would be played at.

We could go on and on about how this game was won but that is not important for Ranger fans as Windsor was a Ranger prospect killer. En route to winning this championship the Spitfires did something we had never seen before which was to end the seasons for 3 different Ranger prospects and their teams.

First they took out Michael Del Zotto and the London Knights in the OHL conference finals, then it was Evgeny Grachev and Brampton in the OHL finals before Sunday's finishing off Tysen Dowzak and Kelowna.

Dowzak has nothing to be ashamed of as his stock has risen over the last month with his play. Dowzak remains a project but it appears that he is understanding that to become an NHLer what he has to do.

Dowzak's play especially when Windsor had a 2 man advantage late in the game was solid. Dowzak even though the game was for intents and purposes over did not let up which is a good sign about his character.

Dowzak can also take comfort in the fact that he got to be the last player/prospect associated with the Rangers to end his season. Dowzak despite the loss in the Memorial Cup still is a WHL Champion and given what Kelowna went though is quite the accomplishment.

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Post Memorial Cup Notes

First we would love to ask Tyler Myers if he was hurt in Sunday's game as Myers was totally ineffective and almost invisible. Something had to be wrong with him as not once did Myers go on the attack and it was nothing that Windsor did.

Myers is heading to the Sabres which is bad news for the rest of the Eastern Conference. At 6'7 with a combination of skill and brute strength it is going to be interesting to watch his transition to the NHL. It was scary to watch Myers used as a forechecker by Kelowna and if Buffalo does the same it will make life harder for everyone else.

As for the Rangers, the Devils had 2 prospects playing for Windsor in the Memorial Cup; of the 2 Adam Henrique (2008 3rd) appears to be the better prospect but do not over look Harry Young (2008 7th) who at 6'4 is a physical presence who fits in the Devil's team first style of play.

Despite what happened to him in the game on Sunday, we would still grab Mark Guggenberger for the Rangers as one bad game will not take away from what Guggenberger did for Kelowna during their playoff run. Of the 3 goals he gave up only the last one would be in our book his fault.

And we have to say this as anyone who has read this blog has known that we are huge fans of Taylor Hall as well as thinking he is the future of the NHL more than Crosby is. That being said we totally disagree with Hall being chosen as Memorial Cup MVP.

Ryan Ellis scored the biggest of goals for Windsor during this Memorial Cup run, without Dale Mitchell the Spitfires are not even playing in the final or our choice Adam Henrique who in addition to being the 2nd leading scorer at the Memorial Cup was consistent with his play in all 6 games.

Hall in our eyes did not play well until the last 2 games for Windsor and he got this MVP based upon his reputation.

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What is next for us here

Well for starters Dubi wants a Ranger draft preview ASAP for the Blueshirt Bulletin so that will take a couple of days as to be fair we want to as is our tradition be different from the rest. Our approach is to look forward at what might be the Ranger lineup in 2-3 years.

At 19 we see some options that make us a bit nervous but at the same time hopeful of what could happen. The one thing we have to hope for is that the Rangers put serious thought in continuing what is becoming a positive trend in drafting first and second rounders who become Rangers.

We are also looking for ways to make this site better and if we can figure out coding then we will move it over to Typepad or if need be a different site where more people can become more involved in reporting the news on Ranger prospects.

The goal remains to bring as many eyes, ears and voices to the table in order to bring the most detail about the Ranger's future

We have been playing with various "social networking" sites but would love to hear your ideas as to which you folks think would be better Twitter or Facebook. We have Twitter set up but welcome suggestions on how best to use it to help get the word out on the prospects.

(Taylor Hall courtesy of the OHL)