The New York Rangers lost to the Washington Capitals by the score of 2-1, tonight and lost the series 4-3 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal match-up. For a recap and box score go to Yah00! Sports.
...despite the outcome, that was an outstanding Game 7. As was the issue all year, just not enough offense from the Rangers.
...you think Lundqvist needs to work on high glove side this off-season?
...Avery was an absolute beast tonight.
...i don't feel that they lost us the game, but the officiating was atrocious tonight. Too many infractions not called to mention. And that's just on Avery. Bettman wanted Pens/Caps in the second round and I'm sure he let the refs know it.
...if the Rangers played the way they did in the first two periods tonight the entire series they would have won. The puck was in the Caps end more in those two periods than in the last two games combined.
...i'm sure I'll have a lot of season recaps to post over the next few days, but the off-season is officially upon us Ranger fans. So who do you think they'll sign on July 1st?
9 comments:
sign july 1st? dude you must be kidding me...with what, the 3 million we have in cap space? any chance you can do a breakdown soonish on our cap space and what not?
I'm sure he's referring to "re-sign" rather than sign. That being said, the musts are Dubie, Cally, and Antropov. I'd like to see Sjostrom and Mara come back but I am skeptical about that with our cap space. Zherdev disappeared too often and will be too pricey to bring back in blue.
Wow, the season is really over...this sucks...
Not a Rangers fan, but I find their cap situation fascinating. For 2009-10 (all numbers from NHLnumbers.com), the Rangers have $35.782 million tied up against the cap for 3 forwards (Gomez, Drury, Naslund), 2 defensemen (Redden and Rozsival), and Lundqvist.
Of the 4 remaining current roster players signed for next season (Voros, Avery, Girardi, and Staal) their cap hit is $7.152 million, for a total cap hit of $42.934 for 1 and 2/3 forward lines, 2 defense pairings, and a goalie. Assuming the cap decreases next year as most seem to assume it will, that leaves ~10 million against the cap to sign 7 skaters and a backup goaltender, assuming they go right up against the cap. These could be some of the current roster players, including (current cap hit in parentheses, since they'll probably want a raise):
RFAs
Zherdev (2.5)
Koriposki (0.957)
Sjostrom (0.840)
Dubinsky (0.633)
Callahan (0.575)
UFAs
Betts (0.615)
Orr (0.537)
Antropov (2.050)
If you assume that the Rangers sign 1 player for $2 million a year in cap money, then the rest of the players have to sign for less than $1 million/year on average. Means that it will probably be primarily a young team again. Sather has really backed himself into a corner on this one, it would seem.
Looking ahead, if I were GM...these are the moves I'd make:
MUST Re-sign: Dubi, Cally, Korpi, Orr (he's a good fighter, plus he'll be real cheap)
Probably Should Re-sign: Antropov, Betts (he's a world class penalty killer and other teams like the Hawks definitely see his potential as a third-line center).
Should NOT re-sign:
A) Zherdev (a no-show this series, too streaky of a scorer, not worth $3-4 million)
B) Morris (definitely not worth $4 million plus/yr)
C) Mara (I would re-sign him, but with the addition of Gilroy and the lack of cap space, I would think he has to walk).
D) Sjostrom (He's a good player, but we need to bring up either Anisimov and/or Grachev and allow these guys the chance to develop into the 30+ goal scorer we DESPERATELY need).
Other Moves:
Trade Redden, preferably during the draft (but likely won't happen).
Waive Voros..Again.
Bring up Potter and either Gilroy, Del Zotto, Sanguinetti to replace Mara and/or Morris.
Bring up Anisimov and/or Grachev.
MUST SIGN/TRADE for a scoring winger that is a consistent, offensive threat (. Don't sign Gaborik (I mean he'll be good for all of the 20 games that he would be healthy enough to play in, but sadly the season is 82 games long).
I wonder how many (if any) of these moves will be made...another long off-season..
Rikon, making the moves you suggest (with the exception of trading Redden - what team in their right mind would sign that albatross of a contract?), assuming a 25% salary increase for the RFAs and that Betts would get around $1.5 mill a year on the open market, the Rangers cap would stand at $48.844 for:
Forwards: Gomez, Drury, Naslund, Avery, Dubinsky, Callahan, Orr, Betts, Anisimov
Defense: Redden, Rozsival, Girardi, Staal, Potter, Sanguinetti
Goal: Lundqvist
That still leaves 3 forwards, a 7th D-man, and a backup goaltender to sign for about $3-4 million.
Gaborik? At around 9-million a season? No way that can happen unless Sather fleeces someone to take Gomez, Drury, or Redden off of his hands, and given their contracts (including Redden's alleged power to pick acceptable destinations) that seems unlikely.
dct206,
You're right its going to be tough, but I'm hoping Sather can pull off a miracle.
The most pressing concern for the Rangers IMO, is for them to continue to develop Dubi/Calli/Korpi and bring-up any prospects (Anisimov, Grachev, etc.) that can develop into a legitimate offensive threat.
Its clear that every team that has a legitimate top 10 goal scorer, has developed them via the draft (Eric Staal, Parise, Carter, Getzlaf, Semin, etc.). Bringing in former top scorers via free agency is almost guaranteed to fail (Smyth, Drury, Redden, etc.) with the rare exception (Jagr) probably because players inevitably lose the drive and hunger once they land the big-money contract. Which is why I'm against Gaborik to NY (the last thing the Rangers need is another big money contract).
I would keep Gomez, trade Drury and/or Redden (if at all possible) and bring up some of the kids from Hartford and maybe sign 1 or 2 up and coming guys that have potential.
Just my 2cents.
Rikon,
I hear ya. Part of the reason I'm so fascinated by the cap is because of what it's done to teams. I'm a Sabres fan and saw what happened with Drury, Briere, and Campbell, and so I'm sensitive to cap issues. It does seem the new model is to have one or two guys who are paid top tier money, and then a range of $2-4 million dollars guys brought in either via UFA or re-signed during RFA, and then filling that out with up-and-comers on their entry (read: cheap) level contracts. The teams that seem to balance it out and get contributions from their draft picks and young players seem like they're in the best position to succeed (assuming you're not Detroit who seem to will guys into hometown discounts, even though they haven't been completely immune from the cap).
I would agree that trading Drury or Redden would be a start, but I think Redden's contract makes him untradeable. Drury might have some market interest, but 7 million is an awful lot to pay for a perennial 20-goal scorer who's only cracked 30 twice in his career, both times with squads that were offensively stacked. And there are always a number of rental character veterans available at the trade deadline who can be picked up on the cheap for the playoff run each year if need be.
i think if your looking to trade drury or gomez (im assuming theres no takers for redden) i think sather has to look to a team that cant attract star players..maybe a team like atlanta? maybe florida or minnesota..? i wish sather had given jags the 6.5 instead of redden...
Not sure how you can say that Bettman wanted Pens/Caps in the second round and let the refs know it. There was no guarantee that the Caps WOULD play Pittsburgh; in fact, up until the final moments of NJ/Carolina Game 7, it appeared as though the Caps were on course for the Devils.
The Rangers winning games in this series had everything to do with Lundqvist playing out of his mind. And the Rangers losing the series had everything to do with Lundqvist playing so-so. That's playoff hockey, so don't blame it on the refs or Bettman. The Rangers need to get some offense over the summer so they don't have to rely on their goalie and P.K. to win. That's part of the recipe for success, but not the whole thing. You can't win a series scoring only 11 goals in 7 games.
Post a Comment