Thursday, August 6, 2009

Fischler: Should Rangers Show Interest In Heatley?

Stan Fischler at MSG.com looks at the pros and cons of the Rangers acquiring Dany Heatley...

After listing Heatley's cons, including trouble, coach killer, sulking and giving up young talent to get him, Fischler says this...

"Of course, the obvious question is this: After listing all of Heatley's debits, why would The Maven even suggest that Heatley could be an asset to the Blueshirts?

The answer comes in two names: Sather and Tortorella. The general manager has a long track record of rehabilitating seemingly hopeless cases. This goes back to Craig MacTavish whose career appeared finished after his unfortunate auto tragedy when MacT still was a player. Glen saved Craig's career and then turned it upward.

The coach has a way with even a challenge such as Heatley and already has proven same with Sean Avery."

...you have to assume that a deal for Heatley would have to include one maybe two of Dubinsky, Callahan and Staal. The only way I make that deal is if Ottawa would be willing to take Redden or Rozsival as well.

...having said that, I wouldn't mind the Rangers trying to get Heatley. The guy can fill the net, which is something this team has had trouble doing lately. And I also agree with Fischler that Tortorella could be the medicine that Heatley needs to straighten out.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

A sick part of me want them to sign Heatley and have Torts just friggin' bench him at the first sign of indolence.

That said, why not sign him? Wow, imagine the Rangers having TWO young-ish all star snipers?! Come on you gotta want it.

Unknown said...

Jack, he's not a free agent. They can't just "sign him." They'd have to give up some very good players to get him. Personally, I'd rather see the Rangers pick up a first line center than pick up another winger like Heatly. Also losing quality locker room guys like Callahan, Dubi, or Staal to get a questionable character in return seems counter to the culture change Torts is pushing. Gaborik is 27. If he's finally healthy, they can build around him for a while. Let's see what kind of scoring depth we can get from guys like Kreider, Grachev, Sangs, Delzotto, and others before we sell our soul for a cranky star. It's not like we're one piece away from being a contender. The Rangers have a lot of work to do to become elite.