In his annual worst free agent signings column, Adam Proteau at The Hockey News has two Rangers signings in his top 5 list as well as an honorable mention...4. Ales Kotalik, RW, New York Rangers, three years, $9 million. It wouldn’t be an annual list of awful free agent contracts without a contribution – or two, as you’ll see below – from Rangers GM Glen “Santa” Sather, the preferred charitable contributor among all NHL agents.
One of the benefactors of Sather’s largesse this summer is Kotalik, who will get a cool, three extra-large each season to flirt with the 20-goal plateau. He was tied with Maxim Afinogenov for the second-worst plus-minus (minus-7) of any Sabres forward last season and probably could describe every inch of the inside of coach Lindy Ruff’s doghouse from memory. Luckily he’s got a real softy of a coach in John Tortorella this year.
2. Marian Gaborik, LW, New York Rangers, five years, $37.5 million. Nobody doubts Gaborik’s offensive capabilities, but for a Rangers team still trying to figure out its identity, committing to a five-year term for a player who has averaged more than 19 missed games a season is a gamble that would make Charles Barkley blush. And we all know how well Sather’s bets have paid off in the past, right?
The Donald Brashear signing is named as an honorable mention.
...man Sather takes a beating in this column.
...there have been a lot of Gaborik haters this off-season. I'm hoping he's printing out every hit piece he sees and uses it as motivation. Personally, I think he's going to prove the doubters wrong, stay healthy and put up stellar numbers.
4 comments:
I couldn't agree more. THN loves to bash the rangers and this is typical of their sludge. If Kotalik scores 25 he will earn that 3mil. He has a ripper of a shot and hopefully he'll use it better for the slightly more fair coach in Tortorella. As for Gaborik, if he is truely healthy, as I think he will be based on my limited understanding of his surgury, we can all laugh at the reporters come spring '10.
that article is littered with rangers, even former ones like morris and antropov. although the antropov deal is a terrible one, there is an obvious anti-NY bias
I agree re: Gaborik. I think this is his year.
I never understand the anti-Ranger bias. It boggles my mind.
I love everyone hating on the blue shirts...If you ask me its the perfect set up to a magical season...
Post a Comment