Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants wonders if the Rangers will be looking to re-sign Vinny Prospal this off-season..."The 35-year-old finished second on the team with 20 goals and 38 assists, his fifth 20-goal season. His playmaking ability made him a good match with leading scorer Marian Gaborik for much of the season and he has a solid relationship with John Tortorella, also his coach with the Lightning. But Prospal struggled at times in the second half after arthroscopic knee surgery in December to repair a torn meniscus. It was only the last few games of the season where Prospal admitted he felt completely healthy again.
Admittedly reading the tea leaves here, but I found it odd when Tortorella did not mention Prospal when talking about the Rangers’ leadership group, saying instead his belief the Rangers did not have a strong dressing room was not an indictment of Chris Drury or Ryan Callahan or the leadership group."
...while I loved what Prospal brought to the team this year, I'm actually leaning against wanting the Rangers to re-sign him. He is a great team guy, but he is on the downside of his career and would be holding back some Ranger prospects.
...not to mention he'd probably be looking for a raise on his $1.15 million contract from this season. And I think that money could be better spent on a playmaking center, another scoring winger or a bruising defenseman.
16 comments:
dunno, depending on our cap situation, but i dont see parenteau being a full time nhler...if prospal wants to sign for 1.5 or less for a year i think id be ok with it, but i dont think he should be a priorty
I'd take him back on the team. Hell, how many veterans has this team signed that have shown their age. Lots. I was so hyped when Naslund came here but honestly he did nothing compared to what Prospal has done for this team.
If you're going to keep one "veteran" on the team I vote Prospal.
Oh, and by getting rid of him, where is this team going to get scoring. HE WAS SECOND ON THE TEAM!
We need leadership on the ice - he played hard and lifted the team early in the season. If he only costs 1.5 mil a year I say we keep him!
Jack & Andrew are both right. I think this is the toughest off-season decision to make. Other people will say it's whether or not to send Redden to Hartford but to me that is a no brainer. I think it should essentially be up to Prospal. Obviously he deserves a bit of a raise from the Rangers,but if he wants to make a little more money (he's not going to get so much more on the open market)than what the Rangers will pay, go for it. If at this point in his career he wants to play with Gabby & Torts on the big stage, wear the A on his jersey, then maybe money shouldn't be the most important thing. But I don't see anyone in Hartford right now who would be an upgrade next year, and his presence may also buy Grachev & Kreider an extra year of development.
I 100% want Prospal back. First of all, the "asking for a raise" thing is pure speculation, I happen to think we can get him at what we paid for him this season or even cheaper at this point in his career.
The guy loves being a Ranger and he had the numbers to go along with the passion. I like P.A. a lot and think there is room for both on this roster.
Do you really think Locke and Byers over Prospal make this team better??
Trust me I like Prospal and no I don't think Locke and Byers will make this team better, but where is this team going?
Me wanting Prospal back will have a lot to do with Sather's moves this summer.
Is Sather gonna go for it (drop Redden) and make a big splash (ie St. Louis or Kovalchuk) or stand pat with what he's got and give the young guys a chance?
If he goes for it I think Prospal (for the right price) will be helpful. However, if he goes with what we have this team isn't going anywhere and I'd rather see young guys get a chance to grow. Plenty of veterans still on the team (Drury, Callahan, Lundy, Gaborik, Dubinsky)to mentor.
Again, I like Prospal but Torts even said the locker room was a mess until Shelley arrived. So what leadership was Prospal showing?
I just don't understand how some people think. We would be in the playoffs if P.A. played up the whole season. If you look at his points per games he did not do that bad. Im going to also say we would be in the playoffs with his shootout ability. How many shootouts did we lose this year. Some fans still think its just a fun little thing we get to see at the end. I just dont know how management doesnt realize how fucking important it is to have a couple of players on the bench that are lockdown on the shootout. For Prospal, NYRFan its a no brainer to keep Prospal at $1.5 - $2.0 a year cant fathom why you oppose this.
unrelated to prospal... but something my brother sent me:
Top 10 Reasons the Rangers Aren't in the Playoffs:
Oct 28: - NYI 3 - NYR 1.
Nov 12: ATL 5 - NYR 3.
Nov 21: FLA 3 - NYR 2.
Dec 16: NYI 2 - NYR 1.
Dec 23: FLA 4 - NYR 1.
Dec 26: NYI 3 - NYR 2(OT).
Jan 2: CAR 2 - NYR 1(OT).
Jan 7: ATL 2 - NYR 1(SO).
Mar 18 STL 4 - NYR 3.
Mar 27. TOR 4 - NYR 3(OT).
Close games vs non-playoff teams where the Rangers just couldnt dig deep and take home a win. 2 points here instead of a loss puts them in the 8th seed. 5 wins puts them in the 5th seed. All wins puts them tied for the division.
And these arent all the loses vs non-playoff teams. Just the ones that were close and winnable.
It depends on what other changes are made this off-season. All indications are that they should be few.
Prospal comes with a lot of positives, not least of all that he works well with Tortorella, but I also think he would bring positive veteran leadership to any young guys we sign on. He played pretty well with Gabby too. I think if we can keep him for cheap we oughta hang on to him.
I think P.A. will get a chance to start the new season. It's now or never for him and I think they'll give him a shot. He just needs to have a good camp.
Something will definitely be done about Redden. Shame that contract lasts, what? another 4 years?! He'll be in camp but I hope they send him down to Hartford (even though we'll still be paying him); nobody is going to take that contract off our hands. This is 2 years he's pissed away on the Rangers.
theking, I know it sounds like I'd be against bringing Prospal back, but I'm really not. I think he can be an asset. But I feel that the Rangers have to address much bigger needs before they even think about Prospal.
Then if there's any money left and the two side can come up with something I'm in.
Like I said earlier. I'd like to see what Sather's plan (assuming he actually has one) is for the off-season before I make a decision on Prospal.
I'll agree, much of this does depend on some surrounding personnel moves. However, I really can't fathom not being able to afford Prospal. At his age with what he was commanding with his last deal, this guy isn't breaking any banks.
I fully want Sather to "go for it", and I think based on how active we've been the past few seasons that he's gonna try to add some big play ability - but even if not, I'm not ready to throw away another season and chalk it up to 'rebuilding'. Hank is in his prime and we have a good mix of youth and veterans. We can win now, and we can do it a lot easier with Prospal in there.
I can't wait for the Marty St. Louis rumors this summer. He's "old", wants to win...and needs a team to overpay him :p
That said, he's one of my favorite players in the league....anyone?
im down for st louis as long as he doesnt cost us dubi,cally,staal,del zotto or anisimov..
and im glad people wanna see prospal back (in some capacity) he hit the 20 goal mark this year, and i dont recall a goal he scored that he didnt react like he scored his first nhl goal. players feed off that kind of energy.
not that its a big deal but i cant recall gabby really looked exciting (aside from a smile) but hey, i guess when you can score 40+ goals a season, your not gonna be celebrating everyone...although ovechkin sure does love to
I love players like Prospal and Ovie who get pumped when they score. I will never forget the first time Prospal scored for the Rangers. His reaction was priceless. It got me into the game. Rangers need guys like that. I feel like Gaborik doesnt give a shit. He has no intensity I cant stand it.
Gabby cares, he is just that strong silent Eastern European type. How many times did Jagr even smile while wearing a Rangers uniform? I think I can count them on one hand...
Compared to Jagr, Gaborik is a circus clown.
Yes, Prospal had some moments but he was very inconsistant after the knee injury. Let's find someone that can finish the season stronger.
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