Update, 2:08 p.m.:
Jess Rubenstein at The Prospect Park has more on Stepan and McDonough.
Original Post:
With one Wisconsin Badger out of the way (Derek Stepan), Steve Zipay at Newsday reports that the Rangers are hopeful to sign another in defensive prospect Ryan McDonough soon.
Both will attend the Rangers annual prospect camp in Westchester following this year's draft in Los Angeles on June 25 and 26. McDonagh, unsigned, can attend the camp either way.
...let's do this Sather!!! Very exciting time to be a Ranger fan right now.
19 comments:
This is really good news. I think these kids recognize the unique opportunity they have to grow together and reestablish a once great NHL franchise. That said, it is best to temper the enthusiasm with some reality and understand that some of these kids are years away from the roster. However, the future is loooking bright.
All I want for the offseason is for Redden to get parked in Hartford.
to expound, despite all the perceived talent in our system, of which you've provided great coverage, I simply cannot see the Rangers reaching the pinnacle as long as Drury, w/ albatross salary and diminished skating ability, remains a centerpiece.
not relevant at all to this post, but it bears mentioning at some point the stark contrast between the games of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury at this point in their symmetrical contracts. Briere finished tops in playoff points this year. Essentially, we got a player who had peaked and was in sharp decline. They got a player with high impact potential, who finally seems to be delivering. Drury was probably never capable of anything close to this kind of performance, and certainly not now.
It will be great when McDonough signs as it will give us another possible star in the pipeline. After seeing one cup in my 56 years of Ranger fandom, I am willing to wait another couple of years if it leads to a very good team. As for Drury, the goal production in his first 2 years with the Rangers were exactly what he has averaged over his career. Those 2 30 goal seasons in Buffalo with a high flying offensive team were the abberation that lead to unrealistic expectations from the fans and an inflated contract from Sather. If he were here at half the price I don't think too many fans would be upset, considering the effort that he gives.
and drury has only 2 yrs left on his contract. briere has 5 and will be 33 this yr. i'll take drurys contract over brieres no question. philly fans were ready to run briere out of town last yr. and in 5 yrs he'll be 38 and still under contract. yikes.
LI Joe, I was about to say something similar. With Briere's injuries over the last year or so, we've probably gotten more overall production from Drury, notwithstanding the most recent playoffs.
DO, Would you trade in more overall production (Drury) for injuries and one playoff run like this year (Briere)?
to me the big numbers are 2 5 33 and 38.
2 yrs for drury
5 yrs for briere
33 brieres age this yr
38 brieres age when contract ends
I hope McDonaugh signs soon, even though he said he'd go back to Wisconsin for his senior year. I read that article from Prospect Park, and i gotta say, it sounds too critical. Sure, Stepan would benefit from another year in college, but he needs to take the next step and the AHL will be good for him.
Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonough (assuming he signs) could both make the team this year....
Lets not forget that Del Zotto is 19 yrs old and played pretty well for us this year....
Stepan will be 20 and McDonough will be 21 when the season starts...If we are not going to make the playoffs next year or lose in the 1st round again, I would like to do it with the future of the Rangers and let these guys grow at the NHL level!!!!
KDL, I wouldn't give up that kind of $$ and term for either, but I think that sentiment is unanimous. As long as you have the depth to fill in the holes (either offensive production or absence b/c of injury), either one is fine with me (salary aside). The prob with NYR this year was that neither Drury's relentless shot-blocking and "intangibles" nor Briere's spectacular offensive run would have gotten us deep into the playoffs.
Throughout the game yesterday, the announcers kept talking about how Chicago was exploiting the fact that they had more depth than Philly. This made me think of the last game of the reg season, when I kept thinking that Philly had way more depth than NYR. Makes me wonder why the NYR game against the Hawks this year had to go to OT before they won.
Just thinking out loud.
Great points. Didn't realize Drury was nearing the end of his contract and how lengthy Briere's contract was. So the Flyers will indeed be paying an injury prone veteran for 4 years beyond Drury's contract exp.(net 3 years, adjusting for the one year age difference.) Also, valid point that expectations of Drury were set way too high; therein lies the problem with him as a player, esp. in his declining years. Drury's value was so grossly inflated in 2006 (moreso in retrospect-still, many were wary of the steep price at the time)when Sather impetutously signed him along with Gomez, 2 second line centers, for #1 money. it was impossible for him to ever justify that absurd price tag.
However, the point I was trying to make is that Briere's playoff MVP caliber performance this yr vindicates 3 years of underachievement marred by injury, whereas Drury's output, factoring in his high effort quotient, hasn't justified a $4.5 million per yr contract, let alone $7.05M.
So, as far as whose contract you'd prefer to have going forward, I don't think it's that clear cut unless you consider the next two years a wash. Remember, this team has two elite assets in their prime (Henrik and Gaborik-both 28), so there is pressure (on top of the standard NYC expectation) to win now. With Briere performing at an elite goal-scoring/playmaking level, 32 yrs old, and Drury in seeming steep decline mode (32 points, -10 rating (granted poor guy suffered a concussion this year), I'd certainly take Briere for the next 2 years. By the time all the young talent (+30% of which won't pan out) filters into the main club (2-3 yrs from now) at entry level salaries, Briere will still be a serviceable #2/3 center; Drury is hardly this now - I realize that's harsh, but he has bottom end speed. Briere is still one of the fastest on the ice at essentially the same age. Having that abundance of cheap young talent would help the team absorb his exorbitant salary. Also, the cap is likely to expand over the next 5 yrs.
^^^I agree with all of that, qualified by the point I was trying to make above: that even if we had Briere next year, we would need more depth to be a serious contender.
I should be doing actual work, not playing fantasy GM.
I think a lot of people realized that when the Rangers signed Drury, we were buying a little bit into the myth of Drury the winner/leader. And not to discredit the guy's incredible talent, knack for clutch situations and championship pedigree, it's a whole different ballgame when you're the main guy in the dressing room, esp. in NYC. In Buffalo, where Drury was proving he could lead a successful team, he had the benefit of sharing that responsibility/burden with Briere, their leading scorer
This overvalued intangible quality probably added to $2M per to the deal. Briere had 96 points that year while also serving as co-captain. The previous season, he had 58 points in 48 games. At this rate, he appeared to be one of those post-lockout undersized players who could put up big numbers in the new league. So, even with a history of injuries then, I'd have signed him over Drury to that lengthy contract (while not ideal).
The Flyers have been highly successful over the past 3 seasons despite Briere'ssubsequent injury, and average production (~.82 pts/game), given their wealth of skilled skaters. The Rangers are the complete opposite, reliant on our goaltending
I agree as well. The Flyers were so superior to us in every way except goaltending. it was actually kind of a joke. Hank has carried this team for so long now. With Briere hypothetically centering our first or second line next year, we're a decidedly better team offensively. As much as people laud Drury's effort and shot blocking/defensive ability(he's actually had one of the worst plus minus ratings on the team since he came, we really don't lose much in that respect. Having Briere would also allow us to shore up our defensive corp more easily over the next couple years (after burying Redden and seeing Rozy off), and help bring in more quality role players. I can't wait to see what Sather actually does this offseason. should be interesting at least
just reiterating 2 yrs vs 5 and don't be faked by a hot playoffs by briere. the rangers are not a change of briere over drury away from legit contenders. and by the time the stepans etc come along it will be very good that neither briere or drury is here. and briere with 5 yrs remaining would be here those extra 3 yrs. talk about an albatross. yikes.
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