Options Does Anyone Have Any Options

So now that Ryan McDonagh has done the expected and signed his Entry Level contract as expected does attention now turn towards Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Nobody seems to be worried about getting Staal resigned but what is troubling has to be the way some fans are turning against Girardi.

If you are even thinking that the Rangers need to move Girardi then understand this; get rid of Girardi and the chances of getting rid of either Redden or Rozsival almost totally disappear. As it is the truth is that of the 2 Girardi by filing for arbitration is actually the easier of the 2 restricted free agents to sign.

Either the Rangers work out a deal, win or lose arbitration or let him walk as an unrestricted free agent but Marc Staal one has to fear might wind up becoming a huge battle for the Rangers. If you think the contract problems with Brandon Dubinsky last season then boy wait until you see the case for Marc Staal.

Unlike Dubinsky who people felt had not really proven himself at the NHL; Staal has more than proven himself. If anyone on the Rangers has been grossly underpaid the last couple of years it has been Staal.

Staal has lived with his original Entry Level contract and never complained just went out and did his job. He has watched just about every other defenseman who has joined the Rangers get paid more than he has.

Even Matt Gilroy who wound up finishing the season in the press box made close to twice what Staal made so if I am Marc Staal then I want the money. Staal is the Rangers best defenseman right now and a long dragged out contract dispute will hurt the Rangers more than it will Staal.

The Rangers as it is are not exactly full of solid options for the blueline next season even with Marc Staal in the lineup. As badly as fans want to see Redden and/or Rozsival gone there is nothing in the system to replace them.

Right now you can see Staal/Girardi, Redden/Rozsival, Del Zotto/Gilroy/McDonagh and then you are in some trouble. Gilroy or McDonagh wind up in Hartford with most likely it being Gilory for cap purposes as Sather has not been carrying 7 defensemen unless he had no other choice.

To be honest as an NHL player; Gilroy might be better served as a forward than he is a defenseman. But what is scary is that the options the Rangers have in Hartford are not as wide open as you might think despite the 15 names you see listed (McDonagh basically has a Ranger roster spot by default).


Right off the bat scratch the names of Baranka, Williams, Heikkinen, and Gorokhov as even wearing a Hartford uniform next season. None of those 4 even want any part of the Ranger's organization anymore and will not be back.

Daniel Maggio and Dylan McIlrath are headed back to their junior teams as neither are either ready or eligible to play in Hartford. Jyri Niemi can play in Hartford but would be better served by returning to his junior team to work on his consistency.

Mikhail Pashnin has another 1-2 (or more) years left on his contract in the KHL which knocks his name off the list so what does that leave? Tysen Dowzak has not gotten the wake up call to understand what he needs to do in order to be a professional hockey player.

That leaves 6 names left on a list not including those who are on AHL contracts only and are not considered as Ranger prospects. Michael Sauer could wind up being the only member of the Hartford Wolfpack blueline who returns next season.

Sam Klassen and Tomas Kundratek are pure rookies having spent last season in the WHL. Lee Baldwin is joining the system from Alaska-Anchorage and Pavel Valentenko says he is returning to North America after having HIS contract bought out by his KHL team.

Of all the names listed only Sauer has every played with the Rangers but the poor guy cannot stay healthy enough to really develop. Valentenko has had cups of coffee with the Montreal Canadians but he is joining the Rangers with a bad rep after his refusal to report to Hamilton while last with the Canadians.

Now Valentenko really does not have anywhere to run if the Rangers say he has to report to Hartford. Still that leaves what once was a pretty decent bunch of defensive prospects almost empty so if I am Marc Staal; I can afford to sit out if need be.

If anything right now not even Wade Redden really has much to worry about as the Rangers simply do not have either the money or the prospects to replace him with. It looks rather ugly as the moment and it could get a lot worse before it gets any better.

(McDonagh courtesy of Melody Hasse)

Oh Please Larry

When it comes to drawing attention to himself there are very few writers like Larry Brooks of the New York Post. It seems that every Sunday he does his job and gets people to talk about what he has written.

This Sunday it was about telling us that Ryan McDonagh was going to sign with the Rangers. Sorry Larry that is no scoop for you as anyone who was at the Ranger prospect camp saw that by the end of it; McDonagh knew what he was going to do.

It does not matter if it is correct or even close to being accurate, Larry Brook's job is to get you to either buy the Post, get you to visit the Post or do as I am doing here talk about his work. If he can get people to do any of the above then he has done what his employers expect of him to draw attention to himself and the Post.

At the same time though what is wrong about how he goes about his business is that he gives the real reporters like Andrew Gross, Michael Obernauer, Rick Carpiniello, and even Steve Zipay a bad name. See they work hard at getting their facts right and reporting the news with as much accuracy as possible.

When one of them makes a mistake you see them own up to it and admit it to you the Ranger fans. It takes a lot of courage in today's web word to own up to your mistakes cause you know there are going to be those who will trash you for it.

Brooks will rarely ever own up to his mistakes or wild rumors no matter who they hurt or how wrong they are. Let us see if Brooks will acknowledge that Ryan McDonagh was not a member of the Under-20 Gold Medal winning team.

That is way too big a mistake to let slide as McDonagh is 21 and was not eligible to play on this year's team. It is funny too how about a month ago it was Brooks who was reporting that McDonagh had no intention of signing with the Rangers.

You want to cite multiple sources for McDonagh's signing? There is really only one real source here and that is McDonagh himself.

I can say that with confidence because what I saw happening was that McDonagh attending the Ranger prospect camp; saw for himself that he was head and shoulders better than any other defensive prospect on the roster and realized what everyone has been saying all along.

That he was ready to turn professional; McDonagh is more developed to make the jump to the NHL than even his friend Derek Stepan. I would not even think twice about pairing McDonagh with Michael Del Zotto as there is nobody else not even Marc Staal who plays a stronger defensive game than McDonagh.

And McDonagh is also pretty smart on his own as he took a very good look at the Ranger's blueline situation and knew that the Rangers needed him more this year than he needed them. Any rumors of McDonagh's not being able to work out a contract with the Rangers was not at all factual.

How much money McDonagh was going to make was already decided by the CBA so this was never about money. What it was in my eyes was McDonagh seeing for himself that he was ready to play at the professional level.

Now that he does then it is just a matter of getting the paperwork done and come Traverse City there will be McDonagh in the first pair of the Ranger defensemen. Even Mr. Magoo can see that one.

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Even with McDonagh's signing the Rangers are still going to be short defensemen whether or not they waive Wade Redden like everyone is praying for. The Rangers have put themselves into a position that could force them to keep Redden on the roster.

With Staal and Dan Girardi still unsigned then right now the Rangers really only have 3 defensemen under contract for next season. It gets worse as in Hartford there is not anyone there who is going to inspire confidence to get John Tortorella to carry him.

The Rangers might have to move another part either from the roster or in the system to fill the holes on the blueline on the Rangers, the Hartford Wolfpack and the still unknown ECHL team.

What they better pray for is that either Tomas Kundratek, Sam Klassen or Jyri Niemi can step up and fill the holes on the blueline. If they can not then what was supposed to be a strong point in the system will turn into a huge weak spot in a hurry.

(Mr. Magoo courtesy of PopCultureMadness)

Thinking Out Loud

You know things are scary in the NHL when Glen Sather has a most quiet first day of free agency and others out Sather Sather. Whether it was the salary cap that forced this behavior or not; the Rangers really only one highly questionable move but still left some room for head scratching on others.

The good was getting Marty Biron as the backup goalie, resigning Vinnie Prospal, Brandon Prust and Erik Christensen; all at reasonable prices. It is hard to be upset with Sather at those moves.

The other good is so far Sather has not joined the madness that appears to have invaded the NHL and gave players contracts they do not deserve. When the NHL locks out the players again after the current CBA then remember moves like those made so far.

But for Sather it would not be a free agency period if he did not have at least one bad contract signing. This year is it giving Derek Boogaard a 4 year contract after refusing to give Jody Shelley a 3 year deal.

At least Shelley did more than fight for the Rangers but Boogaard is going to prove himself even less effective than Donald Brashear was. Giving or in this case wasting a roster spot on a guy who's best days as an enforcer are behind him as why bother with a guy who is going to give you only 6 minutes a game?

If the idea is to provide the Rangers with protection for their top players then they would have been better served getting someone like Raitis Ivanans who cost only 600K but will do the same job that Boogaard would have.

1 million may not seem like a lot of money but the Rangers have about 7.9 million to spend on Dan Girardli, Marc Staal, a couple of extra players and then have something for a rainy day. Even if the Rangers were to waive Wade Redden (and I am still not convinced the Rangers will do that) then the Rangers will have to spend some of the savings on a replacement defenseman.

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Derek Stepan signed his entry level contact this week as he gives up his final 2 years at Wisconsin to turn pro. One has to wonder just how much getting hurt in the NCAA championship game influenced his choice here.

We have always liked Stepan since the first time he played for the Wisconsin Badgers after being drafted by the Rangers in the 2nd round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. We know that in time he will become a solid pro and a major contributor to the Rangers.

But we think his decision to turn pro now was incorrect as we believe that Stepan would have been better served with another year at Wisconsin. Another season under Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves would have polished Stepan into a complete player something we do not think he can do at Hartford.

Under Eaves, Stepan was getting the kind of coaching which helped turn Stepan from an offensive machine into a strong 2 way player but his game still has some holes in it. For one thing his face off skills are the weakest part of his game and if he is going to be a playmaking center getting Top 6 minutes then being good on face offs is a must.

The other is his consistency as at times Stepan forgets that he has to play with an edge to get his offensive game going. If he does not play physical then he tends to not get into the flow of the offensive side of the game.

Because Stepan still has junior eligibility remaining, the Rangers have the option to send Stepan to Calgary of the WHL instead of Hartford in the AHL. The surprise for us will be is if Stepan does in fact play in Hartford this season as if the Rangers do send him to Calgary then they (the Rangers) save a year on his contract.

He is not even close to NHL ready so we hope he spends a year in Calgary (since he has a signing bonus then it is not like he will starve) where under Mike Williamson, Stepan can make the adjustment to playing a 70-80 game season schedule.

Willaimson led Calgary to the WHL championship last season and is well know to us from his days as the coach of the Portland Winterhawks where he coached Brandon Dubinsky and a couple of other now current NHL players. Stepan would be able to work on the weak areas of his game away from the glare and expectations of Ranger fans.

As for Ryan McDonagh; the more we see the more we believe that he will return to Wisconsin for his senior season. Stepan's decision to turn pro will have no bearing on McDonagh's decision but what will is whether or not McDonagh can make the jump directly to the Rangers.

The answer is yes on the defensive end;  as McDonagh would be vast improvement over current Rangers Redden, Rozsival, Del Zotto and Gilroy. The answer is no on the offensive side as McDonagh needs work on getting his shot on net as well as taking it more often.

We picture McDonagh as a "3" on defense as he will be strong enough on the defensive side but with enough offense to earn time on the power play. The Rangers though need McDonagh to turn pro now as if the season was to start tomorrow then Rangers would be short defensemen if you look at a combined Hartford/Ranger roster.

Staal, Girardi, Del Zotto, Gilroy, Redden and Rozsival make up the current depth chart at the NHL level. Sauer, Baldwin. Dowzak, Kundratek and Klassen are currently what the Rangers have to offer for Hartford with Trevor Glass coming off a lost season last year.

With Sanguinetti traded, Hekkinen signing in Russia and Cory Potter expected to also leave for a better chance elsewhere then the Rangers need McDonagh more than he needs them.

We think McDonagh is going to return to Wisconsin for his senior year but while it will anger some Ranger fans; it will do more to make McDonagh a more complete player.

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Remember on break out day how John Torterella said this about P.A. Parenteau on break up day? (courtesy of Andrew Gross's Ranger Rants)

Tortorella did sound impressed with P.A. Parenteau, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Tortorella said down the stretch Parenteau was the team’s third most talented player behind Gaborik and Christensen and that he’d like Parenteau to continue improving with his skating speed. 

Which is why Parenteau had so much faith in his chances of making the Rangers that he choose to sign with the Islanders on a 1 year one-way contract. Parenteau was a good serviceable role player for the Rangers who deserved a better fate than he got from the Ranagers.

(Sather courtesy of the NY Rangers)

Just Say NO

I am sure others will come up with better movies but for me the one movie that best describes the New York Rangers on July 1 is "Full Metal Jacket". If you have ever seen this movie then you know what Private Pyle says to Private Joker in the latrine right: 

I *am*... in a world... of shit.

Remember last year when the Rangers signed Donald Brashear and John Tortorella swore that Ranger fans would learn to love the guy who cheap shot then Ranger Blair Betts. Remember how Tortorella said that the first time Brashear fought someone that all will be forgiven.

Uh Coach if you and Larry Brooks can stop making out at the school bus stop could you please tell us how Brashear fits in for next season? Oh wait I am sorry you just waived him yesterday.

Gunny Hartman: What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn't Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention when you were a child? 


Oh sorry guess I am having one of those Vietnam movie flashbacks but at times there is an urge to scream that at Glen Sather when he gives an Ales Kotalik a 3 year deal when nobody else wanted him. Oh wait Kotalik is gone too gone in a trade for Olli Jokinen who at last check was also looking for a new home.

Private Cowboy: Remember, this was all just a bad dream, fat boy!

Oh no it is not unless you are Lauri Korpikoski who is laughing his butt off about he got to make the playoffs while the guy he got traded for did not even get offered a qualifying offer from the Rangers. Is there anything left from the great Ranger trade of Brian Leetch besides Michael Sauer living in exile down in Hartford.

Oh we could go on but why bother? Just give us our blindfold and push us up against the wall so you can shoot us in the butt. But never fear the odds are Tortorella will pick the wrong guys to shoot us as they will all miss in the shoot out.

The best thing that Sather and the Rangers can do is nothing, and I mean nothing  nothing nothing. Do not sign a single UFA and go to camp and see if you can find players from within the franchise.

Going out and signing UFAs when you are not even close to re-signing your own RFAs just makes matters worse but this is Satherland where reality does not exist.

Private Joker: The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.

Joker never saw some of the stiffs that Glen Sather signed has he?


(Full Metal Jacket quotes and image courtesy of Warner Bros)