Ranger’s Play it Safe at Trade-Deadline

Rangers fans were hoping for a big splash during yesterday's trade deadline. What they got instead were a pair of minor deals which will only help the team incrementally.

For the first deal of the day, Glen Sather brought in 27-year-old Christian Backman from St. Louis in exchange for a forth-round pick. Backman is a former first round draft pick in 1998 and has spent some time this month on the injured reserve as the result of a chipped bone in his foot after blocking a shot February 1.

Backman is not the first-pair defenseman most fans craved, however he will fill in for Paul Mara for the next two weeks while he recovers from facial surgery. Also this move also means the Rangers will not have to use Jason Strudwick during the playoffs and Backman and Marek Malik will compete for the sixth defensive spot on the roster.

The other deal the Rangers pulled off was a five-player swap with the Phoenix Coyotes. They sent Marcel Hossa and goalie Al Montoya to the desert in exchange for Fredrik Sjostrom, another first-round pick from the 2001 draft, Josh Gratton and goaltender David LeNeveu.

Sjostrom is a 24-year-old right winger who will essentially take Hossa's spot on the roster. This deal is not much of an upgrade, but it means a roster spot isn't taken up by a player who has been limited to 36 because of a bad back. It also means that Strudwick will not be forced to play wing if the team is short of wingers.

Gratton, nicknamed the “Chin Of Steel,” is an excellent enforcer who has 237 penalty minutes in 67 career NHL games. He may not see anytime on Broadway this season, but serves as insurance in case Colton Orr's upper body injury costs him significant time.

LeNeveu looks like a throw-in on this deal. The Rangers probably requested him to take Montoya's place in Hartford as Miika Wiikman's backup. Montoya's days as a Ranger were up since the emergence of Wiikman as the starting goalie in Hartford and the six-year contract extension of Henrik Lundqvist.

These deals might have come up short of the expectations fans had for the deadline, however they are typical of the types of moves Sather has made since the lockout. Since the Rangers started “rebuilding” after the lockout the biggest splash has been a deal sending Maxim Kondratiev to Anaheim for Petr Sykora. Hardly a big time deal, but it represented addition by subtraction on the blue-line and provided the Rangers with more speed on the wing.

Last season the Rangers made two moves in February and neither were blockbusters. The Rangers sent Jason Ward to Los Angeles for Sean Avery in a move which was meant to bolster the strength of a weak team. The other deal was of the same ilk as they sent a disappointing defenseman, Aaron Ward to the Bruins for Mara. Neither of those deals seemed like much at the time, but the small upgrades paid off as the Rangers finished off the 2006/07 season with a bang.

Other deals have been small as well. Swapping Ville Nieminen for San Jose's third-round pick then sending that pick to Anahiem for Sandis Ozolinsh. Also there was the deal which sent Adam Hall to Minnesota for Pascal Dupuis only to sent Dupuis to Atlanta just days later for Alex Bourret.

Sather has established a pattern of making deals which upgrade troubled areas instead of trying to change the face of the organization all at once. These low-risk/high-reward moves have paid off in getting the Rangers to the playoffs two years in a row while not risking to future. The Rangers of the 21^st century no longer trade the farm for Eric Lindros or Pavel Bure and instead they have waited until July to add the big names like Brandon Shanahan, Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury.

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Extension fit for a King

It took the Rangers seven seasons to get back to the playoffs, but on Tuesday they made a move which should keep them a contender for the next six years.

The Rangers and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist reached a preliminary agreement yesterday believed to be worth $6.5 million for 6 seasons according to the NY Daily News.

The Rangers and their 25-year old goaltender failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal this past off-season and Lundqvist was brought back on a 1-year deal worth $4.25. Since January 1, the earliest date the team could negotiate a new contract with Lundqvist, his agent Don Meehan and Ranger's general manager Glen Sather have been at work on a new deal.

The deal is a big one for the Rangers because if Lundqvist was not under contract by July 1 he would have become a restricted free agent. Under rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, teams would be able to place bids on him. The Rangers would then either have to match those bids or lose him.

Losing Lundqvist would be a big blow to an organization with Cup aspirations. Goalies talented enough to win an Olympic gold medal and finish as a Vezina Trophy finalists in their first two seasons are about as common as goals scored by Colton Orr.

Lundqvist has been hot and cold this season. For the first two months of the season he was nothing short of dominating going 13-9 with four shutouts and a 1.82 goals against average. Lately it has been a different story. Since December his record is a plain 11-12 and he has only two road wins during that time.

It is possible that since this time his mind has been preoccupied by contract negotiations and now that this is behind him he will go back to focusing on hockey. Last season Lundqvist helped carry the Rangers to the playoffs going 11-2 down the stretch and for $39 million bet on the organization expecting similar results.

This move also gives the Rangers a big trading chip. The team was probably reluctant to deal the 23-year old Al Montoya because of the chance of losing King Hank during the off-season. Now that he's locked up for the next six years Montoya becomes more expendable especially since the emergence of another 23-year old goalie Miika Wiikman. Wiikman is playing in his first full season in the AHL and has a better winning percentage and GAA than Montoya.

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Rangers Win 4-0 After Shake-Up

The Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 Tuesday night when Jaromir Jagr’s line scored three goals and had two assists after being shaken up before the game.

For most of this season Jagr has skated with a rookie centerman, Brandon Dubinsky, despite the Rangers spending over $85 million on a pair of all-star pivots. Jagr was paired with him after brief experiments with Scott Gomez and Chris Drury failed to achieve immediate results.

Since Jagr’s immediate positive reaction to Dubinsky head coach Tom Renney has been reluctant to split the pair, but both players have been slumping lately and it was obvious to everyone that something needed to change. Now Jagr is back to being pair with Gomez and is flanked by Martin Straka.

That was just one of the moves the Rangers have made this week in an attempt to shake things up after going 1-4-1 over the past six games. Drury has been moved on a line with Brendan Shanahan and rookie Nigel Dawes, who was just called up this week. Dubinsky replaced Drury on the third-line and skated with wingers Petr Prucha and Ryan Callahan, who returned to the Rangers after a non-trip to Hartford.

Also goalie Al Montoya was recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack, but that may be a move which is only temporary because the status of Henrik Lundqvist was uncertain this week after coming down with the flu. Lundqvist appeared healthy and rested Tuesday night as he shutout the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the second time in two weeks Lundqvist has posted a shutout after being rested the previous game.

Sean Avery will go with the Rangers out west to Minnesota and Colorado according to Steve Zipay’s Newday blog, but there is little expectation that he will get into a game. The Rangers are 4-4-1 since Avery’s wrist surgery.

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Lundqvist Yanked as Rangers Lose 6-2

The New York Rangers entered the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday night down 4-2 and decided to pull Henrik Lundqvist.

Do you think that maybe he needs a break? Lundqvist has started in 9 out of the past 10 games and 26 out of 28 games overall.

So far, a third of the way through this season, even the biggest Devil’s fan would have to admit that Hank is a serious Vezina Trophy contender. He entered today in the top three of the four major goalie statistics, first in wins (14), second in goals against average(1.91), second in shutouts(4), and third in save percentage(.927%).

Those stats aren’t going to last if he doesn’t get a breather soon. He has given up four goals in each of the past two games. Not only has he not done that yet this season,s it’s only the second and third time he’s given up four goals or more in any games this season.

The major issue here is with backup Steve Valiquette. While he has played fairly well this year he is not the type of player you want starting 20 to 25 games for your team and because of this Hank never gets a night off. In his defense he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to show he can be a strong backup. He’s only started two games this season and just one in four months with the team last season.

There are two ways to solve this problem. The Rangers can use Valiquette more and find out if he can actually become a solid backup. They can also call up Al Montoya who is healthy again after spending half of November sitting because of an injury. If the Rangers don’t like either of these options they should begin to look for a backup now because if Lundqvist has to keep playing 9 out of 10 games he will eventually break down along with the Ranger’s cup hopes.

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Cold War Draft

Politics played a major role in this years NHL draft as the Rangers got what many considered to be the steal of the day when they selected a Russian forward at 17th overall.

With the Rangers selecting late in the first round they were not expected to make an impact in what many considered a weak draft. That all changed when they selected forward Alexi Cherepanov with their first pick.

Cherepanov was expected to go anywhere between 5th and 10th overall but slid all the way down to 17th when fears that his Russian team would not release him to play in America. Many teams, not wanting to waste a top pick, passed up the opportunity to get the top-rated European in the draft.

Not only do the Rangers feel confident that Cherepanov will be released from his team, the Daily News has reported that a deal may already be in place. “In this case, we have an agreement with the club (Omsk) and Alexi has an agreement with the club that they will allow him to come over here after the season,” said agent Jay Grossman.

Ranger's head coach Tom Renney seemed more concerned with Alexi's skill than the problems surrounding Russian players coming to America. “This is the best player we can get our hands on right now. Let's do it. And we'll do everything we can to get him here.”

The 18-year-old notched 18 goals and 11 assists in 46 games for Omsk this past season. The 18 goal mark is a league rookie record eclipsing the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Evgeni Malkin.

With the Rangers second pick in the draft, they selected Canadian goalie Antoine Lafleur. This move is significant because it comes on the same week that Vezina trophy finalist Henrik Lundqvist expressed his interest in staying in New York. Lundqvist is looking for a long-term deal in the $5 million range which will keep him between the pipes at the garden for years to come.

With King Henrik pledging allegiance to his team and the 2nd round selection of Lafleur it looks like the Rangers will make former first-round pick Al Montoya available.

The Rangers will also resume talks with center Michael Nylander this week. The two sides have not talked since the Rangers offered him a three-year $11.25 million offer. The Olympic gold medal-winning pivot has since changed agents, a sign that he is interested in more money. It is rumored that Nylander will command up to $20 million for a 4 year contract in the open market.

Brendan Shanahan has said he has chosen to pass up retirement and play another season in the NHL. This is good news for Ranger fans as he stated that he has no interest in becoming a free agent. “I'm going to play next year and it is my intention to play for the Rangers,” Shanahan told the NY Post.

Shanahan certainly still has the ability to play at a top level, but still harbors concerns about giving it another shot. Suffering a concussion on Feb. 17 after colliding with the Flyer's Mike Knuble caused him to miss 15 games. After recovering from the injury, the veteran leader went on to play in 9 more games registering 8 points. He also played in 10 playoff games scoring 5 goals with 2 assists.

Jed Ortmeyer's agent Mark Witkin has said his team has made no progess towards bringing Ortmeyer back to New York for the 07-08 season. It looks like the tenacious penalty killer could be moving on.