New York Rangers’ Glen Sather: Bargain Hunter!
Glen Sather is making shrewd moves this offseason (NYR)
Ok, Ok! Who are you and what have you done with Glen Sather? It’s a legitimate question and one we have to ask. In the face of a mass exodus on July 1st, the NY Rangers have actually improved for less!
Stempniak joins NY for 900K (Gene J. Puskar / AP)
I know, many of you and most experts would like to challenge me on that, so let me just answer the bell.
The Rangers Exchange
Keep your fancy stats, this is simple math. Above you see the player replacing last year’s Ranger with current cap hit and career average points per game. No corsi nonsense needed here. Average points per game is a clear track record of what reasonable expectations you can have.
In 3 out of the 5 cases above, the replacements win hands down (Dan Boyle, Lee Stempniak and Matthew Lombardi) and for equal or less AAV. One instance shows a slight edge in Pts Per Game to Dorsett, while Glass comes in slightly cheaper.
The biggest disparity is the buyout of Brad Richards, who is 34 years old and on a steep decline (scored a little over .50 pts per game last season) and a rising young star in JT Miller. However, even with Richards’ gaudy career point totals, the difference is only .16 total, but almost 6 million dollars less in cap hit.
Dan Boyle joins old buddy Marty St. Louis this season (Photo by Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images)
That my friends is called shrewd spending by a man not commonly known for it. These moves leave ample dollars for Sather to sign 4 core Rangers from last year’s Cup run in Zuccarello, Brassard, Kreider and John Moore.
The best part is that these deals are also short in term. 1 year to 2 year contracts (except, Glass at 3). Meaning, they can regain that salary next year to re-sign Derek Stepan and Marc Staal.
Bottom line is this, the Rangers regained lost depth and did so at a fraction of the price. The expected improvements in players like McDonagh, Kreider, Hagelin and Zuccarello should compensate for any loss point totals or intangibles caused by the departing players.
Stepan and Nash will be better (Getty)
Add in the likely rebound seasons from Derek Stepan & Rick Nash and you can see the plan taking shape. We should also not discount the benefits of having Marty St. Louis for a full season.
Only the most pessimistic of hockey experts and fans will look at this team as a far cry from last year’s Cup finalists. Then again, no one expected them to get remotely that far.
If the Rangers get back there and win it all, you can look back to these frugal maneuvers by a savvy GM. Deals that are seemingly out of character but moves that win championships nonetheless.
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