*crickets chirp*

That’s right, the NHL decided not to send their athletes to the Olympic games this year. That’s a bummer, but I’m sure the games will be just as exciting and the rag tag group of players from the AHL, KHL and other international leagues look to chase Olympic gold! What’s interesting within these groups of players is the amount of former Rangers that played on Broadway, but you probably never knew or forgot! Everyone remembers Matt Gilroy (USA) and Wojtek Wolski (CAN) but do you remember some of the names listed below? Lets find out, in this special edition of Lesser Known Rangers – Olympic Edition!

Ivan Baranka, Defenseman, Team Slovakia

Time with Rangers: 1 game with NYR, 174 games with HFD

Ivan Baranka currently plays for HC Vítkovice Ridera in the Czech Extraliga and is currently representing Slovakia in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Before this, Baranka was drafted by the Rangers 50th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft (Note: Shea Weber was drafted 49th that year, Joe Pavelski was selected 205th overall).

Baranka seemed to play most of his time in Hartford. After 3 full seasons, Baranka finally played his first and only game as a Ranger on November 21st, 2007. His only contribution was assisting on Colton Orr’s first goal versus Tampa Bay. After that season, his Rangers career was essentially over and Baranka went overseas.

Tomas Kundratek, Defenseman, Team Czech Republic

Time with Rangers: 70 games for HFD/CT

Tomas Kundratek is currently playing in the KHL for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and is also representing Team Czech Republic in the 2018 Winter Olympic games. Before this, Kundratek spent time with the Washington Capitals and their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

Kundratek was drafted by the Rangers 90th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in hopes of being a depth guy in the near future for the big club. He played in 70 games as a rookie for the newly branded Connecticut Whale, during the 2010–11 season, tallying two goals and ten assists for 12 points, along with 42 penalty minutes. He also played in all six of the Whale’s playoff games versus the Portland Pirates in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, putting up two assists and two penalty minutes.

After suiting up for 7 games with the Whale the following season, he was traded to the Washington Capitals for Francois Bouchard on November 8th, 2011 and just like that, his Rangers career ended.

Chris Bourque, Forward, Team USA

Time with Rangers: 73 games for HFD in 2014-15 along with a few preseason games.

Currently, Chris Bourque, son of Ray, older brother of former Wolf Pack Ryan, is an alternate captain and AHL All Star Forward for the Hershey Bears. A career AHL’er, Bourque has had some cups of coffee in the NHL with New York, Pittsburgh and Washington.

Bourque attempted to stick onto the Rangers roster in 2014 by signing a one year, two way contract. After some preseason action, Bourque was assigned to Hartford where he led the team in scoring with 66 points in 73 games and was selected to the AHL first All-Star team.

The following season, he returned to Hershey where he currently plays to this day. Bourque is representing the United States in this year’s Winter Olympics.

Raphael Diaz, Defenseman, Team Switzerland

Time with Rangers: 11 Games in 2013-14, 4 playoff games during Cup run

I feel like one of the few Ranger fans out there that actually liked Raphael Diaz. There’s something about offensive type defenseman that pique my interest and when Diaz was acquired from Vancouver on March 5th, 2014, I was intrigued. I’m not saying he was the best defenseman out there on the ice, lighting it up, but the guy clearly could shoot the puck. In his first 11 games as a Ranger, he scored only one goal and one assist all while contributing in some form to the Cup run in 2014.

Diaz left New York to Calgary, where he made the team out of camp. The following season, the Rangers re signed Diaz to a one year, two way contract in the summer of 2015 in hopes of being a depth defenseman, but was buried in Hartford and only appeared in one playoff game before going overseas to Switzerland and signing a 5 year contract with EV Zug.

Diaz is currently representing Team Switzerland in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Bobby Sanguinetti, Defenseman, Team USA

Time with Rangers: 5 games with New York Rangers, 3 seasons with Hartford Wolf Pack

The local Trenton product is currently playing in Switzerland for HC Lugano in the National League (Swiss Hockey League). Team USA called upon Sanguinetti to represent Team USA in this year’s Winter Olympics. Sanguinetti has carved out a decent career for himself after leaving North America, first with the KHL and now in Switzerland.

Before all of this, Sanguinetti was regarded as a highly touted prospect for the Rangers. Selected in the first round with the 21st pick, the Rangers selected Sanguinetti in hopes that he would turn out to be a top prospect for the team down the line. After becoming an All-Star in the AHL for Hartford, Sanguinetti was called up to the big club for five games during the 2009-10 season. He appeared in five games, plus/minus rating was even and did not register a point.

That seemed to be it for Sangs, as he was dealt by the Rangers to the Carolina Hurricanes the following offseason. After a few stints in Carolina and bouncing around a few systems in the minors, Sanguinetti headed overseas to where he is today.

Personally, I thought Sanguinetti would pan out as a Ranger, but that just shows how in tuned I am with how scouting players is supposed to work. Yikes.

Viktor Stalberg, Forward, Team Sweden

Time with Rangers: 75 games for New York in 2015-16

I seem to have this fascination with depth players, as Stalberg was one of my favorites during the seemingly forgetful 2015-16 season (Did you know Jayson Megna was a first line winger this season for a few games?). The veteran winger signed on with New York on a one season deal and right away after making the opening night roster, enjoyed quick success. Although he only scored 9 goals that season, Stalberg was in the middle of a lot of nice plays that helped throughout the season.

Then, just like that, he was gone. Stalberg decided to leave New York after the Rangers decided to move on, and signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was then dealt to the Ottawa Senators and proved to be a thorn in the side of the Rangers, as he was part of the Ottawa team that defeated the Rangers in last year’s second round playoff series.

Following the season, Stalberg decided to leave the NHL and sign on with the Swiss club EV Zug of the National League for two seasons. He is now representing Sweden in this year’s Winter Olympics.

Over the past several years, management has put a major emphasis on improving the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Many of the players that have played for the Rangers over the past few years have spent quality time in Hatrford. Oscar Lindberg, J.T. Miller and Dylan McIlrath are just a few of many. Let’s take a look at what is going on down in Hartford.

Through their first seven games, the Wolfpack currently sit at 5-1-1, good for second in their division, trailing the Scranton Wilkes-Barrie Penguins by just one point. The ‘Pack have been getting solid goaltending from Magnus Hellberg, acquired this offseason from Nashville. The tall Swedish goaltender has played 6 of the 7 games (Jeff Malcolm got the other start) posting a 4-1-1 record, with a 2.15 GAA and .934 save percentage.

Up front, the top four scorers are all centers. Chad Nehring and Brian Gibbons lead the team with seven points apiece. On defense, Ryan Graves leads with four points (1G, 3A). Highly touted prospect, Adam Tambellini currently sits with five points. Four of Tamebellini’s five points have been goals, which is something many have come to expect, as the 2013 3rd round pick has been touted as a sniper since he was drafted. He, together with Pavel Buchnevich can both potentially be assets to the Rangers late in the season, should they be looking to add scoring depth from within. Buchnevich, however would have to wait for the KHL season is Russia to finish before coming over.

One player which I’m sure many Rangers fans are focused on right now down in Hartford, is Raphael Diaz. The Swedish defenseman was cut as the last man in training camp, after losing the seventh defenseman spot to Dylan McIlrath. Diaz expressed his interest in looking to continue his career elsewhere if he would be stuck down in Hartford. I think that management will make their decision whether or not to promote him to the big club based on how well the Powerplay is performing. We all have seen how well Diaz and pass the puck and how hard he can shoot it. He’s a valuable asset to the Powerplay, and his contract of just $700,000 is very favorable, especially for a team like the Rangers who are tight against the cap.

Another player on defense to look out for is 2012 1st-round pick, Brady Skeji. He, together with Diaz, made it far in camp, but the coaching staff figured it would best suit Skeji to get regular playing time in Hartford over sitting in the press box with the big club. Should a long-term injury occur on defense, Skeji could see a call-up.

The Wolfpack play again Sunday at 7:30PM at home vs. the Providence Bruins.

Follow me on twitter:@ekwestel

It’s hard to believe that we are less than a week away from Opening Night in Chicago! If you’re not excited, then find some to way to get excited. After going 4-1-1 in the preseason, it’s time to analyze some takeaways from the last few weeks of tryout hockey.

Roster Battles

As of the final preseason game against Boston, there were probably two roster spots left to be claimed: one forward and one defenseman. To get this out there quickly, Emerson Etem is NOT being demoted to Hartford. He must clear waivers first and you’re mistaken if you think he’ll go unclaimed. And that’s besides the fact that he was the main return in the Carl Hagelin trade.

The real decision AV will be making is Jarrett Stoll or Tanner Glass. If last year was any indication, Glass will have AV advocating for him, but as we all know, there’s a new Sheriff in town by the name of Jeff Gorton and he may have something else to say about that. Stoll is by far the more versatile player; he can play wing if necessary and he’s one of the best face-off men in the league.

On defense, things get a lot more interesting. I was a bit surprised when Brady Skeji was sent down, only because I thought he was ready and his game fits well with AV’s system. Not to mention that just a few months ago, I predicted on this site that the 2012 first rounder would make the opening night roster.

However, I also believed that the Rangers were going to trade Kevin Klein at the draft or some other time in the offseason to accommodate Skeji. With the guys still in camp, it’s between Raphael Diaz and Dylan McIlrath. I don’t think you’ll find a Rangers fan out there, who wasn’t delighted to see how well the 2010 first rounder performed in camp, as this was basically his final audition with the Rangers organization.

Considering McIlrath will be claimed on waivers, the Rangers will likely take a chance putting Diaz on waivers.

Goaltending

Not much to discuss here as everyone pretty much knew that Raanta was going to be the backup barring some injury.

3 on 3

If this is what helps minimize the amount of games going to a shootout, then I’ll take it. It’s still not the best way to decide a game, but it’s still hockey- not an individual skills competition. I think once the Rangers get more used to the new OT format (not taking too many men penalties), they will be one of the better teams 3 on 3. With the speed of Kreider, strength of Nash, playmaking ability of Zuccarello, Brassard & Stepan and the puck-moving abilities of McDonagh and Yandle, the Rangers should be well suited once extra time hits.

Standouts

Offense: Oscar Lindberg. The spot was his to lose and he’s won it big time.

Defense: Dylan McIlrath. As mentioned before, everyone who follows the Rangers knew this was it for McIlrath, and he was up to the task. His abilities with the puck have improved tremendously and he’s now given AV a very tough choice in terms of the 7th defensemen.

Any moves?

With the season set to start on Wednesday, the Rangers will try and finalize the roster ASAP. Is Jeff Gorton working the phones to see who might be interested in Kevin Klein? I would think so. Trading Klein would do so much for the Rangers and would give the team some much needed cap space (Klein has a $2.9MM cap hit) and roster flexibility. Maybe McIlrath has played himself out of New York in a good way the same Cam Talbot did. When all is said an done, I think Stoll makes it as the last forward and Glass gets sent to Hartford. As for the defense, I think Diaz makes it over McIlrath and a trade comes in the next few days with either Klein or McIlrath heading elsewhere.

Would love to hear your thoughts, and as always, stay tuned with FTNYR for all roster moves and shakeups as we get ready to start the 90th season of New York Rangers hockey!!!

Follow me on twitter: @ekwestel

Glen Sather‘s reign as supreme leader of the New York Rangers organization is over and Jeff Gorton has made that loud and clear. No big-splash free agent signings. No blockbuster trades. Gorton sorted the contract hell the Rangers appeared to be facing and managed to improve the team with the limited cap space he had available. We haven’t seen a summer so reasonably and intelligently approached by this organization since Sather succeeded Neil Smith as general manager in 2000.

Sather’s tenure with the Rangers resulted in some of the most active and far-out offseasons in team history. Mistakes were made; the Bobby Holik, Wade Redden, Chris Drury, and Scott Gomez signings immediately come to mind. Horrendous draft picks like Hugh Jessiman, Lee Falardeau, and Al Montoya were followed by amazing picks like Henrik Lundqvist, Brandon Dubinsky, and Derek Stepan. Overpaying free agents was the norm until around 2010. At that point Sather got his act together and started making smarter decisions, but he was still making noise around the league. The Rangers added Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards and traded for Rick Nash in the final years of Sather’s run. This was around the time Jeff Gorton started to influence Sather’s decision making.

Gorton joined the Rangers organization in 2007 and became assistant gm in 2011. It’s no coincidence that since his rise into Sather’s inner circle, the Rangers have made progressively better moves in the offseason to grow from a playoff bubble team to a Stanley Cup contender. It was his influence that brought Tuukka Rask, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and Tim Thomas into Boston, laying the foundation for a Bruins Stanley Cup victory in 2011.
Gorton has gone on to have a part in building the most successful Rangers teams since 1994 and now he has complete control over all personnel decisions as the Rangers’ general manager.

Gorton’s first order of business was to handle the July 1st free agent frenzy that had always enticed Sather into a big spending-spree. What he did instead was make cost-effective, low risk signings with the potential to pay-off as great depth for the team. He signed Viktor Stalberg and Raphael Diaz to NHL contracts while adding Brian Gibbons, Jason Megna, and Matt Lindblad to the Hartford Wolf Pack. The players that Gorton inked have displayed strong underlying statistics for their respective positions.

Stalberg is an interesting case as he’s produced at a top 6 level while playing reduced minutes and having a bottom 6 impact on his teammates production. His individual CF% dipped during his time in Nashville, but as a Chicago Blackhawk he consistently put up 56% Corsi. This can largely be attributed to the fact that he was utilized as a top 6 winger in Nashville after being a successful 4th liner in Chicago. He should thrive on the Rangers 3rd line and will provide solid possession that was missing from the bottom 6 last year.

Diaz, for some reason, continues to be underrated and misused by NHL teams. He doesn’t put up points, but maybe that’s because he gets ridiculously low minutes. When he does play though, he has such a positive impact on his linemates’ possession numbers that he could realistically be a top-4 defenseman, but he will likely serve as a 7th defender next season. He’s in his second stint with the Rangers since 2013-14 and hopefully Gorton handles him better that Sather did this time around. When properly utilized, it’s value singings like these that can help make good teams great.

Next on the summer checklist was tackling the Rangers’ list of restricted free agents. J.T. Miller, Jepser Fast, Emerson Etem, and Derek Stepan all required contracts. Gorton managed to sign Miller, Fast and Etem to their qualifying offers saving the Rangers a much-needed chunk of cap space. Additionally, Gorton signed prospect Oscar Lindberg to an affordable one-way $650K AAV deal over two seasons indicating a desire to insert him into the NHL lineup. Fans have been clamoring to see him with the big club and having him on the roster would likely help push Tanner Glass out of the bottom six and into the press box. Singing McIlrath to a one-way deal was the icing on the cake. If he doesn’t make the roster out of training camp, the Rangers will look to move him for a pick or prospect because of his waiver eligibility. This is essentially decision time on McIlrath’s potential career as a Ranger.

Gorton’s final and most important task this offseason was signing Derek Stepan to a long-term contract. Stepan came into the summer due for a considerable raise. I went into detail on this in an analytical piece where I broke down Stepan’s statistical performance and made a salary projection of $7 million AAV. As it turns out, Stepan’s asking price for arbitration was $7.25 million and what Gorton managed to do was drive down Stepan’s price to a bargain $6.5 million AAV over the course of 6 years. Provided that Stepan continues to play at his current level or improves, the deal becomes a steal by 2021 when that will likely be the going rate for average 2nd line centers.

Although many fans would like to see the Rangers add another top 6 scorer, it appears that management is content with the roster they have. Jeff Gorton has done a masterful job of making low risk moves and giving out cost-effective contracts. He avoided making a splurge on this summer’s limited free agent market and helped secure a large portion of this team’s future for years to come. We can expect the Rangers to be even better this season and we have Gorton to thank for that. Sometimes the best additions are the small ones that plug the gaps.

If today marked the first “official” day on the job for new GM, Jeff Gorton, then it was a good one. The Rangers filled out their roster and added some organizational depth pieces in a handful of signings today.

Viktor Stalberg

“Another man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.” That’s exactly what could be happening here with Stalberg, who was a bust in Nashville. Just a few days ago, the Predators placed him on unconditional waivers for a buyout. Today, the Blueshirts added the 6’3″ winger to their roster as either a 4th liner or extra forward.

Stalberg was an excellent role player for the Blackhawks when they won their 2013 Championship. He averaged a little over 10 minutes of ice during that run and added 3 assists to the Hawks cause. He was not used on special teams.

Being on a winning team lands you big contracts and the Predators signed him to a 4 year deal and were left holding the bag after he scored only eight goals in 70 games. A far cry from the 22 he netted for Chicago in 2011-12. He only appeared in 25 games last season, and spent a majority of the year in the AHL.

Stalberg brings some size and speed to the lineup, but very little in the offensive creativity department. Look for him to be in and out of the lineup for most of the season. At 1.1M AAV on the cap for one year, not a bad deal.

Stalberg at $1.1M, Diaz $700,000 as NYR free agent signees

— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) July 1, 2015

Raphael Diaz

“What’s old is new again!” That best describes bringing back Diaz to the Rangers for depth on the bullion should (and when) injury occur. Diaz has some offensive ability with a great shot from the point.

That’s a nice for the positives, but his lanky frame and lack physicality on defense hurt. Do not expect to see too much of Diaz this year. He will only be used in spot starts should a Rangers regular need a day off. Any longterm injury and Brady Skjei or even Dylan McIlrath would get the long look.

GORTON’S  TAKE

[su_quote cite=”Jeff Gorton via SNYRANGERS” url=”https://snyrangersblog.com/coachesgm/glen-sather/updating-glen-sather-and-jeff-gorton-conference-call/#more-150003″]We have added some pretty good players and depth but to say yes right now is tough. We will know as we move forward and see if we can add players. I would like to say yes but you would probably disagree with me.”[/su_quote]

“MINOR” MOVES

Below are moves that will help the Hartford Wolf Pack, especially since Oscar Lindberg is expected to make the big club.

OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with forward Brian Gibbons pic.twitter.com/SVeJMF4apR — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2015

OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with forward Matt Lindblad pic.twitter.com/4kVAKD4wUH

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2015

OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with forward @Jayson_Megna. pic.twitter.com/awBsBa9Ype

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2015

Reports are surfacing that Ryan McDonagh has no structural damage but will miss time with the shoulder injury.

So the question that begs to be asked, should the Rangers shut him down for the rest of the regular season? NY is very close to capturing a spot in this year’s playoffs, as their magic number is now down to 3. Any combo of 3 points based on wins, losses and overtime losses between NY and Washington, means no worst than 8th for the Blueshirts.

Looking ahead, NY has 5 games left starting in Colorado tomorrow versus the Avalanche. They then have a 3 game home stand against the likes of Ottawa, Carolina and Buffalo before finishing in Montreal.

Based on the schedule, NY is almost guaranteed a spot in the dance, but how important is home ice versus the health of Ryan McDonagh for the playoffs? I rate it very low because we are assuming the Rangers can’t get it without Mac Truck in the lineup.

The Flyers are the most likely candidate to claim the 2nd spot from the Rangers and they have no easy road to it. Their only advantage is having two games in hand, but of the 7 remaining they must face Columbus at home, Boston, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh on the road. That’s 4 tough games, and they would need to win at least 3 of those 4 to take it from the Rangers. Sure, Philly has 3 easier games against Buffalo (H), Florida (A) and Carolina (H), but they still need to win those games.

Let’s also highlight the fact that the NYR are up by 3 points and have 3 more ROW’s then Philly. That means the Flyers must overcome NY’s point totals in order to pass them because the Rangers hold the tiebreaker.

Bottom line, hold out McDonagh for at least 3 games. The addition of Raphael Diaz now looks like a bigger move for Sather than anyone thought before. John Moore is ready to return to the lineup as well. If it’s precarious going into Montreal, suit him up against Buffalo. If not, let him rest up. McDonagh plays big minutes, and a week or more off may be a huge difference this post season.

[yop_poll id=”28″]

Last night, Raphael Diaz’ performance put Anton Stralman on notice. With John Moore out due to a concussion suffered against Columbus on Friday, Diaz has a great opportunity to show he belongs.

If you were just a “stat” guy and saw the box score, you’d think me silly for writing this article. He was a plus 1 with only 1 shot on goal. However, Raphael Diaz looked so smooth in his 12:14 of ice time you could tell why Sather went after him last year.

That is correct, at one point Glen Sather was mulling a swap of Michael Del Zotto for the right handed defenseman from the Montreal Canadiens. Not making the move proved to be the right one, as Del Zotto was used to acquire stay-at-home blue liner Kevin Klein. Diaz was a deadline steal for NY this year, since it only cost a low draft pick. It’s a move that could prove invaluable going forward.

Back to the performance. The moment Alain Vigneault called on Diaz to take a shift on the power play was the moment Stralman’s ticket may have been punched out of town. The slick passer with the heavy shot logged 4:06 on the PP point. The defenseman from Switzerland was so impressive that season long PP QB, Brad Richards, only logged 1:54 on the man advantage.

Surely, AV realizes that Richards is liability as a forward on the point with slow legs. So it isn’t surprising that Diaz overtook him so quickly. Raphael Diaz can QB a power play as his earlier scouting report suggests. In limited action with Montreal he scored 4 goals and 29 assists in 129 games being bounced in and out of the lineup for two and a half seasons. This year in 53 games he has 1 goal and 11 assists, playing for 3 NHL teams (MTL, VAN, NYR).

What’s the knock on him? He isn’t physical enough and that may play in his favor under AV. The coach’s system covets puck moving and speed over brute force. So expect to see a healthy dose of Raphael Diaz on the PP point as John Moore recovers.

As for Stralman? The day he turned down Glen Sather’s 9 million dollar offer over 3 years was the start of his doom. The possible emergence of Raphael Diaz may very well seal it. Both are UFA’s at the end of this season, but Diaz at 1.2 million a year may be more reasonable and realistic in his contract demands, all but packing Stralman’s bags out of town. When John Moore comes back and if Stralman gets scratched in favor of Diaz, you will know all this to be true.

[yop_poll id=”10″]

John Moore will miss his first game due to a possible concussion as he is being re-evaluated today, so Raphael Diaz steps in and looks to step up.

Don’t be surprised if he makes such an impression that he may cause Alain Vigneault serious pause in setting his next lineup.

First off he has a great attitude as evident by this tweet:

I have been traded again, 4weeks, 3 nhl organisations, 1 Olympics , this is hockey…..

— Raphael Diaz (@diaz_raphael_61) March 5, 2014

Here’s his scouting report: