DeAngelo on RFAs

DeAngelo looked at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s situation and noted they need to make trades in order to protect against an offer sheet to Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev.

The Rangers defenseman then read off a list of high quality RFA’s by starting with his own name and Ryan Strome’s. “You’re telling me no one is going to get offer sheeted this summer? It’s insane, you have to offer sheet someone,” he said.

Certainly an interesting take from an actual RFA in the NHL.

The rest of the podcast was loaded with discussion about some of the big UFA’s as well. It is certainly worth a listen.

Wayne Simmonds on Broadway

Towards the end of the podcast, there was a little discussion that the Rangers should maybe bring in Wayne Simmonds on a one year deal. “I would love to have Simmonds as a teammate,” Tony said. “He’s the kind of guy you want to play with.” The crew rationalized that he would be great to protect Panarin and the kids.

NHL News and Rumors

Here’s today’s NHL Headlines over at The Daily Goal Horn! It’s loaded with news and also rumors from some of the top insiders.

Capitals Looking Around

The Capitals like every other team is looking to beef up for the playoffs. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period recently noted that UFA forward rental Trevor Lewis of LA is someone they are looking at.

According to TFP the Caps have been attached to Kings Derek Forbort of LA and Andy Greene of NJ. They also kicked the tires on the Rangers Chris Kreider, which is the first time I’ve heard that tidbit.

Vincent Trocheck on the Market

Elliotte Friedman dropped a new name last night when he said the Florida Panthers would be willing to move Vincent Trocheck for a defenseman. The 26 year old center has 2 years left on his deal at $4.75M. He only has 32 points in 51 games this season, but many people remember his 31 goals and 75 point campaign in 2017-2018. Friedman is right when he says there will be plenty of interest in him.

Jesper Fast Overtakes Chris Kreider as Most Likely to be Traded

Jesper Fast has moved up to the top of the list of Rangers to be moved. First off, there has been no reports that the two sides have met or will be meeting before the deadline. I reached out to KO Sports and they did not respond. Second, Chris Kreider’s play is further moving the needle towards the Rangers retaining him. And finally, the team needs to make room for Vitali Kravtsov on the overloaded right side. With Phil DiGiuseppe’s excellent play on the 4th line, Fast has become expendable. Nashville remains a top destination.

Canucks Want A Big Forward

We’ve already noted that the Canucks are looking at NJ’s Wayne Simmonds to beef up for the playoffs and remain the favorite to land him. TFP is also noting that Trevor Lewis could be of interest too. For Canucks fans, it has to be nice to become buyers at the deadline after being sellers for so long.

The Canucks have expressed interest in the likes of New Jersey Devils winger Wayne Simmonds and Los Angeles Kings forward Trevor Lewis, two different types of players that could fit two different needs – Simmonds brings a power forward element to the table, which might be the priority for the Canucks, while Lewis brings a two-way style and can be an asset on the penalty kill.

THE FOURTH PERIOD

Canucks Looking to Beef Up

The NJ Devils will be sellers at the deadline, and one player drawing interest is power forward Wayne Simmonds. The 31 year old UFA rental has respectable numbers with 5 goals and 19 points on a downright awful hockey club this season. He’d be a perfect fit in Vancouver who are looking to beef up for the playoffs. The Devils can’t expect more than a 2nd round pick in return, but that franchise is thinking about building around Jack Hughes now for the foreseeable future. Pierre Lebrun recently noted that the Canucks were considering signing him this summer before NJ did.

P.K. Subban Traded Again?

I am hearing some rumblings out of NJ that after this disastrous season the Devils may consider trading Subban for a monster package of picks, prospects or young NHL players. The future in NJ is all around Jack Hughes and keeping the 30 year old Subban isn’t a bad idea, but the return could be immense. And while he comes with a 9M cap hit, his base salary next season is just $2M (+6M signing bonus) which means it could open him up to a number of small market teams as well.

Leafs targeting Dumba and Manson

With Morgan Rielly and now Cody Ceci out with injury the Leafs are scouring the market for a defenseman. The Toronto Sun is speculating that either Minnesota’s Matt Dumba or Anaheim’s Josh Manson are possible targets. After acquiring a cheap backup and a depth forward, Kyle Dubas could use Andreas Johnsson or Kasperi Kapanen to make a deal work.

New York Nonsense

Pierre Lebrun reported yesterday that the Rangers and Chris Kreider are going to talk contract in the next coming days. I spoke with a team source and was told this is just part of the process and the first step of many. This happened with Kevin Hayes last year as well and the Rangers still moved him at the deadline. I do expect the same here, but I also expect an attempt to sign him in the offseason.

However, the biggest news coming out of NY is from Larry Brooks as he not only speculates about buying out Henrik Lundqvist but trading Jacob Trouba before his NMC kicks in. I wrote about the insanity of a buyout here and discussing Trouba makes no sense at all to me.

Last note out of NY is on RFA Tony DeAngelo who spoke with Lohud on his future. His responses were standard but in conclusion he felt pretty confident he would remain a Ranger this summer.

The Buffalo Sabres prevented 40 goal scorer Jeff Skinner from hitting unrestricted free agency this summer. It cost them a total of $72 million to do so.

So What Does This Mean to the Free Agent Market?

Skinner’s deal means that Artemi Panarin’s contract is going to start at least around the 10.5 to 11M dollar mark and get no less than the maximum 7 years he can sign for per the CBA. Skinner was able to sign for the 8 year maximum because Buffalo acquired him on his Entry Level Contract.

It also means that any of the big RFA’s out there looking to sign long term like Patrick Laine and Mitch Marner are going to command at least $10 million and 8 years. In essence, this is shaping up to be a very expensive Free Agency season for anyone who wants to be a player in this market.

Are the Rangers Players This Summer

The answer is yes. That doesn’t mean they will get into a bidding war over Artemi Panarin and pay him $15 million a year for the next 7 years. Or that they will acquiesce to Karlsson’s desire for 7 years at $11M per. John Davidson is not going to rush this team or expedite the process in the short term to hurt them in the long run.

It is possible that if the Rangers can’t reach an agreement to land a Panarin or Karlsson at a contract they are comfortable with they may go a different route. One player that could be of interest to the team is Wayne Simmonds.

The Rangers and the Free Agent Market

The market on Erik Karlsson has cooled tremendously since last year. The belief that Karlsson’s negotiations would start no lower than the $11 million mark at 7 years seems out of scope now. It is possible that a more reasonable number in either salary or years could be achieved for an All-Star #1 defenseman. Should Karlsson lessen his demands, the Rangers would certainly consider him.

Another star player of interest is Matt Duchene, whose numbers are fairly comparable to Skinner’s this past season. Duchene could be had for about $10M per for 7 years. Of course, that will take him to the age of 35 and likely have teams balk. If Duchene would be amicable to a 5 year deal, he would get that money easily.

Back to Simmonds. The 30 year old UFA is coming off a deal with an AAV of $3.975M. He scored 17 goals and 30 points in a difficult year between the Flyers and Predators. Simmonds checks a lot of boxes for the Rangers heading into next season. He can score, averaging over 25 goals in the last 5 years and he brings an element of size and toughness the Rangers could use with such a young lineup.

Simmonds is also going to cost a lot less on the market with all these big name UFA’s and RFA’s out there. A 3 year deal at around $5-6M would make a lot of sense for John Davidson’s Blueshirts.

Featured Image: James McCoy/Buffalo News

The latest NHL rumors and if it impacts the Rangers.

Leafs Ain’t Worrying

When it comes to offer sheeting one of the Leafs two biggest RFA’s in Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner, the Leafs aren’t concerned.

“Our salary cap situation is set up that we could defend any of those threats with no worry at all,” Dubas said after Monday’s practice. “I spend zero per cent of my time having any worry about that.” – Kyle Dubas

While it is true the Leafs could have as much as 27 million dollars to “defend” against offer sheets, if Matthews were to get that 12-15M offer and Marner maybe 7-9M then Dubas will be pretty handcuffed to fill out the remaining roster with quality players.

Kyle Dubas also made it a point to note that Toronto isn’t the only team with high profile RFA’s. He cited Winnipeg’s Patrick Laine, Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, and Tampa’s Brayden Point just to name a few. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” is what TSN’s Bob McKenzie said recently on any team making an offer sheet. Still, this is a rare group of elite RFA’s and it is quite possible at least one team out there may decide to do it. I truly hope the Rangers try to use this incredible market to their advantage.

Tarasenko dominates trade talk in STL

When it comes to Blues being traded, Tarasenko is easily the most talked about player. Elliotte Friedman was recently on a Calgary radio show to discuss Tarasenko and believes the Carolina Hurricanes may be the lead dog to land him.

“So what are you getting? You’re getting a guy who can score, but a guy who is a bit flawed. And a team like Carolina, which I think has waited, they’re dying for goals. I could see it.” – Friedman

Are these players on the move soon?

The NHL roster freeze is coming tomorrow and ends on December 27th. Lyle Richardson breaks down 6 players he believes could be moved before then. Names like Wayne Simmonds and Jake Muzzin top the list. 

Read it here.

Shaw plays a tenacious game and uses his assets well, especially for crashing the net. That is likely where the similarities in their game ends. Kreider is much bigger at 6’3″ to Shaw’s 5’11” and is a lot faster to boot. Shaw has scored 20 goals once while Kreider is coming off back to back 21 goal seasons.

Still, since this is a recent deal, Gorton could use it to his advantage and claim that if anything Kreider is worth maybe only a bit more than 3.9M. Maybe somewhere in the range of 4.25 to 4.75 for about 5 to 6 years as well.

Shaw 3.9M. You can expect Chris Kreider to now command between 4.25 to 4.75M to sign (or more) pic.twitter.com/UlFPGoKcz6

— FullTilt Rangers (@NYR_FullTilt) June 28, 2016

Another thing to Gorton’s advantage are the contracts of several star wingers whom, Kreider has yet to match on a production level.

Andrew Shaw (6 yrs @ $3.9M) comparables:
Oshie 5 @ $4.175M
Simmonds 6 @ $3.975M
Gallagher 6 @ $3.75M

More: https://t.co/6VeSvJl1pl

— General Fanager (@generalfanager) June 28, 2016

Wayne Simmonds who matches up much better to Kreider than Shaw, signed his deal after a lockout shortened season where he scored 15 times in 45 games and the previous year when scored 28 times. This season, he tallied a career high 32 times. So even if you adjust for some inflation over the last few years, a reasonable deal for Chris Kreider seems very possible.

If the Rangers could lock up CK20 for under 4.5M, it will be a great deal. If Kreider ever realizes his full potential it could be an outright bargain. Time to get to work Jeff and lock up your most important RFA.

The Rangers iced a lineup that included four roster regulars (John Moore, Dominic Moore, Carl Hagelin, and Kevin Klein) the rest of the team was composed of players trying to crack the Rangers opening night roster.

The Flyers deployed a roster that will be nearly identical to their opening night lineup.  The only major Flyer not in the lineup was Steve Mason (replaced by Ray Emery).

The Rangers seemed to pick up where they left off on Monday when Carl Hagelin scored on a shorthanded breakaway with the game not even five minutes old.

From there the Rangers struggled to generate offense and Cam Talbot made a few key saves. The Flyers finally broke through at 13:46 of the first when Sean Couturier whipped a wrist shot past Cam Talbot to tie the game at one.

A little over seven minutes into the second period the Rangers found themselves chasing the Flyers around the zone. Finally the puck came to Nicklas Grossmann who lined up a slap shot and powered it through traffic and past Cam Talbot to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

Just a few minutes later, Rangers nemesis Wayne Simmonds got free in front of the net and deflected a Matt Read wrist shot past Talbot to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead.

The Rangers would respond just 36 seconds into the third period when Dominic Moore whipped a pass through the net mouth that landed on Anthony Duclair’s stick. Duclair deposited the puck to cut the Flyers lead to one.

The Rangers had a few power plays in the 3rd including a brief 5 on 3 but couldn’t cash in. They surrendered an empty net goal to Matt Read. Alain Vigneault spoke in the post game of the Rangers effort “I thought for the most part our guys did fairly well. There were some moments there where we spend a little bit more time in our end than I think everyone would have liked to.”

The Rangers next game is Friday night against Chicago.

Blue Prints:

It seemed like the Rangers were looking to see if anyone would rise to the top without much support from veteran players. In prior games Nash and St.Louis were able to open up space for the Rangers younger players.

The Battle For The 7th Defensemen Continues:

Mike Kostka was better than he was in New Jersey, but was still not impressive.

Matt Bodie really struggled, he had chances on the power play, and throughout the game, but just kept shooting himself in the foot and turning the puck over.

Connor Allen was just ok, his best moments were when he was bothering Wayne Simmonds.

Matt Hunwick seems to be the leading candidate for the job. He was on the power play, on the penalty kill and most importantly was making some good plays. He wasn’t amazing, but he is a gifted skater. He is the perfect “hold the fort defender” at this point in time.

Moving Forward:

Kevin Hayes was really good he made a few great plays and was robbed by Nicklas Grossman on the goal line.

Ryan Haggerty was ok, but he was much better on Monday.

Ryan Bourque and Oscar Lindberg need some work they are still a bit weak on their skates.

Danny Kristo didn’t look good. He had chances and came up empty, he just looks too passive.

Anthony Duclair has been great all around. The debate is currently, do we send him to Juniors? or do we keep him and forfeit the ability to send him down after 9 regular season games. Alain Vigneault spoke about Duclair’s play after the game “So far his play has definitely caught everyone in our organizations attention.”

Personally I think you keep him, his game has advanced and him playing against the best competition possible is what will make him better. He isn’t overwhelmed and last night against an NHL roster with little help, was able to generate a few chances.

Roster Cuts:

Coach Vigneault said after the game that the team would trim the roster down “Come tomorrow we’ll have six healthy lines, and anywhere between nine or ten defensemen, and two goaltenders.”

You can follow me on Twitter @StevenLoffredo

Below are the Rangers goals and box score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8q7ceNeYSU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o00MJiPnM_M

Fancy stats won’t always tell the whole story. In a game where the Flyers were a 62% corsi team, the Rangers still managed to come out on top by a 4-1 margin in a pivotal Game Three. They now lead the best of seven series two games to one.

Puck possession may have been the only area the Rangers fell short in Tuesday night.  The staunch defense blocked 28 shots in total.  Special teams wise, the Rangers were perfect on the penalty kill, killing all five Philadelphia power plays, including two as a result of horrid penalties from Benoit Pouliot.

Yesterday, we said the player to watch would be Henrik Lundqvist.  The King, to his credit, answered the call.  Lundqvist stopped 31 of 32 Flyers shots, including some timely saves in the third.

Martin St.Louis continued his stellar post-season, adding a goal and an assist in Game Three, as well as having the best corsi for on the team at +23.1%.  St.Louis now has five points in the Rangers first three games of the series.  He, along with Derek Stepan, Dan Girardi and Dan Carcillo (more on him in a second) found the back of the net behind Ray Emery, who learned last night what “regression to the mean” was all about.

Carcillo may have provided the feel good moment of the night.  After previously being knocked to the ice momentarily, followed by being sent to the penalty box, Carcillo broke free and scored the fourth and final insurance goal for the Blueshirts.  His celebration left little to be desired, slamming his stick against the glass of Wells Fargo Center and taunting a legion of former supporters amidst a sea of middle fingers.

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuBE3Er_yf0″]Game Seven Highlights – [/su_youtube]

Looking Ahead:  Steve Mason, who appeared in mop up duty late in the third, will almost certainly get the start in net on Friday, though coach Craig Berube hasn’t committed to a starter yet.  Claude Giroux, who registered his first two shots on goal of the series Tuesday night, guaranteed Game Four victory.

One would think that’s big talk from someone who has been all but invisible throughout this series thus far.  Giroux and Wayne Simmonds have been held goal-less in all three games, combining for two points along the way.  As for the Rangers, you’d have to think Carcillo will remain in the lineup at least for Friday, potentially longer.

“We wanted to come in and win a game…and that’s what we did.” – #NYR Head Coach Alain Vigneault #NYRPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5qOU3eCE8A

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 23, 2014