Blue Notes

Sign him! He has a good thing going with Dubinsky. It will help develop the kid and add some consistency to our lines for once. Let shanny, straka, malik, Roszival and avery go. Bring in Malone & Redden and try to make a trade for a tough defensemen or give Sauer a chance in the lineup. Time for Tyutin to make his home someplace else.. he is awful.

Let Jagr walk to wherever he wants to go. Time to bring in some North-South guys to accentuate the style of Gomez and Drury. Do not re-sign Roszival, Straka, Shannahan, Mara, Malik. Definitely try to get Avery back, but don't spend a lot because he's a liability. Send Hollweg to the minors.

BTW, they said that Jagr has some family problems back home. Anybody know what they were talking about?

Definitely let Jagr go play in Europe, then maybe sign him come playoff time.

I don't know what was wrong with Tyutin during the playoffs, was he playing hurt? Was he given too much icetime? I am willing to give him another chance, but if the right trade comes along...

I am intrigued about Rozsival's offense without Jagr--basically if he didn't pass up all those opportunities to use his excellent shot, but I am too fed up with his overall game.

Repost from previous thread:

Busey, is Shea Weber a UFA (I doubt, he's young), RFA or would we need to trade for him?? Any idea? If he is available I like that idea a lot. If not, I prefer Orpik over Commodore. Please don't even mention Campbell, he's exactly what we don't need to spend money on. Sanguinnetti will be here soon enough and he's cheaper . If we could get both Orpik and Malone that would be great. Thanks Shanny, Straka, Rozsival, Malik but goodbye. If you can resign Mara fine but be sure it is less than the $3 mil he makes now. He is useful. Bring JJ back with an incentive laden contract and no more that $2.5M for Avery.

One thing I agree with the trolls about is that you can't look at this season and say it was a good season. As much as I hate to agree with them they are right. If we are honest with ourselves than we all thought they really had a Cup run in them.

Anyway, yea this sucks. So close to getting it back to the Garden, that would have been a scene. And please stop with the officiating, yes it BLEW but it didn't cost us the series. Using that excuse DOES make you sound like an Islanders fan.

We still have a great young roster that will continue to grow. We have arguably the best goalie in the world and we have some more young talent ready to contribute next year.

Terrible/disappointing/frustrating ending, but the future still looks bright boys, the future looks bright.

Last season in being eliminated the Rangers identified Drury and signed him, this season in being eliminated the Rangers identify Malone and sign him. Also go after Redden or Campbell, and resign Jags. Let Shanny retire gracefully as to Straka if he retires great if not let him go as well as Avery, Malik and Rozival. The FA will find suitable replacements for the lower tier and let some new youth compete for jobs, looks like Dawes and Callahan have made their spots. The older players just looked to be out of gas in the end (except for Jagr). The team needs to be turned over to Gomer and Drury, a power forward like Malone fits real well with either of thise guys and a PP QB is a necessity. The future of the PP is Dubby and Dawes so the point is a crucila upgrade. Renney will never let the point be played by a winger (had Cullen and didn't use him) so it must be an offensive D man (Campbell or Redden) I agree with Brian, except for Campbell, he is a big time player and if you can get one of these in their prime then it is worth the money. Sanguinetti will be an addition to and he is still 2 seasons away

Drop Jagr! He only played in about 20 games this season anyway.

It seems that over paying for physical D men is a poor decision so the Orpiks of the world probably would'nt work out (see Aaron Ward) these guys get the money and immediately think they have to do more then what got them there. The physical play is the only responsibility these guys need, yet money makes them think they can become Bobby Orr and start being an offensive threat. The physical D man has to be developed in house or traded for, the FA market turns this type of player into a mess. Pay for Redden or Campbell and know what you are getting. Orpik would simply be another overpaid D man trying to do too much with too little. Plus you never know how these guys adjust to NY, in signing a FA you also have to weigh the intangible of playing on broadway (not every player can handle it, see Bobby Holik). Need solid character and playing ability, non ego types

I'd like to sign Jagr at the right price.... 2yr/8-10mil..
I'd like sign Malone to get the power forward who can score that we need and make an offer to RFA Shea Weber to get that tough and nasty Dman.

my proposed lines..

1. Jagr-Gomez-Malone
2. Callahan - Drury - Avery
3. Dawes - Dubie - Byers (or a midlevel veteran FA such as Hagman, Brunette, Dupuis)
4. Orr - Betts - Sjostrom

1. Weber - Staal
2. Tyutin - Girardi
3. Strudwick - Backman

just my opinions, any thoughts?

Have you looked at Jagr's career stats?

NEVER in his NHL career, has he scored as few goals as he did this season... NEVER.

You NY'ers love to grab aging super stars on the down slide. Do yourself, the Division, and the Conference a favor, let him slide to Vancouver or somewhere to finish out his career.

gawd, i just can't stand this "if you can't beat 'em, sign 'em" mentality when after losing to a team fans talk about wanting to sign their free agents... right now the thought of malone and orpik in broadway blue just makes me want to gag.

besides the fact that it just never works. see under "yankees and randy johnson, jason giambi, johnny damon et al."

as for the jagr issue, i think it will ultimately be less a question of skill or commitment than one of personality. if sather and renney feel like he can stay and still wear the C while the 'persona' of the team moves to henke, drury, gomez and the kids, then they will sign him.

if they believe he gets in the way of that somehow, they'll let him go and continue to build with kids while bringing in extra pieces, some of whom, i predict, will be swedish.

Lick my ass, I've been campaigning for Malone all season.

hey black 'n' gold, do us a favor: jump in the monongahela and stfu.

Let Jagr rest like Selanne. He can't play like playoffs-Jagr all seasonn, so let him rest, and save cap for Hossa.

We have to play Anisimov or he will leave for RSL and will never return and we would have squandered another good prospect.

my lines:

Dawes-Gomez-Drury
???-Dubinsky-???
Avery-Korpikoski-Callahan
Byers-Anisimov-Moore

???--Malone/UFA/someone from trade/Prucha/Parenteau/Fabian Brunnstrom

Staal-Girardi
???-Sanguinetti
Tyutin-Baranka
Sauer

???--Commodore/Orpik/Redden

Keep Orr for enforcer role against some teams. Trade away or get rid of Betts, Hollweg, Pock and Backman.

Sjostrom might be worth another look, maybe when paired with more decent center and winger than garbage Betts and Hollweg he will do much better.

I am not complaining about the officiating of the whole series.

But what I am going to complain about, and 15 years from now I will still be complaining about it, is the Drury and Malone stick incidents, no call and call.

Never seen anything like it, I think this morning they were still cleaning up Drury's blood from the ice.

Absolutely unreal.

simple explaination: Penguins bribed the refs, Rangers didn't. Is there any way to prevent refs from taking bribes? There is no way anybody can find out if they are being smart about it.

I want Jagr back!

does anyone have a good list of who is an UFA and a RFA for the upcoming summer? i know about malone, hossa, orpik, campbell, etc. any of the "lesser" known people

as for jagr...if he is willing to sign for less keep him, he did a great job tutoring dubinsky so why can't it work for dawes, callahan, etc. but he can't tie up as much salary as he does now, especially since the caps wont be paying for half his salary if i'm not mistaken. no more than $3, maybe $3.5 million depending on who else we sign and for how much

definitely re-sign avery for a moderate amount (is it cruel to think due to his injury he could come a bit cheaper?)

say goodbye to rosi, malik, straka (who i love but need to get a younger 2-way player with more of a "shoot on and hit the net" mentality), and i would keep shanahan for less if they can't sign anyone worth while. the guy can still shoot and do well on the PK and can help the young kids like jagr. stick him on the 4th line if he's willing

try to get rid of hollweg or send him to the minors, make a 4th like with some combination of sjostrom, betts, shanahan, and Korpikoski. at least that line will hit, have some speed, grit, and some potential to put some shots on net.

try to get rid of prucha since he's just sitting and doesnt look like he will do anything. maybe trade him for someone who makes less than he does that way the difference in salary can be made up with a FA.

http://www.nhlscap.com/2008fa_position.htm

Betts is part of the problem he has to go, we will never have success if the 4th line cannot score at all. Shanahan is gone, what are you smoking?

"if he is willing to sign for less keep him, he did a great job tutoring dubinsky"

I disagree, I think he was a bad influence of Dubinsky who was playing much better when not with Jagr. Dubinsky needs to be a north south power forwards, not east west immitation of Nylander.

I wonder who will sign Marek "monsterman" Man...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PqQhPcCzV60&feature=related

First off, Malone will never go to NY....his dad is the head scout for Pitts...he wont let the umbilical cord go.
I would let Jagr go...let him decide on his own
I would also give Straka a 1yr extention based on insentives only... the guy can still outskate most defensemen in the league plus has a great presence in the locker room
Avery - Oh sean avery - 3 years - 6.2Mill's tops
I would drop Rozival - he just makes too many mistakes..yes he can put the puck in the net but without Jag's he will fall apart
I would also look into Campbell and maybe even signing Sundin for leadership on the blueline...the rangers have a very young and inexperienced set of D...Tyutin was supposed to step up when kasper left but he proved to be garbage. Mara is a big presence on the PP with his big shot but just needs acuracy training.
I would also look into signing Kolzig as a backup to Ludquist for a year and send Vallie down to hartford for a year since they decided it was brilliant to trade Al Montoya whos been proven to be a phenom in the minors.
They also need to sign some good wingers
Liles would be an asset as well as maybe Nystrom from Calgary screw it do a trade with Dallas to get the lundquist brothers together maybe hank could up his game a little if he had some family support

First off, Malone will never go to NY....his dad is the head scout for Pitts...he wont let the umbilical cord go.
I would let Jagr go...let him decide on his own
I would also give Straka a 1yr extention based on insentives only... the guy can still outskate most defensemen in the league plus has a great presence in the locker room
Avery - Oh sean avery - 3 years - 6.2Mill's tops
I would drop Rozival - he just makes too many mistakes..yes he can put the puck in the net but without Jag's he will fall apart
I would also look into Campbell and maybe even signing Sundin for leadership on the blueline...the rangers have a very young and inexperienced set of D...Tyutin was supposed to step up when kasper left but he proved to be garbage. Mara is a big presence on the PP with his big shot but just needs acuracy training.
I would also look into signing Kolzig as a backup to Ludquist for a year and send Vallie down to hartford for a year since they decided it was brilliant to trade Al Montoya whos been proven to be a phenom in the minors.
They also need to sign some good wingers
Liles would be an asset as well as maybe Nystrom from Calgary screw it do a trade with Dallas to get the lundquist brothers together maybe hank could up his game a little if he had some family support

Sundin to bolster the blueline? Liles to help out on the wing? Ummmm, what?

Sundin will not leave Toronto, and no thank you to another aging superstar.

Sign Fedotenko for 1 year 3 million if Malone refuses 5 million.

Avery 3 year 10 million take it or leave it.

correction Malone was the head scout of Pitts...he recently moved to PHX so if i was him, why not bring my eldest to the club

As a Ranger, personally I would never sign an Islander even if he won the stanley cup...they need to look into building Defense and their wing situation...i forgot which commentator mentioned that the rangers even lack depth in the winger situation.

And if i was to offer Avery 10M it would be over atleast 4 years...not 3

another correction sorry guys....Liles would be a deffff asset on the blue line how could i mix that up

another correction sorry guys....Liles would be a deffff asset on the blue line how could i mix that up with sundin thanks for correcting me brian

I don't like signing players from rival teams, but Fedotenko is pretty much the only other option other than Malone in terms of big physical forward that can score and is not too old. And really isn't much of an Islander.

why do people post when they don't know what they are talking about?

Al Montoya proved jack squat in the minors and lost the starting job in Hartford to Wiikman.

The goalie the Rangers got in return for Montoya, David Leveneu outperformed Montoya.

If you want to question the original drafting of Montoya in 2004, that's fine, but people who continue to post that we away some future phenom simply do not know what they are talking about.

Montoya will ride the AHL train in Phoenix too, Bryzgalov will be the #1 there for a long time.

Avery had already turned down a deal for about 10 mil over 4 years, that was the offer where he said he no longer will discuss his contract and will become a UFA.

Avery wants 4 million a year.

Leneveu lost in the 1st round of playoffs and is 2 years older than Montoya. I hope he is better than Montoya, but I really doubt it.

Avery 10 million 3 year deal + lifetime subscription to Vogue Magazine take it or leave it.

They faced off after the trading deadline, Hartford vs San Antonio and Leveneu whooped Montoya's arse

By the way, San Antonio lost in 7 games in the AHL playoffs.

Montoya only played 1 of the seven games and gave up 4 goals.

Are we going to keep on talking about him when he can't even hold the #1 job on the San Antonio Stampede?

oooops, they are called San Antonio Rampage.

I think Al Montoya will be playing for the Coyotes ECHL team by next year.

Sucks that the Rangers had to go out the way they did. I just hate that poor officiating had a lot to do with the outcome of these games. At least we finished in the top 6...

As far as next year goes, I think that they have to resign Avery and Jagr. They also need to resign RFA's Dawes and Sjostrom. If you can keep Mara and Shanahan for cheap then do it. Shanny would have to be a 4th liner though. Let the rest of the free agents walk.

Here are the good UFA's that should be available:

Naslund, Markus
Campbell, Brian
Hossa, Marian
Prospal, Vaclav
Redden, Wade
Commodore, Mike
Stuart, Brad
Fedotenko, Ruslan
Brunette, Andrew
Huselius, Kristian
Malone, Ryan
Rolston, Brian
Ellis, Dan
Demitra, Pavol
Cooke, Matt (only if they lose Avery)

and the RFA's if any fall through the cracks and if they can snag any:

Byfuglien, Dustin
Wisniewski, James
Svatos, Marek
Wolski, Wojtek
Filppula, Valtteri
Pitkanen, Joni (do they roll the dice with this risky guy?)
Stoll, Jarret
Bouwmeester, Jay
Bouchard, Pierre-Marc
Kostitsyn, Andrei
Erat, Martin
Peverley, Rich (this young guy was good for Nash in the playoffs and down the stretch)
Suter, Ryan
Weber, Shea
Clarkson, David
Meszaros, Andrej
Vermette, Antoine
Carter, Jeff
Umberger, R.J.
Carcillo, Daniel
Clowe, Ryane
Pavelski, Joe
Green, Mike
Laich, Brooks

3 of the 4 teams that made big deadline day deals made the final 4.

Pittsburgh for Marian Hossa

Dallas for Brad Richards

Philadelphia for Vaclav Prospal

all 4 if you consider Detroit's acquisition of Brad Stuart to be a big deal.

Next trading deadline, I think you will see teams more willing to take the big risk considering how it has worked out for the teams that we were to take a risk this year.

bob

You want Fedetenko?

Take him.........please.

Jeff,

Add Daymond Langkow of Calgary to the list of UFA's.

And a a plum of a candidate he is.
If Calgary doesn't re-sign the guy he will make some other team's fans really happy.

I cant bare to watch backman play an entire season as a ranger next year, he wasnt even good enough to play for an awful st.louis blues team, he sucks bottom line.

This was a very disappointing year for the Rangers, but it highlighted exactly where the teams continues to come up short year after year, we are very short on young talent with size and heart. We have some players with size, but no heart (Mara, Malik, Backman, Hollweg, to name a few) and players with heart but no size (Callahan, Prucha, I guess that’s about it). I hope that Sather will finally try to construct a team that can grind and score with the upper echelon teams in the league. The following is my plan:

Coach: I like Renny’s commitment to team defense, but I think he was much too loyal to players who could no longer contribute. I wish he had tried to work in younger players like Korpikoski and perhaps Potter on defense. I’d like to give Renny one more year, but if the team is slow out of the gate and he’s playing vets over kids with talent, then we need to make a move. I’m not sure what happened to Prucha, but he should have received some time over Straka and Shanny during the year and during the playoffs.

Our free agents: I would say farewell to Jagr, Straka, Shanny, Mara, Malik and Roszsival. It’s time to turn the page. As long as Jagr is around, he will be a distraction as the focal point of the team. Yes, he might have a 130 point season in Detroit, Montreal or Carolina, but it is very doubtful that he would produce those numbers in NY. It’s time to get younger. I want Avery back, but not a $4M per. I say lock him in if you can get him for three years at $10M.

Free agents to target: Is everyone as tired of seeing our team get pushed around as I am? I was completely disgusted when Jagr was pushed down by Ruutu after a face-off during the second period. This team gets pushed around with little to no reaction. Hollweg is a joke. He does not stick up for his team and only seems to seek retribution for actions committed against him. Deal him for a bag of pucks. I'd like to see us pursue Matt Cooke, Rob Davison, Wade Redden, Ryan Malone, Brooks Orpik, Jarko Ruutu and Ron Hainsey. I’d like to see us get any four out of the aforementioned list.

Lines for next year: Gomez needs to be the no. 1 center, so Gomez, Ryan Malone and perhaps Michael Ryder – he is a bit of question mark on the heart side. Dawes and Callahan are “nice” players, but probably 3rd liners and definitely not on the same line given their limited physical stature.

Dubinsky as the second line center with Avery and perhaps Prucha.

Korpikoski as the 3rd line center with Callahan and Drury

Matt Cooke as the 4th line center with Jarko Ruutu and Dawes

Defense:
Orpik – Staal
Tyutin – Girardi
Potter – Hutchinson/Pock/Sauer or other

Glen, please don’t let us down. It’s time to move on. Give us a team that will not be outworked and pushed around so easily. It’s very depressing to see our guys pin-balling off of other players they are trying to hit and others like Mara and Backman playing as soft as a pillow.

I would bring back Jagr with the same type of deal Shanahan got. 3 mil base + incentives. You cant underestimate what Jagr did in making Dubinsky so good so fast. I am hoping Shanny will retire. He got old in the second half. his lack of production hurt us too much. Let Straka, Mara, Malik go away. Rosival is iffy. if he will accept 3.5 mil, maybe. He is a second pair d-man. he is NOT a pp point man. He fears shooting the puck and we need a couple of gunslingers on the point. it isnt easy to find capable right side d-men for some reason, so he does have some value. but not as a top line player whose best years have probably past.
Marian Hossa is a must. why? he is not a "euorpeon" player. he gets his hands dirty and plays a very north american game. he is on the friendly side of 30. and we gave a lot of money to one of the leagues best playmakers (gomez) and he needs a proven finisher or why did we bother? Avery is a keeper for sure and we need to add to his grit. i like Ryan malone a lot, but fear he will get more money than he is worth from a team like the islanders or the like. hossa is a proven commodity so paying him is a better investment. Orpik has been a Slather target for years and will be this summer. our defense is way too easy to play against. they dont hit enough or play with an edge. nor do they scare the opposition with any offensive flair. Brian Campbell? a longshot at best but better investment than Rosival. Mark Streit is an interesting possibility. he is a fearless shooter. guys like J.M. Lilles are a waste. horrible defensively not enough offense.Slats may have to get creative like Philly did in getting Kimmo Timmonen. Prucha for Pitkanen? if the reports on Joni are good, that may be worth a look.

Jagr proved to me one thing....he didn't want the option to kick in in his contract, that was proven by his play in the playoffs he did what he had to do to help get the team into the playoffs without hitting the quota on his contract. so that's makes me believe he has a desire to play else where......but I could be wrong.

If Jagr wants back, I'll take him at a hometown discount, in the 1 year /$5M range. He's worth more than that on the open market even with his poor year statistically. Love them, but no on Shanny and Straka; Callahan and Dawes need room to grow. All 4 centers will stay, if Anismov or Korpikoski are going to make the club, it will have to be at wing. I'd love to see Avery get signed for $11M/4yrs. We can spend Shanny+Straka's money on at top 6 forward.

As far as D goes, Malik and Mara are gone. Roszy can stay at $8M/3years. Struds can stay as a black ace. I dont know what Backman's contract is like, but we'll re-evaluate him next year. I'd love to see a JM Liles or Campbell back there, as well as someone like Hal Gill. We havent had a physical D presense since Beuke. Let's see what Sanguenetti can do at camp and at Hartford before he comes up, very few can make the leap from OHL to NHL at 21 like Staal.

The real questions first are, how to get rid of buttman & Sather, along with jimmyboy. Those 3 will make sure the outcome will remain the same for a long time.

a little off topic but... what happen to Jarko Immonen, a promising young talent who fell off the face of the earth..

"You want Fedetenko?

Take him.........please"

please elaborate, what is so bad abot Fedotenko?

"a little off topic but... what happen to Jarko Immonen, a promising young talent who fell off the face of the earth.."

He had an excellent season in Finland along with Helminen, and I wouldn't be surprised seeing them in NHL with another team of course.

"Jagr proved to me one thing....he didn't want the option to kick in in his contract, that was proven by his play in the playoffs he did what he had to do to help get the team into the playoffs without hitting the quota on his contract. so that's makes me believe he has a desire to play else where......but I could be wrong."

Yeah, I also thought of that, maybe he wants to go back to Washington to play with Nylander, Poti and Ovechkin? In any case I don't want him back no matter how many points he scores because I believe in team concept not in catering to lazy selfish star players.

"Here are the good UFA's that should be available:

Naslund, Markus
Campbell, Brian
Hossa, Marian
Prospal, Vaclav
Redden, Wade
Commodore, Mike
Stuart, Brad
Fedotenko, Ruslan
Brunette, Andrew
Huselius, Kristian
Malone, Ryan
Rolston, Brian
Ellis, Dan
Demitra, Pavol
Cooke, Matt (only if they lose Avery)
Daymond Langkow"

Stuart--I am not sold on him, I think he is about as good as Mara
Brunette--35 years old
Huselius--soft as butter and hits less than Straka.
Hossa--too expensive
Langkow--I really like him, but again we need size and he is small
Demitra--soft and expensive
Campbell--small soft, takes terrible penalties at terrible times and too expensive.
Naslund--soft and old.
Prospal--not a bad option, but he is over 33 already, and is not overly physical who knows how much more he got left in the tank.
Cooke--why? We got Callahan, Korpikoski, Byers.
Rolston--too old and isn't physical, I would be ok with him if he signs only for 1 year.
Ellis--the goalie? why?

The rest are pretty much what we need and who we should target.

"You cant underestimate what Jagr did in making Dubinsky so good so fast."

Are you nuts? Dubinsky was playing great right from the preseason, even when he was having difficulty producing points in the first 15 games or so he was playing excellent.

Jagr knows he will easily get 8-10 million from another team, he will not come back, money is more important.

BTW how about playing Gomez on the point on the PP he got an excellent shot and is one of the fastest skaters and is godd defensively? Girardi got 10 goals including 5 PP goals while not getting a ton of PP time. Staal has untapped offensive potential. Sanguinetti might be ready. Baranka is ready and got good offensive ability. It would be really stupid to go after a soft defenseman just because he is goon on the PP.

If both Straka and Shanahan retire, as I expect, I would have no problem with bringing in Brian Rolston.

He is 35, but that is younger than those two guys and he has 3 straight years of over 30 or more goals.

He can play any forward position, plays a great 2 way game.

As far as the draft goes, time to start thinking about that.

we pick 21st, 52nd, 74th, and 82nd.

Jared Staal is available to be drafted in this draft. CSB has him ranked as the 43rd N American skater, which ranks him about 60th overall when you include European skaters and goalies.

So Staal is considered late 2nd round early 3rd round material.

The Penguins don't have a draft pick until the 4th round, but Carolina has picks 14 and 44.

Of course neither the Rangers nor Carolina will be taking Jared with their first round picks, but I think it is highly doubtful Carolina would let the last Staal brother get past them at 44.

I think the Rangers may have to leap frog Carolina in the 2nd round in order to get him and may have to use their extra 3rd rounder to do it.

The Rangers should sign Orpik and Jason Smith. I think they would add toughness and experience. There is enough talent on the team to get the PP going without signing a Campbell. If the coaches wake up! Don't want Hossa. Better off trading for a proven goal scorer. Move Drury to wing and get Rolston for the third line.

I would be satisfied with this lineup in September

Drury - Gomez - ?
Dawes - Dubi - Cally
Avery - Rolston - Prucha
Shoestring - Anisimov - Orr

Smith - Staal
Orpik - Girardi
Tyutin - Sanguinetti

Oh yeah, and a new coach would be sweeeeeeeeeeeet.