Blue Notes

I like Havlat as a player but to be perfectly honest, hes more of a glass cannon then Gaborik, Avery and DiPietro Combined. THere hasn't been a season where I haven't seen him get hurt at least once that cost him minimum 20 games in the season. Not a very good fit.

Overall I fear Havlat is just too injury prone but I absolutely love the guys style and talent. What would we have to give up to get Havlat and Seabrook? If we can pull off that trade then we are set for this year with a line-up that is far better than the last three years.

If healthy, he would probably do well here. I would just be concerned with regards to his mental state of mind, don't need someone who is gonna interfere with team chemisrty....heck, we're working to find good chemistry and not trade for bad chemistry \ _ _ _/

Would they take Betts .and Hollweg for him?

On some sites I read that some fans want Rozsival traded which is silly since that team could have signed him as a UFA.

i don't know about this one. how do you let one of the all time greats walk away and think mr. glass is goin to fill the void. i don't think so. the hawks are shopping him for a reason. he's overpaid and over-rated. is this the second coming of pavel bure? petr nedved? how about wheelin and dealin rosival for dan boyle?

I agree with signing Martin Havlat, I think it would be a great move by Glen Sather. However, I would rather us sign the dynamic Antoine Vermette, who would be less money on the cap and is almost equal in talent as a shifty, playmaking center who can also play the wing with Drury or Gomez. I would like to see the 2008-2009 roster look something like this:

Zherdev-Gomez-Jagr
Vermette/Havlat-Drury-Prucha
Callahan-Dubinsky-Dawes
Rissmiller/Fritsche-Betts-Sjostrom

A fast and speedy lineup that would do damage offensively and would be an in-your-face group that would give every team trouble.

It should be clarifyed Havlat would have to be traded for, hes not a Free Agent, i don't know when he would be either but I don' t think he should come here as good of a player he is, I feel the same way about grabbing Sundin, he maybe a good fit and hes certainly a good player but what he be countereffective to what the overall plan was?

Havlat would be an interesting addition if he can stay healthy which has been a problem for him. I had conversations in the past with a player who roomed with Havlat and said that he has a world of talent but maturity issues. Perhaps he's grown up. I think he would be great if healthy...and who it would cost to get him.

One thing that people are GROSSLY under-estimating is P.A. Parenteau. I saw every game he played last season including the pre-season and I'm telling you this kid is a future NHL star. He needs still to work on his defensive skills a bit, but this guy has the best hands and a tremendous passing ability that I haven't seen in quite a long time. He's also a very good shot. He absolutely dominated in the AHL last season and made some of the most incredible passes, especially on the power play, that I've ever seen. In my opinion, for whatever it's worth...last I checked it wasn't even a gallon of gas...the Rangers have a top two line guy in him right now...

I'm also wondering why Andrew Hutchinson has not been scooped up yet. The guy could probably be had in the $750K range and was the equivalent of the Norris trophy winner in the AHL last year. The guy is a great power play QB. He's a phenomenal passer. Hutch has the hardest shot from the point possibly in the entire AHL...and is not afraid to take it for that matter... and improved his defensive skills clearly to the NHL level. He was in the top 5 in plus /minus, along with his partner...and should be on the Rangers on the third pair next season, Corey Potter (who was second overall).

People are also not putting Lauri Korpikoski, Greg Moore, or Dane Byers as having legitimate chances in their estimates of who will play in NY next season and I think that's a huge mistake.

Of these 6 players I've mentioned I estimate that at least three (Parenteau, Potter & Korpikoski) will make the team out of camp. The others stand a shot as well.

Just some thoughts to mull over as you enjoy what Steve is floating out there so well...

Jordan,

Only one problem with that lineup. Prucha SUCKS

If he is on our 2nd line, we are in trouble.

Mitch,

I've been wondering the same thing about Hutchinson.

also, I think Dane Byers will make the team. I love his game.

Ok, I know prucha has had a "shaky" few seasons to say the least, but the potential is there. Perhaps playing him regulary with quality players such as Drury, Gomez, Jagr, etc. will force him to step up, and if not, Sather stacked our offensive depth chart with enough talented players that if Prucha doesn't finally live up to his rookie season of 35 goals, his spot can be filled in in the blink of an eye. Especially with our abundant source of talent in Hartford that are only a year or two away from making this team.

hey busey, prucha scored 30 goals his first year, 22 his second year with far less pp time b/c of shanny, and then he got jerked around this year by renney in order to find good linemates for jagr and shanny. how does that make him suck? he has proven far more in the nhl than dawes, cally and dubinsky have

Yea Prucha sucks, thats why when he was actually given the ice time on the 2nd line he put up 30 goals and 22 goals in his first 2 seasons respectivly. It wasn't until Shanny got here that his ice time declined and his touch failed. With less Ice time, anyone might get the Yipps and screw up when the opertunity knocks. Now that's shanny's gone (and I am a big shanahan fan) prucha will get the ice time he deserves and seriously has a shot to get 20+ goals again and hopefully hit the 30 mark again. I would give him another half season to see if he can sorta hit his stride again. playing with Zherdev wouldn't hurt him.

The Hutchinson situation is a complete mystery to me and to me defies logic.

Byers would certainly be a HUGE upgrade over Ryan Hollweg. He plays basically the same game without the propensity for taking stupid penalties (as in not charging people from behind on a regular basis) and he has VERY good hands in front of the net. He'll stand up for his teammates and fight...although I think he really needs to work o nthat as he took WAY too many fight losses even at the AHL level.

One interesting thing to note is that when he and Ryan Callahan played together on the same line they had a magical connection that made for some tremendous hockey to watch. Byers was a totally different player and had tremendous runs both in this past season and the year preceding it.

Mitch...if Hutch is so good, why hasen't Slats done something to include him for the 08/09 season?...Maybe they think he's just not ready yet......at that goes for the others as well....I do think we'll see korpikoski here early....as for Havlat...if he fits in mentally and stays healthy, it could be a terrific pick up, and I'd move Prucha for him...I, sad to say, just don't see Prucha successful in a Rangers Uniform.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

the guy is always hurt.

He would be PERFECT in NY, because we have a lot of great hospitals and doctors here to tend to him every month when he gets injured.

http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com

I find it interesting that although Straka is fielding offers around, that the possibility of him comming back seems slim in most people's eyes. Think about this, he made 3.3 mil last season and if he really wanted to stay in NY he could probably end up with uned 3 closer to 2.5 which would be a bargain for quite the playmaker, i'd be surprised if Sather does not think about bringing him back if Jagr won't take an offer that helps the team. Other players that should take a good look:

Markus Nasland: 6'0 195 lbs, man has some scoring left in him, playing him with Gomez or Drury would get him back in the 70 pt range playing with a Sniper or a great playmaker. He could be grabbed for 5 mil or so.

Pavel Demitra: 6'0 200 lbs, hes a gritty guy goes to the net, playing with Gaborik has its benifits and him also with drury would be a dynamic duo on one line. He could also be grabbed around the 5 mil mark, maybe even less because hes had some slumps in the past year or so.

Peter is dead on about Prucha. Given the chance he can score in this league. The Rangers should sign Jason Smith and wait untill after camp to make anymore moves. Screw Jagr.

i am terrible in my own zone and find myself in renney's doghouse often.

Prucha sucks,

good players don't sit on the bench.

Zip, why do you show Havlat as a RW?

He's a LW, as far as I know:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=45133

Prucha is not that good. I believe the 30 goal season was a once in a life time deal. he is terrilbe in his own zone & very fragile. I also don't like Havlat for similiar reasons. i agree with rangers9, Naslund & Demitra would do just fine & only cost money not players. I would only do a trade for a stud defensemen or elite scorer.

I would say that Havlat is a really bad idea. What will he get 5 Million? Play 45-60 games? Bad math. Also, Prucha has been shafted. I live in the NW and see mostly Canucks and Flames games but from what I’ve seen—I am not all that impressed with Dawes. Prucha, Callahan and Dubinski play a lot harder. Honestly, I am okay, at least to start the season, with forwards we have to choose from right now.

Dawes, Gomez, Drury, Betts, Callahan, Dubinski, Prucha, Parenteau, Korpikoski, Moore, Byers, Zherdev, Fritsche, Sjostrom, Rissmiller, Voros, Jamtin

This a good group. Their may not be any super stars but it’s a hard working bunch that will bring it every night. Besides there are five more players than there are roster spots in this list and I didn’t even include Orr or Hollweg—not to mention a crop of potential “Surprise!” players who may wow at training camp such as: Anisimov, Bahensky, Immonen, Soryal or Gratton.

Which leaves my last question. Defense. It’s my understanding that Sanguinetti is still a season or so away from the NHL and Baranka is in Russia. How about Sauer or Potter? Can either of them make the team? Are they hitters? Or a trade—since there seems to be a logjam at forward. Is there any meat to all the Bouwmeester trade talk? I have not really seen him play but I’ve heard Don Cherry of Hockey night in Canada say the Bouwmeester is almost identical to Phaneuf. If that’s true it would be awesome to get Bouwmeester—because I get to see a lot of flames games and I think Phaneuf is the best defenseman in the NHL right now.

Mitch, I think you are on smoke with Parenteau. If he was anywhere as good as you say, he would not have been let go. Yes, sometimes teams make mistakes with talent evalaution but you make it seem like this guy will be an NHL star and that is ridiculous.

He's 24 and it's not unusual that a player that old makes the AHL competition look bad. Whatever you are smoking, pass it over.

Havlet's skill is the type of winger we need to fill out the top 2 lines right now, but his injury history makes him too iffy. I would pass unless the deal was so unbelievably cheap it was worth the risk.

What about making a run to trade for Cheechoo?

I don't need to watch Parenteau play one game to know he won't be an NHL star. He's 24, in the AHL and was not called up all last year when the Rangers were clearly struggling to score goals. Yes, Renney is a dope who tends not to give prospects a chance unless his team is floundering which it usually is after 40 games. However, it sounds like to me like you saw one of those career AHL players who looks great at that level then suddenly stinks if he plays in the NHL

Bob,

I respect your right to disagree with me. Not having seen the person play though would not exactly give you a lot of credibility in the discussion. However, you're entitled to your opinion as am I. I just don't think it's necessary to be snotty about it, but that's a story for another day.

As far as Parenteau and your comment about Sather letting him go is concerend, just remember that Parenteau was one of, if not the first person, that was resigned by the club and he did get called up last season but if you recall didn't get into the game.

Let's just agree to disagree and we'll see how it all works out.

Havlet??? Um unless the deal is 150% in our favor, than no.
Like this.

Havlet
for a
5th round pick

lol

There are some good young speedy wingers with upsides in their game in Hartford and in the market still.
Straka really should be offered a position with Drury or Dubinsky. He's still a great PK killer and has his speed about him. Straka is an upside in every situation.
Parenteau has issues with missing shifts and feeling needed by management in his over role on the team. He needs to feel needed.
That is an issue for any coach that is testing a young winger like him. Their confidence is fragile.
But make no doubts about it, he'll put up a fight in training camp for a position on the wings. His numbers alone will lend him the coaches attention now that we are weak in the wings.
Now I think Naslund would have a good time here in NY. Put Dubinsky on his wing and Drury at center.
You;ll get shots from both side of the slot and drury causing traffic in front. Havlet could play the same role, but be injured way too often.

considering Havlat makes 6 mil and is a UFA after the coming season, I think a 5th round pick would be appropriate.

He may be a little intriguing for one year because he'd be playing for a new contract.