Let me be clear before anything else that these ideas are my own and not based on any information that would tie the New York Rangers to either of these players, just ideas about whether the Rangers should get involved, what they might cost and where the players might fit on the club. Two names I have seen out there the last couple of days in trade discussion have been Marco Sturm and Wojtek Wolski.
Yesterday based on various reports it looked like Marco Sturm was headed to the Los Angeles Kings for a late round conditional pick, but that deal would eventually fall through apparently because Sturm was further away from a return than the Kings originally thought. Reports put Sturm approximately two weeks away from a return to playing and the main reason the Bruins are looking to move him is because they have cap issues with the return of Marc Savard last night.
The initial reaction to seeing the Sturm move for me was very similar to seeing the Caps trade for Hannan a few days ago that these are the kinds of moves the Rangers should be making to improve the club. For me Sturm is an upgraded version of Fedotenko, not a great player but a very good third liner with more consistent offense. The risk on a guy like Sturm is very minimal for a low round conditional pick for a guy who is a 20 goal a year guy is none. As far as salary cap ramifications the elimination of Todd White covers the cost of Sturm, but it would create an extra roster decision when Drury and Prospal return. Dealing Frolov off out would solve that extra decision very nicely, recoup the draft pick we lost on Sturm and cover the salary cost. There is no longer term damage on Sturm because he is a free agent this summer and can walk away.
The other name I saw out there today that intrigues me and was linked to a team other than the Rangers is Wojtek Wolski. If he is truly on the market, which I really doubt, he is a player that Rangers at the very least should do their due diligence on and see what his cost would be. We all know that Sather and Maloney have a very good trading relationship and that Maloney loves to acquire his former picks that are still in the organization. Wolski is signed for another season and is coming off a year in which he scored 65 points, but started slow this year and has 13 points (4G, 9A) in his first 22 games.
The cost on Wolski would obviously be considerably higher than Sturm and cost a decent combination of assets but he is also a 24 year old talent we really don’t have in his offensive skill level and he would be a tremendous combination with Marian Gaborik. I haven’t really wrapped my head about him possibly being available enough to decide what on the current club I would be willing to give up to get him, but just about any prospect I would consider in a deal for him. My guess says Maloney would love to get his hands on Sauer in any type of deal here.
Just a couple names I thought I would throw out there and see what the general reaction was from all of you.
