Sunday, January 23, 2011

Rumor: Kings Inquire About Gaborik


Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Bruce Garrioch conveys in the Ottawa Sun that Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi called the New York Rangers to check on the availability of sniper Marian Gaborik.  To be clear it was the Kings who called the Rangers, so this should not turn into a story of the Rangers shopping Gaborik because they are not doing so.  I am not usually a believer in Garrioch rumors as he is as bad as some of the others who will not be named, but the fact that this call would have taken place makes a lot of sense to me.

This is a scenario of LA who has been looking for a top flight winger for multiple seasons with no success trying to see if the Rangers are willing to shop their immensely talented, but underachieving scorer.  I am scared to say that I agree with Garrioch twice in the same column, but I do when he looked at it from the Rangers side.

It’s doubtful New York — which is also fighting to stay in the playoff race — would deal one of its few offensive weapons unless Sather receives a tremendous offer from Lombardi.

Despite his struggles this season, the Rangers position makes moving Marian Gaborik extremely unlikely unless they get something significant that can help them right now.  Gaborik showed against Toronto what he is capable of with his four goal, five point performance and there is a premium on guys who can have those kinds of nights.  Unfortunately for the Rangers he has not had them consistently and has since gone back to the invisible stage. 

The thinking for Lombardi has to be that if he pairs Gaborik with a playmaker like Kopitar then the magical version of Marian will stick around and help carry their club.  It is much the same thinking the Rangers fans have about adding Brad Richards to the Rangers either via trade or this offseason in free agency.   If Glen Sather could get a package that starts around Dustin Brown then he should start listening intently as I feel Brown would be a perfect fit for this system and is locked up at a very reasonable rate for the long term.  I doubt that LA would be willing to move Brown, so in the end this will end up as one GM doing his due diligence in checking on the possible availability of an asset to help his club and the other informing him Gaborik is staying put.