Update: Souray Not Coming To Rangers...Yet; There's If They Want Him
Watching the New York Rangers it is painfully obvious that they have nothing resembling an NHL ready power play quarterback on their roster at the moment. With that being the case it is not at all surprising to see their name connected to any and all potential power play defenders that might be on the market before the trade deadline. In his column on ESPN.com, Pierre LeBrun writes that New York are likely to be interested in Tomas Kaberle, Sheldon Souray and Bryan McCabe to help the power play and provide a veteran presence for the defense core.
Watching the New York Rangers it is painfully obvious that they have nothing resembling an NHL ready power play quarterback on their roster at the moment. With that being the case it is not at all surprising to see their name connected to any and all potential power play defenders that might be on the market before the trade deadline. In his column on ESPN.com, Pierre LeBrun writes that New York are likely to be interested in Tomas Kaberle, Sheldon Souray and Bryan McCabe to help the power play and provide a veteran presence for the defense core.
The desire to want to make a move for a power play
quarterback is understandable given how miserable the power play has been, and
would likely be the Rangers number on target in a trade, but it is not going to
transform the results of the man advantage units. Of the three McCabe is the best fit for the
Rangers and their current needs. Souray.
as I discussed on Friday, when the news broke of the Rangers scouting him,
is not the answer this season and the burden of his 2.7 million dollars for
next year makes the downside significantly larger than any upside that could
come from the move.
In today’s NY
Post, Larry Brooks writes that the Rangers are more interested in bringing
in a rental than anyone with longer term commitments, ala Souray. The combination of Redden’s 6.5 million
dollar cap charge and another 2.7 from Souray would be prohibitive to the
Rangers in their attempts to re-sign their key restricted free agents and
possibly chase Brad Richards.
Tomas Kaberle is a tremendous passing defenseman who can run
a power play unit, as his 20 power play assists this season show, but he does
offer little in terms of a shot from the point.
The key with a move for Kaberle would be the cost in terms of assets it
would take to acquire him and if he would waive his no-trade clause to come to
New York. It is tough to gauge what the
market is on Kaberle, in terms of cost, in order to better ascertain if the
move is worth it.
Bryan McCabe is someone that I have discussed here about a
month ago as a potential target for New York.
McCabe has the veteran experience, has been a leader, is a tough hard-nosed
player and has a big shot from the point.
For me if a move for a veteran D to help fix the power play is the move
the Rangers are seeking to make, McCabe is the best option. McCabe is currently out with a broken jaw and
there is no concrete timetable on when he could be ready to play again. The cost for McCabe will be the determining
factor in this case as well.
Part of the problem for me in thinking about any of these
trades is that I do not see the Rangers as legitimate Cup contenders this year,
so the move to bring in any of these players and the different costs they would
have to in terms of assets and playing time for the future makes me
skeptical. The other problem is that the
Rangers bigger need overall is someone who can win a faceoff and can help the
utter lack of finish this team has right now.
In the end, I just wonder if a move should be made at all. The four game winless streak underlines for
me where the team might be and instead of making a deal to try and save
something of the year, the team might be off in the long term if they just let
the season play out as they are.
