Dan Rosen, at NHL.com,
took a look at the offseason changes made by teams in the Atlantic
Division.
The big fish came to the Big
Apple, giving the Rangers the bona fide No. 1 center and power-play quarterback
they've been looking for.
Richards signing his nine-year, $60-million contract to
become a Ranger highlighted the team's offseason moves. The hope is that
Richards and Marian
Gaborik show immediate chemistry together to give the Rangers one of the
best one-two punches in the NHL.
Discussing Richards and the hopes for what he will bring to
New York as the highlight of the Rangers offseason is to be expected and
certainly warranted. However, Rosen goes
further and acknowledges the importance of avoiding arbitration with Dubinsky and
expects the Rangers to do the same with Callahan. While Callahan is the expected next captain,
Rosen cited both Callahan and Dubinsky as major components to the leadership
core for New York.
The only work he says the Rangers had to complete was adding
depth on defense, but they did that yesterday by bringing back Steve Eminger. Eminger should quell the calls for the
Rangers need to add an older defender and one with more NHL experience; at
least for now.
With the Isles and Devils doing little other than hoping their young are ready to step in and produce for them, and the Flyers blowing things up by trading Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, the Rangers additions certainly have them improving more than those three. The Penguins getting Crosby and Malkin back, if at their previous form, would still make them the big winners of the summer compared to how the respective teams finished last year.
