The New York Rangers work as a franchise in not only signing
key components of their young core to long-term contracts, but contracts that
are of great value in the salary cap era has set the team up to contend for
multiple seasons. The contracts given to
Marc Staal and Dan Girardi last summer along with those given to Brandon
Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan this summer are ones that have taken four critical components
to what the Rangers want to be and signed them to deals that are excellent
values. The value of each deal,
especially those of Staal and Girardi only look better this year based on their
respective 2010-11 campaigns and the overpayments made to defensemen around the
league this summer. In addition to those
deals, New York locked down Michael Sauer, Artem Anisimov and Brian Boyle this
summer to multi-year contracts. The
question is which contract on the Rangers roster, excluding entry-level
contracts, is the best value?
Marc Staal: Having
an All-Star caliber defender that you can build a team around making under $4
mil per season is never a bad thing.
Staal is coming off his first All-Star appearance and continues to get
better with each passing season. The
offense is still a work in progress, but the instincts on when to carry the
puck and join the rush are improving gradually.
Combine that with his continued excellence as a shutdown defender and he
is a steal for what he is getting paid.
The only knock on the value of his deal would be that most of the years
on the contract are ones he could have been an RFA, so it decreases the value
in comparison to what UFA contracts look like slightly.
Dan Girardi: When
discussing the Rangers generally Dan Girardi gets lost in the shuffle of other
names on the roster and so has the tremendous value his contract
represents. While the other three get
the attention, Girardi’s deal might his contract, outside of entry-level
contracts, the best value on the Rangers.
The deal Girardi signed gives the Rangers a top pair
defender who inked a deal that eliminated multiple free agent years for
significantly below what he would be getting on the free agent market. Girardi does not have the upside that Marc
Staal does, the points that Dubinsky or Callahan will produce, but for $3.325
million a season he eats up 24:35 in ice timer per game against the league’s
best offensive players, a solid 31 points, 195 hits (tied for 24 overall, 9th
amongst defense) and a league leading 236 blocked shots.
The selflessness and sacrifice to use your body the way that
Girardi does in order to help the team win is what led coach John Tortorella to
say that Girardi has, “Balls as big as the building.” To get a compliment like that from Tortorella
you have to be doing something special.
Brandon Prust: Prust
has transformed from an afterthought to the Olli Jokinen trade to a fan
favorite that plays numerous critical roles for the club and all for $800K next
season. The warrior mentality that Prust
plays with is critical to the Rangers who are building an identity as a team
that is hard to play against and willing to do anything to win. The winner of the 2010-11 Steven McDonald
Extra Effort Award Prust showed and was recognized for the way he plays the
game in all facets, and his toughness in playing hurt is something to be
commended. Prust goes beyond the
willingness to fight anyone that challenges him and brings excellent penalty
killing skill along with forechecking at even strength. His ability to chip in some points is another
bonus that makes next season’s salary a steal for New York. Look for Prust to cash in big next summer if
he puts up a similar season to last year.
Artem Anisimov: Anisimov showed flashes of brilliance during
his second NHL season and for those that believe in his long-term potential
hope that he will become a 60-point NHL player over the next few years. There are still things that need to be worked
on in order to get to that point, especially strength and confidence to use his
excellent shot in the zone and not just off the rush, but the tools are there. His new deal will pay him $1.875 per season,
which if he does hit 50 or 60 points in the next two years would be an
unbelievable value for the team. The
only issue with including Anisimov in the running for best contract is that he
had no real leverage in negotiations with the Rangers, so this deal for him is
like the second contracts that Dubinsky, Callahan and even Girardi signed.
Michael Sauer:
Top four defenders in the NHL are hard to find and the Rangers were lucky to
have Michael Sauer go from a player that wasn’t even amongst the main competitors
going into training camp for a roster spot turn himself into one over the
course of the year. Sauer has little
flash to his game, but with good health last season he was able to showcase his
toughness and intelligence on the ice and make himself a key component of the
defense corps. Having a defender capable
of playing 20+ minutes a night and even stepping up against top lines as Sauer
did when Dan Girardi was injured last season for $1.25 million is excellent
value for a team.
Including Ryan Callahan and/or Brandon Dubinsky could have
been done, but the overall chance of them significantly outplaying the contract
price, at least this season, is lower than the five that were chosen. Picking a winner of the five is difficult
because they all come at it from very different stages in their career and
their roles on the Rangers. For the
2011-12 season, Prust being paid only $800K has the potential to not only be
the biggest bargain on the club, but one of the best values in the NHL. His value as at even strength, killing penalties and fighting while still providing some offense is tremendous and he
will get paid for it next summer. Of the
long-term deals that have been signed over the past two years, the deal Girardi
signed is likely the best value because of the number of free agent years he
sacrificed and what he can provides the club.
