Rangers Player Review: Martin Biron Shows Invaluable Nature of Solid Backup Goalie

When a team has an one of the best goaltenders in the league, as the New York Rangers do in Henrik Lundqvist, it is strange to say that goaltending was a need, but it was last summer as New York needed a competent backup to spell Lundqvist more and win while doing so.  To try and fill that need they signed 33-year-old goaltender Martin Biron to a two year deal worth $1.75 million dollars.  In his first season with the Rangers, Biron was worth every penny they paid him. 

On the ice he compiled a record of 8-6 with a 2.13 goals against and .923 save percentage.  Those overall numbers are impressive, but more impressive is the fact that only five times in his 17 appearances did he give up more than two goals.  Furthering that, only once this season, against the Atlanta Thrashers, did he give up more than three goals in an outing.  For Biron though, the impact went beyond the numbers themselves.

His level of performance gave the coaches and team confidence that the team had the same chance to win with Biron in net as if Lundqvist was playing.  Early in the season the play of Biron allowed for Lundqvist to rest more and he would need that rest following the collarbone injury that ended Biron’s season forced him to play the last 26 games of the year.  What Biron’s play also allowed was for the coaching staff, on two occasions, to sit a slumping Lundqvist for back-to-back starts, and allow for Henrik to work on his game.  Following each of those periods Lundqvist came back strong and went on major runs while Biron returned to his role as the backup.  In prior seasons it would have been unthinkable to have Lundqvist sit for multiple games while healthy, but that is what Biron allowed the team to do this year and the results speak for themselves.

Off the ice Biron showed why he has been considered a great teammate in each organization he has played for as he understands his role as the backup and brings energy and class to the room and the bench.  He was always shown keeping the guys on the bench into the game, and as an added bonus was a semi-coach when it came to the shootouts as he was seen on numerous occasions discussing strategy with the Rangers’ shooters.

Backup goaltender is often overlooked when thinking about building a team, especially when your starter is Henrik Lundqvist, but the value that Martin Biron brought to the Rangers this season cannot be quantified.  He did exactly what the Rangers needed from him and more than anyone could have reasonably expected of him.  If the Rangers get a repeat of 2010-11 in 2011-12 from Biron, his signing could go down as the best free agent deal of the Glen Sather era.

Final Grade:  A

Video: Keith Ballard Flips McGinn With Textbook Hip Check

Keith Ballard had not played in the last seven playoff games for the Vancouver Canucks, but he made his presence felt during Game 4 against the San Jose Sharks with this huge hip check against Jamie McGinn.  The most interesting note is that it was McGinn that knocked Vancouver defenders Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome out of the lineup with Game 3 hits that allowed Ballard to even play.

Could Rangers Trade For Brad Richards Rights?

The worst kept secret in the National Hockey League is that the New York Rangers have interest in signing Brad Richards this summer.  In this morning’s New York Post, Larry Brooks suggests that the Rangers trade their 57th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to the Dallas Stars so that they can gain a measure of advantage in that chase.  

This is the time for the Rangers to get Richards to New York, to get him acquainted with the organization. This is the time for the club's medical staff to conduct its due diligence. This is the time for conversations about the contract, when there is time for give-and-take and careful consideration as opposed to a few hours of sometimes panicky offers, counter-offers and ultimatums.

Maybe Richards will want no more than five years, a term that should be perfectly acceptable. Maybe Richards will be willing to play for $6 million or so if he sees taking that deal would allow the Rangers to retain maneuverability on the market. Let's face it, coming off a five-year contract worth $39 million, Richards doesn't have to suck down every nickel that will be thrown at him.

The obvious advantage would be that the Rangers would gain exclusive negotiating rights with Richards before July 1 instead of having to wait until he hit the open market and being part of the frenzy.  The questions with this plan are not with what the Rangers would or could get out of it, but what is really to be gained for either Dallas or Richards to go along with it.

The biggest obstacle to Richards going back to Dallas all year has been the instability in their ownership situation, but now it is getting closer to being resolved which should only add to their confidence in potentially getting a deal done.  The Stars refused to lower the asking price for Richards at the trade deadline believing they could bring him back long term so there is no reason to realistically believe that they would settle for a mere late second round pick for him now.

In terms of Richards himself, being just over one month away from being the biggest fish in a very weak free agent market, there appears to be little incentive for him to sign on to a deal with anyone before July 1, unless massively overpaid.

If it could be done for the scenario that Brooks is proposing here, then the Rangers should certainly do so, but there appears to be little to no incentive for the other two parties that would have to agree for it to happen.

Rumor: NHL Salary Cap To Rise As High As $63.5 Million

There has been speculation all season that the National Hockey League salary cap was going to rise from the current $59.4 million next season.  Much of the speculation had been about the cap rising to $62.4 million, but George Malik over at Kuklas Korner is reporting that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced earlier today that the NHL salary cap will rise for next season to as high as $63.5 million.  If the cap does increase by the full $4.1 million next year it would be a huge boost to the New York Rangers in terms of keeping their key restricted free agents and their chase for Brad Richards.

Currently, the New York Rangers have 14 players signed for $42,612,500, which does not count Del Zotto or Zuccarello who finished the season in the AHL.  Having nearly $21 million to work with gives the organization huge flexibility which could only increase if some of the rumored buyouts actually happen.  This is going to be a fun offseason and early next week I will look at what the Rangers could do with all this money and what next season’s roster could potentially look like.

Rangers Player Review: Artem Anisimov Either Brilliant Or Invisible In Second Season

In his second season in the NHL, Artem Anisimov showed both the flashes of brilliance that give so much hope for his future and things that frustrate many fans during his present.  Offensively Anisimov registered six more goals and 10 more assists to take a 28 point rookie season and turn it into a solid 44 point second year for the 22-year-old.  The 16 point improvement between the seasons, along with the increased roles he took on the team during the season, shows the potential is certainly there for more.  His chemistry with Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan gave the Rangers a line which, at times, could carry the offense for the team. 

Anisimov came out of the gates flying to start the 2010-11 season with six goals and eight assists in the first 17 games of the season.  The level was likely unsustainable regardless, but the decline for vast sections of the season is something that Anisimov will need to improve if he is to reach that high ceiling he has.  It was the fact that he could go 10 games without a point or have five different streaks of at least eight-games without a goal that frustrated many fans and had many ready to give up on the young Russian.  I am not ready to do that.

Anisimov clearly needs to work on his strength and his finishing around the net along with his overall aggressiveness.  The first two are things that need no further explanation, but the third is caused in part by how defensively responsible Anisimov is and there are stretches where he becomes extremely passive in the offensive zone.  The fact that he is so defensively responsible is a good thing, but he cannot do one at the expense of the other.

In terms of aggressiveness looking for his offense, he has a beautiful wrist shot that has shown deadly precision at times, but he predominantly uses it off the rush and not in the zone during a regular shift.  When he gains confidence in his shot within the flow of the game he will easily increase his goal scoring and with more strength he will be able to potentially become a 25-30 goal scorer in the league.

Let us take a look at the breakdown of Anisimov’s numbers by month.

Month	Games Played	G	A	Shots
October	10	3	4	29
November	16	4	4	30
December	12	2	4	21
January	14	1	4	35
February	12	3	2	34
March	14	5	6	33
April	4	0	2	8

The numbers by month actually look relatively consistent, but as I said there were dips in production that are somewhat masked in splits because he had 10 multi-point games over the course of season, including a four point effort against Toronto on January 19.  Using that a single example of one month that is skewed, you can see that in the other 13 games he only had one goal for the month.

The potential is there for Anisimov to be a 60+ point player in the NHL with added strength, confidence and aggressiveness.  A summer working with Barbara Underhill on his power skating could certainly benefit Anisimov on both of the ice as it did Brian Boyle this past season.

Clearly the Rangers think highly of him given their refusals to deal him at the trade deadline, but one has to wonder how long the Rangers will give Anisimov to develop fully before looking to move on from him.  As a restricted free agent the way the Rangers handle his negotiations, both in dollars and length of his next contract, will say a lot about how long they envision Anisimov being a member of the Rangers organization.

Boogaard Death Caused From Mixing of Alcohol, Pain Medication

According to Michael Russo of Star Tribune the results of Derek Boogaard's toxicology tests have come in and the Hennepin Cty medicsl examiner ruled his death to be accidentally caused by Boogaard mixing alcohol and codone.

This result answers the how in the death of Boogaard but clearly leaves numerous other questions regarding the situation with him.

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Rangers Seventh in Hockey's Future Organizational Rankings

Over the past few seasons the New York Rangers have shown on the ice that their system has gotten better both in drafting and developing prospects with the likes of Anisimov, Stepan, McDonagh, and Sauer joining the NHL regulars.  Respect for what in the system continues to grow as well.  Hockey’s Future put out their annual Organizational Rankings, and the New York Rangers were ranked at 7, which is an improvement from last year’s number 9 position.  What makes the improvement in the rankings even more impressive is that Stepan and Sauer are no longer in the rankings, though McDonagh and Zuccarello are still eligible to be ranked given games played.

In the rankings HF had the following to say about the Rangers system…

Strengths: The Rangers have excellent forward prospects, led by 2009 first round draft selection Chris Kreider. In addition to three diminutive snipers, including Chris Thomas, Ryan Bourque and Mats Zuccarello, the Rangers also have Carl Hagelin and Roman Horak, each of whom is expected to be a third-line contributor. New York's recent drafting and one trade with Montreal in 2009 have also brought some excellent defensive prospects into the organization, with Ryan McDonagh already contributing at the NHL level, and Pavel Valentenko and Tomas Kundratek no more than a year away. 

Weaknesses: The Rangers are weak in goaltending prospects, with only two free agents and a junior netminder in the organization. None of those netminders projects to be a number one goaltender in the NHL, and there are questions whether any of them will even be able to serve as an NHL backup in the coming years.

With the Rangers offensive inconsistency it is encouraging to see their forwards listed as the strength of the prospect core.  Chris Kreider, who was ranked first, and Christian Thomas, ranked third, are the only two of the group that are likely to be consistent top six forwards in the NHL, but there are plenty of other forwards that can be solid NHL contributors for the Blueshirts.

The goaltending prospect issue is somewhat of a concern for down the road, but Talbot and Stajcer have potential and the problem is not likely to be an issue until after next year when Biron is a free agent and the Rangers possibly need another backup goaltender.