Free Agent Preview: Brooks Laich An Answer For Rangers?

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There is a little over a month left until the frenzy that is free agency begins and the Rangers will certainly be looking for offense when the market opens on July 1.  In looking ahead to the free agent market there have already been looks at Brad Richards for the first line center role and James Wisniewski as a puck-moving defender than could also aid the power play.  Beyond Richards there is little out there in the forward rankings on the unrestricted market, but one possible option is Brooks Laich.

Laich has had a solid career in Washington having topped the 20 goal mark three times and the 50 point plateau in two different seasons. Beyond just the pure numbers Laich has been known for his presence in and out of the locker room on a Washington team that at times seems to lack any sense of leadership. 

Laich has the versatility to play either center or the wing with a measure of defensive awareness and willingness to go to the front of the net and do what it takes to score goals.  That style meshes with the Rangers system and he would likely fit very well with coach John Tortorella in how he carries himself both on and off the ice.  The issue for me with Laich is not how he plays or if he would add to the Rangers skill level, but whether given the depressed talent available he is going to be overpaid for what he actually is.

There is no way to rationalize Laich as a replacement if the Rangers miss out on Richards this summer and paying him upwards of $4 million a season would be a mistake that the Rangers would regret in the long term.  The Rangers need more skill in their lineup and Laich does not bring enough of that to the table alone to be an answer for the Rangers.  Maybe if it is a scenario where the Rangers have Richards in place and are looking to move pieces around Laich would be a viable player at the right price.  The problem is that the market will allow him to get more than he deserves and for what he is likely to get paid in terms of money and years, the Rangers should pass.

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Zack Phillips

The 2011 draft now less than one month away, and the Rangers scouting and front office staff is looking through many prospects to see who they want to select with the 15th overall selection.  With the current state of the Rangers defense both at the NHL and prospect level one would expect that New York will look for offense in the first round of the draft hoping to find an impact scorer.  Tuesday, I took a look at Mark Scheifele, who is a center from the OHL that produced against the best the opposition had to offer despite playing with inferior talent around him.  Wednesday, Mark McNeill and his power forward type personality in the body of a center was the prospect under the microscope.  Today, Zack Phillips of the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) is the player looked at to see how he would fit with the New York Rangers.

Phillips had a phenomenal season with the Sea Dogs posting 38 goals and 57 assists in 67 games.  He continued that play in the playoffs with nine goals and 15 assists in 17 playoff games.  Playing with fellow top prospect, Jonathan Huberdeau, Phillips shows a nose for the net that makes him special.  He is not a great athlete or skater, but the same was said of Jeff Skinner last year.  Natural goal scoring skill is something that you cannot teach or account for and something the Rangers desperately need.

Phillips came in at 15 in the Final Central Scouting Rankings of North American Skaters.  He possesses good size at 6’1” 195 pounds and is not afraid to play in front of the net. 

Kirk Luedeke of Bruins Draft Watch’s

A bit of a surprise to the general public when he appeared ninth overall on The Hockey News' 2011 Draft Preview which was released last week in Canada. However, some scouts are telling us that Phillips in the top-10 isn't much of a shocker to them given his big goal scoring potential and a natural nose for the net that players like Jeff Skinner have forced NHL teams to respect. Phillips is not an explosive player, and he's certainly benefited from skating alongside playmakers like Huberdeau and Michael Kirkpatrick this season, but to insinuate that he's not a lethal scoring threat is to sell the former Massachusetts prep player short. The former Lawrence Academy standout (19 goals, 48 points in 30 games) from Fredericton, NB was involved in a car accident that killed teammate Mark Frattaroli in September 2008 (Frattaroli was driving when the vehicle struck a tree). Zack is an October 1992 birthdate, so he's on the older scale of the 2011 class, but he had a tremendous season with 38 goals and 95 points. At 6-1, 195 pounds, he can drive hard to the net and has outstanding hands to finish off plays in close.
Prediction: 10-15 pick; NHL teams love goal scorers, and while he's not the best skater, his size, hands and hockey sense make too much sense for him to stick around on the board for long.

Coach Gerard Gallant on NHL.com

Zack has great vision and is strong on the puck. He's a solid center and has come a long way in a short time. He kind of reminds me of an Adam Oates-type of player … he's strong on the puck down low and in the corners and has nifty hands.

The Scouting Report (Ranked 34, midseason)

Phillips has been steadily rising over the past two seasons and could make a case to go in the late first round of the NHL Entry Draft this season along with what could be three other Sea Dogs’ teammates. Phillips is a good offensive player who does a lot of things well, but doesn’t really have a defining quality. He’ll need to improve his skating a bit as well in the future.

As the Hockey News’ showed in ranking him at nine in their draft preview, goal scoring can cause players to come off the board earlier than others might project.  The biggest hurdle to Phillips becoming a New York Ranger, other than whether he is on the board at 15, could be Glen Sather’s seeming refusal to draft players from the QMJHL in the first round.  As Jess Rubenstein points out, over at The Prospect Park, Sather has only taken 1 player from the QMJHL in the first round in 33 picks.

If Phillips is available at 15, depending on what other forwards are available, I would certainly consider taking him as the Rangers need someone that can put the puck in the net.  Skating could be an issue, but he has all the other tools that say production can outweigh skating concerns.

Free Agent Preview: James Wisniewski Would Add Offense To Rangers Defense Core

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There is a little over a month left until the frenzy that is free agency begins and the New York Rangers will certainly be looking for offense when the market opens on July 1.  The fact that Brad Richards is going to be the number one priority outside of the organization is not surprising, but there are other ways the Rangers can help themselves in the free agent market.  With the Rangers offensive inconsistency much of the focus has been on how the team can sign forwards to give the team more scoring and there has been a look at Brad Richards fit for the Rangers already.  However, as the playoffs have shown, offensive help can come from the defense as well.  There are numerous viable defenseman that could boost the Rangers scoring from the blue line for next season available in the free agent market.  One such player is James Wisniewski as he can score for himself, facilitate for others and maybe most importantly add to the anemic power play the Blueshirts have possessed.

At first it might seem strange to look into spending significant money on the Rangers defense having an excellent top four as the Rangers do, but the unit severely lacks offensive threats right now. As a whole the Rangers defense only accounted for 27 goals and 106 assists in 494 combined games played this year.  The defensive core is one that is built around the four shutdown defenders they have and there is no questioning that the Rangers defense is set at four spots with Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer all entrenched and under 28-years old.  Having four defenders who are that good defensively is a great luxury for the organization, but it still needs to have some threats to score from the back end of the ice.

While the hope is that Michael Del Zotto will rebound from a subpar sophomore season and reclaim his spot permanently and add a puck-moving defenseman to the excellent defensive guys they already have, it is tough to rely on that happening right now.  Signing a Wisnewski, especially since he plays the right side, would not limit Del Zotto at all and would only add to the Rangers flexibility.  Wisniewski could either be used as a third pair player leaving the current top four together or be paired with a Ryan McDonagh, thus allowing coach John Tortorella to use Michael Sauer as a safety net of sorts with Del Zotto next year.

Wisniewski is coming off a career year in which he scored 10 goals and had 41 assists in 75 games, which were split between the Isles and Montreal this past season.  The 51 points would have ranked Wisniewski second on the Rangers, behind only Brandon Dubinsky’s 54 for the 2010-11 season.  More important than the overall numbers was what Wisniewski did both on the power play and when he was surrounded by better talent following the trade.  Wisniewski put up seven goals and 22 assists with the man advantage while no Rangers player, forward or defenseman, had more than 16 total points on the power play.  Wisniewski’s power play points alone would have tied him for second among defenders on the team with 29 points, two behind Dan Girardi.

With the NHL salary cap potentially increasing to as high as $63.5 million it is possible for the Rangers to sign Wisniewski in addition to Brad Richards and dramatically reshape their power play this summer.  Having Richards at the left point and Wisniewski on the right point would give the Rangers a dangerous pairing and allow the forwards to have tremendous space down low to work.  The moves would also allow Del Zotto to gain experience working the power play without the pressure of having to be the man running the first unit.  Signing Wisniewski for $4-4.5 million would lock down the Rangers defense for years to come and give them an excellent balance of bother shutdown defenders and offensive threats assuming Del Zotto returns to form and the gradual addition of offense to the others.

Islanders Continuing Right Moves By Locking Up Okposo For 5-Years

As a New York Rangers fan it is hard to admit when the New York Islanders are doing things the right way, but over the past few months they are certainly making strides in that direction with their commitment to locking up their best players long-term.  In the past three months the Islanders have locked up Matt Moulson to a 3-year deal before he became an unrestricted free agent, then signed Calder Trophy nominee Michael Grabner to a friendly 5-year deal for $15 million. 

Today, according to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, they added to that list by locking current assistant captain Klye Okposo to a 5-year extension of his own worth $14 for a very reasonable average cap hit of $2.8 million a season.  Combine those three signings with the hope of a new arena and the tremendous prospects that are on the horizon for the Islanders and it is not hard to envision the Islanders making a comeback to the land of a competitor in short order.  If Al Montoya can play next season as he did following his acquisition along with the return of Mark Streit and the influx of talented prospects, that return to the playoffs could be as soon as next season.

Rangers To Play Lundqvist's Former Team Frölunda In Exhibition Game

Who says you cannot go home again?  Henrik Lundqvist is going to do so with the New York Rangers and not just to play in Sweden this fall, but to play against his former team, Frölunda, which currently has brother Joel playing for them.  This news comes according to the Frölunda Indians website, which says New York will play the Swedish Elite League team in an exhibition before they start the regular season in Stockholm against the Kings.

The game will be played on either Thursday, September 29th or Friday September 30th.  If the Sweden return was not special enough for Lundqvist to kick off the 2011-12 season, now he gets to go back to where he played professionally at home before joining the Rangers.

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Mark McNeill

The 2011 draft now less than one month away, and the Rangers scouting and front office staff is looking through many prospects to see who they want to select with the 15th overall selection.  With the current state of the Rangers defense both at the NHL and prospect level one would expect that New York will look for offense in the first round of the draft hoping to find an impact scorer.  Yesterday, I took a look at Mark Scheifele, who is a center from the OHL that produced against the best the opposition had to offer despite playing with inferior talent around him.  Today, I will look at another player who produced beyond the level of his supporting cast in Mark McNeill of the Prince Albert Raiders (WHL).

McNeill is a rising prospect in the eyes of many who just came off a tremendously improved second season in for the Raiders.  During his first year he had only nine goals and 15 assists in 68 games.  Those numbers left him unranked in the initial Central Scouting preliminary rankings of the top 25 North American skaters last November and the International Scouting Services' October, 2010 top 30 list as well.

In his second season those number skyrocketed to an impressive 32 goals, 49 assists and 81 points in just 70 games.  His play moved him up to 22nd in the Central Scouting mid-term rankings, but then he vaulted again to 14 by the end of the season. He also checked in at number 20 on the ISS final rankings.

The most talked about aspect of McNeill is his size as he stands 6’2” and 204 pounds.  At that size, McNeill has the potential to be the power forward type player that the Rangers have coveted for years.  Beyond just his sheer size, he possesses a willingness to go into the dirty areas and the ability to come out of there with goals on the board.

B.J. McDonald of Central Scouting:

He’s really composed and has a real pro-style game. He has a nice touch, can dish, and has nice, soft passes. His on-ice awareness is very good and he’s paid attention to detail at both ends of the rink. He has good defensive-zone coverage as well as being offensive at the other end.

Kirk Luedeke of Bruins Draft Watch’s

Big horse has been impressive for Canada in the tourney so far. Anyone who thinks he doesn't have upside hasn't been paying close attention to what McNeill brings to the table (82 points for Prince Albert this season) and he's making a legitimate run to a potential top-10 selection in June. McNeill drew primary assist on the Locke goal, taking Murphy's point pass and getting it hard to the net where Locke was able to convert the rebound. But, what impressed us was McNeill's defense and discipline. He moved the puck smartly, backchecked diligently and didn't force things that weren't there. On offense, he protects the puck well and sees the ice like a true playmaker. Stock watch: goin' up.

Hockey Writer’s scouting report:

Mark McNeill, the Prince Albert Raiders powerful, gritty forward showed why he should be a top 15 draft selection in this years NHL Entry Draft last season. He uses a combination of grit, with good playmaking ability to make him one of the top centers in the Western Hockey League.

A player that thrives on being strong on both ends, McNeill is also never afraid to drop the gloves and stick up for his teammates. To add to his impressive total of 81 points this year, he also finished with 53 penalty minutes.

Defensively, McNeill plays the shutdown role very well. He uses his strength and strong positioning to easily knock opposing players off the puck. He is also a strong faceoff man, which in addition to his strong defensive game makes him a good penalty killer.

"I pick aspects of [Getzlaf's] game and try to bring them to the ice," McNeill said. "I try to be a power forward, to play solid at both ends and to play with an edge; anything to help my team."

Having a player that tries to emulate a Ryan Getzlaf is exactly what the Rangers need right now to take the next step.  The Rangers have some skilled players and some edgy players, but they have few players that combine the two and McNeill can play a skill game, a grit game and do it with edge.

Everything written about McNeill pegs him as an excellent fit for the Rangers system as he can use his size and strength to get in on the forecheck and create chances while being a responsible two-way player that does his job in his own end.  This would be a fantastic pick for New York at 15, if he is still on the board.

Rangers Player Review: Michael Sauer Steady As A Rock

Coming into the 2010-11 season the Rangers defensive core was assumed to consist of Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, and Michal Rozsival as locks.  The training camp battles for the final spots were supposed to be between Matt Gilroy, Steve Eminger and Ryan McDonagh.  Michael Sauer was rarely if ever mentioned as being in the running for the roster, but with his excellent training camp, along with a fear of losing him through waivers, Sauer made the club to start the year and he never looked back.  What the Rangers found in the 23-year-old rookie was the tough, hard-nosed, crease-clearing defender they have been searching for over the past number of years.

Sauer played 76 games during his rookie season and not only did he prove he belonged in the NHL, but he was arguably the most consistent player on the roster.  There is no player, at any position, that was as consistent from game-to-game as Sauer was in his first season.  He will never dazzle with flash, but the steady play he brings is something that was critical to the Rangers success this season. 

There is a great comfort knowing what you are going to get from a player every time he steps on the ice and coach John Tortorella every time #38 hit the ice for the Rangers. With Sauer you get a player with tremendous defensive awareness, positioning and attention to the basics.  Add to that a man who loves to hit, clears the crease and fights to defend himself and his teammates and you get a solution to a void the Rangers hadn’t filled in years. 

After making the team and being part of a rotation with Steve Eminger and Matt Gilroy to open the season, Sauer solidified his spot in the rotation as a third pair defender.  As the season progressed, the trust in Sauer grew and eventually he earned his chances to assume a top four role and he did not disappoint.  By the time the second half of the season came, Sauer was playing an average of 20:12 a night and playing as well as any Rangers defender on the roster.

While he will always be a defense first type defender, Sauer showed flashes of offense during the second half of the year.  After recording one goal and five assists in 46 games before the All-Star break, Sauer had two goals and seven assists in 30 games during the second half.  While the numbers showed improvement, his offensive strides go beyond what the stats would say.  With each passing game his confidence grew and his aggression on the offensive end both shooting the puck and reading the play made him much more effective.  Sauer was among the most effective defenders in reading the play and knowing when to pinch to keep possession alive, which is something the coaching staff the Rangers preached all year.

Those traits were on display Monday night against Boston as Sauer read the play beautifully and slid down to a position where he was able to take advantage of the hustle by the forwards behind the net and beat Tim Thomas for his second game winning goal of the season.  You can easily argue that goal was the biggest goal of the season for the Rangers because without that win the team does not make the playoffs at all.

The combination of Sauer and McDonagh gave the Rangers a second shut-down defensive pair and one of the best top four defensive groups in the NHL.  For a 23-year-old rookie who was never expected to make the team to play 76 games, scoring three goals, adding 12 assists and playing to a tremendous plus 20 is a special year and gives hope for the future.

Grade: A

Video: Bieksa's Fluke Winner In Double Overtime Sends Canucks To Stanley Cup Finals

The Vancouver Canucks are headed to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1994 with tonight's double overtime win on one of the whackiest goals in recent memory.  Just past the midway point of the second overtime Canucks defender Alex Edler attempted to dump the puck deep into San Jose's zone, but the puck would take a strange bounce off a stanchion and head over to Kevin Bieksa at the point. 

Bieksa was seemingly the only player on the ice who knew where the puck was shot a knuckler towards the net while Sharks goalie Antti Niemi was still trying to figure out where the puck was.  The puck would beat Niemi low to the glove side and send Vancouver into eupohoria. 

2011 NHL Draft Prospects: Mark Scheifele

With the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in exactly one month, now is a good time to start looking at some potential prospects that could still be on the board when the New York Rangers pick comes.  There is always a question as to whether you draft for a need or take the best player available.  The Rangers have selected a defender in four of the last six first rounds.  While there is still some need for a puck moving defenseman, depending on the belief in the development of Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers biggest need is for offensive help up front. 

There are numerous offensive prospects who could be available with the 15 pick, one of which is center, Mark Scheifele of the Barrie Colts (OHL).

Scheifele posted 22 goals and 53 assists in 66 games during his first season with the Colts.  The 75 points alone are impressive, but the statistics become more impressive when you take into account that the recently turned 18-year-old played on an awful team and had to play against the top players on the opposition each night.  He proved that at the recently completed U-18 World Championships where he shined for Team Canada as he was surrounded by better talent than he had this season in Barrie.

Brock Otten at OHL Prospects talks about how much Scheifele helped himself at the U-18.

He was consistently Canada's best forward and showcased a real complete offensive ability. He can really do it all. At the beginning of the year, he was definitely more of a playmaking, possession center. But as the year wore on and he gained confidence, he became a much more complete player. By season's end, he was a beast at both ends of the ice (just like he was at the Under 18's). He'll take the puck and drive hard to the net, and stay there taking abuse. He's become a physical player who will participate on the forecheck and fight for pucks along the wall. He can score. He can set up teammates. He plays both ends of the ice.

He has excellent size at 6’ 3” though would need to add weight to his 175-80 pound frame.  The fact that he plays both ends, has that kind of size and loves the forecheck makes him seem like a fit for the Tortorella system.

Scheifele was ranked 16th in the final rankings among North American skaters according to Central Scouting during April.  The International Scouting Service released an update on May 15 and have Scheifele ranked 17 overall.  In the most recent series of NHL.com mock drafts he was projected to go 13 to Calgary, 15 to New York and 20 to Phoenix.

The Hockey Writers preview of Scheifele describes him as a very safe pick.

Schiefele possesses that which most scouts look for in a center– size, skating, vision, hands and hockey intelligence.

Seen as somewhat of a ‘safe’ pick by scouts, as he has all the tools needed to be an NHL’er, it’s just unknown in what capacity that may be. His playmaking and vision are his bread and butter, and he uses them in Joe Thorton-like fashion, always looking for the open man.

In a time where teams are so heavily looking for center depth, especially those playmaking pivots, Schiefele has seen his stock rise and could be a surprise pick to move into 15th or so.

With added strength to his frame, he could be all that much better, and a real gem for the team that brings him into the player development fold.

An NHL.com write-up of Scheifele has two very interesting takes on him.

From a Scout...

"He has to play against everybody's best players every night," the scout told NHL.com, "where you might have a player on a real good team that doesn't have to play against the top defensive pair or maybe they're playing against the third line every night. There's a big difference. You have to take that into consideration."

From Central Scouting's Chris Edwards...

"Mark protects the puck very well and will take it to the net while fighting through checks," Central Scouting's Chris Edwards told NHL.com. "He's got a great work ethic. His Barrie Colts have struggled this season and he has been relied upon to provide offense. He sees the ice very well and his playmaking ability is very good. He gets back quickly and works hard defensively."

When your weaknesses are considered needing to add strength and shoot more while your strengths are vision, hockey IQ, size, and stickhandling you are looking like a very good looking prospect for the mid-first round.  He appears to be rising as the draft process goes along and it is possible he could even be off the board by the time the Rangers select at 15, but if he is there, then the Rangers would be wise to take a long look at him as their first round selection in the 2011 Entry Draft.

Rangers Player Review: Ryan Callahan Improves Offense To Create Total Package

After a somewhat disappointing 2009-10 season in which Callahan did not take that next step offensively as he seemed poised to do following the hiring of coach John Tortorella to end the 2008-09 season, Callahan responded with the breakout offensive season many had hoped for.  The quality with which Callahan played this past season leaves Rangers fans with great hope that this heart and soul player can become a 30 goal, 60 point type player for years to come.  You know you are going to get the tremendous forecheck, excellent hitting, penalty killing and self-sacrifice of shot blocking, but the offense has been the question.

The reason for the raised offensive expectations heading into next season is that Callahan managed to set career highs with 23 goals and 25 assists in the 60 games he dressed this season.  If he was able to maintain that pace over an 82 game season, then you would be looking at 31-34-65 season.  Add that kind of offense to the way Callahan has played for his entire career and you are looking at a legitimate first line type player. 

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

Month	Games Played	G	A	Shots
October	10	4	7	41
November	15	3	5	32
December	7	3	1	19
January	0	0	0	0
February	12	6	3	39
March	14	7	8	42
April	2	0	1	6

As impressive as Callahan’s numbers were this season, what showed his true value to this club was the difference in the team during the playoffs without his presence in the lineup.  The team as a whole lacked a sense of energy and the forechecking style that the team implemented, and Callahan epitomized, just never got going against the Capitals.   In a series as close, game to game, as the Rangers first round tilt against the Capitals was it is hard not to imagine that a healthy Callahan changes some of the games, if the not the end result of the series.  The combination of what he brings individually and what he allows linemates Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov to do on the ice makes a huge difference to the balance of the team.

The only negative thing you can say about Callahan’s year would be concerning the injuries.  Missing 22 games during the regular season and the first round playoff series is something the Rangers cannot afford to have happen.  His importance is both a statement on him and all that he brings to the team along with one that speaks to the overall talent level of the forwards on the team right now.  Offensive talent and production, especially consistent production, is something the Rangers lack and so they cannot afford to lose their second leading scorer, and pulse of the team, for a 27% of the games the team plays.  The flip side of that is you cannot be too upset with Callahan over the injuries because of how he sustained them.  Both major injuries occurred while he was playing his game and sacrificing his body for the betterment of the team, and if he changed those things, then he wouldn’t be Ryan Callahan.

Grade: A