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Dubinsky Wants Contract Done Quickly; What Price Is Right For Him?

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The last time Brandon Dubinsky went through contract negotiations with the New York Rangers the process dragged into training camp and had him holding out while the team was getting ready for the 2009-10 season.  The two sides finally compromised on his current two-year deal that paid Dubinsky $1.85 million per season and expires this summer.  According to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News Dubinsky wants the negotiation process to play out differently this time.

"I'd like to get it done as quickly as possible," Dubinsky said Monday at the team's practice facility in Greenburgh. "I think the Rangers want me, and I want the Rangers, so at the end of the day we might as well not waste each other's time and draw it out as long as it was (two years ago). The sooner it's done, the sooner I can focus on putting all my energy and efforts to this organization."

Those words show intent to get a deal done early and not have it be a distraction like last time and should encourage Rangers fans.  The problem with that is it assumes the way Dubinsky and his representatives perceive his value in a similar way to what the Rangers’ organization does.  Clearly that was not the case last time.  Dubinsky has more leverage in the negotiations this time as he is coming off a breakout season in 2010-11 and has arbitration rights this time, which he did not during the prior negotiations. 

Dubinsky led the Rangers’ in goals and points by putting up a 24 goal, 30 assist, 54 point season.  To go with that he took a larger leadership role both on and off the ice.  Prior to this season the criticism of Dubinsky has been for his inconsistency to produce.  Even in his career year those questions still exist to a certain extent as he notched 38 points in the 47 games he played prior to the All-Star break, but only 16 in his final 30 games of the season.  During the playoffs, Dubinsky was absent for the first two games of the series, but played very well in the final three games against the Capitals.  Overall he scored twice while adding one assist and scoring the game-winning goal in Game 3.

The question left for the Rangers is whether they think that Dubinsky is the player who helped carry the team early in the season and looked like he could put up 30 goals, 70-80 points or will he continue to be a streaky player that ends the year in the 50-60 range.  The difference in contracts based on that assessment is massive.  You can bet that Dubinsky’s representatives will push for a contract in the range of a player who will put the higher end of those numbers while the Rangers will try to keep the number as low as possible.

One would expect Dubinsky’s people to point to the David Backes extension which pays him $4.5 million over the next 5 seasons as similar to what Brandon is worth.  Their career numbers and ratios are similar and so is the way the two play, but that kind of contract would be overpaying Dubinsky.  A big difference in the two deals is Backes would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer while Dubinsky has two years left to reach that mark.  Using those two years I would suspect that Dubinsky gets somewhere around $3.2 million for the next two years and $4.1 million for the following two years to come out with a four-year $14.6 million dollar deal with an average cap hit of $3.65 million.

There is no doubt that Dubinsky is a build block type player for this organization because of the numerous roles he plays for this team.  The question is what dollar value can be placed on those various things he does to get a contract that both sides can be happy with and how long it takes for that to happen.

Video: McDonagh, Stepan Discuss Rookie Season's

McDonagh:



Stepan:



Have to love the composure of these two young players and it is their character as much as their skill that should give the fans so much hope for the future with men like these leading the way.

Rumor: Rangers Buying Out Wolski Almost Certain To Happen

The New York Rangers have a lot of personnel decisions to make this summer. A number of those decisions will revolve around players going into the final year of their contract(s) and whether the team should buy them out in order to create more cap space this summer.  Arthur Staple of Newsday writes that one such player, Wojtek Wolski, is “almost certainly” going to be bought out during the June 15-30 buyout window.  Wolski was acquired by New York in a trade with the Phoenix Coyotes for defenseman Michal Rozsival.  The trade, regardless of how Wolski would play, was a win for the Rangers as it saved them money on the cap next season and gave them the potential for a talented offensive addition.  Wolski showed flashes of the talent, but the inconsistency that has plagued his career would be the more frequent visitor in his 37 games with the Rangers. Wolski chipped in with a line of 6-13-19 in 37 games for New York and helped secure some critical shootout wins.

The combination of his inconsistency to produce offensively and his lack of fit in the Rangers more defensive system had him in and out of the doghouse with coach John Tortorella.  The talent is certainly there, but for $3.8-million salary next season the production and fit would have to be as well, and it is not.  Add to that the rule that players under 26-years-old can be bought out for only one-third of their cap hit and not the normal two-thirds and everything adds up to Wolski getting shown the door this summer.

The move to buyout Wolski would cost the Rangers $466K next season against the cap and $666K for the 2012-13 season.  The $666K against the cap a year from now is a small price to pay to have an extra $3.33 million this summer when the team has to sign numerous restricted free agents and looks to upgrade their talent level with the potential move for Brad Richards.

The move opens up cap space along with a roster spot on left wing that someone will have to fill.  Dubinsky and likely Fedotenko would be the two main left wingers on the roster though the acquisition of a Brad Richards could push a current center out to the wing as well.  Mats Zuccarello is a candidate to take a spot on left wing along with Carl Hagelin from the current crop of players not on the NHL roster.  Replacing the talent of Wolski is not an easy thing to do, but replacing the production is not all that difficult.  Regardless of how Wolski’s personal time in New York might be viewed if the buyout does indeed happen, the trade was a win for New York as they got a talented player who helped get them in the playoffs and saved $4.5 million dollars from the cap next season.

Dallas Stars Closing In On New Owner, What It Means For Brad Richards

According to Brad Richards, one of the biggest issues with him staying in Dallas has been the uncertainty of their ownership situation.  David Shoalts of the Toronto Globe & Mail is reporting that the ownership roadblock to Richards staying in Dallas is getting closer to being resolved.  Shoalts reports that Tom Gaglardi, a Vancouver businessman, has taken another step forward in the process to buy the Stars and that he could be the owner as soon as the end of May.  

One of the biggest stumbling blocks let in the process is whether or not bankruptcy court will be needed to complete the sale.  

Declaring bankruptcy is opposed by the NHL, according to the source, but it is viewed as a necessity because of the Stars’ long list of creditors. It is hoped the sale can be completed by the end of May, but that is not certain as the bidders who lost out to Gaglardi in this round could resurface in bankruptcy court.

Brandon Worley at Defending Big D, points out that this isn’t the end of the process and by no means 

indicates this is a lock to be finished.  

Two very important facts to take note of from this report, if true: This is the closest we’ve been to the sale actually going through since the team was put on the market well over a year ago, and just because Gagliardi has agreed to terms doesn’t mean that the sale is anywhere near final. He still has, apparently, a 30 day window of exclusive negotiating to narrow down the price and terms of the sale and there’s also the very real chance this thing has to go to bankruptcy court first.

While not exactly a certainty, it appears that the sale getting done prior to the unofficial “deadline” of July 1st is getting closer to becoming a very real possibility.

In terms of the Rangers pursuit of Richards, Dallas getting a stable ownership situation would certainly hinder the chances of him leaving, but it is not nearly as certain as Shoalts makes it seem.  A stable Dallas is likely Richards first choice, but the longer this process drags on the more he will start to mentally think about being elsewhere and the lure of New York, and playing for coach John Tortorella again will creep into his mind.  Certainly not a great development for the Rangers, but not a death blow just yet.

Ryan McDonagh Added To Team USA Roster for World Championships

Earlier I posted about Derek Stepan being added to Team USA for the World Championships.  News keeps changing as now Kevin Allen of USA Today is reporting that Rangers' defenseman Ryan McDonagh will also be added to the Team USA roster for the tournament.  Being selected for the tournament is a great thing for McDongah as it gives him even more experience on a big stage to add to the development he had as a rookie NHL player.  McDonagh had one goal and eight assists while recording an impressive plus-sixteen rating in 40 regular season games with the Rangers this year.  In the playoffs he did not score, but once again showed that he is not intimidated by any stage or any opponent.  He will get to do that again as a member of Team USA. 

Having Kreider, Stepan and McDonagh on Team USA will only increase the interest of Rangers fans in how the team fares and gives yet another glimpse of how bright the future is going to be on Broadway.

Stepan To Join Kreider on Team USA for World Championships; Will They Play Together?

The New York Rangers season might be over, but the team will have a presence at the upcoming World Championships.  Kevin Allen of USA Today tweeted that Derek Stepan will be on the Team USA squad along with prospect Chris Kreider.  The pair has played together before, most notably, at the 2010 U-20 World Junior Championships in which they played on the same line and helped win the gold medal.  The two have shown excellent chemistry together in the past and it would be an easy coaching move to put them on a line with one another during the tournament.

Along with Stepan, Marian Gaborik will play for Slovakia in the tournament, while Artem Anisimov, Vinny Prospal and Henrik Lundqvist all will be sitting out the festivities.

Rangers Biggest Offseason Decisions Will Be On Own Players Not Buying Others

The New York Rangers had their breakup day today as players collected there things and met with the media heading into the offseason.  As interesting as what they had to say was, the more interesting thing is to look at which of those players will not be coming back to the club come this fall.  There will be a lot of talk about free agency in the weeks and months to come, but the decisions made about the players that are already here will determine how much money and how many roster spaces there are to be filled by players not currently on the roster or in the organization.  On the NHL roster the Rangers had six restricted and four unrestricted free agents.  Along with those ten players there are the cases of Chris Drury, Wojtek Wolski, Sean Avery and Erik Christensen to consider when looking at the makeup of next year’s roster.

There is a lot of talk about adding different pieces to the current core of players, but none of that can be done until the Rangers make decisions on all 14 of those guys that are already here.  Of the restricted free agents, all but Matt Gilroy should be a lock to be back next season, and Gilroy is apparently going to get the option to come back at a reduced rate.  In terms of the unrestricted free agents, Ruslan Fedotenko is the only one that I would suspect gets offered another contract, though Vinny Prospal remains a possibility.

The question of buyouts will loom large for the organization this summer both in terms of the talent and players they could be removing from the team, but the amount of money it could potentially free up under the cap to let them be more aggressive in adding talent.  The two players that have the most cap space to be gained by being bought out are Wojtek Wolski and Chris Drury.  I already took a look at the implications of buying out Wolski this summer so I will focus instead on Chris Drury and his albatross of a contract. 

Drury does add value to the Rangers on and off the ice, but certainly not at the level of a $7.05 million hit to the salary cap.  There are questions about his knee and how healthy it truly is and simply the fact he is a fourth line player at this point in his career.  The question is whether the Rangers organization would buy out the current captain of their franchise to save 3.33 million this year and cost 1.67 million for the 2012-13 season.  I am not counting on them doing that unless they plan on making a huge move this summer on Brad Richards and absolutely need the space.  I think the respect for Drury within the organization is too great for that to happen, but it might be the biggest decision the organization makes in determining just how different the team will be next season.